700 Israelis Killed, 2,300 Wounded in Gaza War - Israel News - Haaretz.com
700 Israelis Killed, 2,300 Wounded in Gaza War - Israel News - Haaretz.com
As the war with Hamas enters the third day, the Israeli military is still fighting terrorists in Israeli towns along the border with Gaza. At least 700 Israelis were killed and nearly 2,400 wounded since Hamas' surprise invasion on Saturday morning. In Gaza, the Palestinians report 493 dead and 2,751 wounded
The IDF spokesman announced that the Air Force attacked strategic centers belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
According to the army's statement, a military warehouse and an entrance shaft to an underground tunnel used by senior members of the Hamas organization were bombed, and Islamic Jihad headquarters in a mosque in the Zeitoon neighborhood and the headquarters of Hamas in Khan Younes.
A barrage of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel at roughly 12:00 P.M. local time. Sirens sounded in dozens of cities, including Jerusalem and the greater Tel Aviv area.
One rocket fell on Highway 1 in an open area, no injuries were reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to Twitter on Monday to condemn the deadly attack against Israel.
"No one can forget what terrorists did in Israel. Thousands of missiles against peaceful cities. Shot civilian cars. Men, women, and children. No one was spared. Streets in blood. Hostages. The terrorists themselves shared the footage of their atrocities and were proud of them," he wrote.
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Rashid Bouhabib, said his government had received assurances from Hezbollah that it would not intervene in the fighting.
Bouhabib spoke to the Al-Sharq al-Awast newspaper on Saturday, before Hezbollah announced that it had attacked Israeli positions in the Mount Dov area Sunday morning.
According to Bouhabib, Hezbollah pledged not to intervene unless "Israel bullies and harasses Lebanon."
Hungary is currently evacuating 110 more people from Israel, bringing the total number of people it has brought out of the country to 325 including 46 children, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Monday.
He said that 15 of the 325 evacuees were foreign citizens, among them Israeli, Swedish, Austrian, German, British and Portuguese nationals. Szijjarto said the latest flight, the third it has organized, was currently en route to Budapest.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that "Control has been achieved in all the communities, but there may still be terrorists in the area. Tanks and aircraft will secure the breaches in the border, we have almost completed evacuating Gaza border residents, however, Sderot will not be evacuated yet."
Hagari added that 300,000 army reservists have been called up making it the "biggest, fastest ever" draft in Israel's history. Additionally, he confirmed that 4,400 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Qatar is trying to lead a quick prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
A Hamas source told the news agency that the Qatari proposal involves the release of women held by Hamas in exchange for the release of female Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. According to the report, the U.S. supports the initiative and Hamas has expressed agreement in principle on the condition that all Palestinian female prisoners held in Israel be released.
Nepal said on Monday at least 10 of its nationals were killed in Israel after the attack by Palestinian group Hamas, and the cabinet will hold an emergency meeting to discuss how to evacuate thousands of others working and studying there.
The foreign ministry said four Nepalis were also wounded in Saturday's attack, and media reports said many others were hiding in bunkers. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has convened a special cabinet meeting to discuss ways to get citizens back home, his office said on Monday.
"Arrangements are being made to evacuate Nepali nationals who want to return home from Israel," the foreign ministry said late on Sunday. Officials say about 4,500 Nepalis work in Israel, mostly as caregivers, and more than 100 are studying there under an "earn and learn" program.
The British government said it had updated its travel advice for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, advising against all but essential travel as fighting continued near Gaza after a bloody incursion by gunmen from Islamist group Hamas.
Britain already advised against all travel to Gaza, but on Sunday also added several areas in Israel close to the border with Gaza to that recommendation, and changed its advice for the country as a whole.
The British Foreign Office also asked all British citizens in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to register their presence there, so they can be kept updated of further changes to travel advice.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich released a statement saying that "Reality dictates that unity and cohesion are what's needed to defeat our enemies. Leave behind teams and leave negotiations. I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to rise to the occasion, meet immediately and agree on the establishment of a national emergency government that will unite the people, raise the spirit, provide full support to the IDF and bring about the complete elimination of Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza."
"Israel is at war and this is the time for a national unity government. At such a complex time we must put our differences aside and unite against the enemy who wants to destroy us," Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat said on Monday.
"IDF fighters from all parts of Israeli society are going to battle for the State of Israel and we must back them up with a unity government that will represent the entire people. We must establish a unity government today and win the war together," he added.
The Israeli army believes that large amounts of Hamas militants are continuing to make their way into Israel, and some of the Israeli towns along the border with Gaza continue to be an active battlefield
The IDF is conducting searches along the border fence and other points through which Hamas militants are entering Israel.
Lt. Col. Eli Ginsburg, 42
Staff Sgt. Naveh Eliazar Lax, 21
Staff Sgt. Tashgar Taka, 21
2nd Lt. Yonatan Gutin, 19
Cpl. Adir Taher, 19
2nd Lt. Nitai Omer, 22
Cpl. Amit Tzur, 19
Staff Sgt. Yosef Itamar Bruchim, 20
Cap. Roey Negri, 28
Maj. Peleg Salem, 30
Sgt. Yaron Uri-Shai, 21
Sgt. Ben Rubinstein, 20
1st. Lt. Itai Cohen, 22
Cpl. Ilar Bar-Sadeh, 19
Staff Sgt. Orel Moshe, 21
Pvt. Lior Levy, 19
>>>Israel's dead: Civilians, soldiers, emergency services personnel killed in war with Hamas<<<
The Israeli Health Ministry announced Monday morning that 2,382 wounded have been evacuated to hospitals, 22 of the injured are in critical condition and 345 of them are in serious condition.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that his party would welcome a broad emergency government, "As long as the basis for entering the government is an agreement that the government's goal is defined as the IDF's absolute victory that the government will define for the IDF is absolute victory and crushing of Hamas' military and government."
The IDF announced that it attacked 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip Sunday night, and that since the beginning of the war more than 1,100 targets in the Gaza Strip have been attacked. Among other things, eight Hamas and Islamic Jihad headquarters were bombed overnight, a building where the Hamas naval force was active, three tunnels in the Beit Hanun area and a mosque where Hamas was operating.
Palestinians report numerous fatalities and difficulty evacuating casualties. "I've been through all the fighting since 2007, we've never seen anything like this – indiscriminate destruction," a Gaza resident told Haaretz. "Whole buildings and houses have collapsed and it is estimated that at least dozens are stuck under the rubble. It seems that there is no red line, as if the entire strip is a bank of targets and every building is a target."
Thailand's foreign ministry on Monday said 12 Thai nationals had been killed in unrest in Israel, plus 11 more kidnapped and eight injured.
"We are working to help all Thai citizens in Israel," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke told reporters.
The IDF announced that Israeli soldiers killed a tractor driver who attempted to carry out a ramming attack Monday morning at a military checkpoint between Hebron and Kiryat Arba in the West Bank.
According to the army's statement, the terrorist launched a live broadcast on social media while on his way to the area, and was shot by IDF soldiers.
IDF forces fought against 70 terrorists around Kibbutz Be'eri, the IDF spokesman announced Monday morning, adding that they suspect that there is a tunnel in the area.
Israel continues to fight for a third day since the deadly assault on southern communities by Gaza terrorists and release those held hostage in their homes as the numbers of dead, wounded, and captured continue to be released.
Israeli forces are working to remove the remaining Gaza militants who infiltrated into border communities as the army reports successful strikes on hundreds of military targets in the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas senior official released a statement saying they have over 100 Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza Strip, while Islamic Jihad said they hold at least 30 Israelis hostage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior opposition member Benny Gantz are scheduled to meet on Monday morning to discuss entering a coalition war government.
Editorial |
Oct 8, 2023
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Oct 8, 2023
The disaster that befell Israel on the holiday of Simchat Torah is the clear responsibility of one person: Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister, who has prided himself on his vast political experience and irreplaceable wisdom in security matters, completely failed to identify the dangers he was consciously leading Israel into when establishing a government of annexation and dispossession, when appointing Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir to key positions, while embracing a foreign policy that openly ignored the existence and rights of Palestinians.
Hamas's attacks on Israel, which began Saturday morning, were planned weeks in advance with assistance from Iranian security officials, according to a Sunday report from The Wall Street Journal.
The report, citing senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, stated that the Iranian officials "gave the green light" for the attacks during a meeting between them and Hamas in Beirut last week.
IRGC officers worked with Hamas since August to plan incursions from the "air, land, and sea," the report noted. Officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also at the meetings in Beirut.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had praised the attacks, posting on X earlier this week that the cancer of the usurper Zionist regime will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the Resistance forces throughout the region." Formerly known as Twitter, X stated that Khamenei's post violated the platform's rules.
At least 700 Israelis were killed and around 2,300 injured in attacks by Hamas since Saturday morning, with the number expected to rise.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with the guests of the Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Iran October 3, 2023. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Handout via Reuters)Hours earlier, Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that the terrorist group had direct backing and support from Iran, which also promised it would "stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem," the report quoted him as saying.
This is a developing story.
The Prime Minister's Office issued the statement following reports that Netanyahu excluded National Security Minister Ben-Gvir from a sensitive security discussion
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Oct 1, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any attempt to cause friction between him and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is "false and done purposefully."
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