Israel was surprised by a large-scale military operation by the Islamist Hamas on Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah). “Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, describing the extent of the attacks. The fighting continues.
The Israeli Air Force then bombed Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced early Monday morning on its Telegram channel. According to US media reports, the World Security Council was unable to agree on a unanimous condemnation of the Islamist Hamas at an emergency meeting on Sunday (local time).
In response to the conflict, the USA is moving the aircraft carrier “USS Gerald R. Ford” and other warships to the eastern Mediterranean. In addition, preparations have been made to relocate Air Force squadrons with their fighter jets to the region, the US Department of Defense announced on Sunday. Israel’s armed forces will be provided with additional equipment and ammunition, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Israel drafted reservists
Israel has gathered around 100,000 reservists in the south, an IDF spokesman said on Monday night. The task is that at the end of the war, Hamas will no longer be able to threaten Israelis militarily. At the same time, it will be ensured that Hamas can no longer rule the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said that, among other things, a building in which Hamas members were housed was attacked. At the same time, several Hamas command centers were attacked, including one owned by Mahmad Kashta, a high-ranking member of the navy. In addition, an operational Hamas facility located in a mosque in the city of Jabalia was targeted, it said.
Hamas launched surprise rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza on Saturday morning. At the same time, armed Palestinians advanced into Israel by land, sea and air and attacked people in several towns near the border. Hamas is using civilians as “human shields,” Israel’s Defense Forces said in a post on the x platform (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning. In addition, in the Gaza Strip it hides “terrorist infrastructure in civilian areas,” “desecrates and mutilates” corpses, “deliberately kills civilians,” kidnaps civilians and holds them hostage, according to a photo-accompanied list of “Hamas war crimes.”
UN Security Council does not uniformly condemn Hamas attacks
The UN Security Council met on Sunday (local time) on the conflict, but made no decisions behind closed doors, as the US television channel CNN reported, citing council members. “I don’t want to go into detail about what was actually discussed in the briefing, but there are a number of countries that have condemned the Hamas attacks,” US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood was quoted as saying . Apparently not all countries condemned Hamas’ attacks. The US had made it clear before the meeting that it expected all council members to condemn Hamas.
An Israeli military spokesman put the number of armed Palestinians who entered Israel on Monday night at around 1,000. They entered towns on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah) and went from house to house in search of victims.
Emergency services found at least 260 bodies at a festival site in the Negev Desert, the Ynet news website reported on Sunday evening, citing the Zaka rescue service. The Palestinians not only killed hundreds of Israelis but, according to Israeli figures, also abducted more than 100 people, including women, children and the elderly, to the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds dead, thousands of victims on both sides
About 700 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed, the military spokesman said. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 2,380 other people were injured. Many are in critical condition, which is why the death toll could continue to rise. At least 436 people were killed in the Israeli military’s counterattacks in the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Sunday evening. More than 2,270 people were injured. Meanwhile, the Islamist Hamas fired more rockets towards Israel on Sunday evening. There were rocket alarms in the greater Tel Aviv area and other cities in the country.
Meanwhile, fighting in southern Israel continued, said the Israeli Defense Forces spokesman. “Our soldiers continue to fight and hunt down the last terrorists still within Israel’s territory.” According to the UN, a school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was also hit and severely damaged during Israel’s retaliatory attacks in the Gaza Strip. The aid organization said on Sunday that more than 225 people had escaped from attacks. But no victims were reported, it said.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
