Top Israeli officials vowed to punish the Gaza Strip following an unprecedented and deadly incursion into Israel by Hamas. Israel formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for Saturday’s surprise attack. The hostilities so far have killed around 700 people in Israel and 493 people in Gaza, according to authorities on each side. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel. Israel’s military scoured the country’s south for remaining militants and pounded Gaza from the air. Rockets launched from Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. “I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told authorities from southern Israel. “I know you have been through terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible … We have only just begun.”
Follow all updates as reported by The Associated Press:
Hamas warned that Israeli strikes will bring hostage deaths
Newslooks- (AP)
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has warned that it will kill an Israeli hostage every time Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in the Gaza Strip without warning.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, said in an audio released Monday night that the threat was a response to intense air strikes by Israel on civilian areas.
“We have decided to put an end to this and as of now, we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding,” he said.
In a video statement Monday, Israel’s foreign minister warned Hamas against harming any of the hostages who were taken from Israel and being held in Gaza. Eli Cohen said Israel was committed to bringing the hostages home “in the spirit of mutual responsibility.”
“We demand Hamas not to harm any of the hostages, Cohen said. “This war crime will not be forgiven,” he added.
UN LEADER ‘DISTRESSED’ BY ISRAEL’S PLANS FOR A GAZA SIEGE
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says he’s “deeply distressed” by Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on the Gaza Strip.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now, it will only deteriorate exponentially,” Guterres said at a news conference Monday.
He spoke after the Israeli defense minister said he had ordered a cutoff of electricity and deliveries of food, fuel and other supplies to the territory.
Guterres called for U.N. access to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. He pressed the international community to provide immediate support for the humanitarian effort.
TURKEY’S LEADER HOLDS CALLS WITH PALESTINIAN, ISRAELI PRESIDENTS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held back-to-back telephone calls with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to Erdogan’s press office.
Erdogan and Abbas discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. “President Erdogan stated that Turkey is making every effort to end the conflicts in the region and ensure calm as soon as possible” a statement from his press office said.
In his call with Herzog, “President Erdogan emphasized that any step that could harm the people of Gaza collectively and indiscriminately will further increase the suffering and spiral of violence in the region.” the presidential office statement said.
Erdogan also told his Israeli counterpart that its “necessary to act with common sense and that establishing tranquility in the region as soon as possible is of great importance for the well-being of the entire region.”
EUROPEAN LEADERS AND US PRESIDENT PLAN TO DISCUSS ISRAEL
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Israel with U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak late Monday.
Scholz, who was hosting Macron at a joint German-French Cabinet retreat in Hamburg, called Hamas’ attack on Israel “barbaric.” But he added that Germany, France, the U.S. and the U.K. agree that there must not be a “conflagration” in the region, and “no one should further fuel terror in this situation.”
Macron pledged his “full support and solidarity for Israel.” He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in three days and spoke spoke over the weekend with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of Lebanon, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
INTERNATIONAL AID GROUP WARNS OF ‘UTTER DISASTER’ IN GAZA
The secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid organization, warns that the Israeli government’s vow to besiege and blockade the Gaza Strip would spell “utter disaster” for the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the small territory.
Jan Egeland’s comments came after Israel’s defense minister ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza after an unprecedented incursion by Hamas fighters into Israel early Saturday. Israel formally declared war on Sunday and has since retaliated against Hamas for the attack.
“There is no doubt that collective punishment is in violation of international law. It’s clear as that.” Egeland told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “If and when it would lead to wounded children dying in hospitals because of a lack of energy, electricity, and supplies, it could amount to war crimes.”
Egeland also slammed donor countries for halting humanitarian assistance to Gaza after the unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on Saturday.
FRANCE REPORTS UPTICK IN ANTISEMITIC ACTS
French police have arrested 10 people in connection with antisemitic acts that were reported since the latest fighting between Israel and Hamas militants began.
The 20 reported incidents included threats to synagogues or people frequenting Jewish stores, the interior minister said Monday.
Prosecutors have also opened 44 investigations into antisemitic hate speech online or posts glorifying terrorism in connection with the violence, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s office.
While France’s sees sporadic acts targeting Jews or Muslims, Darmanin said the number of antisemitic incidents since Saturday was ″dramatic.″
France has the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the U.S.
Two French citizens are confirmed dead in Israel following the outbreak of violence. At least eight others are missing or believed held hostage, according to a lawmaker who represents French people abroad.
MILITANT GROUP SAYS IT SENT GUNMEN INTO ISRAEL FROM LEBANON
A Palestinian militant group claims it sent four gunmen across Lebanon’s border into Israel as part of the Hamas-led attack that started over the weekend.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a statement that seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in Monday’s cross-border operation.
The Israeli Defense Forces reported earlier that its troops shot and killed several gunmen who crossed into the country from Lebanon. Israel also intensified shelling of southern Lebanon in response to the incident.
The Lebanese military called on residents of border towns to “take the utmost precautions.” Families in several towns in southern Lebanon started fleeing north as the Israeli shelling continued.
EGYPTIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RALLY IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS
Dozens of students held a rally in support of the Palestinian people Monday at the prestigious American University in Egypt’s capital.
The students rallied across the university campus in Cairo’s upscale 5th Settlement neighborhood.
Students were seen waving Palestinian flags and holding banners with slogans such as “Free Palestine.”
The rally came as fighting raged for a third day between Israel and Palestinian militant groups following Hamas’ unprecedented Saturday attack on southern Israel.
UN AGENCY NEAR CAPACITY FOR DISPLACED PALESTINIANS IN GAZA
The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, says it is near maximum capacity in accommodating internally displaced people in Gaza.
The agency’s director of external communications, Tamara Alrifai, said Monday that nearly 137,000 people have sheltered so far in over 70 U.N. schools around Gaza. Alrifai said the agency can host up to 150,000 people at up to 79 schools around the territory.
She added there is fuel in Gaza that could last for up to 10 days.
VICTIMS OF HAMAS INCURSION REMEMBERED AT VATICAN
The Vatican secretary of state and Rome’s chief rabbi have presided over a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Hamas incursion in Israel.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin launched a historic conference on the recently-opened archives of the World War II-era Pope Pius XII by expressing solidarity with the Israeli victims and “to those who are missing and kidnapped and now in grave danger.”
He said the Vatican was following the fighting with grave concern and noted that many Palestinians in Gaza were also losing their lives.
Parolin and Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni then led the conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in a minute of silence in honor of the victims.
ARAB LEAGUE SCHEDULES MEETING AT REQUEST OF PALESTINIANS
Arab foreign ministers plan to convene Wednesday in Cairo for a meeting on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said the ministers would discuss Arab efforts to “stop the Israeli aggression” on Gaza.
The meeting was called by the Palestinians.
EUROPEAN UNION SUSPENDS PAYMENTS TO PALESTINIANS
European Union Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Monday that the bloc is suspending “all payments immediately” to the Palestinians because of what he called he called the “scale of terror and brutality” during the attacks of Hamas against Israel.
The surprise announcement by Varhelyi came just hours after EU officials stressed that no EU money had been going to Hamas and that contacts had been frozen for 16 years. The EU considers Hamas a terror group.
STATE DEPARTMENT: 9 AMERICANS ARE AMONG THE DEAD IN ISRAEL
The U.S. State Department said Monday that at least nine American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel, raising the toll from four.
The State Department says an undetermined number of American citizens remain missing and unaccounted for. It is not clear whether the missing had been taken hostage, were killed or are in hiding.
The State Department is in touch with families “and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” spokesman Matthew Miller said.
RUSSIAN MINISTER AND ARAB LEAGUE CHIEF MEET IN MOSCOW
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit met Monday in Moscow but did not announce any immediate steps in response to the violence in Israel and Gaza.
“As for mediation efforts, first of all the parties themselves must stop hostilities. Everything else can be decided later in a normal, non-military situation,” Lavrov said following the meeting.
Before speaking with Russia’s top diplomat, Aboul Gheit said: “We completely reject violence from both sides. … We demand the creation of political perspectives and fair solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL
Major U.S. airlines have suspended flights to Israel after the nation declared war following a massive attack by Hamas.
American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines suspended service as the U.S. State Department issued travel advisories for the region, citing potential for terrorism and civil unrest.
EgyptAir, Egypt’s national carrier, suspended its flights to Israel until further notice, Cairo airport officials said. EgyptAir normally operates a daily flight between Cairo International Airport and Ben Gurion International Airport, just outside Tel Aviv.
Germany’s Lufthansa and its subsidiaries also suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until Saturday as fighting between Israel and Hamas continued.
SURVIVORS RECOUNT HORROR OF ATTACK AT ISRAELI MUSIC FESTIVAL
An open-air electronic music festival will go down in Israeli history as the site of the country’s worst civilian massacre after paramedics recovered at least 260 bodies from a field near the border with Gaza.
The Tribe of Nova festival brought together thousands of young people to dance and revel in the swirl of bass-heavy beats. Dozens of Hamas militants who had blown through Israel’s heavily fortified separation fence and crossed into the country from Gaza opened fire on the Israelis.
“We were hiding and running, hiding and running, in an open field, the worst place you could possibly be in that situation,” said Arik Nani from Tel Aviv, who had gone to the party to celebrate his 26th birthday. “For a country where everyone in these circles knows everyone, this is a trauma like I could never imagine.”
REPORT: EGYPT SEEKS ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PRISONER TRADE
Egypt has engaged in negotiations with Israel and Palestinian militant groups to release Palestinian women in Israel’s prisons in exchange for Israeli women captured by Hamas militants, the state-owned Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported Monday.
The daily paper quoted an unnamed source as saying that the negotiations were aimed at finalizing an agreement on the trade.
“The Egyptian government is presently awaiting responses from both parties regarding the proposed prisoners exchange and a temporary cease-fire,” Al-Ahram said.
Palestinian militant groups have claimed to be holding over 130 people who were captured in Israel in the past two days. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press by phone that the group’s fighters had captured more Israelis as recently as Monday morning.
RUSSIA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ‘SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE’ IN ISRAEL
The Kremlin is “extremely concerned” by the “spiral of violence” in Israel, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“We believe that this situation needs to be put onto a peaceful track as soon as possible. And the continuation of such a spiral of violence, of course, is fraught with further escalation and expansion of this conflict. This is a great danger for the region, so we are extremely concerned,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman added that Russian authorities were not aware of any Russian nationals injured in the conflict.
ZELENSKYY COMPARES HAMAS TO RUSSIA
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn a parallel between Russia’s invasion of his country and the Hamas militant group’s incursion into Israel, saying only “rules (and) international law” can ensure peace around the world.
“The same evil, and the only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a video address Monday to a NATO parliamentary assembly in Copenhagen.
“Our unity must and can stop the evil,” Zelenskyy said. “Let everyone who sponsors terror feel the power of our wrath. And let everyone who needs help defending themselves against terror feel the power of our solidarity.”
ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER ORDERS ‘COMPLETE SIEGE’ OF GAZA STRIP
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said authorities would cut electricity to Gaza and block the entry of food and fuel there as part of a “complete siege” he ordered.
The announcement on Monday came as Israel’s military scoured the country’s south for Hamas fighters and guarded breaches in its border fence with tanks, while it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air.
Israel and Egypt have imposed various levels of blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.
EGYPT AND UAE LEADERS DISCUSS NEED FOR ‘JUST AND PERMANENT PEACE’
The leaders of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on Monday discussed the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed on “the importance of … advancing diplomatic efforts that aim to deescalate violence, protect civilians, spare blood,” a statement from the Egyptian president’s office said. Such efforts should include establishing “a comprehensive, just and permanent peace,” it added.
Egypt was the first Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in the 1970s, and shares borders with both Gaza and Israel. The UAE normalized ties with Tel Aviv as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.
12 THAI NATIONALS KILLED IN ISRAEL FOLLOWING HAMAS ATTACK
Twelve Thai nationals have died in Israel following Hamas’ attack, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke said Monday. Eleven others were taken hostage and eight were injured. The numbers, based on reports from workers and employers in the area, were still awaiting confirmation from Israeli authorities, Kanchana said.
Around 5,000 Thai workers are in the areas around the Gaza Strip, and some have been evacuated to safer areas, the spokesperson said, adding that Thailand’s air force is preparing planes for an evacuation whenever the situation allows. Many Thais work on farms in Israel.
