Israel at war: What happened on day 24?

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan and his delegation wore a yellow Star of David at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday bearing the message "Never Again."

The Security Council dealt with the war in Israel and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"When Jewish babies were burned in Auschwitz, the world was silent, and today Jewish babies were burned in Be'eri and the towns of the south by the Nazi Hamas - and the world is silent again.

"I will make you remember the shame of your silence every time you look at me," Arden added. "I will wear the yellow patch until the Nazi Hamas is eliminated and until the Security Council stops being silent and condemns the October 7 massacre. Some of you have learned nothing in the last eighty years! Some of you have forgotten why the United Nations was founded. So I will remind you. From today on, every time you look at me you will remember." 

"When my grandfather and his children were sent to Auschwitz, the world was silent. When his wife and their seven children were sent to the gas chambers, the world was silent. When their bodies were burned alongside millions of Jewish babies, the world was silent," Erdan said, comparing the silence of the UN to the Hamas massacre on October 7 to the silence of the international community regarding the horrors of the Holocaust.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan shows a video on a portable device as he speaks to an emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., October 26, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR)

"If this council had convened in June 1944, it would have dealt with the amount of fuel the Nazis had and the high death toll Germany had compared to Britain. You would have called for a ceasefire even before the Russians took over Stalingrad.

"My grandfather's story is a horror story of another time. Of a distant time of unimaginable hatred. A time about which until three weeks ago we said 'never again'. But 'never again' happened again."

"Hamas, they are modern Nazis - from their appalling inhumane violence to their ideology that calls for the extermination of the Jews. Hamas is not looking for a 'solution' to the conflict. They are not interested in dialogue. The only solution Hamas is interested in is the final solution - the extermination of the Jewish people.

"Khamenei is the new Fuehrer" - Erdan

"However, Ismail Haniyeh - the leader of Hamas - is not Adolf Hitler. He is not the Fuehrer. He is not the leader of this death cult, which wants to rule the world. This role is played by the supreme leader of Iran, the bloodthirsty Ayatollah Khamenei. Hitler's Third Reich wanted to create a thousand-year empire spanning continents, just as Khamenei envisions his radical Shiite hegemony spanning the region and beyond. The Ayatollah regime is the Nazi regime of our time, and their army includes Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the IRGC, and other jihadists. Instead of shouting 'Sieg Heil!' these radical Nazi Islamists shout, "Death to Israel! Death to America! Death to England!".

During Erdan's remarks, he also slammed the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to what the ambassador claims is his "biased attitude" towards Israel during the war.

"The antisemites saw that the council did not condemn the murderers, and heard the UN Secretary-General express 'understanding' of the massacre," Erdan claimed.

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL Antonio Guterres. (credit: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Erdan also stated that the UN's silence has "emboldened our enemies."

"They saw that this council did not even condemn the Nazi murderers. They saw the UN General Assembly cheering efforts to prevent us from defending ourselves. They heard the Secretary-General express understanding for the Nazi massacre," he continued. "Now they know that slaughtering Jews in their beds is met with silence. They were so passionate about the silence and inaction of this organization that they can't wait to slaughter Jews themselves."

Erdan also said that "if Hitler had a Twitter account, it would look just like Khamenei's," and continues to say that "despite Iran's blatant Nazism and Islamic Reich ideology, the Secretary-General and UN officials still meet with Iranian officials without saying a single word of condemnation for their support of genocide."

At the end of his remarks, Erdan made it clear to the council members that despite their silence, Israel will continue to defend itself in the war against Hamas in Gaza: "The people of Israel are strong, we cannot be broken, and we are not going anywhere. Many have tried to destroy us, but we are here to stay. Israel will win, crush Hamas, and bring back the hostages."

US Vice President Kamala Harris will discuss the Israel-Hamas conflict and "consult on next steps in our support for Ukraine" with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a visit to London later this week, a White House official said on Monday.

Harris will also attend a summit and deliver a speech on artificial intelligence.

Two Hamas rockets landed in Sderot, the municipality spokesperson said on Monday.

Damage occurred to infrastructure in the city, but no injuries occured.

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) announced their successful emergency campaign on Monday, in the wake of the devastating attack where over 1,400 innocent Israelis were tragically killed. "FIDF is in daily communication with the IDF and responds to their direct requests immediately," the organization stated, confirming a rapid response mechanism that allows them to transfer funds within 24 to 48 hours.

This announcement follows the catastrophic event which is labeled as "the most horrific attack in Israel’s 75-year history" orchestrated by the Hamas terrorist organization. 

The process to get approval for extensions in apartments to build safe rooms will become easier, after the Knesset passed an amendment to the Real Estate Law on Monday.

The new amendment states that people living in houses that are made up of multiple sections or in buildings with multiple entrances will only have to get the consent of 60% of people in their section to extend their apartment for the sake of building a safe room.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sought to blame the West for the crisis in the Middle East, where Israel is bombing the Gaza Strip to try to eradicate Hamas terrorists who killed some 1,400 people in Israel on Oct. 7.

In a televised statement to a meeting of members of his Security Council and the government and the heads of law enforcement agencies, Putin said the "ruling elites of the US" and their "satellites" stood behind the killing of Gaza's Palestinians, and behind events in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.

He also accused Western intelligence services and Ukraine of helping whip up trouble in Dagestan, where a mob on Sunday night attempted to intercept passengers at an airport that had just arrived from Israel.

Israel’s expanding ground operation is being watched closely by regional media. On Monday, Arab news reports claimed that Israeli tanks were seen on a major road that connects the south of the Gaza Strip, to the north.

The reports prompted speculation in foreign media about the progress of the ground campaign: If Salah a-Din Road is under Israeli control (along with another major road along the coast), transit across the Strip will be cut for Hamas, essentially splitting the enclave into two. These reports have appeared only in Arab media.

The success of the IDF ground troops comes amid continued calls abroad for a pause in operations for humanitarian aid, a ceasefire, and the opening of the border with Egypt as an exit, as well as for goods to arrive in Gaza, like fuel.

On Monday, "Hamas: Theatre of War" could have claimed the top honor for Best Picture with its gripping one-minute video featuring three female hostages.

The terrorist organization released the video on its social networks two days after the families of the country's more than 230 hostages told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "all of us here saw the tanks going into Gaza, and we are very worried." Hanas also shared it in the aftermath of Netanyahu's refusal to take responsibility for the October 7 massacre, stirring up a media frenzy.

The IDF pounded multiple Hezbollah installations in southern Lebanon on Sunday night and Monday morning, the IDF said on Monday.

The Israeli action came in the wake of approximately 19 Hamas and Fajr Force (a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group) rocket attacks from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah said that one of its members had been killed by the Israeli strikes. Another group of rockets was later launched from Lebanon, drawing an IDF response targeting the sources of rocket fire.

The head of the Israeli intelligence service, David Barnea, made a secret trip to Qatar in an effort to secure the release of the hostages held by Hamas, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The Gulf state has previously mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas.