Israel-Hamas war latest : Leaders of France, Germany and Britain endorse calls for cease-fire in Gaza

Jerusalem: The leaders of France, Germany and Britain have endorsed calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, the return of scores of hostages held by Hamas and the “unfettered” delivery of humanitarian aid.

In a joint statement released on Monday, they endorsed the latest push by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war.

The mediators have spent months trying to get the sides to agree to a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages captured in its October 7 attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and Israel would withdraw from Gaza.

“The fighting must end now, and all hostages still detained by Hamas must be released. The people of Gaza need urgent and unfettered delivery and distribution of aid,” the statement said.

It was signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The statement also called on Iran and its allies to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions after the killing of two senior militants last month in Beirut and Tehran.

Here’s the latest:

Israeli strikes killed 142 people over past 48 hours, Palestinian Health Ministry says

DEIR AL-BALAH — The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli strikes over the past 48 hours have killed 142 people and wounded 150 others.

The fatalities announced on Monday bring the Palestinian death toll in Gaza to 39,897 since the start of the war, according to the ministry. It says over 92,000 people have been wounded.

The ministry does not say how many of the dead and wounded were combatants.

The Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records and its casualty figures from previous wars have largely matched up with those of independent experts, the United Nations and even Israel’s own figures.

The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on October 7. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 others.

Around 110 hostages are still being held in Gaza after most of the rest were released during a cease-fire in November. Israeli authorities believe around a third of the remaining hostages are dead.

Hospital in southern Gaza receives bodies of 13 people, including a child

DEIR AL-BALAH — A hospital in southern Gaza has received the bodies of 13 people, including a child, who were killed in apparent Israeli strikes on Khan Younis.

The strikes came as Israel has ordered mass evacuations from Gaza’s second-largest city in recent days, saying Palestinian militants are firing rockets from the area. Khan Younis suffered heavy destruction earlier this year during a major Israeli air and ground offensive.

An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the nearby Nasser Hospital and saw funeral prayers being held Monday morning.

The dead include a medic who was killed along with two others in a strike on his house, according to the hospital records.

The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and accuses Hamas of putting them in danger by fighting in dense, residential areas. The army rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The Vatican calls on Iran to embrace dialogue, negotiation and peace’

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican is calling on Iran to refrain “in every way” from fuelling the Middle East conflict.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, appealed instead for Tehran to embrace dialogue, negotiation and peace, during a phone call Monday with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Parolin spoke with Pezeshkian to congratulate him on the start of his mandate.

According to a Vatican statement, Parolin “expressed the Holy See’s serious concern about what is happening in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid in any way the widening of the very serious conflict underway and preferring instead dialogue, negotiation and peace”.

The Vatican has tried to maintain a balanced position on Israel’s war in Gaza. It has reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and called for Hamas to release hostages taken October 7 but has also demanded a cease-fire, an end to the conflict and for humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.

Airlines extend flight suspensions to and from the Middle East

BERLIN — Airlines are extending their suspension of flights to and from the Middle East as the region braces for possible Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation for the targeted killing of two top militants that were blamed on Israel.

The Lufthansa Group, which also includes Austrian Airlines and Swiss, said on Monday that its flights to Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and Irbil will remain suspended until August 21 inclusive. Its airlines also won’t use Iranian and Iraqi airspace during that time.

The company said passengers who aren’t affected by the current suspensions but have flights to or from those five destinations booked through August 31 can cancel without cost.

Air France said it has extended the suspension of its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut — as well as flights to and from Lebanon operated by its subsidiary, Transavia France – until Wednesday August 14 due to the security situation in Lebanon.

Air France suspended flights to Beirut on July 29 after a rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed 12 children and teens.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair said it was cancelling all flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv from Tuesday until August 26 “due to operational restrictions which are beyond our control”. The airline did not elaborate.

EU’s top diplomat criticizes Israeli minister’s call to cut off aid to Gaza

JERUSALEM — The European Union’s top diplomat says it should consider sanctions in response to calls by Israel’s far-right national security minister to cut off aid to Gaza.

Writing on the X platform late Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the recent remarks by Itamar Ben-Gvir constitute “incitement to war crimes”, adding that “sanctions must be on our EU agenda”.

In his own post on X and in media interviews, Ben-Gvir said that instead of agreeing to a potential cease-fire deal, Israel should block the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza until Hamas releases all of the hostages, saying that doing so would bring the militant group to its knees.

Ben-Gvir has also repeatedly called for Israel to permanently reoccupy Gaza, rebuild Jewish settlements there and encourage the “voluntary” migration of Palestinians from the territory.

Ben-Gvir, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, has threatened to bring the government down if it makes too many concessions in the cease-fire talks.

Borrell called on Israel’s government to “unequivocally distance itself from these incitements to commit war crimes,” and to engage “in good faith” with cease-fire negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The United States and Israel’s other Western allies have repeatedly voiced concern about the killing of Palestinian civilians and Israeli restrictions on aid operations in the 10-month-old war. But they continue to provide vital military and diplomatic support for its offensive.