Israel-Palestine conflict updates | Israel PM tells Palestinians to leave Gaza, vows to destroy Hamas’ capabilities

The Federal Aviation Administration late Saturday urged U.S. airlines and pilots to use caution when flying in Israeli airspace after a surprise attack by Hamas militants.

The U.S. air regulator’s warning mirrors an alert issued by the Israeli government and applies to all altitudes due to events within the past 24 hours.

- Reuters

As Israel reeled from a deadly attack by Hamas militants who broke through barriers around Gaza and roamed at will, killing scores of civilians in Israeli towns, defence chiefs faced growing questions over how the disaster could have happened.

“This was an intelligence failure; it could not be otherwise,” said Jonathan Panikoff, the U.S. government’s former deputy national intelligence officer on the Middle East, who is now at the Atlantic Council think tank.

“It was a security failure, undermining what was thought to be an aggressive and successful layered approach toward Gaza by Israel,” he said.

- Reuters

The President also warned Israeli’s enemies that “this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching.”

Biden said he would keep in close touch with Netanyahu, and had called Jordan’s King Abdullah II and members of Congress to discuss the situation.

The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts to expand the Arab-Israeli Abraham Accords normalization agreements, not only with Saudi Arabia, which has commanded most of the public attention, but also with smaller Arab states.

U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead but acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

- AP

Israel will stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, according to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office Saturday night. Much of Gaza was already thrown into darkness by nightfall after electrical supplies from Israel, which supplies almost all of the territories’ power, were cut off earlier in the day.

Netanyahu also said the “first phase” of the counter operation had ended, and that Israel had fought off the majority of Hamas militants.

He vowed to continue the offensive “without reservation and without respite.”

- AP

The Israeli military was still engaged in fighting with Hamas in some parts of southern Israel as of 1:30 a.m. local time (4:00 IST) and the situation in the country was not totally under control, an Israeli army spokesperson said.

In a briefing on social media, the spokesperson also said that the high number of civilian and military personnel taken hostage by Hamas in Saturday’s surprise attack on Israeli towns near Gaza would shape the future of the war and what Israel would do against Hamas.

The total number of Israelis captured by Hamas in a surprise attack on Israeli towns on Saturday was “several times greater” than dozens, a spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas said in a recording aired shortly after midnight on Sunday.

The spokesman said those taken captive were spread throughout all areas of the Gaza strip. - Reuters

Germany and France on Saturday moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel.

Germany tightened police protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, as some supporters of the Palestinians took to the streets of Berlin to celebrate the attack.

France focussed on Jewish temples and schools in cities across the country, as one Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there. - AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his stunned nation in a televised address that the war against the militant group Hamas, which launched a surprise incursion into Israel on Saturday, will “take time.”

The latest conflagration erupted when dozens of Hamas fighters broke out of Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday.

Netanyahu said the Israeli military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities. He also vowed to extract a heavy price if “even a single hair” is harmed on the Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.

Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then. - AP

Major airlines cancelled dozens of flights to Tel Aviv this weekend after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack against Israel.

On the arrivals board at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair and Aegan Airlines were among those pulling flights.

However airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Eilat, Israel’s second international airport and tourist destination on the Red Sea. - AFP

The death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 232 on Saturday, after a dawn assault on Israel by Hamas militants drew heavy reprisals, the territory’s health ministry said.

“The hospitals in the Gaza Strip have so far received 232 martyrs and 1,697 people with various injuries from the Israeli aggression,” the Hamas-run ministry said in a statement.

Israel ordered its state-run electricity company to halt supply to the Gaza Strip on Saturday after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, the energy minister said.

“I have signed an order instructing (Israel) Electric Company to stop the electricity supply to Gaza,” Energy Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. - AFP

The Hamas militant group said it is holding “dozens” of Israeli soldiers captive in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Obeida, spokesman for the group’s military wing, said the soldiers, including some officers, were captured during a surprise infiltration into southern Israel on Saturday.

He said the captives were being held in “safe places” and militant tunnels. - AP

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday the Palestinian militant group was on the “verge of a great victory” after it launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“Enough is enough, the cycle of intifadas (uprisings) and revolutions in the battle to liberate our (Palestinian) land and our prisoners languishing in occupation (Israeli) prisons must be completed,” Haniyeh said in a speech broadcast on Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television. - AFP

Israel’s national rescue service says the death toll has risen to 100 from Hamas’ surprise incursion into southern Israel on Saturday. The figure was announced by Zaki Heller of the Magen David Adom paramedic service. - AP

An Israeli airstrike has flattened a high-rise building in central Gaza City. The 14-story Palestine Tower is home to dozens of families. But it also held offices connected to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups.

Israel gave inhabitants a 10-minute warning before it destroyed the building, which was evacuated. There were no injuries.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, promised a harsh response. “Tel Aviv must stand on one foot and wait for our earth-shattering response,” he said. - AP

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on October 7 issued a statement after militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel.

“Security, stability and peace in our region can be attained by ending the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 lines, and recognising the people’s right to independence and sovereignty,” read the statement.

The Israeli military says that fighting is continuing in 22 locations in southern Israel 12 hours after Hamas militants carried out a surprise infiltration into the area.

In a statement, the army’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said “there is no community in southern Israel where we do not have forces.” He said Israel has regained control in some communities but the army is still conducting scans to make sure they are safe. - AP

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on October 8 after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday, diplomats said.

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned for the civilian population and urges maximum restraint. Civilians must be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law at all times,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. - Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States was ready to offer “all appropriate means of support“ after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel.

“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel,” Mr. Biden said in a statement after he spoke with Netanyahu. - Reuters

The death toll in Hamas’ incursion in the Gaza Strip has risen to 70, said Israel’s rescue service on Saturday. - AP

Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that Hamas militants are holding Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage in Gaza. - AP

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it would convene an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council following the biggest attack on Israel in years.

Brazil, which assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month, condemned the attacks in a public statement and expressed solidarity with the people of Israel. It also reaffirmed a commitment to a “two-state solution,” with Palestine and Israel coexisting within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders. - Reuters

The United States condemned attacked by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel, and supported Israel’s right to defend itself, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday.

“There is never any justification for terrorism. We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel, and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks,” Mr. Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.

“We will remain in close contact with our Israeli partners. The United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself,” he said. - Reuters

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says at least 198 people have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in the territory in Israel’s retaliation after a wide-ranging Hamas assault into Israel.

The toll came as Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes in Gaza and has clashed with gunmen at the border fence around the coastal territory. - AP

Just last week, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said Gaza, the tiny Palestinian enclave on the Mediterranean coast that has been under Israeli and Egyptian blockade for over 16 years, was in a state of “stable instability”. Yet, on Saturday morning, Israel witnessed the largest attack from the enclave — and perhaps the worst security crisis in 50 years — when dozens of Hamas militants, using motorcycles, pickup trucks, boats, paragliders and mid-range rockets, launched a highly coordinated attack, infiltrating Israeli cities, hitting military bases and killing and taking hostage soldiers and civilians.

The attacks, reminiscent of the 1973 Yom Kippur holiday attack by Egyptian and Syrian troops, took Israel by surprise. Israeli officials say at least 40 people were killed and hundreds of others injured. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-religious government’s key promise is Israel’s security, has declared war on Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs the Gaza strip.

Egypt urged the Palestinians and Israel to “exercise restraint” after Hamas militants launched a deadly air, land and sea assault Saturday from Gaza against Israel which responded with air strikes.

Historically a key mediator in conflicts between the two sides, Egypt warned of the “dire danger of ongoing escalation”.

The Egyptian foreign ministry in a statement appealed to “both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to exercise the highest degrees of restraint”.

German airline Lufthansa is cutting flights to Israel on Saturday following a wave of Palestinian attacks, a spokesman told AFP.

“Given the current security situation in Tel Aviv,” Lufthansa will maintain a single flight to Frankfurt but “all other Lufthansa flights to and from Tel Aviv have been cancelled for this Saturday”.

A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed support for an attack Hamas launched against Israel on Saturday, calling it a “proud operation”.

“We support the proud operation of Al-Aqsa Flood,” Yahya Rahim Safavi said at a meeting held in support of Palestinian children in Tehran, quoted by ISNA news agency.

“We support this operation, and we are sure that the resistance front also supports this issue,” said Safavi, who is senior general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

- AFP

Qatar’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying that Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people.

It said Qatar calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and calls on the international community to prevent Israel from using these events as an excuse to launch a disproportionate war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. - AP

Israel’s national rescue service said at least 40 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in years.

At least 561 wounded people were being treated in Israeli hospitals, including at least 77 who were in critical condition, according to an Associated Press count based on public statements and calls to hospitals. - AP

In view of the surprise and unprecedented war-like situation in Israel’s southern parts that has killed at least 22 people, the Indian Embassy on Saturday asked all Indian nationals in Israel to “remain vigilant” and “observe safety protocols.”

The surprise attack by Hamas militants from Gaza at daybreak killed at least 22 Israelis and wounded hundreds of others. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared “war” and said his country would extract an “unprecedented price” from its enemy. - PTI

The United States on Saturday “unequivocally” condemned the attack by “Hamas terrorists” against Israel, the White House said in a statement.

“The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” the statement said, adding that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was in close contact with Israeli partners over the operation. - AFP

A video doing rounds on social media shows a bulldozer breaking the border fence that Israel had built to surround the Gaza Strip.

Oman on Saturday called on Israel and the Palestinians to exercise maximum self-restraint, the state news agency reported quoting an official statement.

The statement asked the international community and international parties to “intervene immediately to stop the ongoing escalation and resort to the rules of international law”. - Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India stood “in solidarity with Israel” after attacks launched by Gaza militants earlier in the day.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday condemned the taking of civilian hostages as a violation of international law after attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.

“News of civilians taken as hostages in their homes or to Gaza are appalling. This is against international law. Hostages must be released immediately,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

- AFP

In a statement, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland said:

“I vehemently condemn this morning’s multi-front assault against Israeli towns and cities near the Gaza Strip, and barrage of rockets reaching across central Israel by Hamas militants.

These events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli fatalities and injuries, with many believed to be kidnapped inside the Strip. These are heinous attacks targeting civilians and must stop immediately. I am deeply concerned for the well-being of all civilians. I am in close contact with all concerned to urge maximum restraint and call on all sides to protect civilians.

This is a dangerous precipice and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”

The serious invasion on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll, revived painful memories of the ​1973 Mideast war​ practically 50 years to the day, in which Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Comparisons to one of the most traumatic moments in Israeli history sharpened criticism of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who had campaigned on more aggressive action against threats from Gaza. Political commentators lambasted the government over its failure to anticipate what appeared to be a Hamas attack unseen in its level of planning and coordination.

- AP

An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday congratulated Palestinian fighters for launching the biggest attack on Israel in years, the semi-official ISNA news site reported.

“We congratulate the Palestinian fighters,” it quoted Rahim Safavi as saying. “We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”

- Reuters

Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, released a video Saturday showing its fighters had captured three men who were dressed in civilian clothes.

“Scenes of Al-Qassam Brigades capturing a number of enemy soldiers in the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” said a sentence appearing on a black background at the start of the video.

Signs in Hebrew in the background suggested the footage was filmed on the Israeli side of the Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

- AFP

Egypt warned of “grave consequences” from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency on Saturday.

It called for “exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri also held a call with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to discuss developments between Israel and the Palestinians since Friday evening, stating that both sides should exercise restraint to avoid serious risks.

- Reuters

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ended 2022 by passing a resolution that asked the body’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to render its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian land. The resolution was passed with 87 member countries voting favourably, as opposed to 26 countries, including the U.S. and Israel, voting against it. India was one of the 53 countries thatabstained from the vote.

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Local media reports said that some 200 Israelis have been injured and several killed in the attacks since the morning, with some reports saying that as per Israel police estimates some 60 infiltrators have been located across 14 different locations.

Unconfirmed reports of people being taken hostages and also kidnapping of soldiers have been doing the rounds, but they remain unverified.

- PTI

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with restraint and refrain from hostile acts that could exacerbate the situation.

“We call for restraint from all parties,” Erdogan said at a congress for his ruling AK Party in Ankara. “They must refrain from aggressive acts,” he said.

- Reuters

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”, the official news agency WAFA quoted him as saying.

He spoke at an emergency meeting held in Ramallah with a number of top officials from the Palestinian Authority.

-AP

Western capitals on Saturday roundly condemned a wave of Palestinian attacks on Israel -- a sharp spike in violence that has been surging for two years.

“This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing. The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Hamas contributes to “the intensification of violence”, adding Israel “has our full solidarity” and “the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorism”.

France expressed “full solidarity with Israel and the victims” and underscored “its absolute rejection of terrorism and its commitment to Israel’s security”. French President Emmanuel Macron said he “firmly condemns” the attacks.

Italy also backed “Israel’s right to defend itself” against the “brutal attack”.

Britain’s foreign minister James Cleverly condemned the “horrific attacks” and underlined Israel’s right to self-defence.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte said: “Appalling images from Israel. Terror organisation Hamas is waging an unprecedented attack on Israel... This violence must stop; Israel has every right to defend itself.”

Spain said it was “shocked by the indiscriminate violence” of the attacks on Israel while Ukraine and the Czech Republic said they backed Israel’s right to defend itself.

- AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was at “war” with Palestinian militant group Hamas after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday.

“We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” the Israeli leader said in a statement, adding Hamas had launched a “murderous surprise attack” on Israel and its people.

​

“I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he said.

- AFP

Ukraine on Saturday expressed solidarity with Israel after a barrage of rockets was fired from Gaza.

“Ukraine strongly condemns the ongoing terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket attacks against the civilian population in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We express our support for Israel in its right to defend itself and its people,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said on social media.

- AFP

Hezbollah issued a statement on Saturday saying they were closely following the situation in Gaza and are in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”.

Following events involving Gaza militants who fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, the statement added that it was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel.”

- Reuters

Israeli forces were fighting Palestinian militants on the ground in several locations around the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the army said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the enclave into Israeli territory.

“It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.

“Right now we’re fighting. We’re fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip... our forces are now fighting on the ground.”

- AFP

The head of a regional council for Israeli border areas northeast of the Gaza Strip was killed Saturday in a firefight with militants from the Palestinian territory, the council said.

“The president of the regional council, Ofir Liebstein, was killed during an exchange of fire with terrorists,” the Shaar Negev regional council said in a statement.

- AFP

Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched a “war” against Israel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on Saturday.

“Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel,” Gallant said in a statement.

“IDF troops (Israeli army) are fighting against the enemy at every location.”

- AFP

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Foreign Ambassadors to Israel, from several countries, have taken to the social media platform X (formerly, Twitter) to condemn Hamas’ action, adding that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Hundreds of residents in the Gaza Strip fled their homes to move away from the border with Israel after barrages of rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into Israel, an AFP correspondent reported.

Men, women and children were seen carrying blankets and food items as they left their homes, mostly in the northeastern part of the Palestinian territory, the reporter said.

The Head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a statement, said “We warned the enemy not to continue its aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque”, Ha’aretz online reported.

“This is only the first stage” of Hamas’ renewed efforts against Israel, he said.

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“The IDF declares a state of readiness for war. Hamas… which is behind this attack, will bear the results and responsibility for the events,” the statement from the Israeli army said.

Rescue and relief services, Magen David Adom, said that one person has been killed and another 16 are wounded in the rocket attacks on southern and central Israel this morning.

A woman in her 60s was killed in a direct rocket hit in the southern Gderot area.

Another two people are said to be seriously wounded, six moderately and seven with minor injuries, the medics of the rescue services said.

- PTI

The elusive leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, announced the beginning of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.”

“Enough is enough,” he said in the recorded message, as he called on Palestinians to join the fight. He said Hamas had fired over 5,000 rockets into Israel.

Salah Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said the operation was a response “to the crimes of the occupation.” He said fighters were defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

- AP