Israel's Netanyahu warns Gaza City residents to 'leave now'

Israel has hit areas in the vicinity of Syria's central Homs city, the coastal city of Latakia, and the historic city of Palmyra, Syrian state-affiliated media said Monday.

In a statement, Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli airstrikes as "a blatant infringement" of the country's sovereignty as well as regional stability. The ministry said the strikes were part of an ongoing series of escalations pursued by Israel against Syria.

Israel has for years waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure. This has increased since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza in 2023 and the ouster of Syria's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad last year.

The UN General Assembly will take up the issue of recognizing a Palestinian state on Tuesday. 147 of the 193 member nations do already - Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium plan to.

DW asked Michael Lynk, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, what concrete benefits Palestinians will gain when more nations recognize their statehood.

Qatar is pressuring the Palestinian militant group Hamas to "respond positively" to the latest US-brokered deal aimed at securing a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed official briefed on the talks.

"The Qatari prime minister pressed Hamas to respond positively to the latest American proposal, conveyed through mediators and aimed at securing a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza," the official was quoted as saying.

A senior Hamas official, quoted by the Associated Press, called it a "humiliating surrender document," but the militant group said it would keep negotiating.

US President Donald Trump has warned that it was the group's "last chance."

Four Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said, with another one being severely injured in the Jabalya area of the enclave.

The incident occurred early Monday, according to the Israeli army, when three or four militants attacked a tank, resulting in the tank catching fire and killing the soldiers inside.

This brings the tally of Israeli soldiers killed in the war in Gaza to 904.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning to Gaza City residents, urging them to evacuate immediately ahead of a planned ground assault by Israeli forces.

"Our forces are gathering and getting ready for entering the city of Gaza," Netanyahu said, adding that those living in the city need to leave it as soon as possible.

"You have been warned!"

The Israeli leader also referenced Israel's air force strikes on high-rise buildings in Gaza City, describing them as a "preview" of the upcoming operation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "condemned any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians" following a Jerusalem shooting in which at least six Israelis were killed, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Abbas heads the Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

"The Palestinian Presidency reiterated its firm stance rejecting and condemning any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, and denounced all forms of violence and terrorism, regardless of their source," the statement read.

Abbas said that "security and stability in the region cannot be achieved" without ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and what he described as "acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip."

He also called for Palestinians to have "an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital."

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1980, a move unrecognized by most countries in the world.

Israeli police said they had detained a man they suspected of involvement in preparing the shooting at a Jerusalem bus stop that killed at least six people Monday morning.

The two alleged attackers were shot dead at the scene.

The third person linked to the shooting is a resident of East Jerusalem, according to Israeli police.

The United Nations' human rights chief, Volker Türk, called for countries to help "end the carnage" in the Gaza Strip and accused Israeli officials of "dehumanization" of Palestinians.

Türk heads the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

"Israel's mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza [is] … shocking the conscience of the world," Türk said, while also pointing to the "starvation of civilians" and "killing of journalists" in Israel's offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

"I am horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric and the disgraceful dehumanization of Palestinians by senior Israeli officials," he said.

He called for countries to "stop the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war."

"We need action now, to end the carnage," Türk said.

In response to the comments, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, accused Türk of spreading "libelous rhetoric" against Israel.

Spain dismissed Israel's accusation that it had engaged in "antisemitism" amid a growing diplomatic rift between the two countries.

"The Spanish government categorically rejects the false and slanderous accusation of antisemitism on the part of the Israeli government toward Spain," it said.

Spain called for a two-state solution to the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories and for an "end to the humanitarian blockade of Gaza."

The statement comes on the heels of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's announcement that weapons shipments to Israel would be barred from entering Spanish ports.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lashed out at Spain after the announcement, accusing Sanchez on X of trying "to divert attention from serious corruption scandals through a continuous anti-Israel and antisemitic campaign."

Israel also imposed entry bans on Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz and Youth Minister Sira Rego.

Besides barring weapons in transit to Israel from Spanish ports, Sanchez's government imposed an arms embargo on Israel and banned vessels carrying fuel for the Israeli military from passing through Spain.

Spain is among the EU states that has voiced the most criticism of Israel's offensive in Gaza and recognized Palestinian statehood in 2024 alongside three other European countries.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that warplanes from the air force attacked several Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon.

The IDF said it had struck military camps belonging to Hezbollah's "Radwan Force" that it said were being used to conduct training and preparation for terror operations targeting Israel.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported seven strikes in the Mermel region.

The attack comes after Lebanon's government said last month that it would begin implementing a plan to disarm Hezbollah, without disclosing details.

Lebanon's Cabinet said it had asked the country's military to bring all arms under state control by the end of the year.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia said it would resist calls for its mandated disarmament, threatening a new "civil war."

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced sanctions on Spain in response to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's announcement that weapons shipments to Israel would be barred from entering Spanish ports.

Saar accused Spain's government of "pursuing a hostile anti-Israel policy" and said it was using rhetoric "dripping with hatred."

Saar said that with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approval, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Diaz, would be barred from entering Israel.

Israel's top diplomat said that the country was cutting relations with her, accusing her of antisemitism.

Israel's emergency services confirmed the deaths of five people, following an attack at a major intersection in East Jerusalem.

The Magen David Adom emergency service said four people died at the scene, while another victim died at hospital.

Of the injured, seven were in a serious condition, having sustained gunshot wounds. 

Local media reported that two attackers boarded a bus and opened fire.

The last deadly mass shooting attack took place in October 2024, when two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire on a major boulevard and light rail station in the Tel Aviv area.

Seven people were killed and many others were wounded in that attack.

Since the war in Gaza broke out, there has been a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank and Israel.

There have been incidents in which Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in deadly settler violence against Palestinians.

Israel's emergency services said at least four people have been killed and multiple others injured in a shooting attack in East Jerusalem.

"At 10:13 am (0713 GMT), reports were received... about approximately 15 injured, apparently from gunfire, at the Ramot Junction on Yigal Yadin Street in Jerusalem," a statement by Magen David Adom said.

According to police, two attackers were "neutralized" shortly after the shooting began.

Local media reported that two attackers entered a bus and then opened fire.

 

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a ban on Israel-bound ships and planes carrying weapons from using Spanish ports.

Sanchez said vessels transporting fuel for Israel's military would also be under the embargo as part of efforts to pressure Israel's government.

"We hope that they will serve to add pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to alleviate some of the suffering that the Palestinian population is enduring," Sanchez said in an address aired on local TV.

Spain will also ban anyone who has participated directly in what Sanchez qualified as "genocide" from entering the country.

Netanyahu's government has faced increasing international pressure, with calls among a growing number of EU countries for sanctions over Israel's conduct in Gaza.

While Germany hasn't backed such a move, in August, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Berlin would not approve weapons exports to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip "until further notice." 

This marked a major change of course for Germany, which has been one of Israel's staunchest international allies.

Thousands of people are fleeing from Gaza City, as dozens have been killed in multiple airstrikes over the weekend. The Israeli army is expanding its offensive with the country's prime minister insisting that the operation is necessary to defeat Hamas.