Diplomatic Efforts Fail to Ease Humanitarian Crisis

Diplomats worked Sunday to keep the Israel-Hamas war from spreading, get residents of Gaza to relative safety, and meet the humanitarian needs of the people still there. The US dispatched a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean in a move that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said was intended "to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war" and announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's been lobbying other nations, will return to Israel on Monday. About 600,000 residents had evacuated so far to the south of the Gaza Strip, Israel said in calling for more people to follow them, the Washington Post reports. Developments include:

• The humanitarian crisis: People in Gaza are struggling to find food and water during Israel's siege, per the AP. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that Israeli officials assured him the water had been turned back on in southern Gaza, but aid workers said much of the country still is without running water, per the Post. The US appointed David Satterfield as special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, and he's scheduled to be in Israel on Monday. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said late Sunday that its 13,000 staff members are "no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance." Most have been displaced from their homes, Philippe Lazzarini said, and 14 employees have been killed.
• Hospitals: Medics warned that thousands of injured people in hospitals are at risk of dying, and Gaza's Health Ministry said hospitals will not be evacuated, per the New York Times. "Our moral position obliges us to continue working," a spokesman said. A World Health Organization spokesperson told the AP that evacuating hospitals from the northern part of the Gaza Strip is impossible anyway. Ahmed Al-Mandhari said Israel's demand that medical facilities be evacuated goes against international law.
• Israel's military plans: An offensive has not been announced, but Israeli forces are massing at the Gaza border, some writing the names of fallen comrades on tank shells in preparation for firing. "We're ready," a soldier told the Post. "We don't have a choice not to be." The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told his ministers, "We will take Hamas apart."
• American evacuation: On Monday, the US Embassy plans to evacuate Americans and their immediate family members by sea from Haifa to Cyprus. The journey is expected to take 10 to 12 hours.
• Corridors: The US wants Israel to open a corridor to allow aid into Gaza and people out. Officials also are trying to get Egypt's Rafah crossing to be opened, and potential refugees have gone there in case. The diplomatic efforts are stalled, per the Times.
• The fighting: Firing between Israeli and Hezbollah forces at the Israel-Lebanon border increased. Israel's airstrikes on Gaza are continuing but have not stopped the rocket fire on targets in Israel.
• Threats in US: FBI Director Chris Wray said rhetoric threatening Jewish and Muslim people in the US has increased in the past week. It's possible Hamas or other groups could call for attacks against Americans, he said. Most threats investigated so far were not credible, per the AP.
• The toll: More than 3,600 people have been killed since Hamas attacked Israel last weekend. At last report from the US government, 27 Americans had been killed and 15 were missing.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)