UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Several meetings in Beirut made it possible to refine the offensive, in which officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also took part. Tehran denied it.
Iran is said to have helped Hamas plan the attack, the army continues to fight in southern Israel around the Gaza Strip, several countries are repatriating their nationals… Le Figaro takes stock of the situation on the third day of the deadliest clashes in the territory Israel since its founding.
On Sunday, October 8, Israel officially declared war on Hamas, after the day before the Palestinian Islamist movement launched an unprecedented offensive from Gaza, with the death toll rising to more than 1,100 in total, according to a new report, more than 700 Israelis released on Monday, and 413 Palestinians, according to local authorities.
According to the government, 200 of the 2,000 injured are in “critical condition.” Israeli forces continued their hunt for Hamas members in southern Israel on Sunday and continued airstrikes on targets in Gaza, where more buildings were destroyed.
LIVE – The Israeli army attacks the Gaza Strip overnight, firing 500 targets
Iran is said to have helped Hamas
Could Hamas have acted alone? According to the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, October 7, and gave the green light to the attack at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of the Hamas Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed militant group.”
This alliance would have been formed in August to develop air, land and sea incursions. Several meetings in Beirut made it possible to refine the offensive, in which officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also took part. “At this point we have no information to corroborate this account,” a U.S. official said of the meetings.
For his part, Mahmoud Mirdawi, a senior Hamas official, said the group planned the attacks itself. “This is a decision of the Palestinians and Hamas,” he said. “We are not involved in Palestine’s response because it is entirely the responsibility of Palestine itself,” said a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations.
The army continues to fight in southern Israel around the Gaza Strip
The Israeli army continued fighting Monday morning with militants who have infiltrated southern Israel around the Gaza Strip after attacking “more than 500 targets” of Hamas in power in the Palestinian enclave and Islamic Jihad overnight, it said announced.
“We are still fighting, there are seven or eight places in the open terrain around the Gaza Strip where we still have warriors fighting terrorists,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters. “We thought we would have complete control of the situation yesterday. “I hope that will be the case at the end of the day on Monday,” he added.
During the night, “warplanes, helicopters, aircraft and artillery attacked more than 500 targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists,” the army said in a statement. The air strikes lasted until the early hours of the morning. An AFP journalist saw thick clouds of smoke rising over Gaza City.
Several countries are repatriating their nationals
Concerned about the deadly conflict between Hamas and Israel, several countries have decided to send back their nationals. This is particularly true for Brazil, which plans to mobilize at least six planes to repatriate the 14,000 Brazilians living in Israel and the 6,000 Brazilians living in the Palestinian territories. “The vast majority of them” were affected by the attacks, the State Department said in a statement.
The Greek state also announced on Sunday that it was committed to the repatriation of “149 Greek tourists stranded in Israel,” with a first group of “81 people” expected in Athens in the coming hours. Poland also said it would evacuate “around 200 Polish tourists” waiting at Tel Aviv airport.
For its part, Romania repatriated 346 of its citizens who were in Israel on Saturday evening. A government plane chartered by Bulgaria landed on Sunday with 92 Bulgarians and one Croatian on board. Hungary is also trying to help 12 of its citizens, “mostly minors,” present in the Gaza Strip. The government is in contact with around 400 Hungarians in Israel. Preparations for their repatriation are underway.
Twelve Thais killed in Hamas attack on Israel
Twelve Thais were killed in the Hamas offensive on Israeli territory, the Thai government announced on Monday, revising the previous death toll of two. “The death toll stands at 12,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke told reporters. Eight Thais were also injured and 11 others were kidnapped, she said.
Authorities have kept Air Force planes ready for the evacuation of the nationals, this source continued, saying that a date has not yet been set. According to the Labor Ministry, there are about 30,000 Thai workers in Israel, most of whom are employed as agricultural laborers.
“We have around 5,000 workers in the conflict zone (…) There are 1,099 people registered to return to the country,” noted Labor Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn in an interview broadcast on local television.