Hamas has threatened to murder a hostage for every unannounced Israeli strike on Gaza and to publish a “recording of each execution”.
The spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, its armed wing, who uses the nom de guerre Abu Obeida, issued the threat in response to intense air raids on the strip and an Israeli decision to cut it off from water and electricity, food and other aid supplies.
“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 of the hostages we are holding,” he said in an audio message.
As rocket exchanges continued but Israel was able to claim that all towns and villages attacked by Hamas were fully under its control:
• Officials said the death toll in Israel had risen above 900. At least ten Britons and 11 Americans are among them.
• It was understood that five members of a single family — Tamar and Yonatan Kedem, with their children Shachar, Arbel and Omer — were all murdered by Hamas in Nir Oz kibbutz, 1.4 miles from the border with Gaza.
• Israelis were warned to prepare for three days in bomb shelters or secure rooms, suggesting a further escalation could be imminent.
• Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, fired rockets into northern Israel after at least three members were killed in Israeli shelling.
• The White House accused Iran of complicity in Hamas’s attacks, even though it said there was no direct evidence.
• Thousands of protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy in London.
• Jewish schoolchildren in north London were told not to wear their blazers if they were afraid for their safety.
By nightfall Israeli airstrikes had killed 687 people, including 100 children, according to officials in Gaza.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, ordered a “total siege” of Gaza and told President Biden that he had no choice but to order a ground invasion, according to reports from Washington. Biden was said not to have tried to dissuade him.
Netanyahu’s army chiefs have called up 300,000 reservists, and tanks and artillery were manoeuvring outside the town of Netivot, near the Gaza border, yesterday afternoon.
In a television broadcast, Netanyahu said that among Saturday’s killings Hamas had murdered children who were already bound, in a way reminiscent of Islamic State. “The atrocities committed by Hamas have not been seen since Isis atrocities,” he said. “Bound children executed along with their families. Young men and women shot in the back, executed. Other horrors I won’t describe here.
• How the Israel-Gaza conflict might escalate
“We have always known who Hamas is. Now the entire world knows. Hamas is Isis. And we will defeat it just like the enlightened world defeated Isis.”
In a joint statement the leaders of the US, France, UK, Germany and Italy expressed “steadfast and united support . . . to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region”.
Hamas seized at least 130 hostages on Saturday. Eli Cohen, the Israeli foreign minister, said his country was committed to bringing them home.
Rishi Sunak chaired an emergency Cobra meeting, saying Britain would provide any diplomatic, intelligence and security support that Israel needed. He later spoke at the United Synagogue in north London, promising to keep the Jewish community safe.
Among new stories of the dead to emerge was that of the Kedems, who had texted friends in Australia to say they were safe in a shelter. An hour later, militants found and shot them.
Terror designation puts Hamas on a par with Isis
Israel will launch assassination attempts against Hamas commanders while seeking to isolate the militant group by telling its backers — including Qatar — that the rulers of Gaza now pose the same threat as Islamic State.
The new campaign against the militant Palestinian faction that controls the enclave of 2.3 million people is not a “PR move”, a senior government official told The Times.
“We are going to act towards Hamas in every way, like the West treated Daesh [Islamic State]. Operationally, that means eradicating their leaders and fighters. But there will be international and diplomatic implications as well.”
The change in policy means that the war now will not be focused solely on Gaza, but will target Hamas members in other locations for assassination.
How Israel’s Supernova music festival turned into a massacre
As young people raved into the early morning, they didn’t notice the paragliders descending on the small patch of desert designated for the Supernova electronic music festival (Rachel Lavin and Yennah Smart write).
The event, was meant to be a “safe envelope for finding inner calm, peace, harmony”, taking place at Re’im, just three miles from the Gaza border.
“It started off as a beautiful party, with great vibes and energy,” said Michel Atias, 43, who attended the festival and managed to escape. What followed was a massacre.
• The maps, graphics and eye-witness reports that reveal how the attack unfolded
Where do we go for safety? The view from Gaza City
When it was time to flee, Soad Al Halbi told her children told they could each carry one object (Nagham Mohanna writes). “Take only one thing that is so precious to you,” she said as they left their home in Remal, a relatively upmarket neighbourhood in Gaza City. “We can’t take everything with us, for sure.”
Like many of the 2.3 million people who call the coastal enclave home, Al Halbi , 29, was on the move on Monday with her two sons, but had little idea where they would go next. As she sat outside her brother’s home, also now under threat from Israel’s aerial assault, she conceded that she might end up at a refugee camp. “I am so confused. What should I do? What should I take with me?”
Israeli soldiers injured in border clash
Three Israeli soldiers have been wounded in the clash with armed gunmen crossing from South Lebanon and residents near the border have been told to stay in their homes.
In a statement on Sunday, the IDF said that “following exchanges of fire near the Lebanese border, two of the armed terrorists were killed. During the exchanges of fire, one of the terrorists escaped back into Lebanese territory.”
It added: “During the exchanges of fire, IDF aircraft struck three military posts belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Two of the military posts were observation posts, and the third was a post used by Hezbollah forces during an emergency. Additionally, artillery fire was carried out by the IDF.”
Terror group Hezbollah announced through its social channels that one of its members was killed, naming him as Hasam Mohammed Ibrahim from the south Lebanon town of Aitaroun.
The group called Ibrahim a “martyr” who had risen up as a result of “Zionist aggression”. In the wake of assurances Hezbollah gave Lebanon’s foreign minister that it would not enter the latest clash between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas, the latest incidents have raised further fears for a multi-front attack, though it has not been ruled out that those crossing into Israel were not from one of the Palestinian groups based in the area such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
IDF reports of further launches from Lebanese territory continued with reports of Hezbollah casualties rising to three. The situation is developing.
Israeli reservists vow to fight
Thousands of Israeli reservists have returned to fight for their country after Netanyahu vowed to use “enormous force” against Hamas (Laurence Sleator writes).
More than 300,000 reservists have been called up by the military since Saturday – the largest mobilization in the country’s history according to local media.
A video, taken at a military base near the Gaza border, showed hundreds of abandoned cars left by the side of the road as reservists returned to join the estimated 170,000 serving members of Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Speaking in a televised briefing on Sunday, Rear-Admiral Hagari said the country is “going on the offensive” following Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas.
“We have never drafted so many reservists on such a scale,” he said. “We are going on the offensive.”
PM vows to ensure the Jewish community feels safe in UK
Rishi Sunak has told the Jewish community in the UK that “I am with you” and says the government will take all steps necessary to ensure they feel safe (Laurence Sleator writes).
Speaking to a behind-closed doors forum on resilience to global threats, the prime minister said the UK is continuing to support Israeli authorities, reiterating his belief in the country’s right to defend itself.
The events in Israel and Gaza have sparked fears of antisemitic attacks on Jewish people living in the UK. The Metropolitan Police said it was increasing the level of security it provides outside schools to provide reassurance.
In his speech Sunak said “We flew the Israeli flag over No10 to show our solidarity with the people of Israel and our utter condemnation of the horrific violence that Hamas unleashed over the weekend.
“On Saturday morning, terrorists crossed into Israel intent on murder and kidnap. Whole families were killed. Women, children and the elderly were taken hostage.
“Innocent teenagers at a festival of peace were gunned down in cold blood and the sickening evidence posted online.
“It is inhuman – and it will not stand. Terrorism will not prevail.
“Israel has the absolute right to defend itself and to deter further incursions.
“We are working with the Israeli authorities to support them and we’re doing everything possible to support British citizens who were caught up in the attacks and the families of those who perished.
“I also want to say a word to Jewish communities here at home: I am with you. And we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that you feel safe.”
Brothers friendly to Hamas were Met guests
The head of a Middle Eastern school where children are encouraged to draw pictures of Palestinian missiles and Israeli flags on fire has been welcomed to Scotland Yard as a faith representative by Britain’s top policeman, Sir Mark Rowley (Dominic Kennedy writes).
An investigation by The Times has discovered that Kamel Kozbar, a local councillor for a religious party in Lebanon, was part of a delegation that was invited to advise police on London’s Muslim communities. A Hamas representative attended the graduation ceremony of pupils at his school.
In addition, his brother, Mohammed Kozbar, 57, posed for a photograph with Britain’s head of counterterrorism, Matt Jukes, despite having previously supported the founder and leaders of Hamas.
• Read the full investigation here
William Hague: Israel must avoid the trap
How Hamas managed to launch a brutal terrorist offensive without any foreknowledge inside Israel’s formidable intelligence services will be the subject of inquiries and soul-searching for years to come (William Hague writes).
The intense political divisions in Israel made these attacks opportune, and the approach of a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia made them urgent.
Mossad officers might be blamed for missing the signs but Netanyahu and his cabinet should have been on alert for something like this.
While the question of how this happened will be a preoccupation, it will also be vital to understand why it happened.
The answer is that their objective is uncontrolled rage. It is to make Israel lash out in a way that starts a conflagration.
• Read William Hague’s full column here
Blockade could amount to war crimes, aid chief says
The head of an international aid organisation has said Israel’s decision to blockade the Gaza Strip could end up amounting to “war crimes” (David Harding writes).
Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, was speaking after Israel ordered a “total blockade” of the Gaza Strip, including a ban on admitting food and fuel.
He said any such blockade would be an “utter disaster” for the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the small territory.
“There is no doubt that collective punishment is in violation of international law. It’s clear as that.” Egeland told AP. “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 criticised donor countries for halting humanitarian assistance to Gaza after the unprecedented attack by Hamas.
Gaza residents fear for lives
Gaza residents facing a potential invasion from Israel, asked where they could go to keep safe. One, Mohammad Brais, said he did not know where to seek sanctuary from an assault that Gazans expect to be the worst they have ever faced (David Harding writes).
“Where should we go? Where should we go?” the 55-year-old father asked.
He has already fled his home to shelter at his shop — only for that to get hit in one of the hundreds of air and artillery strikes pounding Gaza.
Palestinians are preparing for an offensive of unprecedented scale on the tiny, crowded enclave, exceeding previous bouts of destructive warfare.
The densely populated enclave’s 2.3 million residents, many of them refugees descended from people who fled or were expelled from their homes during fighting when Israel was founded in 1948, have endured repeated bouts of war and air strikes.
Despite the danger, another resident said he was pleased about the Hamas raid over the weekend.
“We are afraid but still we are proud like never before,” he said, adding: “Hamas wiped out entire Israeli army battalions. It crushed them like biscuits”.
Sympathy for Israel
British people have become much more sympathetic towards Israel since the Hamas attack, shifting from a more strongly pro-Palestinian stance earlier this year, a poll has found (Kaya Burgess writes).
When YouGov asked in mid-May “which side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do you sympathise with more?”, 23 per cent answered “the Palestinian side” compared to 10 per cent who said “the Israeli side”. Another 19 per cent said “both sides equally” with 48 per cent answering “don’t know”.
A new poll conducted on Monday found that sympathies have shifted, with 21 per cent now more sympathetic towards the Israeli side and 15 per cent sympathising most with the Palestinian side.
A large proportion, at 20 per cent, still answered “both sides equally”, with 45 per cent saying they did not know.
Armed gunmen killed crossing Lebanon border
Several armed gunmen were killed crossing into Israel from its northern border with Lebanon on Monday, while mortar shells were fired towards Israeli territory in a second incident, raising fears that the war with Hamas in the south could spread (Melanie Swan writes).
The news comes after Lebanon’s foreign minister, Abdallah Bouhabib, claimed it had received reassurances from terror group Hezbollah, which controls Lebanon’s south, and is Iran’s most powerful proxy, that it would not get involved with the war launched by Hamas unless “provoked”. However, a Hezbollah official denied that the group had mounted the operation into Israel.
The incursion on Monday came from a bedouin town in the Western Galilee, according to Sarit Zahavi, the founder of Alma Research Centre, experts in Israel’s security challenges in the northern borders and a former officer in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
She said: “They crossed and were killed very quickly by IDF forces. Later on there was a retaliation by the IDF which destroyed Hezbollah watch towers on the border.” The towers were posing as an environmental group called Green Without Borders, recently exposed as a cover for Hezbollah.
The IDF has mobilised 3,000 reserve troops, many of whom are being sent to the northern front. The UN peacekeeping organisation, UNIFIL, has reinforced its presence in the area since Saturday’s outbreak, in a bid to retain calm.
Yousaf: My wife’s parents are trapped in Gaza
Humza Yousaf’s in-laws are trapped in Gaza, leaving the Scottish first minister worried whether “they will make it through the night” (Emma Taggart writes).
The parents of Nadia El-Nakla, Yousaf’s wife, were visiting relatives in the region when Hamas launched an assault on southern Israel on Saturday morning.
Yousaf’s in-laws, who live in Dundee, had been visiting his father-in-law’s 92-year-old mother, he said on Monday.
The first minister said that he and his wife “cannot sleep” due to worry for their family.
Yousaf said: “I’m in a situation where, frankly, night by night, day by day, we don’t know whether or not my mother-in-law and father-in-law — who have nothing to do, as most Gazans don’t, with Hamas or with any terror attack — whether they will make it through the night or not.”
Qatari mediators negotiate prisoner swap
Qatari mediators have held urgent calls to try to negotiate the release of the Israeli women and children seized by Hamas and held in Gaza in exchange for 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source briefed on the talks said (David Harding writes).
Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters its involvement in mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials, including over a possible prisoner swap.
The ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the US since Saturday night, are “moving positively” said the source.
“We are in constant contact with all sides at the moment. Our priorities are to end the bloodshed, release the prisoners and make sure the conflict is contained with no regional spillover,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said.
Israeli response will change Middle East, Netanyahu warns
Israel’s response to a surprise attack that killed more than 800 Israelis will “change the Middle East,” Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has warned (Joshua Thurston writes).
He did not elaborate on his prediction, made while speaking to the mayors of southern border towns hit by the unprecedented multi-pronged attack by Palestinian gunmen from the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The Israeli retaliation has already killed at least 560 in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. The total death toll on both sides has passed 1,200.
Israel kills gunmen who crossed border from Lebanon
The Israeli Defence Forces says it has killed several armed people who crossed into northern Israel from Lebanon. At least three gunmen crossed the border. Two were killed and one is still at large (Anshel Pfeffer writes from Jerusalem). IDF soldiers are continuing to search the area.
Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in the incident. The Israeli troops were backed by helicopters, according to the IDF. Hezbollah denied it was responsible and said it has not mounted any operation into Israel.
Israel’s Army Radio gave the location as being near Adamit, across from the Lebanese border towns of Aalma El Chaeb and Zahajra.
A spokesperson for the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said the force was aware of an incident at the southern border but did not have further details. Lebanon’s army had no immediate comment.
Ukraine accuses Moscow of handing western weapons to Hamas
Ukraine has accused Moscow of handing over western weapons to Hamas in an effort to discredit Kyiv (Marc Bennetts writes).
Gur, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, claimed that Russian forces had seized the “trophy” weapons in combat in Ukraine and then transferred them to the Palestinian group.
It also said Moscow was also planning to accuse the Ukrainian military of selling weapons produced in America and Europe to terrorists in an effort to bring about an end to western arms supplies to Kyiv.
The claim came after Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right Republican congresswoman, said that it was “highly likely” that Hamas used US-made weapons that had been seized in Afghanistan or Ukraine to slaughter Israeli civilians. She did not provide evidence to support her claim.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in June that western anti-tank weapons that were provided to Ukraine had ended up in the hands of its enemies.
Nine Americans killed in Israel since start of attacks
The US state department has confirmed that at least nine Americans have been killed in Israel since Saturday (Alistair Dawber writes).
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in touch with our Israeli partners, particularly the local authorities,” a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.
Officials also fear that an unknown number of US citizens are among the hostages taken by Hamas into Gaza following the assault.
In a separate statement, a state department spokesman said that officials were working with their Israeli counterparts to determine the whereabouts of the missing Americans.
‘Nearly every Jewish family in Britain will be affected’
There is “hardly a Jewish family in the UK not affected” by the violence and conflict in Israel and Gaza, the chief rabbi has said (Kaya Burgess writes).
Sir Ephraim Mirvis said it was a “time of mourning, of deep grief and of enormous worry” for the UK’s 271,000-strong Jewish community. He said that “all steps need to be taken in order to guarantee safety” following “one of the most awful terrorist outrages in living memory”.
“When we make calls now to other Jewish people in the UK, the first question everybody is asking is: ‘How are you? How is your family? Is everybody alright?’” he told BBC Breakfast. “Because there is hardly a Jewish family in the UK not affected in one way or another by what has happened.”
Two-state solution is the only way to peace, Lavrov says
Russia has urged talks on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the current hostilities have ended (Marc Bennetts writes).
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, was speaking in Moscow after talks with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the head of the Arab League. Lavrov said Russia condemned violence “in all forms” and accused Western countries of encouraging Israeli retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip.
“This has already happened many times in the history of this longest unsettled conflict on earth,” Lavrov said. Hamas officials have visited Moscow twice in the past 12 months but there is no evidence that the Kremlin orchestrated the ongoing attacks on Israel.
Lavrov said a solution that resulted in Israel co-existing alongside an independent Palestinian state, as envisioned by numerous international diplomatic efforts since the end of the Second World War, was the only way to guarantee peace.
Cleverly: Israel has right and duty to protect its borders
James Cleverly has committed Britain to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel following the “barbarism” of the ongoing terror attacks (David Brown writes).
As he visited the Israeli embassy and lit a candle in memory of the victims, the foreign secretary said the UK would help to restore peace.
Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador, told Cleverly: “These are the things that remind us of the dark times of Jewish history”.
Hotovely, who had been in Israel when the attacks began, later compared the “evil” of the attacks to anti-Jewish pogroms in eastern Europe.
Cleverly told the ambassador: “These people, terrorists, go from house to house murdering people who just wanted to live their lives ... We stand ready to listen to what requests for support that you might need. Of course we will also continue to support British nationals who are in Israel that may need UK government help.
“This is unprecedented and the UK’s position on this is unambiguous. This is terrorism, perpetrated by a terrorist organisation ... there can never be justification for the brutal targeting of civilians in this way.
“I shall be speaking to the government of Israel and countries in the region ... Israel has the right and duty to protect its borders and protect its people.”
Gaza’s water supply cut off
Israeli authorities have ordered water supplies for the Gaza Strip to be cut off immediately (Joshua Thurston writes).
“I ordered to immediately cut off the water supply from Israel to Gaza,” Israel Katz, the energy minister, wrote on Twitter/X.
When challenged on the move, Katz blamed Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, for Israel’s response.
The Gaza Strip receives about 10 per cent of its annual water from Israel.
Israel does not allow water to be transferred from the West Bank to Gaza with a coastal aquifer, the only groundwater source in the Gaza Strip.
In Gaza, about 90 to 95 per cent of the water supply is contaminated and unfit for human consumption, according to Amnesty International.
Airline and leisure shares fall
European shares came under pressure as the conflict prompted a flight to safe-haven assets such as the dollar, while oil prices rose on concerns about oil supply (Martin Strydom writes). Defence and oil stocks rose but airline and leisure shares fell.
Shares in Britain’s BAE Systems, Sweden’s Saab, Italy’s Leonardo and Germany’s Rheinmetall rose between 4.2 per cent and 9.5 per cent on expectations of a prolonged military conflict in the region.
However, shares in British Airways owner IAG, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa dropped by between 2.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent as several international air carriers suspended flight services to Tel Aviv amid concerns about higher fuel costs. Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chains, fell after fears that customers might stop travelling.
A 3 per cent rise in Brent crude prices lifted BP and Shell shares, while shares in Energean, the FTSE 250 listed UK-Israeli oil producer focused on the eastern Mediterranean, dropped 16 per cent.
The dollar rose against a number of currencies, including the Israeli shekel. The shekel dropped to 3.93 per dollar at one stage, its lowest since early 2016, after the Bank of Israel said it would sell up to $30 billion of foreign currency in the open market to maintain stability.
Analysts said any uncertainty about how the conflict would play out would buoy the dollar. Mohit Kumar, chief economist for Europe at Jefferies, said: “The scale of the attack and loss of lives imply that the response is likely to last for a few months, potentially until year-end.”
Lavrov: Russia and Arab League will work together to stop bloodshed
Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s spokesman, said there was a “high risk” that other countries could become involved in the conflict. “It is very important to find ways as soon as possible to move towards some kind of negotiation process,” Peskov said (Marc Bennetts writes).
Hamas officials have visited Moscow twice in the past 12 months, including for talks with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. Lavrov met Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the head of the Arab League, in Moscow on Monday.
Lavrov said Russia and the Arab League would work together to “stop the bloodshed”, and Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said he condemned “the violence, but from all sides” and called for a fair resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
PM: Complex situation on the ground in Israel
Rishi Sunak has said it was “complex” finding out whether any Britons had been killed or taken hostage in Israel (Chris Smyth writes).
The prime minister acknowledged it was “an anxious time for many families” as he said diplomats were trying to find out if any British citizens had been caught up in the Hamas attack.
“It’s a quite complex situation on the ground, so we are working very closely with our Israeli counterparts to establish the status of any British nationals,” he said. “That work is under way as we speak.”
Britain is one of Israel’s staunchest allies, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak will chair a Cobra meeting this afternoon as he promises to provide more military assistance to Israel (Chris Smyth writes).
The prime minister said that Britain was one of Israel’s strongest allies. “We’ve provided in the past the kinds of equipment that they’ve used to defend themselves over the past couple of days,” he said.
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Sunak told businesses in Nottinghamshire that he had promised Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, that Britain “will continue to provide — whether that’s diplomatic, intelligence or security support — as they need”.
He added: “I’m chairing a Cobra with my ministerial colleagues this afternoon, when we’ll continue to discuss the situation, but we’re in close dialogue with our Israeli counterparts.”
March in support of Israel to be held in Paris
The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions has called for a march in support of Israel in Paris on Monday night (David Chazan writes). The march will begin in the city’s 16th arrondissement at 6.30pm local time. It will end at Trocadéro, near the Eiffel Tower, which will be lit up in the colours of the Israeli flag from 8pm.
Security is expected to be tight to prevent possible clashes with pro-Palestinian protesters. A pro-Palestinian demonstration that had been planned in Lyon on Monday night has been banned because of a possible risk to public safety, the local prefecture said.
French Jews fear hate crimes and the government is deploying extra police to guard Jewish community sites in France together with soldiers from Opération Sentinelle, a special force deployed across the country since terror attacks in Paris in 2015.
France is home to the world’s second largest diaspora Jewish community after the US, numbering an estimated 550,000. France also has one of western Europe’s largest Muslim populations, estimated at 5.5 million. Several French citizens are missing, with some believed to be held by Hamas militants, and a French woman has been killed.
Hamas leader in Gaza Strip ‘is a dead man’
The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip is a “dead man”, Israel’s senior military spokesman has said.
“Yahya Sinwar is the commander of the campaign, and he is a dead man,” Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, said in a press conference.
Hamas’s “military and political leadership, all of its assets, are attackable, and doomed,” he added.
Four Israeli captives killed in airstrikes, Hamas claims
Hamas has claimed that four Israeli hostages it had taken captive have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the enclave since Sunday (David Harding writes). The group said their captors had also been killed.
“The bombardment overnight and today on the Gaza Strip led to the killing of four of the enemy’s captives and their captors,” said Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas.
Hamas has taken various Israelis as hostages since the raid over the weekend but it is not known exactly how many. It says it wants to exchange them for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry said that dozens of Palestinians had been killed and wounded in Israeli air strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp on Monday.
Zelensky compares Hamas to Russia
Ukraine’s President Zelensky has compared Hamas to Russia, calling the actions of the two the “same evil” (David Harding writes).
Drawing a parallel between Russia’s invasion of his country and the Hamas militant group’s incursion into Israel, he said only “rules (and) international law” can ensure peace around the world.
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“The same evil . . . the only difference is that there is a terrorist organisation that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video address to a Nato parliamentary assembly in Copenhagen.
“Our unity must and can stop the evil,” Zelensky 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.”
Israel-Gaza conflict in pictures
Hamas ‘fighting for prisoners to be freed’
Hamas wants to “liberate all Palestinian prisoners” from Israel and “end Israeli provocations” in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa mosque, a spokesman has said.
Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told Associated Press that Hamas was still fighting Israeli forces and had captured more Israelis on Monday morning.
“We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al-Aqsa mosque,” he said. “This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.”
He said the group had captured “a large number of Israelis” in Gaza, without giving a specific figure. He said that al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, would announce the figures later.
Israeli opposition leaders discuss national unity government
As Israel enters its third day of war with Gaza, representatives of Likud, the ruling party, and National Unity, the second-largest party in the opposition, led by former defence minister Benny Gantz, met in Jerusalem to discuss the possibility of a national unity government (Anshel Pfeffer writes from Jerusalem).
Gantz has expressed his willingness to enter the Netanyahu government without any conditions beyond having a say on decision-making. Yair Lapid, the leader of the main opposition party and former prime minister, has also said he is prepared to join the government. Lapid had previously ruled out co-operation with Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, but he is also keen to marginalise the role of Netanyahu’s far-right partners in the cabinet.
Netanyahu has said in closed conversations that he will not jeopardise his own coalition base to bring in the opposition in time of war.
In a briefing to the media, the Israeli army’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said that security forces had regained control of all the places where Hamas terrorists had infiltrated on Sunday morning and the Israeli air force was attacking Hamas targets in Gaza. He said that 300,000 reserve soldiers had been called up.
Call Hamas terrorists, former BBC director of television says
The BBC is “failing the public” by failing to describe Hamas attacks as terrorism, the corporation’s former director of television has said (Chris Smyth writes).
Danny Cohen said: “There appears to be a diktat not to use the word ‘terrorism’ even when the acts being reported are terrorism of the most egregious and barbaric kind.” He urged BBC bosses to rethink their terminology.
The BBC has used the term “militants” which Cohen said suggested that “shooting children in cold blood is some part of conventional military warfare”. While acknowledging the “delicate balancing act” and the “dedicated journalists” of the BBC, Cohen wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “The BBC, and other UK news organisations, are failing the public when they fail to accurately report terrorism and war crimes for what they are.”
Ten Nepalis killed in Hamas attacks
Ten Nepalis were killed and four were wounded in the Hamas attack on Israel, according to Nepal’s foreign ministry (Peter Stubley writes).
One person has also been reported missing and others are hiding in bunkers, according to media reports. About 4,500 Nepalis work in Israel, with many employed as care assistants. In addition, more than 100 are students taking part in an “earn and learn” programme.
The foreign ministry said arrangements were being made to evacuate all those who want to return home. “The government of Nepal is fully committed to the rescue of Nepalis from the conflict-affected areas as soon as possible,” the ministry said in a statement.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the prime minister of Nepal, is holding a special cabinet meeting today to discuss the situation.
Kremlin ‘may exploit attacks’ to distract from Ukraine
Russia hopes that the fighting in Israel will deflect the West’s attention from its invasion of Ukraine, a leading US think-tank has said (Marc Bennetts writes).
“The Kremlin is already and will likely continue to exploit the Hamas attacks in Israel to advance several information operations intended to reduce US and Western support and attention to Ukraine,” said the Institute for the Study of War.
It came as Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian leader, lashed out at the West, saying: “Instead of actively working at Palestinian-Israeli settlement, these morons have interfered with us, and are providing the neo-Nazis with full-scale aid.”
Moscow routinely refers to Ukraine’s democratically elected government as Nazis. Sergey Mardan, a state media presenter, was more explicit, saying that the West “will be distracted from Ukraine and will get busy trying to put out the eternal Middle Eastern fire”.
Although Hamas officials have travelled to Moscow twice in the past 12 months for meetings, including with Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, there is no evidence that the Kremlin was linked to the attack from the Gaza Strip. However, Medvedev called the violence “an expected development”. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said that Washington does not believe that the Hamas attack was an attempt to take advantage of the West’s focus on Ukraine.
Arrest pro-Hamas demonstrators in UK, minister says
Police should arrest pro-Hamas demonstrators in Britain, a government minister has suggested (Chris Smyth writes).
Hamas is banned in Britain and Lee Rowley, the communities minister, warned that “there is a right to protest, but there is not a right . . . to glorify terrorism”.
He told Sky News: “You cannot support proscribed organisations like Hamas within the United Kingdom, and if that’s the case then I would expect police to take action accordingly.”
• British Jews braced for hate crimes as pro-Palestinian groups celebrate
Rowley said he had “no idea” why people would want to protest when “we have just seen a clear terrorist attack on Israeli soil”, warning that “people should be extremely cautious and know exactly where the law is, and they cannot glorify what Hamas has done”.
He added: “People should also have the decency to recognise that over a thousand people have died over the weekend in a completely unprovoked attack, and I would be very cautious about what people are doing.”
Foreign Office working to establish if Britons taken hostage
The Foreign Office is still trying to work out if British citizens have been taken hostage in Israel or taken to Gaza, a government minister has said (Chris Smyth writes).
Lee Rowley, the communities minister, said the government was not yet clear about how many Britons might be in Israel or Gaza but insisted officials were “working very hard” to find out.
• British man Nathanel Young killed while serving in Israeli army
Rowley suggested it was hard to know total numbers because “many, many people are going in and out of Israel every single day”.
He told Sky News: “There is this significant challenge at the moment with people from Israel who may be in, have been taken into Gaza. The Foreign Office and the foreign secretary [are] working very hard on ensuring that we are clear about what is happening.”
Fighting in ‘seven to eight’ places in south Israel
Israel’s military is engaged in gun battles around Gaza, with Hamas entering settlements and attempting to storm armed forces bases (Sam Masters writes).
The Israel Defence Force is carrying out searches along the border fence with exchanges of gunfire reported at Sa’ad and other communities around the Palestinian territory.
There has also been a suggestion that Hamas has attacked the Zikim army base, to the north of Gaza, beyond the main border crossing at Erez, which was overrun at the weekend.
Many areas remain an “active battlefield”, the military said. On Saturday morning, Hamas attempted to storm Zikim by beach, using three sea vessels.
Just to the south, in the city of Sderot, troops of the Paratroopers Brigade are “engaged in persistent fighting, during which the commanders and fighters of the brigade are carrying out searches in the towns and thwarting terrorists”. The military said forces were searching Sderot and “purging the city of gunmen”. The IDF said they were fighting Hamas in “seven to eight” places in south Israel.
Labour has ‘no time’ for activists cheering terrorism
The Labour leadership has “no time” for activists cheering on the Palestinians after Saturday’s terrorist attack, Rachel Reeves has insisted (Chris Smyth writes).
The shadow chancellor said “the real cause” of current violence in the Middle East was a terror attack by Hamas, which had set back hopes of a two-state solution.
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Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves have sought to signal a clean break from the Jeremy Corbyn era with firm backing for Israel, but some left-wing activists have been cheering on the Palestinian cause outside the Labour Party conference.
“I’ve got no time for that,” Reeves told Times Radio. “I want to see a Palestinian state existing alongside a safe and secure Israel. And what frustrates me so much is that what Hamas has done over the last few days has set back the cause for peace.”
She said that Labour’s clear position was that “Israel has been attacked by terrorists. It has every right to both defend itself, get its hostages back and protect its citizens.”
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the ultimate cause of the violence was Israeli occupation, Reeves said: “Gaza is not occupied by Israel. The real cause of what is happening now is a terrorist attack. If Britain or any other country was attacked by terrorists, we would believe, and rightly so, that we have every right to defend ourselves, to get back hostages and to protect our citizens. Israel is no different.”
Finish Hamas, says US presidential candidate Haley
The Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has urged Israel to “finish” Hamas. Speaking to Fox News, the former US ambassador to the UN said the attack by the Palestinian group was also an “attack on America”.
“This should be personal for every woman and man in America,” she told Fox News. “Why? Because when they did this . . . they were celebrating and what were they celebrating? They were saying, ‘Death to Israel, death to America’.”
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Polls suggest Haley is now in second place for the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, albeit a long way behind the frontrunner, Donald Trump. She added: “I say this to Prime Minister Netanyahu: ‘Finish them, finish them, Hamas did this, we know Iran is behind it, finish them’.”
Brent crude price soars above $88 a barrel
Brent crude has risen sharply in overnight trading to trade above $88 dollar a barrel as Israel intensified its bombardments of the Gaza Strip (Richard Fletcher writes).
Traders fear the Hamas attack will increase tension across the Middle East and lead to tougher enforcement of sanctions on Iran, which has backed Hamas. The price has since settled to trade at $87.58 a short while ago, up 3.5 per cent overnight. Analysts warned of increased volatility in oil prices and said there was a risk the conflict could spread to major oil-producing nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Brent closed at $84.58 on Friday, down more than 11 per cent over the week on fears that persistently high interest rates will slow global growth and hit demand. The drop was the largest weekly fall since August 2022.
Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel
Britain has updated its travel advice for Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, advising against all but essential travel as fighting continued near Gaza (David Harding writes).
The UK had already advised against all travel to Gaza, but has now added several areas in Israel close to the border with Gaza to that recommendation, and has changed its advice for the country as a whole.
The Foreign Office also asked all Britons in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to register their presence there, so they can be kept updated of further changes to travel advice.
Twelve Thais killed in Hamas attack
Twelve Thais were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel, Bangkok’s foreign ministry said on Monday, revealing that a further 11 of its citizens had been taken hostage (Peter Stubley writes).
Another eight were wounded in the attack, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, Kanchana Patarachoke, said.
About 30,000 Thais work in Israel, mainly in agriculture, according to the labour ministry. Of those, about 5,000 were in the “fighting zone” around the Gaza Strip, the labour minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, said. More than a thousand have asked to be evacuated.
The Thai embassy was told of the deaths by the victims’ employers in Israel.
Evacuations from Israel under way
Evacuations from Israel are under way, with Poland and Hungary confirming that hundreds of their citizens have been flown out of the country (Peter Stubley writes).
Mariusz Blaszczak, the Polish defence minister, said 120 people landed in Warsaw early on Monday, with two more planes expected to arrive later.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said 215 citizens had been returned safely home on Monday. “One of our most important tasks is to bring the Hungarian people who are in danger home as soon as possible,” he said.
US deploys warships and jets to eastern Mediterranean
The US deployed warships and fighter jets to the eastern Mediterranean yesterday as President Biden pledged “rock solid and unwavering” American support for Israel following the “unconscionable” attack by Hamas.
As the Pentagon announced new shipments of munitions and military equipment for its ally, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, confirmed that a US Navy aircraft carrier strike group would be deployed to the region “to bolster regional deterrence” in a show of support. US air force squadrons stationed close to Israel will be strengthened with additional fighter jets in the coming days.
Claims Iran worked with Hamas to plan attack
Reports suggest that Iranian security officials had worked with Hamas since August to plan the multi-pronged attack on Israel.
Citing members of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Wall Street Journal said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked to develop the planned offensive in meetings in Beirut that were attended by Iranian-backed militias, including Hamas.
US and Israeli officials have so far stopped short of accusing Iran of directly planning the assault. Blinken said on Sunday that Washington had “not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack”.
Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, told CNN that he was not aware that Iran had operational involvement. However, he said he would “not be surprised” if Tehran had a hand in the attacks.
A senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Mirdawi, insisted that the group had planned the attacks on its own. “This is a Palestinian and Hamas decision,” he told the WSJ.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the UN said it was time to “obliterate” the group’s terror infrastructure. “These are war crimes, blatant documented war crimes,” Gilad Erdan said ahead of an emergency closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council last night. “The era of reasoning with these savages is over.”
UN fails to issue joint statement on Hamas attack
The UN Security Council failed to issue a joint statement about the Hamas attack on Israel after its emergency meeting on Sunday, as friction surfaced between member states (Hugh Tomlinson writes).
Several nations issued a forceful condemnation of Hamas at the meeting, but Russia called for a ceasefire and a return to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Relations between Moscow and the West remain at rock bottom over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US lamented the lack of unity. “There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” the senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything.”
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, was defiant. “My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades,” Nebenzia said. “This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” he said of the Hamas attack.
China, which commonly sides with Russia at the security council, was more conciliatory, however, and said it would have supported a joint statement.
“It’s abnormal that the Security Council doesn’t say anything,” Ambassador Zhang Jun said. Beijing has also urged restraint from both sides and condemned “all attacks against civilians” by both sides in the conflict.
More than 120,000 forced out of Gaza homes
More than 120,000 people have been forced out of their homes in Gaza because of the war, according to Unocha, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Peter Stubley writes).
Some 73,000 of those are sheltering in 64 schools designated as emergency shelters.
Power supplies in Gaza could run out within days after Israel cut off electricity to the blockaded territory on Saturday. Unocha said yesterday that residents had only three or four hours of electricity per day but warned that the last remaining source of power, the Gaza Power Plant, could run out of fuel within days.
Israeli airstrikes had “undermined” the provision of water to about 400,000 people in the blockaded territory, Unocha said.
Hamas attack ‘like 9/11 and Pearl Harbor in one’
Israel’s army has compared the Hamas attack to “9/11 and Pearl Harbor wrapped into one” as it accused the Palestinian group of war crimes (Peter Stubley writes).
“It is by far the worst day in Israeli history,” said the spokesman Jonathan Conricus, as he sought to sum up the scale of the attack for a US audience with a comparison to the Al Qaeda terror attacks in 2001 and the surprise attack by Japan on a US naval base in 1941 during the Second World War. He said that one of Israel’s goals in its response was to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces said the “unprovoked war crimes” by Hamas included the deliberate killing of civilians, the abduction of civilians to hold them hostage, the desecration of corpses and the use of innocent civilians as human shields.
Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces, said that Hamas had started the war with “the worst massacre of innocent civilians in Israel’s history”. He added: “We will do whatever it takes to protect our people and restore security to Israel.”
