Jerusalem — Fighting raged in Gaza on Tuesday, one month on from Hamas’s shock October 7 attack, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying that his country would take “overall responsibility” for Gaza’s security for an unspecified period after the war with Hamas ends.
Here are the key developments from the past 24 hours:
‘Security responsibility’
“Israel will, for an indefinite period… have the overall security responsibility,” he said in a television interview with ABC News.
“When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine,” Netanyahu said.
Hundreds more killed in Gaza
The Hamas-run health ministry said on Tuesday the death toll in Gaza had reached 10,328, adding more than 300 to the figure from Monday.
Also Read Exclusive reports on Gaza-related developments
The toll includes more than 4,000 children, according to the ministry.
The United States acknowledged on Monday there had been “thousands” of civilian casualties in Gaza, after President Joe Biden previously called into question the validity of numbers published by Hamas authorities.
“As it relates to civilian casualties in Gaza… we know the numbers are in the thousands,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
G7 agenda
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that will look to agree a common line on the Israel-Hamas war.
Blinked called for the bloc to speak with “one clear voice”.
G7 members have taken divergent approaches at the UN towards the conflict, with France voting for a “humanitarian truce” in the General Assembly, the United States voting against and the remaining five abstaining.
The G7 meeting would discuss “the need to respond to the needs of civilian populations in Gaza and to respect international humanitarian law”, France said.
The summit follows a whirlwind tour of the broader Middle East region for the chief US diplomat, that took him from Israel to Jordan, the occupied West Bank, Cyprus, Iraq and Turkey.
Also read: Exclusive reports on Gaza-related developments
Biden, Netanyahu discuss ‘pauses’
Biden and Netanyahu on Monday discussed the potential for “tactical pauses” in the war to allow civilians to flee and enable humanitarian assistance and potential hostage releases, the White House said.
Speaking in the ABC interview, Netanyahu said “as far as tactical, little pauses — an hour here, an hour there — we’ve had them before”.
But the Israeli leader once again ruled out a ceasefire unless Hamas hostages are released, despite international calls for a suspension of hostilities.
UN plea
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire and warned Gaza was becoming a “graveyard for children”.
“The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” he told reporters at the UN headquarters.
“The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis of humanity.”
Lining up to flee
Hundreds of Palestinian foreign passport holders waited on Tuesday inside the war-stricken and besieged Gaza Strip to escape through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
While most still queued nervously, the first arrivals were seen on the Egyptian side where paramedics transferred an injured woman on a stretcher into an ambulance to rush her to a hospital.
Tuesday was set to mark the fifth day on which Gaza’s sole land crossing not controlled by Israel has opened in the past week, to wounded Palestinians as well as foreigners and Palestinian dual nationals.
AFP video footage from the Gaza side showed hundreds waiting with suitcases, bags and other scant belongings at the Rafah terminal complex.
“We were suffering just like any Gazan resident, we waited a long time for the crossing to open,” said Farid Nawasra, who holds a Russian passport.
“We were waiting every day for our names to be added to the list, and we hope today that they allow us to pass, as they allowed other foreigners to pass.”
Departures from the Gaza Strip were expected to resume for many more on Tuesday afternoon after 500 people had received authorization to enter Egypt, Hamas officials said.
“Every person in Gaza is in danger,” said Myrian Abu Shaban, a resident of Gaza City. “I’m happy that we managed to make it to the border.”
Thai workers leaving
Along with thousands of fellow Thai agricultural workers, Pornchai Somnuan has fled the fields to return home as Israel’s war with Hamas rages in the Gaza Strip.
When Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on October 7, farmhands who had travelled thousands of miles (kilometers) to work close to the Gaza border found themselves on the front line.
In all, 34 Thai nationals were killed and 19 wounded, while 24 others were taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Thai officials.
The toll sparked fear among many of the 30,000 Thais working across Israel, with Pornchai and many of his friends seeking help to leave.
“My family wanted me to go back. They’re concerned,” the 27-year-old told AFP in a Tel Aviv hotel, from which diplomats were facilitating evacuation flights.
“I have seven friends. Four have returned, so there are three left,” he added.