Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as "cruel psychological propaganda" a video released by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which shows three hostages captured by the militant group lambasting Netanyahu's leadership.
The video released on Monday shows three hostages who were seized during the Hamas terror attacks of Oct.7, and remarks from one captive woman accusing Netanyahu of political and military negligence, blaming him for civilian deaths and calling for the release of hostages.
It is unclear if the woman was speaking of her own volition or whether she acted under duress.
Separately, the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF, wrote in a social media post on X that Israeli soldier Private Ori Megidish was now with her family after she was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The IDF said Monday it is expanding its ground incursion into Gaza, as the country enters a second phase of its warĀ against Hamas.
Israel has pledged to continue itsĀ "large scale, significant strikes" in pursuit of Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 carnage.
The number of people killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues to climb, with the Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank saying the death toll has passed 8,000, drawing on data from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. The IDF updated the number of hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza to 239.
UNICEF officials told the UN Security Council during an emergency meeting that "more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza every day." UNRWA Commissioner-General PhilippeĀ LazzariniĀ told the council nearly 70% of those reported killed in Gaza were children and women. "Save the Children reported yesterday that nearly 3,200 children were killed in Gaza in just three weeks. This surpasses the number of children killed annually across the world's conflict zones since 2019," Ā LazzariniĀ said.