With the Hezbollah strikes intensifying, Israel announced evacuation of residents within 2km zone close to Lebanon.
In a statement by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the ministry of defence said the plan had been approved by the defence secretary, Yoav Gallant, and included the evacuation of 28 settlements. According to authorities, the residents will be moved to state-subsidised guest houses.
Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah said it has started destroying surveillance cameras on several Israeli army posts along the border.
Meanwhile, humanitarian efforts in Gaza has suffered a big blow with hospitals getting flooded with patients and nearing breaking point. Hospitals will soon run out of basic supplies if aids do not reach soon.
The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only connection to Egypt, is a vital opening for supplying aid to Palestinian enclave. Egypt blamed Israel for failure to reopen Rafah border crossing. Egypt said that crossing is inoperable due to Israeli air strikes on the Gaza side. Hundreds of people are waiting outside the crossing to enter Egypt seeing refugee ahead of the Israel’s ground attack.
"There is an urgent need to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza," Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters.
"Until now the Israeli government has not taken a position on opening the Rafah crossing from the Gaza side to allow the entrance of assistance and exit of citizens of third countries," he said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin talked over with Syria's president Bashar al-Assad about the Israel-Hamas war and providing aid to Gaza, reported Russia's news agency Tass.
Also read: 'Hamas caught us by complete surprise': Brig Gen (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser
Severe water shortage
Despite Israel agreeing to partially restore water supply in Gaza on Sunday, civilians and aid agencies said that the supply has not been restored yet.
Spokesperson for the Hamas interior ministry Eyad Al-Bozom said Israel had not permitted water supplies to be turned back on in Gaza.
Also, leaders of all 27 countries in the European Union have called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of all the hostages. Israel claimed that Hamas has taken 196 hostages.
Even as diplomatic efforts with the Middle East is going on, the United States’s military assistance to Israel was questioned by Iran. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been visiting the leaders of the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE and Bahrin, since the Israel-Hamas conflict intensified.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday in a televised press conference that "Iran considers that the US is already militarily involved in the conflict".
UN aid cheif Martin Griffiths would be travelling to the Middle East on Tuesday to support negotiations to get aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip.
