According to Israel’s Channel 12 news, the “surprise attack” by Hamas on Saturday morning has resulted in the death of at least 700 Israelis.
This death toll marks the highest in Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War when an estimated 700-800 Israelis lost their lives. Unfortunately, the situation is expected to worsen as prospects for de-escalation in the near future seem bleak, as reported by Middle East Eye.
US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed his support for Israel through a statement released by the White House press office. Both he and Vice President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the situation in Israel, with plans to stay updated and maintain close contact with Israeli partners and counterparts in the region.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense and pledged unwavering support throughout the ongoing conflict.
In a display of unity during these trying times, Israeli opposition party leader Benny Gantz has agreed to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. This move aims to foster a sense of wartime solidarity.
We’ll change the face of reality in Gaza: Israel’s Defence Minister
As gun battles raged between Israeli security forces and hundreds of Hamas group fighters in at least 22 locations, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant today issued a threat to “change the face of reality” in Gaza, NDTV reported.
Hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians were killed on Saturday in the deadliest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades, after the Hamas group launched a massive rocket barrage and ground, air, and sea offensive, prompting Israel to respond with intense airstrikes.
“Today, we have seen the face of evil. Hamas launched a criminal attack, without distinguishing between women, children and the elderly. It will realise very quickly that it made a grave mistake.
We will change the face of reality in the Gaza Strip,” Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement.
היום, ראינו את פני הרוע.
החמאס פתח בהתקפה נפשעת, ללא הבחנה בין נשים, ילדים וקשישים. הוא יבין מהר מאוד שעשה טעות חמורה.
אנחנו נשנה את פני המציאות ברצועת עזה עשרות שנים קדימה.
אזרחי ישראל, במיוחד בשעות קשות אלו, התאזרו בסבלנות וגבו את כוחות הביטחון. pic.twitter.com/psu4BOJg3w
— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 7, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also vowed to demolish Hamas strongholds in Gaza, reducing them to rubble, as the conflict continued to escalate.
“Israel is now at war,” Prime Minister Netanyahu declared to the shocked nation Saturday morning, on what was the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
18,000 Indians stuck as gun battles rage in Israeli towns, on highways
As gun battles are raging in towns and on highways, nearly 18,000 Indian citizens are stuck in Israel with the majority of them being caregivers, IT professionals and students, according to NDTV.
There are many agencies in Israel which hire caregivers from India for the elderly population there. There are about 85,000 Jews of Indian-origin in Israel. Immigration of Indians to Israel started between 1950s-60s. In recent years, Jews from Mizoram and Manipur have migrated to Israel.
The Indian embassy in Jerusalem and the Representative Office of India in Palestine on Saturday issued advisories asking Indian nationals to “remain vigilant” and “directly contact the Office” in case of emergency as a full-fledged war broke out between the ruling Hamas group in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Gunmen from the Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday, killing and escaping with dozens of hostages in by far the deadliest day of violence in Israel since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.
Bodies of Israeli civilians were strewn across the streets of Sderot in southern Israel, near Gaza, surrounded by broken glass, reported news agency Reuters.
The escalation comes against a backdrop of surging violence between Israel and Palestinian terrorists in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian authority exercises limited self-rule, opposed by Hamas that wants Israel destroyed.
Americans among hostages taken by Hamas: Israel Ambassador to US
An unknown number of Americans are among the hostages that Hamas took as it attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said Sunday, news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The diplomat, Michael Herzog, was asked on CBS News if there were Americans among the soldiers and civilians that the Palestinian terror group abducted in southern Israel.
“I understand there are, but I don’t have details,” he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US television on Sunday that the administration was working to check on reports that US citizens were among the dead and captive in the surprise Hamas assault that began Saturday.
Israel has said the attackers have taken soldiers and civilians hostage, but numbers and nationalities have not been confirmed.
260 bodies found at Israel Music Festival site attacked by Hamas: Report
A large number of Israelis and tourists from other nations were attending a music festival themed on peace in southern Israel, near the Gaza strip, when the Hamas group launched its large-scale attack on Saturday.
Thousands of young people attended the festival, near Kibbutz Re’im close to Gaza, which became one of the first targets of Palestinian gunmen who crossed into Israel early on Saturday in the biggest attack on the country in decades, Reuters reported.
At least 700 Israelis were killed and dozens more were abducted into Gaza in scenes that have left a profound shock on a country which had long prided itself on its ultra efficient military and security services.
At the Nature Party alone, Israeli media said emergency services collected 260 bodies.
30 Israelis being held captive, says Palestinian Islamic Jihad group chief
As per a Reuters report, Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala said on Sunday that his faction was holding captive more than 30 of the Israelis who were abducted in the Gaza Strip since Saturday after Hamas launched attacks on Israel.
The captives will not be repatriated “till all of our prisoners are released,” al-Nakhala added, referring to thousands of Palestinians who are in Israeli prisons, the report added.
(This news article was written by Mokokchung Times with inputs from agencies.)