15 minutes ago
Seventeen British nationals feared they would die or go missing in the Israel-Hamas conflict
Seventeen British nationals, including children, are feared dead or missing following the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ terror attack against Israel on Saturday, British public broadcaster BBC said on Wednesday.
The news agency quoted an anonymous official British source. CNBC has not independently verified the report.
Around 1,200 Israelis have died since the conflict began over the weekend, and at least another 973 have been killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
— Ruxandra Iordache
26 minutes ago
Hezbollah and Israel exchange fire
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has claimed a rocket attack on an Israeli position on the border with Lebanon, prompting retaliatory attacks from Israel.
Hezbollah said its offensive was a “decisive” response to the “aggression that killed three Hezbollah fighters,” according to Hezbollah-affiliated media outlet al-Manar.
The militant group said it was “determined in retaliating against Israeli attacks on Lebanon, especially when martyrs fall in such attacks.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces reported in a Telegram social media post that “a firing of an anti-tank missile from Lebanon was detected at a military post next to the community of Al-Aramshe on the Lebanese border.” The Israeli military then updated that it was “currently striking in Lebanese territory,” without revealing the specific target region.
Lebanon and Israel have engaged in repeated gun battles since attacks by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas on Saturday that reignited tensions in the Middle East.
— Ruxandra Iordache
43 minutes ago
Pope Francis calls for Hamas to release hostages and expresses concern over Israel’s siege
Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on October 11, 2023.
Tiziana Fabi | Afp | Getty Images
Pope Francis on Wednesday called on the Palestinian militant group Hamas to immediately release all hostages captured during the unprecedented attack over the weekend, saying he was concerned about Israel’s “total siege” of the Gaza Strip.
Israel imposed a siege on the Gaza Strip on Monday, seeking to cut off electricity, food, water and fuel to an already blockaded population of about 2.3 million people. The move follows a surprise terrorist attack by Hamas in southern Israel on Saturday that sparked chaos in the region.
“I pray for the families who witnessed how a day of celebration turned into a day of mourning and ask for the immediate release of the hostages,” the pope said during his weekly audience, according to Vatican News.
“It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves,” the pope said, but expressed concern about the “total siege to which Palestinians are subjected in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims.”
The Pope added: “The Middle East does not need war, but peace, a peace built on justice, dialogue and the courage of brotherhood.”
–Sam Meredith
52 minutes ago
Israel is gathering soldiers on the Gaza border, a military spokesman says
Israel is massing troops on the Gaza border to prepare for a possible ground attack against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Israeli military spokesman said.
“What we are also doing in these areas near the Gaza Strip is that we have deployed our infantry, tankers, our artillery, core soldiers and many other soldiers from the reserves in a number of 300,000. in various brigades and divisions, and they are now near the Gaza Strip, preparing to carry out the mission that was given to them, which was given to us by the Israeli government,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus said, distributed in a video update overnight on the social media platform Xformerly known as Twitter.
“And that is to ensure that at the end of this war, Hamas does not have military capabilities with which to threaten or kill Israeli civilians. That is our military objective,” he added.
Israel has called up 300,000 reservists for its armed response to Hamas’ terror attacks over the weekend and has repatriated more soldiers stationed abroad to be drafted into the offensive. It has imposed a “full siege” in the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of fuel, water, electricity and food.
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
The death toll rises to at least 1,200 in Israel and 900 in the Gaza Strip
At least 1,200 Israelis have been killed and more than 2,700 others injured since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said in a video briefing.
According to the respective health ministries of the two regions, around 900 people were killed in the Gaza Strip and another 19 died in the West Bank during the same period.
After a surprising, multi-pronged terrorist attack on Israel by the militant Palestinian group Hamas and Israel’s armed response since then, the numbers are expected to rise.
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
The US is negotiating with Egypt over the humanitarian corridor in the Gaza Strip
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during the Arms Control Association’s annual meeting at the National Press Club on June 2, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
The US has signaled its efforts to negotiate a humanitarian corridor with Egypt for civilians stranded in crossfire in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Asked where civilians in the Gaza Strip might seek refuge during a press conference on Tuesday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: “This is something we have also discussed with our colleagues in Israel and with our colleagues in Egypt. And without going into specifics, safe passage for civilians, etc. I would say that’s something that the U.S. government sees supporting the way we implement that operationally. But the details are still being discussed.”
He declined to provide further details but stressed that “consultations are ongoing.”
In a Tuesday post translated by Google On the social media platform
In retaliation for the weekend’s Hamas attacks, Israel declared a “full siege” on the Gaza Strip on Monday, cutting off water, fuel, electricity and food supplies to the region and its roughly 2 million residents.
— Ruxandra Iordache
2 hours ago
The conflict with Israel could impact oil markets, a Russian official says
The current war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas could impact oil markets, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Novak represents Moscow in discussions and policy decisions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+.
On Wednesday he will meet with Saudi energy minister and de facto OPEC leader Abdulaziz bin Salman to discuss the crude oil market, Portal reported.
“Of course we discuss these issues. Such events in the world can, in one way or another, affect the situation with the consumption of energy resources in one direction or another,” Novak said on Wednesday in comments carried by Google Russia’s state news agency Tass.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Russia and Saudi Arabia are the largest OPEC+ producers and typically set the tone for the alliance’s production strategy and some members’ voluntary production measures.
Crude oil prices were boosted by instability in the Middle East. Israel was hit by a Hamas terror attack over the weekend, marking nearly the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and rattling oil markets with an Arab oil embargo on the United States
— Ruxandra Iordache
An hour ago
According to the Israeli military, at least 1,000 Gaza intruders have died since the weekend
Israeli forces have killed 1,000 Gaza intruders since terror attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a military spokesman said, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
“We counted 1,000 bodies of terrorists, there are hundreds more on the fence – this shows the scale of the attack, they were not planning an attack and retreat, but an occupation. “On the last day, there were clashes with 18 terrorists in Gaza and Ashkelon,” the unnamed spokesman said in Google-translated comments.
Israel said it gained control of the Gaza border on Tuesday.
In the same Kan report, the spokesman added that Israel has carried out attacks on more than 200 targets in the Gaza Strip at sites it believes to be Hamas headquarters.
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
— Ruxandra Iordache
6 hours ago
The first plane carrying US military supplies arrives in Israel
The first plane carrying US ammunition and military supplies has landed at an air base in southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The weapons are aimed at facilitating Israel’s military operations and strengthening its readiness as the country defends itself against Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel on Saturday.
“We are grateful for the U.S. support and assistance to the IDF,” the force said. “Our common enemies know that cooperation between our armed forces is stronger than ever and plays a key role in ensuring security and stability in the region.”
US President Joe Biden has pledged to provide the Jewish state with “large-scale additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors, to replenish the Iron Dome.”
“We will ensure that Israel does not run out of these critical resources to defend its cities and its citizens,” Biden said.
– Joanna Tan
6 hours ago
Hamas criticizes Biden’s label as “plain evil” and says it is a “double standard”
People wave Palestinian flags to show support for Palestinians and against Israel’s military operations in Gaza at a rally in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago on October 10, 2023.
Martin Bernetti | Afp | Getty Images
Hamas has condemned Biden’s comments, calling the militant group’s attacks on Israel “plain evil.”
The group accused Biden of “double standards” for excusing Israel’s occupation and regular raids on one of Islam’s holiest sites, Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem in the West Bank.
After avoiding military operations against Israel since 2021, Hamas infiltrated the Jewish state on Saturday by launching a surprise attack by air, sea and land on parts of southern Israel bordering the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds were killed and thousands injured in Israel in the dawn attacks, which came on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah and 50 years after the Arab-Israeli war broke out in 1973. This led to retaliatory strikes by Israel that have so far killed hundreds of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
– Clement Tan
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday. An earlier version misstated the day.
15 hours ago
Biden confirms Americans are being held hostage, calls Hamas attack ‘plain evil’
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the attacks on Israel in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on October 10, 2023.
Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden confirmed in a speech Tuesday afternoon that at least 14 Americans have been killed in Israel.
Biden confirmed for the first time that there were Americans among the Hamas hostage takers.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters after Biden’s speech that the administration believed about 20 or more Americans were missing, but noted that that did not mean all 20 had been taken hostage.
“We don’t know how many hostages we have at this point,” Sullivan said.
– Emma Kinery
3 hours ago