U.S. working to verify reports Americans are among the dead in Israel
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. is “actively working” to verify reports that several Americans may be among the dead in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as reports that there could be some U.S. hostages.
“Does the administration know at this point if U.S. citizens were among the dead or those taken hostage?” NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked Blinken.
Blinken said: “So we have reports that several Americans may be among the dead. We are very actively working to verify those reports. Similarly, we’ve seen reports about hostages and they’re, again, we’re very actively trying to verify them, and nail that down.”
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Resident of breached kibbutz: ‘This is worse than our worst nightmare’
As militants ransacked her community, Adele Raeme hid for 8 hours inside her home less than 2 miles from the border with the Gaza Strip.
“They tried to break into houses, they tried to break into mine,” the retired teacher told NBC News Sunday, adding that “they broke the slots on my window, and for some reason, they didn’t continue”
She added that her son-in-law had locked himself in a safe room of his him, with her two granddaughters. When militants broke in, he shot at them, she said.
“This is worse than our worst nightmares. I’ve lived here since 1975. I’ve never been so fearful for my life,” she said.
Israelis should prepare for weeks of fighting, expert warns
Weeks of fighting and a ground invasion of Gaza could follow Saturday’s unprecedented attacks by Hamas militants on Israeli territory, a leading Middle East analyst told NBC News Sunday.
Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at Le Beck, a security consultancy based in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, said that for now Israel was still focused on regaining territory lost to Hamas, securing its border and evacuating civilians.
“As long as this is still ongoing I don’t expect we’ll see the brunt of Israel’s response, but given the scope of the attack and military failure, as well as the emotional shock in Israel, I think we’re looking at a likely ground incursion and weeks of fighting,” he said.
In southern Israel, an overrun police station points to Hamas assault
SDEROT, Israel — I’m standing in front of what remains of an Israeli police station that was overrun by Hamas gunmen. There was a 20-hour gunbattle here and all morning we have watched as bodies were pulled from the rubble.
Meanwhile fears are growing that the fighting could spread across the region. Every indication is that Israel is preparing for what would be at once a large-scale ground offensive into Gaza and one of the most complex hostage rescue operations the world has ever seen.
Amid rocket fire from Lebanon and 2 Israeli tourists killed in Alexandria, there are signs that the violence that started here may not be staying here.
Israel Security Cabinet officially approves ‘war situation’
Israel’s Security Cabinet has officially approved a “war situation,” the Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday on X.
“To this end,” it said, the lawmakers had given the green light to “the taking of significant military steps, as per Article 40 of Basic Law.”
Article 40 of the Israeli constitution refers to the decision by the government to start a war, or a significant military activity. Notice of war is given to the defense subcommittee of the Knesset, or Israeli parliament, as well as the wider plenum, as soon as possible after the decision is made by the sitting prime minister, it says.
“The war that was forced on the State of Israel in a murderous terrorist assault from the Gaza Strip began at 06:00 yesterday (Saturday, 7 October 2023)” the tweet from the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
Air France suspends flights to Tel Aviv
France’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told French television that Air France, the country’s national airline, had suspended flights to Tel Aviv in light of Hamas’ attack on Israel beginning Saturday.
“Air France has suspended its flights for the time being,” Borne told BFM TV Sunday.
Photo: Vehicles searched in Ashkelon
Israeli police apprehend the occupants of a vehicle on Sunday as they conduct a search during a traffic stop in Ashkelon, near the border with Gaza.
France increases security around synagogues and Jewish schools
Security has been stepped up around synagogues and Jewish schools in France in light of this weekend’s attacks on Israel by the Islamist group Hamas, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday.
“We have stepped up security at places of worship and at the schools,” Borne told BFM TV.
“There is no specific threat at this stage, but we will remain extremely vigilant,” she added.
Breach will lead to ‘overhaul’ in Israeli intelligence, former CIA director says
The scale and suprise caused by the Hamas attacks will likely lead to an lead “overhaul” of the Israeli intelligence, according to former CIA director John Brennan.
“This is extensive planning that would have to take place over the course of many months,” Brennan told NBC News Saturday.
“They have to wonder about why their very exquisite, sensitive technical collection systems, were not able to pick up anything,” he said.
13 residential buildings in Gaza destroyed, Hamas says
Hamas said Sunday that 13 residential buildings were completely destroyed in Israeli raids, with 1,210 residential units partially demolished.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, at least 20,363 Palestinians have been displaced to the agency’s schools as of Saturday night.
At least 44 soldiers killed, Israeli military says
The Israeli army published the names of an additional 18 soldiers killed yesterday in clashes with Hamas fighters, bringing the total known number of Israeli soldiers killed to 44.
IDF Lt. Col. Richard Hect told CNN Sunday that he believes “there’s more to come.”
Israeli ambassador to U.K.: Hamas infrastructure will be ‘totally destroyed’
The “infrastructure of Hamas will be totally, totally destroyed,” Israel’s ambassador to the U.K. Tzipi Hotovely said Sunday.
Israel just went through the “hardest day,” it had ever experienced, she told British broadcaster Sky News, referring to Saturday’s multipronged attack on her homeland by Hamas militants. “Israelis could not be safe in their own homes,” she said.
“it’s a new level, it’s another scale,” she said, adding that her country had never experienced a situation where main cities in Israel were “taken over” by militants.
Photo: Child victims mourned in southern Gaza
Relatives carry the bodies of children from the Abu Quta family during their funeral on Sunday. They were killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian representative calls for emergency Arab League meeting
Mohannad Aklouk, the Palestinian representative to the Arab League, submitted a request for the league’s Council of Arab Foreign Ministers to convene an emergency meeting, according to WAFA, the Palestinian news agency.
Aklouk’s hope for the meeting includes discussions to “politically mobilize both at the Arab and international levels to halt the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, provide international protection for the Palestinian people, and achieve peace and security based on international law,” WAFA said.
The memorandum submitted to the league accuses Israel of attacking civilians and destroying residential buildings in its “unprecedented aggression” on the Gaza Strip. It does not mention Hamas’ ongoing attacks on Israel.
‘Every war is a defeat,’ Pope Francis says as he calls for end to violence
Pope Francis called for an end to attacks in Israel on Sunday, saying “every war is a defeat.”
“Terrorism and war bring no solutions, but only to the death and suffering of many innocent lives,” he said in his weekly address to faithful in Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square.
Praying for “all those who are experiencing hours of terror and anguish,” the pontiff said, “let the attacks and weapons cease, please.” He added that he was following the fighting with “apprehension and sorrow.”
Hamas fighting on ‘several fronts,’ spokesperson says
The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, is continuing its fight with Israel’s military on “several fronts,” Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for the militant group said in a statement Sunday.
“The Qassam Brigades were able to replace their forces and carry out new infiltration operations,” he said, adding that support for the fighters was being provided with rockets and mortar shells.
Photo: Destruction in Khan Younis as Israelis return fire
Young men look at the remains of a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Israel to evacuate civilians living near Gaza
Israel is aiming to evacuate Israeli communities living near the border with Gaza, IDF spokesman Richard Hecht said in a briefing to reporters on Sunday.
Evacuation efforts would focus on the “Gaza envelope” — populated sections of Israel less than 5 miles from the border with Gaza and therefore within the range of mortar shells and rockets launched by militants from within the strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF also urged Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip to seek shelter and to leave their homes Sunday if they thought they might share a building with Hamas militants.
The Gaza Strip is a densely populated, isolated coastal enclave that has been under blockade by Israel and Egypt since 2007, with closed borders on both sides and few means of civilian exit. Hecht said that the IDF would attempt to enable civilian evacuation efforts from within Gaza on Sunday, but did not provide further details.
Israel reels from shock Hamas attack and warns of a long, difficult war
Israel was in a state of shock and a state of war Sunday after an unprecedented attack that saw Hamas fighters rampage through the country’s south, killing hundreds and seizing hostages in a surprise breakout from Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult war” to come, but his military was still battling to drive out militants while launching deadly retaliatory strikes on the densely populated coastal enclave.
The Palestinian militant group’s daring land, air and sea operation left Israel reeling and threatened the gravest escalation in the region in decades.
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Israeli tourists shot while vacationing in Egypt
An Egyptian citizen opened fire at a group of Israeli tourists, fatally shooting two and their Egyptian tour guide, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson said.
One more Israeli was wounded and is in moderate condition after the incident in the city of Alexandria, the statement said.
The Israeli foreign ministry, along with Israel’s embassy in Cairo, the IDF and the Prime Minister’s office are working to bring the rest of the group back to Israel as soon as possible, according to the statement.
IDF spokesperson: ‘We’re completing efforts to retake full control’
Israel’s military is still engaged in ongoing battles in eight areas of the country, a spokesperson said Sunday.
Richard Hecht said told a news briefing the Israel Defense Forces were “still completing our efforts to retake full control” with “eight points of engagement” ongoing with Hamas fighters.
United Nations urges restraint after escalation between Israel and Hezbollah
The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Lebanon confirmed Sunday that “several rockets” had been fired towards its southern neighbor Israel, which it said had responded with an artillery barrage.
“We urge everyone to exercise restraint,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said in a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter. It added that both sides should use U.N. co-ordination resources to “prevent a fast deterioration of the security situation.”
U.N. officials are in contact with authorities on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border working to “contain the situation,” it said.
Japan condemns attacks on Israel
Japan has said it “strongly condemns” the launch of “a number of rockets as well as infiltration into the Israeli territories from the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other Palestinian militants.”
A statement issued by its foreign ministry Saturday urged “all the parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid further damage and casualties.”
It also expressed its “heartfelt sympathies to the injured.”
Israel targets Hamas intelligence headquarters
Hamas’ intelligence headquarters has been been hit by a strike, the Israeli military said in an operational update Sunday.
A military compound belonging to the militant group’s aerial forces was also hit as part of wider attacks on 10 high-rise buildings connected to Hamas, the update said.
In a separate update on X, formerly known as Twitter, the the Israel Defense Forces said fighter jets had hit the home of Hamas’ intelligence chief in Gaza. They did not name them.
More than 300 people have been killed in aerial strikes on the enclave, according to Gaza health authorities.
Analysis: Israel will respond. The only question is how.
There will be a military response from Israel, that much is sure. The only question is how big it will be.
Israel has in the past not been shy about using its superior force to hit Hamas targets in Gaza, but the real limiting factor is the many hostages taken by Hamas.
If Israel launches a broad invasion of Gaza right now it could inadvertently kill some of its own citizens. Gaza is densely populate, there are many tunnels and it is a place Hamas knows better than Israel.
The other limiting factor: Public opinion, particularly in the Arab world. If Israel is seen as carrying out a blanket response against Palestinians in Gaza with a huge death toll, there may be a risk of a broader regional war.
Israel names 26 IDF soldiers killed
The IDF has released the names of 26 soldiers who have been killed in fighting with Hamas.
In a series of personal cards and photographs released on the IDF website, the military force described them as “heroes of Iron Sword,” the name given for the counter-operation against Hamas.
Their families have been informed, the IDF said. It was unclear exactly how many soldiers had been killed so far.
Photo: Residents wake up to damaged buildings in Tel Aviv
An Israeli man carries a baby past the rubble of a destroyed building in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning.
Hamas says it will announce number of Israeli prisoners captured
Al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, said on X that it would publicly declare the number of Israeli prisoners they have “within hours.”
The number of hostages taken by the militia has been the subject of wide speculation online, with Hamas releasing footage of captured IDF soldiers and civilians and claiming to have taken top-ranking commanders, though that claim was denied by IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
The Israeli Embassy in the U.S. said early Sunday that the number of captured soldiers and civilians had reached 100. NBC News was unable to independently verify this report.
Israel to cut off electricity supply to Gaza
Israel said it would halt the supply of electricity, fuel and goods to the Gaza Strip, according to a statement on X after a meeting of the country’s Security Cabinet — a top inner cabinet on defense and foreign policy.
An earlier, separate statement from energy minister Israel Katz on X announced that he had signed an order to stop supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip. “What was will not be,” he added.
Gaza, which is largely dependent on Israel for its electricity supply, has suffered chronic power shortages for several decades, according to the U.N., severely restricting the provision of vital civilian services such as healthcare, sanitation and water.
The 2.3 million inhabitants of the densely-populated coastal enclave have endured a blockade by Israel and Egypt that has been enforced to varying degrees since 2007.
Hamas still engaged in ‘fierce clashes’ inside Israel
Hamas remain involved in “fierce clashes in several combat sites” inside Israel, according to a military announcement from the al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the militant group.
Combat sites include Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Kfar Azza, Be’eri Whitted, and Kissufim in southern Israel, using artillery and rocket-propelled grenades, according to the group.
Gaza death toll tops 300
Palestinian health authorities said in a statement Sunday that 313 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 1,990 people have been wounded.
The statement added that seven people had been killed in cities in the West Bank and 50 people had suffered minor to moderate injuries.
Photo: Israeli tanks take position along Lebanon border
Israeli soldiers armed with artillery cannons man their position at an undisclosed location in northern Israel bordering Lebanon on Sunday.
Hezbollah fires on Israeli positions in ‘solidarity’ with Hamas
Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fired dozens of rockets and shells on Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the country’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah, a militant group allied with Hamas in Lebanon, said in a statement that the attack using “large numbers of rockets and shells” was in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.” It said the Israeli positions were directly hit.
Israel’s military fired back at the Lebanese areas, but there was no immediate word on casualties. The Israeli army said it shelled the areas where the fire came from on the Lebanese side of the border.
Chebaa Farms was captured by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war, but Lebanon considers it and the nearby Kfar Chouba hills as Lebanese territories.
The Golan Heights were annexed by Israel in 1981.
China calls for end to hostilities, two-state solution
China weighed in on the war Sunday by calling for an immediate end to hostilities and a resumption of peace talks.
“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said in a Q&A published Sunday morning.
The spokesperson defined the war as one between “Palestine and Israel,” despite the leading role that militant group Hamas played in carrying out Saturday’s attacks.
“We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation,” the Ministry of Foreign affairs spokesperson said.
Hamas rockets strike hospital in Israeli town
Before daybreak on Sunday, militants fired more rockets from Gaza, hitting a hospital in the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon. The hospital sustained damage, said senior hospital official Tal Bergman.
Video provided by Barzilai Medical Center showed a large hole punched into a wall and chunks of debris scattered on the ground of what appeared to be an empty room and a hallway. There was no report of casualties.
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza had intensified after nightfall, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces fired a warning just before.
Around 3 a.m., a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Gaza City blared a stark warning to residents of nearby apartment buildings: Evacuate immediately. Just minutes later, an Israeli airstrike reduced one nearby five-story building to ashes.
After one Israeli strike, a Hamas rocket barrage hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb. Throughout the day, Hamas fired more than 3,500 rockets, the Israeli military said.
Netanyahu: ‘We are embarking on a long and difficult war’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country is “embarking on a long and difficult war” that aimed to “destroy enemy forces” who had penetrated into Israel.
Concluding a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet Saturday, Netanyahu said Israel had begun an “offensive phase which will continue with neither limitations nor respite until the objectives are achieved,” according to a statement from his office posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Netanyahu vowed that his country would take “mighty vengeance” for the attack and urged the residents of Gaza to evacuate.
Gaza, a tiny coastal enclave, has long been blockaded and closed off from Israel by a security fence, so it was unclear how civilians might be able to get out before any new military operation.
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