Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu rejects cease-fire but open to 'little' pauses

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again ruled out a cease-fire, but said he would be open to the possibility of tactical pauses in the Israel Defense Forces' ground operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the US, the EU, Germany and others, has taken more than 200 hostages from Israel and killed 1,400 people in terror attacks in southern Israel a month ago. 

"As far as tactical little pauses — an hour here, an hour there — we've had them before. I suppose we'll check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages, to leave," Netanyahu said in an interview with US broadcaster ABC on Monday.

"But I don't think there's going to be a general cease-fire." 

Netanyahu discussed the possibility of such pauses with US President Joe Biden in a phone call on Monday, the White House said.

"We consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it," US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. "You can expect that we're going to continue to advocate for temporary, localized pauses in the fighting."

In the interview, Netanyahu also said Israel would take "security responsibility" for the Gaza Strip following the war.

"Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility," he said.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 10,000, with more than 4,100 children among the victims.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday reiterated his calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages taken by Hamas. He also pushed for the end of the "spiral of escalation" in the West Bank.

Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi arrested

The Israeli military said it arrested 22-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi in the  occupied West Bank on Monday.

Tamimi "is suspected of inciting violence and calling for terrorist activity to be carried out," the military said.

Some Israeli media outlets shared screenshots of an Instagram story from an account named "ahed_tamimi15." The text threatened to "slaughter" Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

However, her mother, Nariman Tamimi, said her daughter denied the allegations.

The activist's mother told Reuters, "Ahed does not have an Instagram account."

UAE to open field hospital in Gaza Strip

The United Arab Emirates will establish a fully equipped field hospital in the Gaza Strip, the state news agency said on Monday.

The field hospital will be equipped with 150 beds and include intensive care and pediatrics units.

Five aircraft carrying equipment reportedly departed from Abu Dhabi on Monday en route to Al-Arish airport in Egypt.

The report did not clarify whether there was an agreement with Israel regarding the initiative.

Indonesia denies Israeli claims over hospital in Gaza

Indonesia has denied an Israeli claim that a hospital built in Gaza using Indonesian funding has been used by the Islamist militant group Hamas to launch attacks on Israel. 

"Indonesia Hospital in Gaza is a facility built by Indonesians fully for humanitarian purposes and to serve the medical needs of Palestinians in Gaza," the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The ministry added that the hospital is run by Palestinians with the support of a few Indonesian volunteers.

On Monday, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Indonesian Hospital had been built at a site that sat atop a network of Hamas tunnels.

Hagari said Hamas was using a nearby area as a launch pad for rocket attacks.

"Unsurprisingly, Hamas built the hospital on top of their terror infrastructures," Hagari said in a video statement posted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on YouTube.

"Here, the IDF identified a launch pad, meaning they launch rockets from here," he added, pointing to what he said was photographic proof of his claim.

Hamas is classified as a terror organization by the European Union as well as Germany, the United States and several other nations. 

Gaza set to dominate G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) are meeting for two days in Tokyo, where they are expected to seek a common line on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she and her G7 counterparts would "discuss how we can achieve humanitarian pauses together to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza."

"For me, it is clear that the Hamas terrorists have brought infinite suffering to Israel and the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza with the horrific attacks of October 7. Hamas cannot be allowed to determine the fate of the people in the Gaza Strip," she said.

Germany was among the five G7 countries to abstain from a UN General Assembly resolution in October that called for an immediate "humanitarian truce." The US voted against it, while France voted in favor. 

A French Foreign Ministry statement said the talks in Japan would focus on "the need to respond to the needs of civilian populations in Gaza and to respect international humanitarian law."

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna "will reiterate our condemnation of the terrorist actions of Hamas and the imperative of releasing the hostages," the statement added.