On the 65th day of the war, fighting is intensifying in central and southern Gaza, where the World Health Organization says the situation is “disastrous” from a public health perspective – with “ideal” conditions for the disease to spread. Qatari mediators say the chances of a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are “diminishing” but have vowed to keep up pressure on both militants.

Watch the Israel-Hamas war LIVE, day 65, on HotNews.ro:

06:15Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has created a small secret group of allied and defense officials to discuss post-war plans for Gaza, Channel 13 (Israel) reports.

According to the report, the group is led by National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and includes representatives from the Israel Defense Forces, the Mossad and the Shin Bet.

According to the report, the meetings were also attended by Israel’s ambassador to the US, Mike Herzog, who added that the team had already met four times and were expected to meet again this week.

A senior official told Channel 13 that Israel “has informed the Americans of the existence of the team, and it is important to the Biden administration that Jerusalem present a plan for a post-war Gaza.”

06:00In the night from Sunday to Monday, Israeli aircraft struck various areas on the outskirts of Damascus, reported the official Syrian news agency Sana, quoted by AFP. “Around 11:05 p.m. (…) the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack (…) on various points around Damascus,” a security service source told the agency.

“Our air defenses shot down some missiles, others caused limited material damage,” the source continued.

05:45The UN General Assembly is likely to vote on Tuesday on a draft resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, diplomats said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The move came after the United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on Friday.

05:30Israel says it is prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat Hamas. According to the Associated Press, Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi told the country’s Channel 12 TV station that the US has not set any deadlines for Israel to achieve its goals. “The assessment that it can’t be measured in weeks is correct, and I’m not sure it can even be measured in months.”

21:56Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on Hamas fighters to immediately lay down their arms, saying he had recorded numerous surrenders in recent days that heralded the “beginning of the end” of the Palestinian Islamist movement, AFP reported.