Israel-Hamas War: Lebanon calls for India's support in stopping Israeli aggression

As the 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war enters what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says could be a “long and difficult” new stage, President Joe Biden is calling on Israeli and Arab leaders to think hard about their eventual postwar reality.

The Israel Defense Forces says ground forces are continuing to operate in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, killing Hamas gunmen and destroying sites belonging to the terror group, reported the Times of Israel.

Delhi: Lebanon's Ambassador to India, Dr Rabie Narsh says, "India is a peace-loving country and has a big role in the international community. They are a rising power and have lots of responsibilities, they do have lots of things to do with this crisis. They are in contact with the leaders in our region, but we also call for more involvement, more pressure from India on the Israeli side to stop this madness...There hasn't been any direct or bilateral contact from Indian officials with Lebanese officials, though we are in continuous cooperation and coordination with the Indian side...Maybe one of the biggest contingents in Lebanon in the peacekeeping forces is India...We commend India for that and we asked to keep on this peaceful presence in Lebanon because India like I said, has a big role to play..."

Delhi: Lebanon's Ambassador to India, Dr Rabie Narsh says, "The fact that the societies in the Middle East are so much interrelated that we consider ourselves as the Arab race...What hurts a Palestinian would hurt a Syrian, a Lebanese and every Arab. Given this fact and given the fact that the human loss is unbearable, what we have seen in Gaza is genocide, is ethnic cleansing from the Israeli side. There is a possibility of escalation...But our government is doing its best not to drag Lebanon into this war. We are not interested in war, but obviously, Israel is interested in war. That's why they kept provoking Hezbollah and provoking the situation by bombing homes in southern Lebanon..."

The Israel Defense Forces says that a number of rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area on the northern border, where there are a number of military positions and no towns, reported the Times of Israel.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says it has received warnings from Israeli authorities to evacuate the Al-Quds hospital in northern Gaza, BBC reported.

The Israeli military said Sunday it expects more aid trucks to begin entering Gaza soon, and denied that there were shortages of food, water or medicine, despite the complete closure Israel imposed on the territory in response to the October 7 Hamas attack, CNN reported.

An Iranian-backed Iraqi militia says it launched drone strikes on a base housing US forces in eastern Syria.

The head of the World Health Organization says they managed to communicate with the agency's team in Gaza after internet and phone connectivity in the enclave were gradually restored.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reiterated his appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and called for an unconditional release of all hostages and the delivery of sustained relief to the people in the territory.

Rocket alert sirens sound in a number of towns and cities in central Israel, including Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Ra’anana, Holon and Hod Hasharon, reported the Times of Israel.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Representative and Country Director for Palestine Samer Abdeljaber told CNN that 40 more aid trucks are expected to enter Gaza on Sunday amid a worsening humanitarian situation, CNN reported.

A Jewish settler shot dead a Palestinian man harvesting olives near the West Bank city of Nablus, the man's uncle said Sunday. This brings the number of Palestinians reported killed by settlers to seven since Hamas's bloody incursion into Israel three weeks ago.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in a post on X, said, "I was wrong. The things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologize for that. I give full backing to all the heads of the security services. I am strengthening the Chief of Staff and the commanders and soldiers of the IDF who are at the front and fighting for the country. Together we will win."

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says that amid the expanded ground operation in Gaza, the military was working to bring home the hostages held in the Strip, reported the Times of Israel.

As outrage grew over his comments blaming the security and intelligence services for the devastating October 7 attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deleted the statement, reported the Times of Israel.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says thousands of people broke into its Gaza aid warehouses to take food and other “basic survival items.”

Indian-American entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called on Israel to use all the powers at its disposal to eliminate Hamas from the region and advocated for Israeli actions against Hamas, ANI reported.

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retract comments he made blaming the heads of the security and intelligence forces for the Hamas October 7 massacres on Saturday night, in the first public sign of tensions between the two leaders, reported the Times of Israel.

Israeli airstrikes have hit areas around Gaza's largest hospital, residents say, destroying roads leading to the facility, which is a major shelter for Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombardment.

"Zionist regime’s crimes have crossed the red lines, which may force everyone to take action. Washington asks us to not do anything, but they keep giving widespread support to Israel. The US sent messages to the Axis of Resistance but received a clear response on the battlefield," tweeted Iranian President Ebraham Raisi.

Hamas's top leader in Gaza Yehiyeh Sinwar said the Palestinian militant groups are ready to release Israeli hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners in Israel's jails.

Communications in Gaza were partially restored on Sunday morning, according to two service providers and a monitoring group, CNN reports.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said that Hamas militants operate inside and under civilian buildings, because "they know the IDF distinguishes between terrorists and civilians".