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Sumary
It is nearing 7am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, here is where things stand:
Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody incursion by Hamas militants, as the war’s death toll rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides.
US top general says Iran ‘not to get involved’. General Charles Q Brown, Junior, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told reporters that his message to Iran is “not to get involved”, Reuters reports. Brown was appointed in September as the US’s highest-ranking military officer.
Palestine’s health ministry has released a statement claiming Israeli defence forces “targeted” ambulances in southern Gaza. Four ambulances have been “put out of service” the ministry claims:
Hamas also escalated on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis if attacks targeted civilians without warnings. In the war’s third day, Israel was still finding bodies from Hamas’ stunning weekend attack into southern Israeli towns. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy the militants’ “military and governing capabilities.”
The Palestinian death toll has risen to more than 680 killed in Israeli counterattack strikes, the Gaza health ministry reported.
The Israeli death toll stands at more than 900, according to authorities.
WHO cites 11 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza. The World Health Organisation said that a 16-year-blockade of Gaza had already left its medical system under-resourced, and the increased hostilities are “compounding an already dire situation.” The UN health agency reported Monday a total of 11 attacks on health care — which included medical facilities, ambulances and care providers — in the first 36 hours of the new conflict in Gaza.
In Gaza, tens of thousands fled their homes as relentless airstrikes leveled buildings. Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists – a massive mobilisation in a short time.
The Israeli military said it had largely gained control in the south. Hamas and other militants in Gaza say they are holding more than 130 soldiers and civilians snatched from inside Israel.
US President Joe Biden issued a statement announcing that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel and the White House believes “it is likely” that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Biden also released a joint statement with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy on Monday condemning the attacks on Israel by Hamas and expressed their “steadfast and united support” for Israel. The statement said, “Over the coming days, we will remain united and coordinated, together as allies, and as common friends of Israel, to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region”.
Here is a video of that interview with a senior Hamas official, in which he said the organisation is prepared for the ‘scenario of long war’:
Gaza’s health ministry us appealing for the “opening of a safe corridor to ensure the entry of urgent medical aid into the Strip’s hospitals”, following what it said were targeted attacks on ambulances and “Gaza Strip hospitals’ urgent need for medical supplies necessary to provide health care to those wounded in the aggression.”
In a statement posted to the ministry’s website, it said, “Health facilities in the Gaza Strip suffer from a severe shortage in the basic list of medicines and medical consumables, as the shortage in medicines is approximately 44%, while the shortage in consumables is approximately 32% of the basic list.”
Here is the Guardian’s Full Story podcast on the Israel-Hamas war:
UN believes number of internally displaced persons in Gaza is highest since 2014
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 187,518 people have fled their homes in Gaza, with 137,427 currently sheltering in UNRWA schools.
In a “flash update”, the UN office writes:
By [Monday] afternoon, over 187,518 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes, with UNRWA hosting 137,427 in 83 schools, some of which operated as emergency shelters. The number of IDPs represents the highest number of people displaced since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014, which was the deadliest escalation recorded in Gaza since 1967. Additionally, it is estimated that over 41,000 IDPs, whose homes have been destroyed or damaged, are hosted by relatives and neighbours. During the night of 9 October, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders to Palestinian communities in the Middle Area of Gaza and in Khan Yunis, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people who have been told to relocate into the centre of Gaza city amid ongoing hostilities.
Israeli airstrikes and land shelling continued overnight and throughout the day for the third consecutive day. Destruction of infrastructure and streets has hindered the movement of civil defense and medical teams to reach victims.
Palestinian health ministry says four ambulances targeted by Israeli forces
Palestine’s health ministry has released a statement claiming Israeli defence forces “targeted” ambulances in southern Gaza. Four ambulances have been “put out of service” the ministry claims:
The Israeli occupation forces targeted 4 ambulances in the Abasan area, east of Khan Yunis. The Ministry said that this aggressive targeting caused damage and put these cars out of service.
The Ministry indicated that these aggressive actions threaten the lives of citizens and hinder the work of medical teams in providing necessary health care to the injured. It appealed to the international community to intervene immediately to stop these aggressive attacks and protect health facilities.
Meanwhile Reuters, in an analysis piece, writes that the war is “will put [Biden and Netanyahu’s]uneasy relationship to a further test”.
US relations with Israel, Washington’s main Middle East ally, have frayed in recent months with the White House echoing Israeli critics who have organized protests opposing the far-right Netanyahu government’s plan to curb Supreme Court powers.
But the two leaders’ differences go much deeper.
As president, Biden has frequently stressed support for independent Israeli and Palestinian states. Administration officials say he has raised it in every conversation with Netanyahu, while asking him to halt the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Biden has posted a photograph of the White House lit up in the colours of the Israeli flag to X with the caption, “Tonight, America says clearly to the Israeli people, to the world, and to terrorists everywhere that we stand with Israel. That will never change.”
Tonight, America says clearly to the Israeli people, to the world, and to terrorists everywhere that we stand with Israel.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 10, 2023
That will never change. pic.twitter.com/uFhvmXf7bO
Hamas official says organisation prepared for 'scenario of long war'
Now from that Associated Press interview with exiled senior Hamas official Ali Barakeh.
Barakeh said Hamas is ready to fight a long war with Israel, saying it has an arsenal of rockets that will last a long time. He also said that the hostages taken by Hamas will be used to secure the release of Arabs detained in Israeli jails and Palestinians in US jails.
“We have prepared well for this war and to deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of the long war,” Barakeh told the AP. “We will bring life to a stop in the Zionist entity if the aggression does not stop on Gaza.”
Barakeh, who was Hamas’ representative in Lebanon for years and is now in charge of coordinating with other Palestinian factions, said his group will use the scores of Israelis it captured in the raid to secure the release of all Arabs detained in Israeli jails and even some Palestinians imprisoned in the United States on charges of funding Hamas.
“There are Palestinians held in America. We will ask for their release,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to.
In 2009, a court in Dallas sentenced two founding members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the largest US Muslim charity, to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. Three other men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years for conspiracy.
Meanwhile U2 have paid tribute to the hundreds of “beautiful kids” killed at the Supernova music festival in Israel by altering the lyrics to one of their biggest hits at a concert in Las Vegas on Sunday.
During their performance at Sphere, where the Irish rock band are in the midst of a 25-show residency, frontman Bono reworded the lyrics to U2’s 1984 breakthrough song Pride (In the Name of Love), referring to those killed by Hamas fighters as “stars of David”.
Before launching into Pride (In the Name of Love), Bono said: “In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence.
“But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.”
Hamas official: attack was planned by 'handful of Hamas commanders'
The Associated Press has interviewed a senior Hamas official who said only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about the wide-ranging incursion launched into Israel, but that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”
Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, spoke to The Associated Press in his Beirut office as Israel bombarded Gaza and vowed a total blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
Barakeh said the attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that even the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing. He denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack or gave the go-ahead at a meeting last week in Beirut.
“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said, adding that no one from the central command or the political bureau of Hamas was in the Lebanese capital last week.
He said even Hamas was shocked by the extent of the operation, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” saying it had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.
“We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”
“His claim that Hamas has only planned a small operation is belied by the fact that an estimated 1,000 fighters took part in the incursion, attacking by land, sea and even motorised paragliders,” the Associated Press reports.
Updated
Here are some recent images from Gaza:
As dawn approaches in Gaza, Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reports that heavy Israeli strikes on Gaza are ongoing. It is currently 4:30 am local time.
In a televised address on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We have only started striking Hamas,” and that, “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”
According to the most recent tolls, 687 Palestinians have been killed in the last three days.
Heavy Israeli strikes continue against Gaza. Fighter jets roar overhead in southern Israel.
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) October 10, 2023
A statement released by the Palestinian Health Ministry late Monday said, citing figures as of 7 October:
On the third day of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health expressed its deep concern about the continuation of the Israeli escalation and the direct attacks on medical facilities and innocent civilians.
The Ministry of Health emergency plan has been deployed. All health facilities are functioning to respond to those who are injured by Israeli aggression.
According to the Palestinian Health Information Center (PHIC) as of 7 October there have been 687 killed, including 140 children, and 105 women, while 3726 were injured, 10% of the injuries were children.
The toll is expected to rise amid continuing attacks and as more recent figures are released.
Seven Argentines killed in Israel
Seven Argentines were killed during the attacks by Hamas militants in Israel over the weekend, and 15 more are still missing, Argentina’s foreign minister Santiago Cafiero said Monday.
Around 625 nationals still in Israel have also requested repatriation, he added.
What is Hamas?
Here is a brief history of Hamas, the organisation behind Saturday’s attack on Israel, via the AP:
Hamas was founded in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian refugee living in Gaza, during the first intifada, or uprising, which was marked by widespread protests against Israel’s occupation.
Hamas is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, and a recognition of the group’s roots and early ties to one of the Sunni world’s most prominent groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in the 1920s.
The group has vowed to annihilate Israel and has been responsible for many suicide bombings and other deadly attacks on civilians and Israeli soldiers.
The US State Department has designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organisation.
Hamas won 2006 parliamentary elections and in 2007 violently seized control of the Gaza Strip from the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority, dominated by rival Fatah movement, administers semi-autonomous areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel responded to the Hamas takeover with a blockade on Gaza, restricting movement of people and goods in and out of the territory in a step it says is needed to keep the group from developing weapons. The blockade has ravaged Gaza’s economy, and Palestinians accuse Israel of collective punishment.
Over the years, Hamas received backing from countries including Qatar and Turkey. Recently, it’s moved closer to Iran and its allies.
Updated
Here is the latest on whether US citizens are among those being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Washington believes it is likely US citizens are also among those being held hostage by Hamas, Biden said in a statement. He said on Monday that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed in Israell.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby later added it was not yet confirmed if Americans were taken hostage.
“I can’t say definitively that we know Americans are being held hostage. That said, we have to accept the grim possibility that some are,” Kirby told reporters late on Monday.
Biden said the United States was working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to the whereabouts of US citizens who are still unaccounted for.
“For American citizens who are currently in Israel, the State Department is providing consular assistance as well as updated security alerts,” Biden said.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has declared there is “no place for antisemitism in our society” after people at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney were filmed making anti-Jewish chants.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, also labelled the scenes from Monday’s rally in Sydney as “completely abhorrent” and some MPs and senators demanded an explanation of how it was allowed to proceed.
On Monday evening pro-Palestine protesters marched from Sydney Town Hall to the Sydney Opera House, which was lit up in white and blue in solidarity with Israel. Parliament House in Canberra was also lit up in the colours of Israel’s flag.
Let’s return now to Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments earlier.
He said that Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack would “change the Middle East” and that the country’s defence forces were, “just getting started”.
“What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations,” Netanyahu said.
He also said atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel mirrored those carried out by the jihadist group Islamic State.
Later, he posted a statement to X in which he said, “Hamas will understand that by attacking us, they have made a mistake of historic proportions. We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.”
He thanked the US for its “unequivocal support” and said, Israel will “win this war”.
Netanyahu, who sits at the head of a hard-right coalition government, is facing one of the biggest crises in Israel’s history, which comes as his far-right government tries to overhaul the judiciary.
US top general says Iran 'not to get involved'
General Charles Q Brown, Junior, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told reporters that his message to Iran is “not to get involved”, Reuters reports.
Brown was appointed in September as the US’s highest-ranking military officer.
Financial Times US foreign affairs and defence correspondent Felicia Schwartz expanded on the comments on X, saying, “We do not want this to broaden and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear.”
Updated
Al Jazeera has suspended its broadcasts from Gaza amid safety concerns.
“According to Al Jazeera anchor Nastasya Tay, who is in Doha, our correspondents and the staff had to take shelter due to bombardment ‘in the last hour’ near Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza,” Al Jazeera reports.
The Mexican army is carrying out humanitarian flights aimed at bringing home nationals from Israel amid the attack on the country by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the government said on Monday.
Two Mexicans are believed to have been among those taken by Hamas, Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said on Sunday.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday said in a press conference that Mexico would not take sides in the conflict and the United Nations should convene all member countries to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.
WHO cites 11 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza
The World Health Organisation said that a 16-year-blockade of Gaza had already left its medical system under-resourced, and the increased hostilities are “compounding an already dire situation.”
The UN health agency reported Monday a total of 11 attacks on health care — which included medical facilities, ambulances and care providers — in the first 36 hours of the new conflict in Gaza.
“There is an urgent need to establish a humanitarian corridor for unimpeded, life-saving patient referrals and movement of humanitarian personnel and essential health supplies,” WHO said.
Growing concerns over lack of clean water in Palestinian areas
The United Nations, aid groups and public health experts are expressing growing concerns about humanitarian needs in Palestinian areas.
US Secretary-General António Guterres put the focus on civilians in both Israel and Gaza and renewing his condemnation of the fatalities and hostage-takings by Hamas. He also warned of the prospect of more innocent lives lost.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, or OCHA, said damage to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in Gaza has hindered services for more than 400,000 people — or about one-sixth of the total population.
Israel controls most water resources in the Palestinian territories, in one of the world’s most water-stressed regions. Experts say the bombing and destruction of Gaza’s already weak water infrastructure will only make matters worse in an area where gastrointestinal, liver and skin problems exist already due to a severe lack of clean water.
US and Israeli military chiefs have spoken
The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown Jr have spoken with the Chief of the Israeli General Staff Herzi Halevi, the Pentagon said on Monday, adding they discussed Hamas’ attack and steps to strengthen US military posture in the region.
Hundreds of people took part in a march in support of Israel Monday in Buenos Aires on Monday.
The march took place at the corner of two streets respectively named State of Israel and State of Palestine.
“I came to support all the people who are going to fight for their country, for their people and for their family,” said Ronit Natapoff, a 26-year-old woman recently arrived from Israel.
Argentina is home to Latin America’s largest Jewish community, with some 300,000 individuals in a population of about 45 million.
Senate could confirm ambassador to Israel next week
The US Senate could confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, as soon as next week, Senate aides said on Monday.
The spiralling crisis in the Middle East has exposed the consequences of partisanship and dysfunction in Washington as several key diplomatic positions remain unfilled.
There is no American ambassador in place in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon or Oman.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced that it would hold Lew’s confirmation hearing on 18 October.
The aides said Democrats, who hold a slim majority in the chamber, hoped to vote to confirm Lew as soon as Thursday, 19 October.
In addition to serving as Treasury secretary, Lew under former Democratic President Barack Obama was a White House chief of staff and deputy secretary of state for management and resources.
The position has been vacant since July, when Tom Nides left the post.
London police arrest three demonstrators
London Police arrested three people in Central London on Monday involved in demonstrations “following the attack in Israel and the escalation of conflict along the border with Gaza”, Reuters reports.
Three arrests have been made for assault on an emergency worker, racially-motivated criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon, the Metropolitan Police said.
The police said it has gathered evidence and active enquiries are under way to identity, locate and arrest those suspected of being involved in criminal damage of a building during the protests in Kensington High Street.
In Lebanon, people leaving villages near border with Israel amid shelling
To Lebanon now, where state news agency reported earlier that there was heavy traffic on main roads heading from the country’s border with Israel as people flee the area.
Heavy shelling has hit the outskirts of towns and villages in southern Lebanon and schools will remain closed on Tuesday.
Gabi Hage, a father of three with a house in Lebanon near the border described heavy shelling close to him.
“Our house is really close to the border, so we’re leaving and going down to the village. All my neighbours are doing the same,” he said.
Israeli shelling on Lebanon killed at least three Hezbollah militants on Monday, and Israel said one of its officers was killed during an earlier cross-border raid claimed by Palestinians in Lebanon.
US 'surging' fresh munitions and air defence supplies, official says
The US military is “surging” fresh supplies of air defences, munitions and other security assistance to Israel to help it respond to an unprecedented weekend attack by Hamas, a senior US defence official told Pentagon reporters on Monday.
“Planes have already taken off,” the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to Pentagon reporters.
“We are surging support to Israel... We remain in constant ongoing contact with our counterparts in Israel to determine and then support their most urgent requirements.”
The United States has not yet detailed the extent of Israel’s requests for security assistance. But the official said Washington was contacting the defense industry to expedite pending Israeli orders, and looking at the US military’s own stockpiles to help fill Israeli gaps.
The official also appeared to dismiss concerns that the United States might struggle to supply Israel at the same time that it funnels weaponry to Ukraine.
“We are able to continue our support both to Ukraine, to Israel, and maintain our own global readiness,” the official said.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince will stand by Palestinians, official news agency reports
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the kingdom will continue to stand by the Palestinians, and will spare no effort to restore calm and stability to the Palestinian Territories, the official news agency WAFA reported. The comments come as Saudi Arabia has been seeking closer ties with Israel to boost its economy.
Saudi Arabia’s economy is expected to shrink this year because of oil production cutbacks. It has been desperate for foreign investment and is looking to Israel: the United Arab Emirates’ trade with Israel doubled to $2.56bn in 2022 after striking a free trade deal with the country.
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, wrote in his analysis of the motivations behind the war that: “The attacks may have been born of anger, specifically at the months-long behaviour of the Netanyahu coalition, including the provocations at al-Aqsa mosque, but Iran and the forces it supports have a longer-term strategic goal: to thwart the US-led effort to achieve a normalisation of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a move that would entrench the US in the Middle East – and in Iran’s eyes deprive the Palestinians of their last influential sponsor.”
“Iran’s goal is to denormalise the region,” Wintour continues, “and make it near-impossible for Saudi Arabia to strike a deal. Israel, by contrast, wants to shrink the Palestinian conflict diplomatically so it gradually becomes an irrelevance, a historical curio such as the Yom Kippur war. The aid it drip-feeds to Gaza via Qatar is one leg of this strategy.”
Israeli Defence Forces update: 900 Israelis killed, 30 held hostage in Gaza
The Israeli Defence Forces have posted their operational update almost three days into the war.
The IDF says it is “actively operating” and that more than 900 Israelis have been killed. This toll is similar to the most recent toll released by the IDF.
There are more that 30 people being held hostage in Gaza, and 2,616 Israelis injured.
Updated
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas expected to visit Moscow – Russian media
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Moscow, Russian news media quoted the Palestinian envoy to Moscow as saying late on Monday.
“We are awaiting an official statement from the Kremlin, from the Russian side, about when the visit will take place,” Russia’s RBC news outlet said, citing Ambassador Abdel Hafiz Nofal as saying.
“An agreement has been reached that Mr. Abbas will come here to Moscow.”
Separately, he told Russia’s state television that the two sides maintain “daily contacts.”
On Monday, Israel imposed a total blockade of the Gaza Strip after an unprecedented weekend attack by the Islamist group Hamas that has killed hundreds.
Russia condemned violence against both sides and accused the United States of ignoring the need for an independent Palestinian state.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last met with Abbas a year ago on the sidelines of a regional conference in Kazakhstan. Abbas last visited Russia two years ago, according to Russian media.
Summary
This is Helen Sullivan taking over our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
It is 2am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. We will be bringing you the latest news throughout the night. Here is where things stand currently:
Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody incursion by Hamas militants, as the war’s death toll rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides.
Hamas also escalated on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis if attacks targeted civilians without warnings. In the war’s third day, Israel was still finding bodies from Hamas’ stunning weekend attack into southern Israeli towns. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy the militants’ “military and governing capabilities.”
The Palestinian death toll has risen to more than 680 killed in Israeli counterattack strikes, the Gaza health ministry reported.
The Israeli death toll stands at more than 900, according to authorities.
In Gaza, tens of thousands fled their homes as relentless airstrikes levelled buildings. Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists – a massive mobilisation in a short time.
The Israeli military said it had largely gained control in the south. Hamas and other militants in Gaza say they are holding more than 130 soldiers and civilians snatched from inside Israel.
US President Joe Biden issued a statement announcing that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel and the White House believes “it is likely” that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Biden also released a joint statement with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy on Monday condemning the attacks on Israel by Hamas and expressed their “steadfast and united support” for Israel. The statement said, “Over the coming days, we will remain united and coordinated, together as allies, and as common friends of Israel, to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region”.
Hamas is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel, having “achieved its targets”, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said in a phone interview with Al Jazeera. But Hamas threatened to execute civilian hostages if Gaza attacks by Israeli forces continue.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkey is ready to act as a mediator between Israeli and Palestinian authorities if the two parties make such a proposition. Erdoğan’s remarks came after he held calls with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, echoed remarks made by the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, saying atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel mirrored the kind of horrors carried out by Islamic State (IS).
The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has pledged to provide diplomatic, intelligence or security support to Israel if requested after attacks by Hamas, as he chaired an emergency government meeting.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, urged an end to the “vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation” in the region and said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s declaration of a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Netanyahu said Israel’s response to the attacks started by Hamas on Saturday will ‘change the Middle East’ and that his state’s actions were ‘just getting started’.
Israeli forces exchanged fire with armed individuals in northern Israel who crossed the border from Lebanon. Militants were killed and Israeli soldiers were wounded.
Israeli combat helicopters also carried out strikes inside Lebanon, and Israelis living near the Lebanese border were told to seek shelter until further notice.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, urged against cutting off aid to Palestinians, amid a diplomat row over an announcement by a European Commissioner that the EU would suspend “all payments” to Palestinians as a result of Hamas’s attacks on Israel.
Posting to X, Michel wrote:
We must not cut off much needed development and humanitarian aid for civilian Palestinians. This could be exploited by Hamas and exacerbate tensions and hatred.
In call with @antonioguterres, shared views following contacts on both sides with multiple leaders.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) October 9, 2023
Nothing can justify the atrocious terrorist attacks and crimes committed by Hamas against Israel and its people. Israel has the right to defend itself and any military operation…
The European Commission appears to have backpedalled on the comments by the commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, who had announced that “all payments [were] immediately suspended” and “all projects put under review”.
The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, also insisted humanitarian aid would not be suspended to Palestinians. He said:
The suspension of the payments – punishing all the Palestinian people – would have damaged the EU interests in the region and would have only further emboldened terrorists.
Joe Biden is expected to make remarks regarding the situation in Israel on Tuesday at 1pm Eastern time (1700 GMT), according to a White House official.
The US president confirmed at least 11 American citizens were among those killed in Israel following the weekend’s attacks by Hamas.
He said the US was working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to the whereabouts of US citizens who are still unaccounted for.
US not planning to put troops on the ground in Israel, says White House
The US has no intention of sending troops into Israel following the attacks by Hamas over the weekend, the White House said.
“There’s no intention to put US boots on the ground,” White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
He said the Biden administration has not seen tangible evidence Iran was directly involved in plotting the latest attacks by Hamas, but that there was “no question that there’s a degree of complicity” by Iran in supporting Hamas.
The US is not “actively considering” emergency evacuation of US citizens in Israel, a spokesperson for the US national security council said.
Thousands of young people were partying at dawn when Hamas militants stormed the Supernova music festival and opened fire.
“Everything was so amazing, the best party I’ve been to in my life, until it went from paradise to hell in one second,” said Elad Hakim.
Videos shared online showed revellers fleeing on foot while others were taken hostage and are believed to have been taken to Gaza. More than 200 people were killed.
Former US president Barack Obama issued a statement where he said all Americans “should be horrified and outraged by the brazen terrorist attacks on Israel and the slaughter of innocent civilians”.
The statement continues:
We grieve for those who died, pray for the safe return of those who’ve been held hostage, and stand squarely alongside our ally, Israel, as it dismantles Hamas.
As we support Israel’s right to defend itself against terror, we must keep striving for a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, writes from the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel.
Rainstorms in Ashkelon. Difficult to tell what is thunder and lightning and what is rocket fire or the Iron Dome.
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 9, 2023
Leaders of US, France, Italy, Germany and the UK release joint statement
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US released a joint statement condemning the attacks on Israel by Hamas and expressed their “steadfast and united support” for Israel.
The statement reads:
We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned. There is never any justification for terrorism.
The world has “watched in horror” as Hamas terrorists “massacred families in their homes, slaughtered more than 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children, and entire families”, the statement continues.
Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasise that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.
All of us recognise the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.
The leaders said they remain united and coordinated to “ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region”.
Updated
Hamas ‘will not negotiate over captives while under Israeli fire’, says spokesperson
Hamas will not negotiate over Israeli captives while under Israeli fire, a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades, said.
Abu Ubaida, speaking in a video address, said Israel should be ready to “pay the price” in return for the captives’ freedom.
“It has become clear that the enemy’s hostages are at risk to the same extent as our people in light of the aggression against the Gaza Strip,” he said.
We affirm that we will not deliberate or negotiate on the issue of hostages under fire, in light of aggression, or in light of battle.
Updated
Rishi Sunak pledged his support for Israel as he addressed a packed congregation at Finchley United Synagogue in north London.
“There are not two sides to these events,” the UK prime minister said on Monday.
There is no question of balance. I stand with Israel.
We stand with Israel, the United Kingdom stands with Israel against this terrorism today, tomorrow and always.
The spiralling crisis in the Middle East has exposed the consequences of partisanship and dysfunction in Washington as several key diplomatic positions remain unfilled.
There is no American ambassador in place in Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon or Oman. The state department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism has been awaiting confirmation for nearly two years, while the job of assistant administrator for the Middle East at USAid has been vacant for almost three.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment in history, and the administration needs a Senate-confirmed American diplomat present in every capital in the region as soon as possible,” said Chris Murphy, chair of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counter-terrorism.
The Democrat called on the Senate to confirm those awaiting votes as soon as it is back in session and immediately schedule committee hearings to speed up confirmation of the others. “Democrats and Republicans must work together to support our ally Israel,” Murphy added.
The US has been without an ambassador in Israel since the departure of Tom Nides in July. The White House has reportedly asked Senate leaders to fast-track confirmation of Joe Biden’s nominee to replace him: Jack Lew, a former treasury secretary and White House chief of staff.
Meanwhile Tommy Tuberville, a Republican senator for Alabama, says he will continue to block hundreds of military leadership appointments despite the Hamas attack on Israel in protest at the Pentagon’s abortion access policy. His stand has forced less experienced leaders into senior jobs and raised concerns over America’s military readiness.
Updated
Summary
It’s shortly after midnight in Israel and Gaza and there has been no letup in the tension and trauma of this conflict. We’ll continue to bring you the news developments from the region and internationally, as they happen.
Here’s where things stand:
Joe Biden has just issued a statement announcing that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel and the White House believes “it is likely” that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkey is ready to act as a mediator between Israeli and Palestinian authorities if the two parties make such a proposition. Erdoğan’s remarks came after he held calls with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, echoed remarks made by the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, saying atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel mirrored the kind of horrors carried out by Islamic State (IS).
Hamas is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel, having “achieved its targets”, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said in a phone interview with Al Jazeera.
The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has pledged to provide diplomatic, intelligence or security support to Israel if requested after attacks by Hamas, as he chaired an emergency government meeting.
The Palestinian death toll has risen to more than 680 killed in Israeli counterattack strikes and 3,726 others wounded, the Gaza health ministry reported. The Israeli death toll stands at more than 900.
Hamas threatened to execute hostages if Israel continues to bomb civilian areas without prior warning.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, urged an end to the “vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation” in the region and said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s declaration of a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Netanyahu said Israel’s response to the attacks started by Hamas on Saturday will ‘change the Middle East’ and that his state’s actions were ‘just getting started’.
Earlier, Gaza continued firing rockets toward southern and central Israel, with injuries reported, and Israel continued carrying out airstrikes in Gaza.
Israeli authorities said they had restored control in southern communities but that some Hamas militants could still be inside Israel.
Israeli forces exchanged fire with armed individuals in northern Israel who crossed the border from Lebanon. Militants were killed and Israeli soldiers were wounded.
Israeli combat helicopters also carried out strikes inside Lebanon, and Israelis living near the Lebanese border were told to seek shelter until further notice.
Egypt had warned Israel “something big” was coming, the Associated Press reported. The Israeli prime minister’s office denied it had received a warning from Cairo.
Updated
Joe Biden’s statement from the White House also included some advice for Americans in the region, following his news that at least 11 US citizens have been killed and others are believed to be among hostages snatched by Hamas. And he issued a reiteration of some diplomatic sentiments.
For American citizens who are currently in Israel, the State Department is providing consular assistance as well as updated security alerts. For those who desire to leave, commercial flights and ground options are still available. Please also take sensible precautions in the days ahead and follow the guidance of local authorities….
The United States and the State of Israel are inseparable partners, and I affirmed to Prime Minister Netanyahu again when we spoke yesterday that the United States will continue to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself and its people.”
Joe Biden’s statement, just issued by the White House, goes on to discuss how the US president says his administration is sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the US government to assist Israel in trying to resolve the hostage crisis.
The statement says in fuller detail:
I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts …
This is not some distant tragedy. The ties between Israel and the United States run deep. It is personal for so many American families who are feeling the pain of this attack as well as the scars inflicted through millennia of antisemitism and persecution of Jewish people. In cities across the country, police departments have stepped up security around centers of Jewish life, and the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other federal law enforcement partners are closely monitoring for any domestic threats in connection with the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel.
In this moment of heartbreak, the American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israelis. We remember the pain of being attacked by terrorists at home, and Americans across the country stand united against these evil acts that have once more claimed innocent American lives. It is an outrage. And we will continue to show the world that the American people are unwavering in our resolve to oppose terrorism in all forms.”
A Miami Beach police patrol drives past Temple Emanu-El synagogue in Florida today. Photograph: Marco Bello/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
Biden talks of heartbreak as ‘at least 11’ Americans killed
Joe Biden has just issued a lengthy statement from the White House announcing that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
The US president also said: “We believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas.”
Here is the first section of the statement:
As we continue to account for the horrors of the appalling terrorist assault against Israel this weekend and the hundreds of innocent civilians who were murdered, we are seeing the immense scale and reach of this tragedy. Sadly, we now know that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed – many of whom made a second home in Israel.
It’s heart-wrenching. These families have been torn apart by inexcusable hatred and violence. We also know that American citizens still remain unaccounted for, and we are working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to their whereabouts. My heart goes out to every family impacted by the horrible events of the past few days. The pain these families have endured, the enormity of their loss, and the agony of those still awaiting information is unfathomable.
The safety of American citizens – whether at home or abroad – is my top priority as president. While we are still working to confirm, we believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas.
Updated
A married couple with dual Italian-Israeli citizenship are missing from the Be’eri kibbutz, Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said.
Speaking to the country’s state broadcaster, Rai, Tajani did not give the names of the man and woman, whom he said had not answered calls from their family. He added:
We hope to find them, but at this time we don’t have any other news. It is probable that they have been kidnapped.
Updated
About 2,000 people attended a Jewish community vigil in Westminster, London for Israel on Monday night, arranged by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council.
Updated
A bloody attack by Hamas has shocked the world – and left Israel reeling. As the country responds with devastating airstrikes, Peter Beaumont explains how the surprise attack unfolded and what could happen next in an extra episode of the Guardian’s podcast Today in Focus.
He tells Michael Safi how Hamas managed to take Israel by surprise and break through one of the most secure borders in the world. They discuss what the terrible events of the past few days mean for Israelis, Palestine and the world.
Updated
Turkey ready to act as mediator, says Erdoğan
Turkey is ready to act as a mediator between Israeli and Palestinian authorities if the two parties make such a proposition, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Speaking during a press conference after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan said Turkey was making necessary preparations to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Reuters reported.
He urged Israel to stop bombing Palestinian lands and Palestine to stop harassing Israeli civilian settlements, adding:
We believe that there will be no peace in the region without an independent, sovereign Palestine.
Erdoğan’s remarks came after he held calls with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
The Turkish leader told Abbas that Ankara “is making every effort to end the conflicts in the region and ensure calm as soon as possible,” a statement from his press office said, AP reported.
In his call with Herzog, Erdoğan “emphasised that any step that could harm the people of Gaza collectively and indiscriminately will further increase the suffering and spiral of violence in the region,” the presidential office statement said.
Erdoğan also told his Israeli counterpart that it was “necessary to act with common sense and that establishing tranquility in the region as soon as possible is of great importance for the wellbeing of the entire region”, according to the statement.
Updated
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, echoed President Isaac Herzog’s remarks, saying atrocities committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel mirrored those carried out by Islamic State.
Speaking in a televised statement, Netanyahu recounted how some Israelis were killed during the Hamas incursion. He said:
The atrocities committed by Hamas have not been seen since Isis atrocities. Bound children executed along with their families. Young men and women shot in the back, executed. Other horrors I won’t describe here.
He added:
We have always known who Hamas is. Now the entire world knows. Hamas is Isis. And we will defeat it just like the enlightened world defeated Isis. This vile enemy wanted war and it will get war.
Updated
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, compared the incursion by Hamas militants on the weekend with the “abhorrent and unspeakable” actions of Islamic State, calling on world leaders to designate Hamas as a terrorist body and to support Israel “in words and in deeds”.
In a televised statement, he said:
To my mind, not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day. And not since the Holocaust have we witnessed scenes of Jewish women and children, grandparents – even Holocaust survivors – being herded into trucks and taken into captivity.
Hamas has imported, adopted, and replicated the savagery of Isis, entering civilian homes on a holiday, and murdering in cold blood whole families. Young and old, violating and burning bodies, beating and torturing their innocent victims, Jews and Muslims, and other faiths. The brutality. Inhumanity. The barbarity of monsters. Not humans – monsters.
Israel’s President Herzog: “Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed on one day. And not since the Holocaust, have we witnessed scenes of Jewish women and children, grandparents – even Holocaust survivors – being herded into trucks and taken into captivity.” pic.twitter.com/3puHZwWK4E
— Michael Shuval 🏳️🌈 (@MichaelShuval) October 9, 2023
Updated
Hamas is open to discussions over a possible truce with Israel, having “achieved its targets”, a senior Hamas official has said.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, speaking in a phone interview with Al Jazeera, was asked whether the group is willing to discuss a possible ceasefire.
He replied that Hamas was open to “something of that sort” and to “all political dialogues”.
He added Hamas had captured “tens” of dual citizens from Israel, including those with Russian and Chinese citizenship.
Updated
The US president, Joe Biden, plans to speak with several allies on Monday about the situation in Israel, the White House said.
Biden convened a meeting earlier today with top national security aides, including the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, principal deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall, and White House chief of staff Jeff Zients.
During that meeting, Biden urged continued coordination with Israel and other regional partners, the White House said.
Updated
More than 100 bodies were recovered from the kibbutz of Be’eri in southern Israel that was the scene of a hostage standoff during Hamas’s attack on Saturday, according to Israeli rescue service Zaka.
Updated
Asked whether the UK would back Israel if it was to launch a ground operation in Gaza, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said:
We support Israel exercising its right to self-defence and proportionate action to bring an end to the violence.
The spokesperson said there were no plans to redeploy military assets to the area but that there were currently British assets in the region, including HMS Duncan under Nato control, which is patrolling in the Mediterranean.
Some countries have begun to withdraw their citizens from Israel and Gaza but the UK Foreign Office is only asking British or dual nationals affected to contact its helpline. The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the region due to the conflict.
There are no standalone flights being organised by Britain at this stage but the possibility of evacuations is being kept under review. There are an estimated 50-60,000 British or dual nationals in Israel and Gaza, according to the UK government.
Asked whether the UK thought Iran had any involvement in the encouragement of Hamas’s attacks on Israel, Sunak’s spokesperson said Hamas was “fully responsible for this appalling act of terror”, but he added:
We do know Iran poses an unacceptable threat to Israel through its support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
No 10 said Suella Braverman, the home secretary, was monitoring reports of increased antisemitic attacks and had spoken with the Community Security Trust, the organisation working to protect British Jews, with the possibility of surge police patrols in some areas.
Updated
Rishi Sunak has pledged to provide diplomatic, intelligence or security support to Israel if requested after attacks by Hamas, as he chaired an emergency meeting of Cobra.
No 10 said the UK stood “poised” to help Israel militarily if it asked for assistance and is not ruling out evacuating some British citizens from affected areas, saying keeping them safe was the “utmost priority”.
Sunak, who had a phone call with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, said the UK was one of Israel’s strongest allies and he highlighted that Britain had previously provided “the kinds of equipment that they’ve used to defend themselves over the past couple of days”.
“And as I said to the prime minister [of Israel], we will continue to provide – whether that’s diplomatic, intelligence or security support – as they need,” he said, after a meeting at a business in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
The prime minister also told an event on Monday night that “terrorism will not prevail”. Speaking at the Future Resilience Forum, a thinktank launched by Theresa May’s former chief of staff Fiona Hill, Sunak said:
Israel has the absolute right to defend itself and to deter further incursions.
We are working with the Israeli authorities to support them and we’re doing everything possible to support British citizens who were caught up in the attacks and the families of those who perished. I also want to say a word to Jewish communities here at home: I am with you. And we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that you feel safe.
Updated
Some Palestinian gunmen still inside Israel, says Netanyahu
Israel has “only started” striking Hamas, its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said during a nationally televised statement.
He called on members of the opposition in his government to immediately form a national unity government, adding that “we are now all united”.
“We have only started striking Hamas,” he said.
What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.
Netanyahu vowed to “do everything” for those held captive in Gaza, adding:
I promise you this citizens, at the end of the war our enemies will know it was a terrible mistake to attack Israel.
Updated
The European Commission have finally issued a statement offering clarification of an announcement that it was suspending “all payments” to Palestine in the wake of the Hamas attack.
It said it was “launching an urgent review of the EU’s assistance for Palestine”.
In addition to existing safeguards to ensure no money goes to Hamas-backed projects, “the objective of this review is to ensure that no EU funding indirectly enables any terrorist organisation to carry out attacks against Israel”.
The commission will equally review if, in light of the changed circumstances on the ground, its support programmes to the Palestinian population and to the Palestinian Authority need to be adjusted.
The commission will carry out this review as soon as possible and coordinate with member states and partners any follow-up action necessary, it said.
It stated: “In the meantime, as there were no payments foreseen, there will be no suspension of payments,” without offering any details as to what this referred to or would mean.
“This review does not concern humanitarian assistance provided under European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO),” it added.
Updated
Palestinian death toll rises to more than 680, says Gaza health ministry
The Gaza health ministry said more than 687 people have been killed in Israeli strikes and 3,726 others wounded.
A statement from the ministry posted to Facebook reads:
The Israeli occupation expands the targeting of medical teams, health facilities and ambulances, causing five medical personnel to die and 10 others to be injured with various wounds.
Updated
UK ‘reviewing aid’ to Palestinians, says deputy PM
The UK is reviewing its aid to Palestine, the deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, told ITV’s Peston.
Dowden said:
We are currently reviewing our aid. It is already the case, though, that we go through a very rigorous process for the sort of aid we provide.
It’s also very important to appreciate that we shouldn’t clump together the Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip who have carried out these attacks and the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people.
It’s just important to keep those two things separate. But of course, we will look at that aid.
“We are currently reviewing our aid”
— Peston (@itvpeston) October 9, 2023
Deputy Prime Minister @OliverDowden says the UK is reviewing aid to Palestinian territories after the attacks by Hamas on Israel
Watch tonight ⬇️
💻 LIVE 9PM @itvpeston
📺 10.45PM @ITV#Peston pic.twitter.com/VROaPBJe6j
Updated
X’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict has come under scrutiny after a “deluge” of fake posts and Elon Musk’s recommendation of war coverage from accounts that have made false claims or antisemitic comments.
The owner of X, formerly Twitter, recommended two accounts on Sunday. He wrote: “For following the war in real-time, @WarMonitors and @sentdefender are good. It is also worth following direct sources on the ground. Please add interesting options in the replies below.”
The @WarMonitors account told a user in June “go worship a jew lil bro” while both accounts helped to spread a false claim in May that an explosion had occurred at the Pentagon. Emerson T Brooking, a researcher at the Atlantic Council’s digital forensic research lab, said the @sentdefender account regularly posted “wrong and unverifiable things”.
Musk has since deleted his post and disputed a War Monitor post describing Gaza fighters as “martyrs”. He wrote: “While reporting both sides is fair, please use maximally accurate words or I must withdraw my recommendation to follow your account.”
Fake social media accounts are spreading false information about the Israel-Hamas conflict, with X and TikTok among the affected platforms, according to disinformation specialists.
One in five social media accounts participating in online conversations about the Hamas attacks and their aftermath are fake, according to Cyabra, an Israeli analysis firm.
Updated
Home Front asks Israelis to prepare safe rooms in next 72 hours = ground invasion of Gaza
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 9, 2023
Human Rights Watch has described comments by the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, instructing the military to put Gaza under siege as “abhorrent”.
Abhorrent. This is a call to commit a war crime by @yoavgallant. The @IntlCrimCourt should take note.
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) October 9, 2023
Quote by @OmarSShakir ⤵️ https://t.co/kKVo6YtpI1 pic.twitter.com/neHQMwnXVn
Updated
A member of Lebanon’s Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Monday, Reuters reported, citing sources.
The man was killed in Israeli shelling prompted by a cross-border raid that has been claimed by the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
The sources told Reuters that the man’s death would draw a response.
Updated
Israel death toll rises to more than 900 – reports
At least 900 people in Israel have been killed in the attacks launched by Hamas, according to local media reports.
Meanwhile, more than 100 people have been taken captive by Hamas, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
The number of Israelis confirmed dead following Hamas's terrorist invasion on Saturday has risen to 900, with 2,600 wounded.
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) October 9, 2023
This is a massacre without parallel in Israel's history.
It defies comprehension.
Updated
Ireland and Luxembourg questioned a statement by an EU commissioner announcing the suspension of almost €700m EU payments to the Palestinians in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel, heaping embarrassment on commission officials who had indicated any decisions on funding would be taken at an emergency meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the department of foreign affairs in Dublin said:
We have seen the tweet issued this afternoon by commissioner Várhelyi … our understanding is that there is no legal basis for a unilateral decision of this kind by an individual commissioner and we do not expect a suspension of aid.
Madrid and Brussels also expressed reservations, with Belgium announcing development and humanitarian aid would continue. It said:
It is important we do not act hastily.
As hours elapsed with no explanation, another commissioner was forced to reassure critics that civilians in Gaza were not being abandoned in the face of a “total blockade” of energy and food by Israel.
The commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarčič, tweeted:
EU humanitarian aid to Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed.
The Israeli government will distribute 1,000 M16 rifles to settlers in the occupied West Bank.
אחרי דרישות חוזרות ונשנות של תושבים: כ1000 נשקי m16 יסופקו לאזרחים ביהודה ושומרון. הנשקים יסופקו לבוגרי צבא שיעמדו בקריטריונים. המספר הסופי ופיזור הנשקים עדיין לא נקבע
— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) October 9, 2023
Updated
Hamas threatens to execute civilian hostages if Gaza attacks continue without warning
Hamas’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, warned it will begin executing Israeli civilian captives if Israel continues to bomb civilian houses in Gaza.
Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for the group, said they have been acting in accordance with Islamic instructions by keeping the Israeli captives safe and sound, Reuters reported.
He was quoted by Al Jazeera as saying:
Any targeting of innocent civilians without warning will be met regretfully by executing one of the captives in our custody, and we will be forced to broadcast this execution.
Updated
Here’s more from the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who called for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
The UN chief described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as already “extremely dire” before the latest hostilities, and warned that “now it will only disintegrate exponentially”.
Medical equipment, food, fuel and other humanitarian supplies are “desperately” needed, he said.
An entry of essential supplies into Gaza must be facilitated, and UN will continue efforts to provide the aids to respond to these needs. I urge all sides and relevant parties to allow United Nations access to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians trapped and helpless in the Gaza Strip.
Updated
Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), says the rate of Israeli Air Force attacks on the Gaza Strip is five times that used against Hezbollah in the 2006 second Lebanon war.
This is an extraordinary statistic – especially given that Gaza is a tiny blockaded enclave of stateless people, where Israel is the occupying power.
Updated
UN chief urges end to ‘vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation’
António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s declaration of a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Speaking from the UN’s headquarters in New York, Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of the deaths of more than 500 Palestinians, including women and children, with these numbers “rising by the minute”. He said:
I recognise the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people. But nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and abduction of civilians.
He reiterated his call to immediately cease attacks and release all hostages. He added:
While I recognise Israel’s legitimate security concerns, I also remind Israel that military operations must be conducted in strict accordance with international humanitarian law. Civilians must be respected and protected at all times. Civilian infrastructure must never be a target.
The UN chief said the most recent violence “does not come in a vacuum”.
The reality is that it grows out of a longstanding conflict with a 56-year-long occupation and no political end in sight. It’s time to end this vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation.
"Nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and abduction of civilians."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 9, 2023
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, delivers a statement on the Israel-Hamas war.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/9o97noAuDH
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/yRSevnrMGv
Updated
How did Hamas manage to carry out its rampage through southern Israel?
The Hamas assault on the Erez crossing, the looming symbol of Israel’s security infrastructure at the far northern end of the Gaza Strip, was indicative of what would come at other key locations.
A maze of rooms populated with cameras, hi-tech scanners and double “tiger trap” doors all overseen by Israeli officials who deliver commands by loudspeaker, it is also a surveillance and communications hub, set into the high concrete wall that guards that part of Gaza.
Launched not long after daybreak on Saturday, Hamas’s attack on the crossing was as sudden as it was deadly, captured in video shot by the Islamist militants and posted online.
The aim of militants at Erez and other key locations along the Gaza border, as has become clear since Hamas launched its murderous rampage through southern Israel, was to decapitate the ability of Israel’s security forces to communicate with each other.
Updated
About 300 Mexican nationals in Israel have signed up to leave the country, Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Monday.
The Mexican government said it would carry out flights from Israel aimed at bringing home nationals. A plane that left on Monday morning had a capacity of about 170 passengers, according to the defence ministry. A second plane was due to leave later in the day.
About 5,000 Mexican citizens are in Israel, López Obrador said.
He added that there were reports of three missing Mexican nationals, adding that the government is in communication with their families.
Speaking during a press conference, López Obrador said Mexico would not take sides in the conflict and the UN should convene all member countries to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict, Reuters reported.
More than condemnation, what is required is a search for peaceful solutions, that there is dialogue and that further confrontation and violence is avoided.
Updated
The Israeli government’s decision to put Gaza under “complete siege” is a significant step and could trigger considerable hardship for the civilian population.
Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is heavily dependent on Israel for supplies of fuel, electricity, imported food supplies, water and medicine.
The siege was announced by defence minister Yoav Gallant on Monday. “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant says following an assessment at the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba. He added:
We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.
A complete siege is likely to complicate a series of interlinked issues. Water is likely to be a particular problem. While Gaza can extract water from its coastal aquifer, it is largely not potable, and Gaza also relies heavily on its electricity supply to process water and sewage and to pump water to header tanks on roofs for use by households.
Gaza does have the ability to produce electricity at its main power station, but it is reliant on imported fuel to run it and it is unclear how much fuel it has stockpiled.
While Gaza has lived through periods with substantial electricity blackouts before, plunging whole neighbourhoods into darkness, more wealthy Gazans have equipped themselves with solar systems to run basic lighting and other devices. Yet those too have relied on expensive imported battery storage systems.
A key question is likely to be how much assistance Egypt is prepared to allow through its border with Gaza. Although Egypt has contributed to the years-long blockade of Gaza, it is also highly sensitive to perceptions among the Egyptian public of Palestinian suffering in the coastal enclave.
Updated
‘We are just getting started’: Netanyahu says Israel response will ‘change Middle East’
Israel’s response to the hostilities initiated by Hamas will “change the Middle East”, its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said earlier today.
Netanyahu, speaking to local mayors on Israel’s southern border, was quoted by his office as saying:
What Hamas will experience will be difficult and terrible; we are already in the campaign and we are just getting started … The state will leave no stone unturned to help all of you. I ask that you stand steadfast because we are going to change the Middle East.
Updated
My colleague Bethan McKernan is in Beersheba, Israel, where she reports that several medical, military and unmarked choppers have landed or taken off in last hour at the hospital.
Please excuse crap quality of my filming but military medical evac of soldier just landed at Beersheba Soroka hospital. Several medical, military and unmarked choppers have landed or taken off in last hour pic.twitter.com/1GEwryrjHt
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 9, 2023
The EU said it was immediately suspending part of its aid to Palestinians and putting its programmes under review, as EU foreign ministers are expected to meet tomorrow to determine what actions should be taken.
“As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of €691m,” EU commissioner Olivér Várhelyi tweeted on Monday.
Incitement to hatred, violence and glorification of terror have poisoned the minds of too many. We need action and we need it now.
The scale of terror and brutality against #Israel and its people is a turning point.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023
There can be no business as usual.
As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m
⤵️
•All payments immediately suspended.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023
•All projects put under review.
•All new budget proposals, incl. for 2023 postponed until further notice.
•Comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio.
The announcement came after EU officials said no European Commission money went to Hamas-run projects and it has not had dialogue with Hamas since 2007. The EU considers Hamas a terror group.
Germany and Austria have also announced similar measures.
Updated
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, has claimed responsibility for an attack at the Lebanon-Israel border.
The group claimed several Israeli soldiers were wounded in the assault, which the Israeli military has not verified.
Artillery shelling and gunfire were heard at Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, Reuters reported. Israel’s army radio gave the location as being near Adamit, across from the Lebanese border towns of Aalma El Chaeb and Zahajra.
Updated
Israel has intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation to Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border incursion.
Clouds of smoke were seen rising over the Gaza skyline after overnight airstrikes and large parts of the territory were covered in debris.
A spokesperson for the health ministry in Gaza described an increasing number of casualties arriving at all hospitals, which has led to “significant overcrowding” and “congestion in the morgue refrigerators”.
Only hospital in Beit Hanoun city out of service amid Israeli strikes, says Palestinian health ministry
Beit Hanoun hospital, the only hospital in the city on the north-east of the Gaza Strip, is out of service because of “repeated targeting” by Israeli airstrikes, the Palestinian health ministry said.
It said medical teams are unable to enter or leave the hospital, and that large parts of the hospital have been damaged.
Updated
A man from Scotland is understood to be among those killed in Israel.
Bernard Cowan, from Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, reportedly died on Saturday.
A statement from his family, shared by the BBC, reads:
We are grieving the loss of our son and brother, Bernard Cowan, who was horrifically murdered on Saturday during the surprise terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
We ask for privacy at this time while we process this huge loss to our family, both at home and in Israel, and to the Jewish community in Glasgow where he will be sorely missed.
What we know today thus far
Israel’s death toll has risen to at least 800, with 2,616 injured, according to Israeli authorities.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 560, with 2,900 injured, according to Palestinian authorities.
Gaza fired rockets toward southern and central Israel. There are injuries.
Israel continued carrying out airstrikes in Gaza.
Israeli authorities said they restored control in southern communities but that some Hamas militants might still be present inside Israel.
Israeli forces exchanged fire with armed individuals in northern Israel who crossed the border from Lebanon. Militants were killed, while Israeli soldiers were wounded.
Israeli combat helicopters carried out strikes inside Lebanon, and Israelis living near the Lebanese border were told to seek shelter until further notice.
The Associated Press reported that Egypt warned Israel “something big” is coming. The Israeli prime minister’s office denied a warning came from Cairo.
Updated
The office of Israel’s prime minister has denied that it received a warning from Egypt about an imminent attack, Israel’s public radio reports.
Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, said today his wife’s parents have been caught up in the aftermath of Hamas’s weekend attack on Israel, AFP reported.
“They’ve been in Gaza and are currently trapped in Gaza, I’m afraid,” he told reporters.
Yousaf said the Israeli authorities had told his in-laws to leave but not guaranteed safe passage.
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Arab League foreign ministers are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss ways “to stop the Israeli aggression” against the Gaza Strip, the pan-Arab group said in a statement, Reuters reported.
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Egyptian official says Israel was warned: report
An Egyptian intelligence official told the Associated Press that Egypt had spoken repeatedly with the Israelis about “something big”, without elaborating.
“We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” said the official.
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Northern Israeli communities told to seek shelter
Israelis living in communities near the country’s border with Lebanon have been instructed to enter safe rooms and stay until further notice, Haaretz reported.
Air raid sirens sounded throughout the centre of Jerusalem after the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it fired rockets towards the city. The militant group said it targeted Jerusalem in response to the targeting of civilian homes in the Gaza Strip.
The sirens echoed through the empty streets across Jerusalem, as frightened people ran to air raid shelters below ground. Moments after the sirens ended, two loud but distant thuds marked the sound of exploding artillery fire.
Most of the streets across the normally busy city were devoid of traffic, with only a line of cars leading towards Mount Herzl for the funeral of a lone British soldier who died fighting with the Israeli military on the border with Gaza.
The Times of Israel said there were no immediate reports of damage despite residents across the city hearing explosions.
Updated
More photos from today
Hamas’s armed wing has confirmed it fired rockets towards Jerusalem, Reuters reported. Hamas said it fired the rockets in response to bombing of civilian houses.
Updated
Residents of Metula, an Israeli town right near the border with Lebanon, have been instructed to seek shelter, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported.
Sirens are now sounding in Jerusalem.
Israeli combat helicopters attacking in Lebanese territory, IDF says
Israel’s military has announced that its combat helicopters are attacking targets in Lebanon’s territory, without providing further details.
מסוקי קרב של צה"ל תוקפים כעת בשטח לבנון. פרטים נוספים בהמשך
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 9, 2023
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Qatar confirms talks with Hamas and Israel
Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters that it is involved in mediation talks with Hamas and Israel, including over a possible prisoner swap.
“We are in constant contact with all sides at the moment. Our priorities are to end the bloodshed, release the prisoners and make sure the conflict is contained with no regional spillover,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told Reuters.
Netanyahu has told Biden Israel is preparing for ground operation in Gaza: report
Walla News’ Barak Ravid reports that during a call yesterday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US president Joe Biden that Israel had no choice but to enter Gaza.
Updated
The French foreign ministry has announced that a second French national has been killed in the Israel attacks. France is still seeking information on several other French nationals who are missing.
Meyer Habib, an MP representing French nationals overseas, said on Monday that he believed a 26-year-old French man from Bordeaux, who lived in Israel and was at the rave party, was among those taken hostage.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said he had confirmation from the man’s father, who is a doctor.
Updated
EU freezes aid to Palestinians
The European Commission has announced this afternoon that it is putting all its development aid to Palestinians under review.
Olivér Várhelyi, the EU’s commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, said €691m (£597m) in aid was impacted.
“All payments immediately suspended. All projects put under review. All new budget proposals, incl. for 2023 postponed until further notice. Comprehensive assessment of the whole portfolio.”
The scale of terror and brutality against #Israel and its people is a turning point.
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023
There can be no business as usual.
As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m
⤵️
Updated
Israeli death toll rises to at least 800
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reports that the death toll is now at least 800, with 2,400 wounded.
Key event
The Israel Defence Forces say that tens of their planes hit targets in al-Furqan neighbourhood in Gaza, and has released footage of its airstrikes.
The IDF says the neighbourhood serves as a “terror nest” for Hamas.
עשרות מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר מטרות רבות ברחבי שכונת אל פורקן.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 9, 2023
שכונת אל פורקן משמשת כקן טרור עבור חמאס וממנה יוצאות לפועל פעילויות רבות נגד ישראל pic.twitter.com/3YhiCbOFi4
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Pictures from the areas near Israel’s border with Lebanon today
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Pictures from Gaza today
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Addressing the earlier sirens that went off in northern Israel, the Israel Defence Forces said that two mortar bombs were launched toward Israel and one fell in Lebanese territory. There were no casualties.
בהמשך לדיווח הראשוני על התרעה שהופעלה בצפון הארץ, זוהו שני שיגורים של פצצות מרגמה לעבר שטח ישראל. אחד השיגורים נפל בשטח לבנון. אין נפגעים
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 9, 2023
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Gunfight in southern Israel
A gunfight is underway in Zikim in southern Israel, Israeli public radio reports.
Locals have been instructed to lock themselves in safe places.
Updated
Ireland has denied that it refused to refer to Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
In response to queries, DFA confirms it is categorically false that Ireland refused to agree a reference to Hamas as a terrorist organisation in the EU statement in response to attacks in Israel. Hamas is listed by the EU as a terrorist organisation, unanimously agreed by all MSs
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) October 9, 2023
Updated
Nine US citizens dead
A National Security Council spokesperson confirmed that nine US citizens were killed in the war, CNN reported.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in touch with our Israeli partners, particularly the local authorities,” the spokesperson said.
State department spokesperson Matt Miller confirmed the news to CNN:
We are in close contact with the government of Israel as they continue to conduct security operations to locate missing US citizens ... and we are, of course, in close contact with the families of these nine deceased Americans and offering them any consular assistance that we can provide.
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House Republicans under pressure for speedy speaker election amid Israel-Hamas war
Republican House representatives face mounting pressure to rally around a House speaker candidate amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
House foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul stressed the need for a speedy speaker election over the weekend. He told CNN: “We have to get a speaker elected this week so we can get things on the floor like replenishing the Iron Dome, get a resolution that ranking member Meeks and I have been working on, bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas for what they have done to Israel.”
Follow developments in the US here.
Seven Filipinos remain unaccounted for amid the fighting between Hamas and Israel, the Philippines Foreign Affairs Department has said.
It was initially reported that 29 Filipinos were missing, but 22 have since been rescued by Israeli security forces, and taken to hotels in safer areas. One person is being treated at hospital for moderate injuries sustained during the rescue.
The Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv is working to ascertain the condition of the missing seven, according to the foreign affairs department.
A woman contacted the embassy to say that she recognised her husband in unverified footage circulating on social media, which shows a man being held by armed individuals and most likely brought to Gaza. Neither the department nor the embassy have been able to confirm the man’s identity, but have relayed the information to the Israeli military authorities.
There are about 24,800 Filipinos living in Israel, where they are mostly employed as care workers and hotel staff.
The Thai government said earlier on Monday that 12 Thai nationals are believed to have been killed and eight injured in the violence that began on Saturday, while a further 11 Thai nationals have been kidnapped.
Updated
IDF says it killed several armed individuals who entered from Lebanon
The Israeli Defence Forces says it killed several armed individuals who crossed into Israel from Lebanon.
IDF soldiers continue searching the area.
בהמשך לדיווח הראשוני, כוחות צה"ל הרגו מספר חמושים שחצו לשטח ישראל משטח לבנון. הלוחמים ממשיכים בסריקות במרחב.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 9, 2023
כמו כן, מסוקי קרב תוקפים כעת במרחב. פרטים נוספים בהמשך
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Gunfight ongoing in northern Israel
Israeli public radio is reporting that there is a gunfight in the north between Israeli forces and individuals who appear to have crossed the border from Lebanon.
Residents in Ma’alot, a city in northern Israel, have been instructed to stay in their homes.
Residents in several northern Israeli communities were instructed by security officials to enter safe rooms and stay at home due to indications of infiltration from Lebanon, public broadcaster Kan 11 reports.
Israeli military says it deployed troops against possible infiltration from Lebanon
Israel’s military said it had deployed troops against a suspected infiltration from Lebanon on Monday, which a local radio station said appeared to have taken place in the central part of the countries’ border.
“A report was received regarding the infiltration of a number of suspects into Israeli territory from Lebanese territory. IDF soldiers are deployed in the area,” the military said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Israel’s Army Radio gave the location as near Adamit, across from the Lebanese border towns of Aalma El Chaeb and Zahajra.
Updated
Gaza health ministry: 560 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes, 2,900 wounded
Reuters has a quick snap with updated casualty figures from the Gaza health ministry, which claims that 560 Palestinians have been killed and 2,900 wounded by Israeli strikes.
Drone footage shows the scale of destruction wreaked by Israel’s intensified campaign of airstrikes across Gaza City.
Filmed on Monday, the footage shows an entire mosque flattened, surrounded by crumbling buildings and mounds of debris.
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Summary of the day so far …
Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said this morning that Israel is “in control” of all communities and at the moment there is no fighting inside Israel, but that it is possible there are still Hamas militants in Israeli territory. An evacuation is under way of all communities near the border fence, he said.
The Israel Defence Forces is in the process of carrying out intense air strikes, every four hours, in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of targets are being attacked, and Israel is only targeting places where terrorists are present, the spokesperson said.
Israel is also on high alert in the north. There have been some local incidents reported in the north yesterday, but there is no fighting.
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said that Israel is imposing a “complete siege” on Gaza. “There is no electricity, there is no food, there is no water, there is no fuel,” he said.
Israeli airstrikes have hit the Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 50 people, Al Jazeera reports.
Qatari mediators have held calls with Hamas to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source has told Reuters.
Hamas’s armed wing has claimed that four Israeli captives and their Hamas captors have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Sunday.
The EU is to hold an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers in Muscat in Oman tomorrow. A spokesperson for the European Commission meanwhile has said that none of the €200m in financial assistance for the Palestinian people granted this year went to Hamas-run projects, and it has not had dialogue with Hamas since 2007.
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks on a two-state solution that provided for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and the Palestinians were the only way forward once hostilities had ended.
Austria is suspending aid totalling around €19m (£16.5m) for Palestinians, foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg said today.
Bethan McKernan is in Israel for the Guardian, and has spoken to another person who experienced the attack:
Nadav Peretz, 42, has lived in Nahal Oz kibbutz for the last seven years, having moved from Tel Aviv. He runs the kibbutz dairy. He was stuck in a panic room for 17 hours with his partner Eli Dudaei, also 42, and their dog. He said Hamas militants had tried to get in through the kitchen window, and they could hear them through the wall in their garden. The couple are now at Peretz’s parents apartment in Be’er Sheva, having left with just the clothes on their backs and their phones, but not even shoes.
Peretz said: “At one point I called the police emergency line. And I begged the woman who answered the phone to send troops to our house behind the clinic. I told her they were in the garden. She said: ‘We know.’
“Then after I guess she thought she had hung up the phone, I could hear her crying. She said to her colleague: ‘I can’t take any more of these calls. We can’t help.’
“Then I understood how big this was.”
Updated
Reuters has slightly more detail on Qatari attempts to secure the release of Israeli women and children seized by Hamas and being held in Gaza in return for 36 Palestinian women and children held in Israel’s prisons.
The source has told Reuters the ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the US since Saturday night, are “moving positively”. Qatar has been in touch with Hamas officials in Doha and Gaza, the source said.
The exact number of Israeli women and children hostages Hamas is offering in exchange is not clear, the source added. The total number of Israeli civilian hostages held in Gaza also remains unclear.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks on a two-state solution that provided for the peaceful coexistence of Israel and the Palestinians were the only way forward once hostilities had ended.
Lavrov was speaking in Moscow, where he was meeting with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, chief of the Arab League.
Reuters reports that Gheit said there would be more wars unless Israel changed its stance on the Palestinians.
Lavrov was quoted by Tass as saying: “We confirmed our position on the unacceptability of any violence, the unacceptability of causing damage and death to civilians, no matter what side they are on, and the unacceptability of taking women and children hostage. The League and the Russian Federation, in parallel, call for an immediate cessation of any hostilities, any violence and a transition to negotiations.”
Updated
Qatar trying to negotiate exchange: report
Qatari mediators have held calls with Hamas to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source told Reuters.
Qatar has been conducting the negotiations in coordination with the United States, Reuters reported.
Updated
Sirens sound in northern Israel
Sirens are sounding at the moment in northern Israel.
Earlier this year, the EU agreed around €200m in financial assistance for the Palestinian people including support for salaries for civil servants, medical referrals, pensions and projects.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said none of the money went to Hamas-run projects and it has not had dialogue with Hamas since 2007.
“The priority right now is for the aggression by Hamas to stop. The hostages need to be released, and we need to see the overall escalation of the situation ended. Ministers are going to discuss the position on next steps of the European Union in all the aspects,” said a spokesperson for Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs.
Israeli airstrikes continue
Israeli airstrikes have hit the Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 50 people, Al Jazeera reports.
The Israeli defence forces said it is carrying out strikes aimed at many Hamas targets in Gaza.
Updated
More sirens sound in Israel
Sirens are sounding now in central Israel, as rockets continue to be fired from Gaza toward Israel.
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‘They’re only babies’: Israeli relatives of hostages plead for help
On Sunday evening, Israelis whose family members have been taken hostage by Hamas militants gathered to hold a news conference, with the eyes of the world focused on their grief.
“My two little girls, they’re only babies. They’re not even five years old and three years old,” said Yoni Asher, who recounted seeing video of gunmen seizing his wife and two small daughters.
Another father, Uri David, told the gathered media that he had spent 30 minutes on the phone with his two daughters, Tair and Odaya, before a sudden frenzy on the other end of the line cut them off.
“I heard shooting, shouting in Arabic, I told them to lie on the ground and hold hands,” David said, adding he was now unaware of their fate.
“I am asking for the whole world to see what I am going through. We have to bring the children home – and as fast as possible,” he said.
About 100 Israelis, military and civilians, are now believed to have been taken into Gaza after the surprise attack by the militant group Hamas on communities in the south of Israel.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Ministers to discuss EU response
The EU is to hold an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers in Muscat in Oman tomorrow.
“A number of foreign ministers from EU member states are already physically on the ground,” said a spokesman.
The high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell, who is in Muscat, has already been in touch with foreign ministers from Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, the spokesman added.
“He will seek a joint call with the foreign ministers of the US, Germany and Italy,” he said.
“This is an urgent emergency meeting to discuss what happened and what should the response of the EU be,” said a spokesperson for Borrell.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has responded to incidents of vandalism in north London.
“I stand with Jewish Londoners, today and always,” he wrote on social media.
There is no tolerance for hate in our city. I remain in close contact with the Met Police. Whoever did this will face the full force of the law.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) October 9, 2023
I stand with Jewish Londoners, today and always. https://t.co/3268bUO6rI
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says that it has conducted a few surgeries at Al-Awda hospital and is about to send medical supplies to the ministry of health in Gaza.
“Health facilities need this equipment because of the many injured patients,” said Ayman Al-Djaroucha, MSF deputy coordinator in Gaza. “Hospitals are overcrowded with injured people, there is a shortage of drugs and consumables and a shortage of fuel for generators.”
“Ambulances can’t be used right now because they’re being hit by airstrikes,” said Darwin Diaz, medical coordinator for MSF in Gaza.
MSF has “asked all parties to respect the sanctity of medical facilities, vehicles and personnel”.
Updated
Representatives from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and from Israel’s opposition met today to discuss the potential for creating an emergency government cabinet.
Benny Gantz, an opposition politician and former chief of the general staff of the Israeli defence forces, wants to enter an emergency war cabinet – but doesn’t want the far right involved, Ynet reports.
Updated
Israel’s air force says that it is now in the midst of a wide-ranging attack on many Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
ראשוני: חיל-האוויר תוקף כעת תקיפה נרחבת במוקדים רבים של ארגון הטרור חמאס ברצועת עזה, פרטים נוספים בהמשך.
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 9, 2023
Hamas claims Israeli captives killed in airstrikes
Hamas’s armed wing has claimed that four Israeli captives and their Hamas captors have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Sunday, Reuters reported.
Updated
EU calls emergency ministers' meeting
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has called an emergency meeting of the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers.
I am convening tomorrow an emergency meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to address the situation in #Israel and in the region.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 9, 2023
Al Jazeera reports that “two massive raids” hit the Jabalia and al-Shati refugee camps and that dozens of casualties have been brought to Gaza City’s main hospital.
There are multiple injuries from the latest round of rocket fire from Gaza toward Israel, Channel 12 reports.
Israeli minister declares Gaza siege
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said that Israel is imposing a “complete siege” on Gaza.
“There is no electricity, there is no food, there is no water, there is no fuel,” he said.
הוריתי להטיל מצור מוחלט על עזה.
— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 9, 2023
אנחנו נלחמים בחיות אדם, ונוהגים בהתאם. pic.twitter.com/FhDizBKOSX
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Parents and other relatives of Israelis who appear to have been taken hostage by Hamas are continuing to express anger and frustration with the authorities.
One father, whose two daughters are missing, read out a message on Channel 12 asking the government to launch an operation to bring the hostages home – and to communicate with the hostages’ families.
The families are living a nightmare, he said. It cannot be that they only learn about their loved ones from Hamas videos, he stressed.
He also called on the Israeli government to get the leadership of Turkey and Arab countries involved in efforts to free the hostages.
More sirens are now sounding in southern and central Israel, amid a barrage of rockets from Gaza.
More pictures from this morning
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Sirens sound in Israel
Sirens are sounding across Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other areas of Israel.
Updated
Channel 12 reports there is an ongoing gunfight between Hamas and Israeli forces in a community in southern Israel.
The Israeli authorities have warned that a “hostile aircraft” has entered Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip, Haaretz reports.
Updated
Zelenskiy calls for international community to unite against terrorist organisations and states
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the international community must come together to fight both terrorist organisations and terrorist states, linking the tactics used by Hamas in its assault on Israel with those used by Russia in Ukraine.
He said that Israeli journalists who had been in Ukraine and witnessed the aftermath of atrocities in places like Bucha, where mass graves were discovered, were now seeing similar tactics used in their home country.
Speaking via video link at the Nato parliamentary assembly in Copenhagen, Zelenskiy said that nobody would ever forget the attack on Israel at the weekend, saying: “Thousands of missiles. Shooting people in cars. No one was spared. The terrorists themselves gave the world footage of their atrocities, and were proud of that. They even tried to humiliate the dead. We saw all of this in Israel.”
He said that basic standards of decency – “Do not rape women. Do not kill. Do not consider children as trophies. Do not fill villages and towns with blood. Do not shoot civilians in cars” – could be agreed upon by the international community.
Zelenskiy pointed the finger at Iran, saying that the country could not say it had nothing to do with the invasion of Ukraine if it continues to sell drones to Russia, and Iran could not say it had nothing to do with the attack on Israel when its officials support it.
And in what might be considered a coded criticism of Republican politicians in Washington, Zelenskiy said: “This is not the time to withdraw from the international arena into internal disputes. This is not the time to stay silent.”
Earlier at the event, Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, had also spoken about the violence, saying of the attack on Israel: “Nothing can justify such attacks, nothing. Nothing. We stand with Israel and we stand with Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Updated
Israel in control of all areas, but Hamas might still be present inside Israeli territory, military says
Israeli defence forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said this morning that Israel is “in control” of all communities and at the moment there is no fighting inside Israel, but that it is possible there are still Hamas militants in Israeli territory.
An evacuation is under way of all communities near the border fence, he said.
Israel is also on high alert in the north. There have been some local incidents in the north yesterday, but there is no fighting.
The Israel Defence Forces is in the process of carrying out intense air strikes, every four hours, in the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of targets are being attacked, and Israel is only targeting places where terrorists are present, the spokesperson said.
There are hundreds of dead terrorists, Hagari said.
There is no electricity in the Gaza Strip and no one is entering or leaving, he added.
Israel has called up 300,000 reservists thus far.
Addressing reports of shortages in IDF equipment, the spokesperson insisted that there is sufficient equipment and food.
Israel’s death toll is estimated at 700, with a confirmed 73 soldiers dead, the spokesperson said.
Addressing the issue of hostages, the spokesperson said that the authorities have started informing families and will share with the public only once families have been contacted.
The spokesperson declined to give the number of hostages.
Updated
Two Spanish citizens affected
Two Spanish citizens were caught up in Hamas’s attack on Israel, Spain’s foreign minister has confirmed.
Speaking to the Catalan radio station RAC1 on Monday morning, José Manuel Albares said two Spaniards had “suffered Hamas’s attack on Israel”, but declined to offer more specific information as to their condition, saying only that the government was in contact with the pair’s families.
Albares said attempts were under way to bring home Spaniards who were stranded in Israel.
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Austria suspends aid to Palestinians
Austria is suspending aid totalling around €19m (£16.5m) for Palestinians, foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg said today.
“The extent of the terror is so horrific ... that we cannot go back to business as usual. We will therefore put all payments from Austrian development cooperation on ice for the time being,” Schallenberg told ORF radio, Reuters reported.
Updated
This morning in photos
Gaza death toll at 493, local officials say
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 493, according to Palestinian health officials, Al Jazeera reported.
There are over 2,750 injured.
Iran has called for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said today, Reuters reported.
One French national killed, eight missing
One French national has been killed in the attacks in Israel and France is still trying to clarify the situation of several other nationals who are missing, the French foreign office said in a statement.
The state broadcaster France TV Info reported that eight French nationals were missing.
Updated
Hamas has captured a group of Israeli soldiers, Al Jazeera reports.
The report has not been confirmed on the Israeli side.
Updated
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing a Hamas source, reported overnight that Qatar is mediating a prisoner swap.
“With US support, Qatar is seeking to accomplish an urgent agreement that would lead to the release of Israeli women captured by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli prisons,” the Hamas source told the Chinese news outlet.
Updated
Hamas militants continue to cross border into Israel
Israel’s security establishment is assessing that Hamas militants are continuing to cross the border into Israeli territory, Haaretz reports this morning. Israeli forces are looking for holes in a border fence and other ways – from the sea, air and land – Hamas operatives might be crossing.
Updated
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, is in Muscat for a pre-planned meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council, where the situation in Israel and Gaza is expected to come up.
“I will have the opportunity to discuss with our regional partners our common challenges and the need to work together to manage regional and international crises, and to deepen our cooperation,” Borrell said.
In Muscat to co-chair the 27th EU-@GCC Ministerial Meeting. I will have the opportunity to discuss with our regional partners our common challenges and the need to work together to manage regional and international crises, and to deepen our cooperation.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 9, 2023
Our colleagues on the video desk have put together this explainer with the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, providing context on different political and armed groups operating across the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to 436, including 91 children and 61 women, according to Palestinian health officials, with 2,271 wounded.
Iran denies direct involvement in Hamas attack
Iran is strongly denying reports that it was directly involved in the planning of the Hamas attack on Israel or gave its prior approval, insisting Hamas is an independent political operation.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has also said the US has no direct knowledge of Iranian involvement, despite claims by Israel, including its president, Isaac Herzog, who said Iran was the architect.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a variety of sources, claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the main overseas branch of the Iranian military, had attended biweekly Hamas planning meetings in Beirut since August, including two attended allegedly by the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
No one doubts Tehran had a motive to back the assault, and the regime has lavished praise on the actions of Hamas.
The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, spoke to Hamas on Sunday, but none of this amounts to proof that Iran either provided prior logistical or planning support.
Blinken, speaking on Sunday, said: “In this specific instance, we have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there’s certainly a long relationship.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations also strongly dismissed the notion of Quds Force involvement in decision-making on the Hamas offensive.
It said: “The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are fiercely autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. We emphatically stand in unflinching support of Palestine; however, we are not involved in Palestine’s response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself.” It continued: “They [Israel] are attempting to justify their failure and attribute it to Iran’s intelligence power and operational planning.”
Although Iranian denials are to be expected, in part to prevent an attack by Israel, the historic relationship between Hamas and Tehran is not as close as with some other militant Islamic groups in the region.
Updated
Hungary has evacuated 215 people from Israel by air on two planes overnight and they have safely landed in Budapest, the foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said in an online post Monday morning.
Szijjártó thanked Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania for granting fast permissions for the flight.
Updated
Shock and anger: Israelis search for loved ones after Hamas attack
Steve Markachenko, a 25-year-old from Carmel, in northern Israel, had been looking forward to attending the Nova music festival on a desert kibbutz this weekend. He and his girlfriend, Elisa Levin, 34, drove four hours south on Friday night for the event celebrating the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot.
But at 6.30am on Saturday, they were among thousands of young partygoers enjoying the sunrise but unaware that their lives were about to change for ever. At first, the air raid sirens seemed as if they were part of the trance music, survivors said. Then rocket vapour trails began appearing in the sky above: people started panicking about being caught in the open and rushed to their cars. And then the gunfire began.
At least 260 bodies were discovered at the site of the all-night festival, Israeli officials said late on Sunday, and the figure was likely to rise. Dozens more were still missing, thought to have been taken to the Gaza Strip as hostages. The attack was one of the worst single incidents during the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s surprise offensive Operation al-Aqsa Flood – a day that will go down in history as Israel’s 9/11.
Some attenders watched their friends die in front of them; others played dead for hours until they heard voices speaking in Hebrew and knew help had arrived. Videos from the scene show lifeless bodies on the ground, a shot-up van, and men and women being dragged away by armed militants. Screams fill the air.
One harrowing clip showed an Israeli woman identified as Noa Argamani pleading for her life as she was separated from her partner and driven away on a motorbike by two Hamas fighters.
Markachenko and Levin managed to escape the initial chaos, his brother Dima said. Their car’s GPS system shows the vehicle still located about three miles (5km) away from the party site. But no one has heard from the couple since about 6.15am, when Levin called her brother.
“We don’t know anything. The Home Front, the police, the army, no one has any information to give us. We’ve been to every hospital in the country, nothing. And the road is blocked, so we can’t go to their car,” the 32-year-old said.
“All this technology, all this stuff we have done to keep ourselves safe, the army, it meant nothing. This country is a joke.”
Read the full story here.
Updated
The mayor of the Israeli southern city of Sderot, Alon Davidi, has asked residents this morning to stay in their homes. There are terrorists inside and around the city, he told Ynet.
There are reports of a gunfight inside Sderot at the moment.
Summary
On Monday morning – day three of this latest, brutal escalation of violence in this long-running conflict – this is what we know:
The death toll from the violence since Hamas’s surprise attack on Saturday has surpassed 1,100.
The Israeli death toll has risen to at least 700, including 44 soldiers, as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was embarking on a “long and difficult war”. In Gaza, which was pummelled by Israeli airstrikes, officials have reported at least 413 deaths.
The US special antisemitism envoy, Deborah Lipstadt, called the Hamas attacks “the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust”.
Lipstadt said there was “no justification” for the “heinous, barbaric terrorism against Israeli civilians” and mass murder.
“No one has the right to tell Israel how to defend itself and prevent and deter future attacks.”
The permanent observer mission of the state of Palestine to the UN said in a statement: “These developments did not occur in a vacuum. They are preceded by the killing this year of hundreds of Palestinians … and preceded by decades of Israel’s unrelenting military raids on Palestinian villages, towns, cities and refugee camps.”
The latest major developments:
The Israeli military has reported striking more than 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets inside the Gaza Strip overnight, including command centres and the residence of senior Hamas official Ruhi Mashtaa, who allegedly helped direct the infiltration into Israel.
The spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, Lt Col Jonathan Conricus posted an update on the IDF’s response online. He said “almost 48 hours into the fighting … the situation in Israel is a dire one” and the death toll would rise.
Up to 100 Israeli hostages, including women and children, may have been taken into Gaza by Hamas, hugely complicating any Israeli military operation to free them. The whereabouts and fate of the captives has become one of the most pressing issues for military planners.
The Israeli rescue service Zaka said its paramedics had removed approximately 260 bodies from a music festival that was attacked by Hamas. Videos posted online showed festival goers running frantically and getting into cars after the attacks.
Numerous members of the UN security council denounced Hamas on Sunday but the US regretted the lack of unanimity. At an emergency session, the US and Israel urged strong condemnation of the Palestinian Islamists. “There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the closed-door session. “You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Wood, in a clear allusion to Russia.
An Israeli airstrike has killed 19 members of a Palestinian family in a Gaza refugee camp, according to the Associated Press.
The US president, Joe Biden, told the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday that “additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces is now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days”. After the call between the two leaders, the White House released a statement, saying: “The President … pledged his full support for the Government and people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists.”
More airlines have suspended flights into Tel Aviv following Hamas’s attacks on Israel over the weekend. Those airlines include Delta, American Airlines, United and Air France.
Updated
Twelve Thai nationals are believed to have been killed and eight injured in violence that began on Saturday, while a further 11 Thais have been kidnapped, the Thai government said.
Thai officials are still trying to confirm the death toll, which is based on information given by employers to the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv, not the Israeli government. The eight injured Thais are being cared for in hospitals.
There are about 30,000 Thai nationals in Israel, said Kanchana Patarachoke, a spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs.
Of these, about 1,099 Thais have indicated that they want to return home.
It is not uncommon for Thai people, especially those from rural areas, to seek work abroad in Israel in industries such as agriculture. Thai officials are making preparations for possible evacuations, including examining potential routes.
This post was edited to clarify the number of Thai nationals in Israel.
Updated
Israeli military strikes hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza Strip
The Israeli military on Monday said it struck hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight.
Fighter jets, helicopters and artillery hit over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad command centres and the residence of senior Hamas official Ruhi Mashtaa, who allegedly helped direct the infiltration into Israel.
Medics in Gaza said at least seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli airstrikes on two houses. Israeli planes carried out dozens of airstrikes, many in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.
Reuters
Updated
The US special antisemitism envoy, Deborah Lipstadt, among the most renowned Holocaust scholars in the world, called the Hamas attacks “the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust”.
Lipstadt said there was “no justification” for the “heinous, barbaric terrorism against Israeli civilians” and mass murder.
“No one has the right to tell Israel how to defend itself and prevent and deter future attacks. As [US president Joe Biden] stated, “The United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back … Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Full stop.”
Updated
'Very grim' in Gaza
Our correspondent in Gaza City, Hazem Balousha, has this on Israel’s military response to the Hamas offensive: “It is very grim, lots of strikes, some very close to my house. Civil defence vehicles rushing around the city. We don’t have lots of information on what’s happening because there’s no internet or electricity.”
IDF military briefing
Some key points coming from that IDF briefing just now:
There is ongoing rocket fire and artillery in Ashkelon.
Fighting is ongoing in seven or eight areas still, including one active hostage situation in Kfar Aza kibbutz.
Hamas cells are still entering Israel, or crossing back and forth. Not all breaches of the fence have been secured yet.
There is believed to be a tunnel in the Be’eri area, with 70 Hamas militants fighting there overnight
Twenty-five people have been reported killed in strike on a single building in Rafah in Gaza. There was no “knock on the roof” beforehand, a reference to the IDF practice of firing a warning shot before an airstrike is carried out. It has raised questions about whether the IDF has stopped that practice. Spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht said the events of last three days were “a change of paradigm”, and made no comment on stopping roof knocks, or the reported use of white phosphorus in Gaza.
Updated
Israeli forces fighting Hamas in 'seven or eight' areas outside Gaza
Israeli forces are fighting Hamas gunmen at seven to eight points outside Gaza, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Monday.
“It’s taking more time than we expected to get things back into a defensive, security posture,” Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht told a briefing with journalists.
We will bring you more detail on that briefing as soon as we can.
Save the Children has warned children will bear a disproportionate, long-lasting impact from the intensifying conflict in Israel and Gaza.
At least 700 Israelis and 413 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday, including at least 78 children in Gaza. The number of children killed in Israel is so far unconfirmed. As the violence continues, official sources struggle to keep pace with casualties, which are expected to keep rising as military operations continue.
In Gaza, airstrikes have levelled homes for children and families, while at least three schools and one hospital have also been damaged. A medical centre in Israel has reportedly also been hit by rocket fire. All schools across Israel and Gaza are closed, disrupting children’s access to critical education – a common casualty of repeated escalations, particularly in Gaza.
Reports of Palestinian children being killed and injured in airstrikes and Israeli children being kidnapped and held hostage have exacerbated fears of an unprecedented psychological toll.
Save the Children has condemned the violence, saying the scale of the attacks in Israel and Gaza is causing damage that will endure long after the immediate crisis.
Jason Lee, Save the Children’s country director for the occupied Palestinian territory, said children’s sense of safety had been “ripped away”.
Our teams and their families are terrified; they feel like sitting targets. Children across the region are in constant fear.
This violence must stop, otherwise children will continue to pay the price.
Save the Children has called for an immediate ceasefire and urged all parties to protect children and abide by international humanitarian law.
Twelve Thai nationals killed, 11 kidnapped
Thailand’s foreign ministry on Monday said 12 Thai nationals had been killed in unrest in Israel, plus 11 more kidnapped and eight injured.
“We are working to help all Thai citizens in Israel,” foreign ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke said.
Updated
More from AFP in Sderot, Israel…
Shock and dismay gripped Israel after at least 100 citizens were captured by Hamas and abducted into Gaza, with images circulating on social media of bloodied hostages.
Yifat Zailer, 37, said she was horrified to see online video footage from Gaza that showed her cousin and the woman’s children, aged nine months and three years.
“That’s the only confirmation we have,” she told AFP, her voice breaking with emotion, and adding there was no information on her cousin’s husband or her elderly parents.
“After the army took control of the kibbutz, they weren’t at home,” she said. “We assume they were kidnapped ... We want to know what their condition is, we want them to return safe. They’re innocent civilians.”
Israel also came under attack from the north when Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched guided missiles and artillery shells Sunday “in solidarity” with the unprecedented Hamas offensive, without causing any casualties.
Israel responded with artillery strikes across the UN-patrolled border.
“We recommend Hezbollah not to come into this,” said army spokesman Richard Hecht. “If they come, we are ready.”
Israel was stunned when Hamas launched their multi-pronged offensive on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, with at least 3,000 rockets raining down as fighters infiltrated towns and kibbutz communities and stormed an outdoor rave where many revellers were shot dead.
Panicked Israelis hiding in their homes told reporters that militants were going door to door and shooting civilians or dragging them away.
“Israel was caught flat-footed by the unprecedented attack,” said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. “I’ve heard multiple comparisons to 9/11, and many Israelis are struggling to understand how this could have happened.”
- ‘No respite’ -
Western capitals have condemned the attack by Hamas, which Washington and Brussels consider a terrorist group.
Israel’s foes have praised the assault, including Iran whose president Ebrahim Raisi voiced support when he spoke with the leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group.
Pro-Palestinian protests took place in the United States, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries, while Germany and France were among nations stepping up security around Jewish temples and schools.
In the Egyptian city of Alexandria a police officer opened fire “at random” on Israeli tourists Sunday, killing two of them and their Egyptian guide before he was arrested.
Netanyahu - who leads a hard-right coalition government but has received pledges of support from political opponents - has vowed to turn Hamas hideouts “to rubble” and urged Palestinians there to flee.
“We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack,” Netanyahu wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Israeli attacks have reduced several Gaza residential towers to rubble and destroyed a mosque in Gaza’s Khan Yunis as well as the central bank.
- ‘We will not give up’ -
Hamas has labelled its attack “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” and called on “resistance fighters in the West Bank” and “Arab and Islamic nations” to join the battle.
Its attack came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 conflict called the Yom Kippur War in Israel, sparking bitter recriminations for what was widely seen as an enormous intelligence failure.
“There was a very bad failure here,” said Sderot resident Yaakov Shoshani, 70. “The Yom Kippur War was small compared to it, and I was a soldier in the Yom Kippur War.”
He recalled the terror of the attack on their town near Gaza.
“I held a kitchen knife and a large screwdriver, and I told my wife that, if something happens, to make sure to read the Kaddish (prayer) over me, if you stay alive,” he said. “And so we stayed close to each other at home, shut everything and turned off the lights.”
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has predicted “victory” and vowed to press ahead with “the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons”.
An Israeli survivor of the attack on Sderot, Yitzhak, 67, said he now expected the army to “conquer Gaza house by house, clean the area there properly, and not leave Gaza until they get the very last rocket out of the ground.”
Many Gaza residents voiced defiance.
“We will not give up, and we are here to stay,” said Mohammed Saq Allah, 23. “This is our land, and we will not abandon our land.”
Agence France-Presse reports from Sderot, Israel
Israeli troops fought to regain control of the desert around the Gaza Strip and evacuate people from the embattled border area on Monday, as the death toll from the war with Hamas surged above 1,100 by the third day of clashes.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel on Sunday to prepare for a “long and difficult” conflict a day after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise assault from Gaza, firing a barrage of rockets and sending a wave of fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages.
More than 700 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday - the country’s worst losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Gaza officials reported at least 413 deaths in the impoverished and blockaded enclave of 2.3 million people, which was hammered by Israeli air strikes on 800 targets ahead of what many feared may be a looming ground invasion.
Tens of thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle holdout Hamas fighters in the south, where the bodies of civilians had been found strewn on roads and in town centres.
“The enemy is still on the ground,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said as a second night fell after the massive opening attack.
US president Joe Biden ordered “additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas”.
US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington “will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions”.
Austin directed the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and group of warships to the eastern Mediterranean, and said that Washington was augmenting fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
Hamas has said the US aid amounted to “aggression” against Palestinians.
The conflict has had global impact, with several other countries reporting nationals killed, abducted or missing, among them Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Nepal, Thailand and Ukraine.
A US National Security Council spokesperson confirmed that “several” Americans had been killed in the surprise attack, but did not provide further details.
Spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus posted this update on the IDF’s response online. He said “almost 48 hours into the fighting… the situation in Israel is a dire one”.
He said there was “still fighting going on in southern Israel, our troops are still fighting”.
Conricus said the IDF estimated upwards of 1000 Hamas militants entered Israeli territory in the attack on Saturday. He said 700 Israelis had been killed - civilians and military personnel - and more than 2100 wounded. With a “high number of critically wounded people”, more deaths are expected, he said.
“It is by far the worst day in Israeli history. Never before have so many Isarelis been killed by one single thing on one day.”
Drawing a US analogy, he said the weekend’s attack, for Israel, “could be a 9/11 and a Pearl Harbor wrapped into one”.
Conricus said a significant number of Israeli civilians and military personnel had been taken hostage and moved into Gaza. He did not specify a figure, but said “many many Israelis [have been] forcefully taken from Israel”.
He said the IDF military response had two primary objectives in its response to the Hamas attack.
“At the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians. .. Hamas will not be able to govern the Gaza Strip.”
Updated
Monday morning summary
It is early on Monday morning in Palestine and in Israel, 48 hours since an attack by Hamas sparked the latest brutal conflagration of this conflict.
What we know so far:
The death toll has surpassed 1,100. The Israeli toll has risen to at least 700, including 44 soldiers, as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was embarking on a “long and difficult war”. In Gaza, which was pummelled by Israeli airstrikes, officials have reported at least 413 deaths.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, said it was “by far the worst day in Israeli history”, saying, using an American analogy, it could be “a 9/11 and a Pearl Harbor wrapped into one”.
The permanent observer mission of the state of Palestine to the UN said in a statement: “these developments did not occur in a vacuum”.
“They are preceded by the killing this year of hundreds of Palestinians … and preceded by decades of Israel’s unrelenting military raids on Palestinian villages, towns, cities and refugee camps.”
The latest major developments:
Israeli rescue service Zaka said that its paramedics have removed approximately 260 bodies from a music festival that was attacked by Hamas. Videos posted online showed festival goers running frantically and getting into cars after the attacks.
Spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus posted an update on the IDF’s response online. He said “almost 48 hours into the fighting… the situation in Israel is a dire one” and the death toll will rise.
Up to 100 Israeli hostages, including women and children, may have been taken into Gaza by Hamas, hugely complicating any Israeli military operation to free them. The whereabouts and fate of the captives has become one of the most pressing issues for military planners.
Numerous members of the UN security council denounced Hamas on Sunday but the United States regretted the lack of unanimity. At an emergency session, the United States and Israel urged strong condemnation of the Palestinian Islamists. “There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the closed-door session. “You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Wood, in a clear allusion to Russia.
Iran helped Hamas plan its surprise attacks against Israel over the weekend, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas, which holds power in Gaza, and Hezbollah, they said. US secretary of state, Antony Blinken has however said that Washington had not seen any evidence that Iran was behind the attack.
Iran, however, has denied any involvement in the attack. But Tehran has defended Hamas’s assault as a “wholly legitimate defence”. “The resolute measures taken by Palestine constitute a wholly legitimate defence against seven decades of oppressive occupation and heinous crimes committed by the illegitimate Zionist regime,” Iran’s UN mission said in statement.
An Israeli airstrike has killed 19 members of a Palestinian family in a Gaza refugee camp, according to the Associated Press.
The permanent observer mission of the state of Palestine to the UN has issued a response on Sunday to the Israel-Hamas war, saying that “these developments did not occur in a vacuum”. “They are preceded by the killing this year of hundreds of Palestinians … and preceded by decades of Israel’s unrelenting military raids on Palestinian villages, towns, cities and refugee camps,” it said.
US president Joe Biden told the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday that “additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces is now on its way to Israel with more to follow over the coming days.” After the call between the two leaders, the White House released a statement, saying: “The President … pledged his full support for the Government and people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists.”
More airlines have suspended flights into Tel Aviv following Hamas’s attacks on Israel over the weekend. Those airlines include Delta, American Airlines, United and Air France.
The UN’s World Food Programme has called on the establishment of humanitarian corridors to deliver food supplies into Gaza following Israeli airstrikes in response to Hamas’s attacks. “As the conflict intensifies, civilians, including vulnerable children and families, face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies,” the WFP said.
Updated
