Israel Latest: Gaza Air Strikes to Intensify Before ‘Next Stage
(Bloomberg) -- Israel said it will step up aerial strikes over Gaza in preparation for the “next stage” of its military operation, likely a ground invasion.Food and medical supplies began crossing into Gaza from Egypt for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted two weeks ago, addressing a key demand of US, European and Arab leaders as the humanitarian situation in the besieged territory worsens.
Dozens of leaders and senior officials from the Middle East, Europe and Africa converged on Cairo, searching for ways to prevent the Israel-Hamas war becoming a wider conflict — and airing mostly entrenched viewpoints. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said he’d agreed with US President Joe Biden that the Rafah crossing should be open “sustainably.”
(All time stamps are Israeli time)
Israeli Army to Step Up Air Strikes in Gaza (9:20 p.m.)
Israel said it will step up air strikes over Gaza in preparation for the “next stage” of its military operation.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, in televised comments, didn’t specify the exact aims of the stepped-up strikes but suggested a ground invasion of Gaza is nearing.
“We need to enter under the best possible conditions and this is what we are doing now, as the next stage of war approaches,” he said. “We will narrow the risks to our forces over the next stages. This is why we have once again urged residents of Gaza to keep moving south.”
Qatar Optimistic Hostages to be Freed ‘Very Soon,’ Welt Reports (7:17 p.m.)Qatar, which was key to the release of two US citizens abducted by Hamas, is optimistic that talks with the group will “very soon” result in the release of all civilian hostages, German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported. Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel captured more than 200 people.
Massive Turnout for Pro-Palestinian Rally in London (6:50 p.m.)
As many as 100,000 people marched through central London to demand a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas and in support of the Palestinian cause. It was likely the largest of a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations held around the world that coincided with a summit meeting in Cairo to try to bring an end to the violence. Smaller demonstrations were also held in Sydney, Rome and New York.
Hezbollah Says It Struck Israel After Member Killed (6:15pm)
Iran-backed Hezbollah said it fired guided missiles at an Israeli site and launched missiles at other targets near the border with Lebanon following the death of one of its members, the militant group’s Al Manar TV reported. The Israeli military said that an anti-tank missile was launched toward northern Israel and that the army responded with live fire. Israel said earlier that its aircraft hit targets in Lebanon after incoming fire.
AP Analysis Backs White House on Gaza Rocket Origin (5 p.m.)
Analysis of video footage and satellite imagery suggests that a rocket that struck the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, killing hundreds, was fired from within Palestinian territory, the Associated Press reported.
That’s consistent with conclusions reached by the White House and Congress, as well as Israel. In contrast, the UK’s Channel 4 reported on Friday that an analysis by UK-based Forensic Architecture and others cast doubt on the rocket’s origin.
Italy’s PM Will Visit Israel on Saturday (4:45 p.m.)
Giorgia Meloni is headed to Israel after attending the crisis summit in Cairo, where she told delegates that Italy is committed to a two-state solution to solve the conflict and the priority is access to humanitarian aid to help civilians and prevent migration that could further destabilize the region.
Meloni said the real aim of this month’s attack by Hamas on Israel was to force a reaction against Gaza that would drive a wedge between Arab countries, Israel and the West. “The target is all of us,” she said.
Blinken Credits US Diplomacy for Aid Delivery (4:17 p.m.)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken credited “days of US diplomatic engagement in the region” for the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow aid to Gaza. The convoy shows “that the international community is beginning to address the humanitarian crisis” there, he said in a statement that also cited efforts by Egypt, Israel and the UN.
German Citizen Found Dead in Israel, Bild Reports (4 p.m.)
A 68-year old German woman who was at the Nir Oz Kibbutz on the day of the Hamas attack was found dead in Israel, Bild-Zeitung reported, without saying where it got the information. Efrat Katz had been missing since the attacks and relatives feared that she was among the hostages taken to the Gaza Strip.
The newspaper provided no details on where she was found or who discovered the body. Her daughter, two grandchildren, partner and his seriously ill ex-wife are all still missing, Bild reported. Germany’s Foreign Office referred to an earlier statement that a “low one-digit” number German nationals had been killed in Israel.
Israeli Army Drops Leaflets Urging Gaza City Evacuation (3:40 pm)
Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on Gaza City on Saturday, reiterating previous requests that all civilian residents there evacuate to the southern area of the Gaza Strip.
Residents said the wording of the leaflets carried a stricter tone than before, saying that “whoever choses not to evacuate would likely be designated as a member of a terrorist organization.”
Swiss Probe Recent Alleged Payments to Hamas (2 p.m.)
Switzerland’s top prosecutor announced the start of a criminal investigation into alleged payments made to Hamas weeks before the attacks on Israel, the Swiss public broadcaster reported on Saturday.
Attorney General Stefan Blaettler said the accusation centers on financial support to a terrorist organization, while declining to say who the proceedings are directed against.
Arab Leaders Repeat Calls for De-Escalation at Summit (1 p.m.)
Egypt opened its crisis summit in Cairo with the leaders of Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and South Africa among those on hand, as well as senior officials from the EU, Turkey, Russia and China.
Many of the Arab officials reiterated calls for de-escalation as Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza and prepares for an expected ground offensive. No senior officials from Israel or the US were expected to attend. Neither were any from Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and EU.
Israel Arrests More Palestinians in the West Bank (11 a.m.)
Israeli security forces arrested about 110 people in the West Bank overnight, according to Palestinian officials, as tensions in the territory rise.
Israel has imprisoned about 1,000 people from the West Bank since Oct. 7, amid an increase in protests in support of Gazans. Unlike Gaza, which is run by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority has control over Palestinians in the larger West Bank.
Aid Flows Into Gaza for First Time Since War Began (10:18 a.m.)
About 20 trucks carrying aid for Gaza began crossing the Rafah border point, the only non-Israeli border crossing that Gaza has, the Egyptian TV channel Extra News reported on Saturday.
The head of the UN’s World Health Organization said supplies would include “trauma and chronic disease medicines, and basic essential medicines.” The UN’s World Food Program said the convoy also included 60 tons of emergency food supplies, including canned tuna, wheat flour, pasta, canned beans and canned tomato paste.
US Says Unclear How Long Border Would Stay Open (8:40 a.m.)
The US embassy in Israel said it was unclear how long the Rafah crossing would remain open for foreign citizens to depart Gaza.
Egypt’s Leader Says Israel Should Take In People Fleeing Gaza
“We anticipate that many people would attempt to cross should the border open, and US citizens attempting to enter Egypt should expect a potentially chaotic and disorderly environment on both sides of the crossing,” the embassy said.
US Treasury Targets Hamas Financial Lifelines (7:30 a.m.)
A top Treasury Department official is heading to Saudi Arabia and Qatar next week to intensify US efforts to cut off financial lifelines to Hamas and discuss humanitarian aid for Gaza.
Brian Nelson, under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, will help lead a session in Saudi Arabia of the Executive Committee of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, the Treasury Department said.
Israel’s Iron Dome Is Outstanding But Not Enough: Tobin Harshaw
Qatar hosts some Hamas political leaders and the US has encouraged the small Persian Gulf country to act as a liaison with the group, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, including over the release of hostages.
Israel Says It Plans to Disentangle From Gaza After War on Hamas
All-out war: Israel pounds Gaza after militants infiltrate in a large-scale attack
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel is in a state of war, after Palestinian militants launched a large-scale surprise attack from the blockaded Gaza Strip on civilian and military targets in Israel early Saturday. Hundreds of people have been killed on both sides, and an unknown number of Israelis have been taken hostage.
A new day is now beginning in Gaza and Israel, and it promises more violence, even as a range of countries, from the U.S. to Israel's Arab neighbors, urge the combatants not to escalate the conflict further.
But leaders on both sides say they're now at war — and that it won't be over soon. In the first day of attacks and fighting, at least 250 Israelis were killed, and more than 1,000 wounded. More than 230 Palestinians were killed, with nearly 2,000 injured, according to health officials in Gaza.
The violence has ranged from close-combat ground fighting to airstrikes and rocket attacks.
Questions that are now circulating range from how calm might be restored to what goals Israel might pursue in response to what it deems an invasion, and whether open warfare might derail U.S. efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Here's where things stand:
Israel vows to root out Hamas completely
Israel will "reach into every place Hamas is hiding" and turn those locations into ruins, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed in a late-night TV address. Israel's military is calling up reservist soldiers, reinforcing positions and launching airstrikes on targets in Gaza.
Hamas, the Islamist militant group, took control of Gaza in 2007.
Anyone in areas where Hamas operates in the Gaza Strip should "leave those places now," Netanyahu said. He added, "Israel will settle the score with anyone who harms them."
But for some 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza, leaving Hamas-linked areas isn't so simple. For more than 16 years, the Gaza Strip has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt that restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of the country.
Israeli airstrikes hit central Gaza City Saturday night, leveling a 14-story building that housed Hamas offices, as well as apartments, according to The Associated Press. The agency reports that Israel gave warning of the airstrike, and no casualties were reported.
"We are at war," Netanyahu said early Saturday, in a video statement in front of Israel's military headquarters. He vowed to exact an "immense price from the enemy."
Netanyahu's office says his security cabinet met and decided to shut off electricity and gas Israel supplies to Gaza and to block the import and export of goods through Israel's border crossing.
In Gaza City, morgues and hospitals overflowed with families seeking news about their relatives. The streets were dark Saturday night.
Local humanitarian worker Yousef Hammash, associated with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Gaza, talked to NPR from Jabalia Refugee Camp. "We are now entirely unprepared and uncertain about how we could continue our humanitarian work the next day with a new contingency plan," he said, as the sound of bombardments echoed from his phone.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack
At 6:30 a.m. local time, Palestinian militants launched a complex offensive against Israel, infiltrating by using paragliders, through an amphibious operation at the Mediterranean Sea and on land, Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
A border fence was breached with explosives — and also with heavy equipment, according to videos from the scene.
Simultaneously, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired heavy barrages of rockets toward Israel — more than 3,000 rockets throughout the day, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Air raid sirens and loud booms were heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and across central and southern Israel.
Top Hamas militant commander Mohammed Deif called for a regional war. In a statement, he said Saturday's attacks were a response to Israeli "desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a reference to Jewish religious ultranationalists who visited the holy site, also revered in Judaism as the Temple Mount, this past week during a Jewish holiday.
Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen fought each other for hours in at least five southern Israeli communities close to Gaza — the town of Sderot and the kibbutz communities of Nahal Oz, Beeri, Magen and Kfar Aza — as well as two Israeli military camps in the area, Hecht said.
As of 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, Hecht said the military was still "engaged" with militants in 22 locations, including in situations where Israeli hostages were being held. He did not say how many hostages were taken.
The head of a southern Israeli regional council was fatally shot by Palestinian militants in Kfar Aza, a council spokeswoman told Israel's public broadcaster, and one woman was reportedly killed by rocket fire in southern Israel.
Israeli media reported that groups of Gaza militants drove into Israel on trucks, reaching civilian communities inside Israel. Eyewitnesses told Israel's public broadcaster that Palestinian militants roamed outside Israeli homes and opened fire at an outdoor nature festival, sending Israelis running in fields and hiding in bushes. Israeli police ordered residents of southern Israel to remain in their homes.
Biden says U.S. has "rock solid" support for Israel
President Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu Saturday morning, telling him the U.S. is "ready to offer all appropriate means of support" to Israel.
"Terrorism is never justified," Biden said in a statement. "Israel has a right to defend itself and its people."
The president said his administration's "support for Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering."
High-level U.S. officials are in talks with their counterparts in Israel and regional allies, from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin — who said the Pentagon will continue to consult with Israel to make sure it has the support it needs.
What additional support, if any, is uncertain, U.S. officials tell NPR. The United States provides billions of dollars each year in assistance to Israel and helped the country build its Iron Dome missile defense system.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem urged all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks, stating, "Terror and violence solve nothing."
The latest violence could also threaten efforts to reach a U.S.-brokered diplomatic deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. On Saturday, a senior Biden administration official told reporters it's too early to say how those talks might be affected.
For its part, Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it has repeatedly warned of "an explosive situation" in the absence of a peace process and continued Israeli occupation. It called for restraint on both sides.
Saturday's violence took place on the Jewish Sabbath and the Simchat Torah holiday, and a day after the 50th anniversary of the start of the pivotal 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel came under a surprise attack by Arab countries.
The violence comes after recent weeks of volatile clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops along the Gaza-Israel border, and deadly Israeli military raids and clashes with Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel and militants in Gaza have fought multiple wars in the last decade and a half.
In recent weeks, Egyptian mediators have reportedly sought to broker an agreement that would prevent Gaza-Israel violence, financially stabilize Hamas' government employees in Gaza and increase the number of Palestinian laborers allowed to work in Israel.
Israel has also been seeing its own domestic strife, including disputes over the far-right Israeli government's efforts to weaken Israel's judiciary.
But on Saturday, protest organizers canceled a large weekly demonstration. A protest group of reservist soldiers, which has led a large movement of reservists refusing to attend military trainings, called on reservists to serve if they were called up.
Israel Latest : Israel pounds Gaza after militants infiltrate in a large-scale attack
https://uzairtalk.blogspot.com/2023/10/israel-latest-top-us-general-warns-iran.html
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