Hamas leader refuses to admit civilians were targeted in October Israel attack – live

Malaysia said on Tuesday it will not recognise sanctions brought under a proposed US law against foreign supporters of Hamas and other militant groups operating in the Palestinian territories.

The Hamas International Financing Prevention Act, aimed at cutting off international financing to the groups, was passed by the US House of Representatives last week and is awaiting a vote by the Senate.

Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said his government was closely monitoring developments on the bill’s passage, adding that it could affect Malaysia only if it is proven to provide material support to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

“Any sanctions against Malaysia can also affect the assessment of the US government and US companies towards Malaysia, as well as affect US companies’ investment opportunities in Malaysia,” Mr Anwar said in a written reply to parliament on Tuesday.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has advocated for a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. It does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Top Hamas leaders in the past have often visited Malaysia and met with its premiers.

Mr Anwar previously rejected Western pressure to condemn Hamas and said the US had raised concerns with Malaysia regarding its stance on Palestine.

Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk refuses to acknowledge the targeting of civilians during the group’s 7 October attack in Israel.

“Women, children and civilians were exempt” from Hamas’ attacks, he told BBC News.

Mr Marzouk was pressed on the large body of video and witness evidence showing unarmed civilians being shot and killed during the attack.

But referring to Hamas’s military leader, he said: “El-Deif clearly told his fighters ‘don’t kill a woman, don’t kill a child and don’t kill an old man’,” maintaining that only “conscripts or soldiers” were killed.

Israel says that more than 1,400 people were killed in the massacre, including many civilians, and that more than 200 people were abducted by Hamas as hostages.

Mr Marzouk told the BBC that Hamas will only release those it kidnapped when Israel commits to a ceasefire.

“We will release them. But we need to stop the fighting,” he said.

At least five people have been injured in a raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, reported Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Among those injured include the mother of a Palestinian man, Izz al-Din Awad, who was reportedly killed by Israeli forces on Monday.

A young man was also seriously injured after being shot in the chest, reported Wafa

The UN Security Council failed again yesterday to agree on a resolution on the monthlong Israel-Hamas war.

Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions, differences remained. The US is calling for “humanitarian pauses” while many other council members are demanding a “humanitarian cease-fire” to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza.

“We talked about humanitarian pauses and we’re interested in pursuing language on that score,” US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “But there are disagreements within the council about whether that’s acceptable.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the “spiral of escalation” already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has been busy speaking to as many nations as he can as the death toll in Gaza continues to grow, writes Chris Stevenson. But he has little to show for it.

The Israeli army severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with airstrikes on Monday, preparing for expected ground battles with Hamas militants in Gaza’s largest city and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war.

Already, the Palestinian death toll surpassed 10,000, the health ministry of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said on Monday, making it the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence since Israel’s establishment 75 years ago.

Casualties are likely to rise sharply as the war turns to close urban combat. Troops are expected to enter Gaza City soon, Israeli media reported, and Palestinian militants who have had years to prepare are likely to fight street by street, launching ambushes from a vast network of tunnels.

“We’re closing in on them,” said Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesperson. “We’ve completed our encirclement, separating Hamas strongholds in the north from the south.”

Pro-Palestinian groups have defied calls by the Metropolitan Police to postpone a demonstration on Armistice Day.

Concerns have been raised about the protest due to take place in central London on Saturday.

The Met said senior officers had asked various groups behind the event to “urgently reconsider” and described the plans as “not appropriate” during a meeting yesterday.

But the coalition of groups, which includes Stop the War and the Muslim Association of Britain, insisted they would press ahead with the demonstration calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops are poised to push into the dense confines of Gaza City after pounding the north of the territory with airstrikes. The attacks in the last 24 hours were some of the heaviest in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment in the wake of a Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, during which 1,400 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll had crossed 10,000 on Monday, with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, saying the enclave was becoming a “graveyard for children”.

“Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day,” Mr Guterres said. The health ministry in the strip has said that more than 4,000 children have been killed since the start of the Israeli bombing campaign.

Our international editor Chris Stevenson reports:

The Metropolitan Police has urged organisers to postpone a pro-Palestine march planned for Armistice Day over fears it could spark disorder amid growing political pressure on the force to ban the demonstration.

Senior officers said they were concerned breakaway groups “intent on fuelling disorder” will commit crimes if the protest on 11 November goes ahead.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion by left-wing Labour MPs who are trying to force a vote on a Gaza ceasefire in parliament, The Independent understands.

At least 18 Labour frontbenchers have defied Sir Keir’s position, while more than 30 councillors have quit the party and more than 330 local leaders have urged him to back down.