An hour ago
Israel orders immediate cutoff of water supplies to Gaza
The Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure on Monday ordered the immediate cessation of water deliveries from Israel to the Gaza Strip.
“What was will not be,” Israel Katz said on X, formerly known as Twitter. according to a Google translation. He noted that electricity and fuel supplies from Israel to Gaza were disrupted on Sunday following an unexpected attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant separately ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off supplies of electricity, food and fuel to the region from Israel.
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
Air raid sirens are wailing in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere
Air strike alarms sounded in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other areas of Israel on Monday afternoon after Hamas announced on social media that it had fired rockets at both cities. Jerusalem residents reported hearing air defense intercepts over the city.
Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom said it was searching for injured people in the areas where impacts were reported, but none had been found so far.
— Natasha Turak
An hour ago
Israeli Defense Minister orders complete siege of Gaza: “No electricity, no food, no fuel”
People examine a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 8, 2023.
Mahmoud Hams | AFP | Getty Images
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “full siege” of the Gaza Strip, vowing to completely cut off the already blockaded territory of around 2 million people, after a massive surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Israel killed more than 700 people.
“I have ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant said. “We fight human animals and act accordingly.”
People assess the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 7, 2023.
Majdi Fathi | Photo only | Getty Images
Hamas rules the Gaza Strip, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and has been subject to an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007.
Human rights groups and United Nations officials have called Gaza “the world’s largest open-air prison” because people inside cannot leave, have limited access to the outside world and are often cut off from electricity and the internet.
Palestinians inspect the destruction in a neighborhood heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City early October 9, 2023.
Mahmoud Hams | Afp | Getty Images
Israel says the blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. The United Nations classifies Israel as an occupying state over the Palestinian territories, whose occupations and annexations following the 1967 Six-Day War continue to violate international law.
— Natasha Turak
2 hours ago
The EU foreign ministers meet for an emergency meeting on the Israel-Hamas conflict
The European Union’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Monday he would convene an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday to “address the situation in #Israel and the region.”
He made the announcement on X social media platformformerly known as Twitter.
According to an EU statement, Borrell is currently in Muscat, Oman, to co-chair the 27th meeting of the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council and “reaffirm the EU’s strong commitment to a strategic partnership with the Gulf.”
In a Sunday statement on behalf of the EU, Borrell expressed solidarity with Israel and condemned surprise attacks against Israel on Saturday by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“The EU calls for an immediate end to these senseless attacks and violence, which will only further exacerbate tensions on the ground and seriously undermine the peace aspirations of the Palestinian people,” he said at the time.
— Ruxandra Iordache
2 hours ago
The Israeli military says it has regained control of areas surrounding Gaza
On October 8, 2023, Israeli troops gather at an undisclosed location on the border with the Gaza Strip.
Menahem Kahana | AFP | Getty Images
Fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants inside Israel has ended as the Israeli Defense Forces have regained control of areas outside the Gaza Strip, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told the press.
The announcement came following more than 48 hours of fighting following a surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas early Saturday morning. The attack, carried out with the help of thousands of rockets and gunmen, is the largest Israel has seen in 50 years and left more than 700 Israeli dead.
A convoy of Israeli military vehicles drives on a road near Israel’s border with Lebanon in northern Israel on October 9, 2023.
Ammar Awad | Portal
In response, Israel carried out several air strikes on buildings in Gaza overnight, with reprisal attacks and destruction expected within the densely populated and blockaded area.
— Natasha Turak
3 hours ago
Rescue workers say at least 260 people were killed at an Israeli music festival
At least 260 bodies were found on the site of a music festival in southern Israel that was attacked by Hamas militants on Saturday, the Israeli rescue service Zaka reported.
Hundreds of people, including many foreign visitors, attended the Supernova festival, a nighttime dance party event in rural farmland near the Gaza-Israel border. The festival was intended to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Witnesses to Saturday morning’s attacks reported hearing rockets and sirens at dawn. Videos posted on social media show dozens of participants running across an open field as gunshots are heard. According to Israel, more than 100 people were taken hostage by Hamas, many of them were at the festival and some of them are foreigners. According to the Israeli government, rescue operations are underway.
— Natasha Turak
3 hours ago
Russia sees the Israel-Hamas conflict as a “very great danger for the region”.
The current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas poses a “very great danger to the region,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Russia is closely monitoring the “dangerously escalating” situation in Israel, Peskov added in Google-translated comments published on Telegram by the Russian state news agency Tass. The spokesman said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s schedule does not currently include negotiations with the leadership of Israel or the Palestinian territories, but that such contact could be agreed “in a timely manner.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with the League of Arab States on Palestine on Monday. The Foreign Ministry announced this on Sunday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during his talks with representatives of Arab League states on April 4, 2022 in Moscow, Russia.
Alexander Zemlianichenko | Portal
Moscow has previously called for a ceasefire in hostilities sparked by a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday, blaming Western nations for the conflict:
“We view the current large-scale escalation as another extremely dangerous expression of a vicious cycle of violence resulting from chronic non-compliance with relevant United Nations and Security Council resolutions and the West’s blockage of work in the Middle East.” “Quartet international “Mediators consisting of Russia, the United States, the EU and the United Nations,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in comments posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram account on Saturday.
The comments come as the Kremlin continues its large-scale invasion of Ukraine and has repeatedly criticized Western involvement.
— Ruxandra Iordache
3 hours ago
Iran calls for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Iran has called an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation because of recent hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
“During the recent contacts of our country’s foreign minister with some of our counterparts, including the Iraqi foreign minister, we proposed holding an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and we emphasized that the Palestinian issue is still the first issue.” of the Islamic world,” Nasser Kanaani said in a Google-translated comment to the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency.
Iran has been a longtime supporter of Hamas and congratulated the militant group on its surprise offensive against Israel on Saturday, but denied involvement in the initiative.
“We have not seen any evidence yet that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long relationship,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
— Ruxandra Iordache
5 hours ago
How could Israel and the US miss what Hamas was planning?
Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, hold a Palestinian flag as they destroy an Israeli forces tank in Gaza City, Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Hani Alshaer | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel points to a massive intelligence failure, as the Israeli government appears to have been blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas militants across the southern border and the firing of thousands of rockets.
The Hamas air, land and sea attack also raises questions about why U.S. intelligence agencies apparently did not expect it, experts and former intelligence officials said.
U.S. officials said that if the Israelis knew an attack was imminent, they would not have told Washington.
“We didn’t pursue it,” a senior U.S. military official told NBC News.
Read the whole story here.
— NBC News
5 hours ago
A regional war is looming in the Middle East after Hamas secretly attacked Israel
Israel’s counteroffensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas is likely to drag on for months or even years. This is especially true if suspicions that Iran was involved in the militants’ ambush against Israel are proven.
“Jews have not been subjected to this kind of atrocity in the world since the Holocaust, so … everything is on the table if you’re an Israeli Jew today,” Ian Bremmer, president and founder of political consulting firm Eurasia Group, told CNBC .
“To overthrow the leadership of Hamas, it will not be a matter of days or weeks. That’s months or maybe years. This will continue for a long, long time,” he added.
A view of rubble after Israeli airstrikes on the al-Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on October 9, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The weekend attacks came a day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, inviting comparisons to the deadliest Arab-Israeli war in 1973, which threatened to endanger the state of Israel.
For more, please read the full story.
– Clement Tan
5 hours ago
Israel’s central bank is selling $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves to support the currency
Israel’s central bank said on Monday it would sell up to $30 billion in foreign reserves to support its currency, which has fallen sharply following a deadly attack by Hamas militants over the weekend.
“The bank will operate in the market in the coming period to mitigate the volatility of the shekel exchange rate and provide the necessary liquidity for the continued proper functioning of the markets,” the Bank of Israel said in a statement.
The Israeli shekel recently weakened by 1.63% to trade at 3.90 against the greenback – its weakest in seven years.
–Lee Ying Shan
5 hours ago
China calls for an end to hostilities and the establishment of an “independent state of Palestine”
China called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict – and the “establishment of an independent state of Palestine”, according to a Foreign Ministry statement on Sunday.
“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent state of Palestine,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
In its online statement, it described the situation as an “escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.”
It made no mention of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
—Evelyn Cheng
6 hours ago
Israel Spokesman: This could be 9/11 and Pearl Harbor rolled into one
Security forces gather outside an Israeli police station in Sderot on October 8, 2023, after it was damaged during fighting to drive out Hamas fighters stationed there.
Ronaldo Schmidt | AFP | Getty Images
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus said Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by Hamas was “by far the worst day in Israeli history.”
Speaking in a Video for XOn Twitter, formerly known as Twitter, Conricus said: “If you’re an American and want to compare this to something in American history, this could be 9/11 and Pearl Harbor rolled into one.”
He said the Israeli military had around 100,000 reserve troops stationed in the south of the country.
“Our job is to ensure that at the end of this war, Hamas no longer has any military capabilities with which to threaten Israeli civilians,” he said.
“Furthermore, we must ensure that Hamas cannot rule the Gaza Strip.”
Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip – a small strip of land between Israel and Egypt – in 2005, and Hamas took control of the area in 2007. There are currently more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
—Katrina Bishop
6 hours ago
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 500 enemy targets were hit in a night attack
Fire and smoke rose after an Israeli airstrike on the National Bank in Gaza City on October 8, 2023.
Ahmed Zakout | AFP | Getty Images
Following a surprise offensive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas early Saturday, Israeli forces said they hit more than 500 enemy targets in an overnight attack on Gaza.
The targets included seven command centers used by Hamas, the IDF said Monday in a Google-translated update.
“The IDF will continue to attack with force in the Gaza Strip, inflicting lethal damage to terrorist organizations,” the force said.
Israel has vowed war and is carrying out a series of retaliatory attacks after Saturday’s Hamas attack that killed more than 1,100 people across Israel and the Gaza Strip.
— Ruxandra Iordache
6 hours ago
Thailand confirms 12 citizens killed and 11 kidnapped in Israel
The Thai government confirmed that 12 of its citizens were killed in the violence that swept southern Israel over the weekend when the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas launched a surprise attack of unprecedented proportions on the country.
Eleven Thai citizens were also kidnapped as Hamas took an unknown number of hostages from the area, the Thai Foreign Ministry said. The total number of hostages is more than 100, Israeli officials say.
Eight Thais have also been injured since the fighting began. More than 1,000 Thai workers in Israel have asked to be evacuated. According to the Foreign Ministry, around 30,000 Thai nationals work in Israel.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the Royal Thai Air Force was on standby to evacuate its citizens from Israel.
— Natasha Turak
6 hours ago
Israeli forces fight Hamas on the ground, but need ‘more time than expected’: IDF
On October 8, 2023, a column of Israeli Merkava tanks gathers on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, near the border with Lebanon.
Jalaa Marey | AFP | Getty Images
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Israeli troops were still fighting with Hamas on the ground but had not yet advanced at the expected pace, more than 48 hours after the Palestinian terrorist group’s first attack.
“We are still fighting. Seven to eight vacant places around Gaza where we still have warriors fighting terrorists,” said IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht. “We’re taking more time than we expected… We thought we’d be in a better place this morning.”
He added that Hamas fighters may still be infiltrating Israel from Gaza and said that Hamas had not “knocked the roof” before attacking civilian areas, the term for what Israel was giving as a warning the civilian population before bombing a building.
“When they came in and threw grenades at our ambulances, they didn’t knock on the roof,” Hecht said. “This is war. The scale is different.”
— Natasha Turak
10 hours ago
Oil prices rise 4% after Hamas attack on Israel
Oil prices rose 4% as the Israel-Hamas conflict continued into its third day following a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Global benchmark Brent crude traded 4.53% higher at $88.33 a barrel on Monday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 4.69% to $86.63 a barrel.
At dawn on Saturday, during a major Jewish holiday, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a multi-pronged infiltration into Israel – by land, sea and air using paragliders. The attack came hours after thousands of rockets were sent into Israel from Gaza.
Read the whole story here.
—Lee Ying Shan
6 hours ago
More than 1,100 dead on both sides since the Hamas attack began
More than 1,100 people have been killed since the terrorist group Hamas launched a massive surprise attack on Israel in the early hours of Saturday.
According to Israeli authorities, at least 700 Israelis were killed. The Gaza Strip Health Ministry reported that more than 400 Palestinians had died in retaliatory attacks by the Israel Defense Forces. An unconfirmed number of foreign nationals were also killed.
Medical care for Palestinians in Gaza is hampered by Israel’s interruption of electricity supplies in the blockaded area.
— Natasha Turak