Israel-Hamas war: WHY did Israel envoy wear yellow star at UN?

Israel's United Nations ambassador wore a yellow star with the words "never again," as he addressed the Security Council on Monday.

Gilad Erdan vowed to keep wearing the star, reminiscent of the ones Nazis forced Jews to wear, until members of the council condemn Hamas "atrocities."

He said wearing the star was meant to remind those present of "what staying silent in the face of evil means."

"Some of you have learned nothing in the past 80 years. Some of you have forgotten why this body was established," Erdan said, denouncing the council for "staying silent" over the unprecedented deadly attacks by Hamas militants against Israel on October 7.

Erdan said he was wearing the star "as a symbol of pride."

"Just like my grandparents, and the grandparents of millions of Jews, from now on my team and I will wear yellow stars," he said.

The Security Council, deeply divided over the conflict, has thus far failed to adopt any resolutions.

Palestinian envoy says Gaza 'hell on earth'

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian permanent UN Observer, has described the besieged Gaza Strip as "hell on earth," adding that half of the homes there were damaged or destroyed, with over 1.4 million displaced.

"Saving humanity from hell today means for the UN to save Palestinians in Gaza," Mansour told the UN Security Council meeting on Monday. "Virtually all of our people in Gaza are displaced," sleeping in cars, the streets, "and still being killed wherever they go."

He said that more than 8,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict erupted, including over 3,000 in southern Gaza, the region of the Strip to which Israeli forces have been calling on residents to evacuate.

"These staggering figures keep rising with every minute that action is delayed to stop the onslaught against our people," he said, adding that among those killed, 3,500 are children. "Every five minutes, a Palestinian child is killed."

Israel launched airstrikes after Hamas fighters stormed across the border from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

IDF says Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon bombed

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in the early hours of Tuesday that it had targeted weapons and positions of the Hezbollah militant group across the border in Lebanon.

Fighter jets attacked the infrastructure of the group in a bombardment.

The IDF said in a statement on social media that weapons, positions, and sites used by Iranian-backed Hezbollah were destroyed in the attack.