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| Eight reportedly killed in an air strike on a home in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza |
At least 110 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza's Jabalia area, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli military said it had been conducting operations against Hamas "terrorist infrastructure" in Jabalia. The US defense secretary arrived in Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli leaders that were expected to focus on how to lower the intensity of the fighting to protect civilians. The UN Security Council was also expected to vote later on a resolution calling for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities", amid reports of discussions on a potential new deal to secure the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Gaza has been devastated by 10 weeks of war triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 240 taken hostage. Since then, more than 19,400 people have been killed in Gaza, about 70% of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stressed that it went to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties when planning a target. The IDF separately announced that its troops had been conducting operations in Jabalia and that they had uncovered cash worth almost $1.4m (£1.1m) in suitcases alongside weapons in the home of a senior Hamas figure.
Gaza's health ministry also said that a 13-year-old girl was killed when an Israeli tank shell hit the maternity building of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis on Sunday night. Another eight people, including journalist Haneen al-Qashtan, were reportedly killed in a strike in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to tell Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and war cabinet in their meetings on Monday that Israel had to move away from its major combat operations to a more limited conflict targeting Hamas while shielding civilians. He stressed that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza was "both a moral duty and a strategic imperative."
The UK, Germany, and France added to the growing global pressure for a ceasefire over the weekend, saying that too many civilians had been killed. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell echoed those comments on Monday, saying "we are witnessing an appalling lack of distinction in Israel's military operation in Gaza."
