Fighting raged in Gaza Tuesday more than two weeks after Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people and taking over 200 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
The Hamas-run health ministry says 5,791 Palestinians have been killed across the Gaza Strip in Israel’s relentless retaliatory bombardments since then.
Diplomatic pressure on Israel to limit civilian casualties is growing, although Western governments remain steadfast in their support for the country.
Here are four key developments from the past 24 hours:
– Freed hostage ‘went through hell’ –
An 85-year-old Israeli woman freed by Hamas said on Tuesday she “went through hell” during her abduction but had been well treated while held captive in Gaza.
The gunmen “beat me on the way, they didn’t break my ribs but hurt me very much”, said Yocheved Lifshitz, who was released overnight along with Nurit Cooper, 79.
Lifshitz shook the hand of one of her captors when she was released, and later explained the gesture by saying: “They treated us gently, and provided all our needs.”
Hamas still holds the elderly husbands of Lifshitz and Cooper, among more than 200 other hostages.
The release of the two Israelis comes three days after that of an American woman and her teenage daughter.
– Gaza bombardment –
Hamas said overnight bombing by Israel killed 140 people in Gaza.
The Hamas-run health ministry said they are among 5,791 people killed since the war started, 2,360 of them children.
The United Nations said six employees of its agency for Palestinian refugees had been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of UNRWA staff killed in the war to 35.
– Macron in Israel and West Bank –
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and became the first Western leader to visit Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank since the conflict erupted on October 7.
In a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Macron said the release of all hostages held by Hamas was the “first objective” of the military campaign.
At a news conference with Netanyahu, Macron called for a “decisive relaunch” of the long-stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Macron later met Abbas in Ramallah, telling him the Hamas attacks were “also a catastrophe for the Palestinians”. Abbas told Macron that the international community must stop Israel’s “aggression” as it battles Hamas in Gaza.
– UN refugee agency’s warning –
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned it would be forced to stop working in Gaza unless fuel deliveries were made to the territory by Wednesday.
“Time is running out. We urgently need fuel,” said UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma.
Six Gaza hospitals have already had to shut down because of a lack of fuel, the World Health Organization said.
A small number of aid trucks have entered Gaza since the weekend, but they are only a fraction of the usual flow across the border.
– Guterres alleges law violations –
UN chief Antonio Guterres called at the Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and alleged international law was being breached in Gaza.
Guterres sparked fury from the Israeli delegation when he said the Hamas attacks “did not happen in a vacuum” and criticised Israel’s “suffocating” occupation.
Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, responded by saying: “Mr Secretary-General, in what world do you live?”
