V Times of #Israel :
The #Israeli military says it is evacuating civilians from towns adjacent to the border with the #Gaza Strip at this stage.

The towns include #Nahal Oz, #Erez, #Nir Am, #Mefalsim, #Kfar #Aza, #Gevim, #Or Haner, #Ibim, #Netiv Ha’asara, #Yad Mordechai, #Karmia, #Zikim, £Kerem Shalom, #Kissufim, #Holit, #Sufa, #Nirim, #Nir Oz, #Ein Hashlosha, #Nir Yitzhak, #Be’eri, #Magen, #Re’im, #Sa’ad and #Alumim

V Haaretz:
#Israel 's death toll reached 350

(Israeli TV has reported 400)

#Israeli Health Ministry reports 2048 injured - 20 critical, 330 serious, 396 moderate, 967 light injuries

V Times of #Israel :
The security cabinet voted last night to put the country officially at war, and it can carry out “significant military activities,” the PM Office announces.

#Netanyahu had already said the country was at war.

The security cabinet decision gives the declaration legal standing in keeping with Basic Law: The Government, which in its Clause 40 says that the country cannot go to war without a government decision.

The #Iranian president has spoken with the leader of #Palestinian militant groups #Hamas and Islamic Jihad ( #PIJ ) after the latest developments, state media in #Iran reports.

Details of Ebrahim #Raisi 's conversations with the two men were not disclosed.

Hamas is backed by Iran, which funds it and provides weapons and training.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6522a5d83fc96e28602bfe31%26Iranian%20president%20in%20touch%20with%20militant%20leaders%262023-10-08T12%3A53%3A12.235Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:487bc676-9377-4fb9-827b-203ba0027980&pinned_post_asset_id=6522a5d83fc96e28602bfe31&pinned_post_type=share

V Times of #Israel :

More restrictions introduced - #IDF announces schools to remain closed, as the Home Front Command extends existing restrictions.

businesses south of #Netanya and north of the central #Negev can only be opened if there is ready access to bomb shelters, the military says.

Gatherings are restricted to 10 people outdoors and 50 people indoors in those areas.

The restrictions are valid till Tuesday at 6 p.m
#hamas

More than 600 Israelis have been killed since Saturday, according to a Facebook post from the press office of #Israel 's government.

It adds that more than 100 people have been kidnapped, and more than 2,000 injured.

In #Gaza, at least 370 people have been killed following Israeli air strikes and 2200 injured, according to #Palestinian officials.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6522a7033fc96e28602bfe36%26More%20than%20600%20Israelis%20killed%20and%20100%20kidnapped%20-%20government%262023-10-08T13%3A29%3A46.452Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:5c98a9ef-6562-4096-bc37-36100c6ca549&pinned_post_asset_id=6522a7033fc96e28602bfe36&pinned_post_type=share

Secretary of State Anthony #Blinken told CNN the #US government has received reports that several Americans have died in #Israel - and that officials are trying to verify those reports.

The US is "likely" to give details on new military assistance for Israel later today, he says. "Our first focus is to make sure Israel has what it needs."

A rally has taken place in #Beirut #Lebanon which saw people wave #Palestinian and #Hezbollah flags, followed Hezbollah’s limited artillery and missile strikes this morning on #Israeli positions.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6522aaf302d73c280f4a9324%26Pro-Gaza%20rally%20held%20in%20Beirut%262023-10-08T13%3A20%3A01.262Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:a6f57c68-a35c-4deb-a821-0f78d610001d&pinned_post_asset_id=6522aaf302d73c280f4a9324&pinned_post_type=share

#BBC Yolande Knell reports from #Ashkelon:
'The hospital here has treated over 400 people injured in this huge assault: soldiers from military bases that were overrun, partygoers from a rave in the fields next to #Gaza , and locals injured when their homes were hit by #rockets

There are reminders that the fighting still continues with booms overhead as the Iron Dome missile defence system intercepts incoming rocket fire

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=6522ac6c3fc96e28602bfe5d%26Hospitals%20treat%20hundreds%20as%20fighting%20continues%262023-10-08T13%3A53%3A46.722Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:04adb7af-8b04-41f9-990f-21dd5627c257&pinned_post_asset_id=6522ac6c3fc96e28602bfe5d&pinned_post_type=share
#Israel #hamas

On the hostages, v ToI:
WSJ cites #Egyptian officials saying that their negotiators “failed to convince the #Palestinian factions to release injured #Israeli captives.”

Earlier the newspaper reported that #Israel had reached out to #Cairo to request its intervention.
#hamas #Gaza

V Haaretz:
#Israeli PM office says #Netanyahu held discussions on Sunday with German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz , Ukrainian President Volodymyr #Zelensky , Italian Prime Minister Giorgia #Meloni , and British Prime Minister Rishi #Sunak

According to the statement, "the leaders expressed unwavering support for Israel's right to self-defense as needed."
#hamas #Gaza

#Germany increases protection of #Israeli , #Jewish institutions

https://www.reuters.com/world/germany-hikes-protection-israeli-jewish-institutions-scholz-2023-10-08/

V AFP:
#Jews In #France Fear Reprisals From #Israel - #Hamas War

https://www.barrons.com/news/jews-in-france-fear-reprisals-from-israel-hamas-war-86d3c224

#BBC live page:
It's approaching midnight in #Israel , where the overall death toll following attacks from #Hamas militants has passed 600 - although some some reports say the number is even higher.

In the #Gaza Strip, more than 400 people have been killed in retaliatory #Israeli strikes.

Here's the latest top lines:

More than 250 bodies have been removed from the site of a music #festival in southern Israel which came under attack, according to search and rescue organisation Zaka

Here are some of the graphic testimonies of those who survived the festival shooting:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67047034

And here is Gili Yoskovich' story:
'They were going tree by tree and shooting'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67044787
#Israel #hamas #Gaza

Latest #IDF update:
more than 700 #Israelis have been killed since Saturday morning and 2,150 have been injured.

According to the IDF, 3,284 rockets have been fired from the #Gaza Strip (Hamas says the number is more than 5,000) and Israel has struck 653 #Hamas targets.

Situation in #Sderot now:
'In the last few hours there's been a fresh infiltration, he says, with more gunmen reaching the town.

The residents have been told to stay inside and be quiet. They can hear the sound of gunshots outside.

"I am carrying a knife. It won't help me much against a gun, but I can't not do anything. I am just hoping they don't come for me."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=65230c3d02d73c280f4a952c%26%27Why%20take%20the%20children%3F%20It%27s%20insane%27%262023-10-08T22%3A07%3A12.789Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:f0c50208-211c-4454-b89a-ed3ae0d41e5b&pinned_post_asset_id=65230c3d02d73c280f4a952c&pinned_post_type=share
#Israel #hamas

#Israeli forces are still fighting #Hamas gunmen at seven to eight sites in southern Israel close to the #Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces #IDF said in a briefing this morning.

These include Be’eri, an agrarian community, which was infiltrated by Hamas fighters overnight

In #Gaza, air strikes have displaced around 123,000 people, the UN says

Hospitals in Gaza are deluged and struggling under power cuts. The UN says Gaza's last power source - its only power plant - could run out of fuel in days

#Iran was "not involved" in the attack carried out by #Hamas militants in southern #Israel , its mission to the UN has said.

"We emphatically stand in unflinching support of #Palestine ; however, we are not involved in Palestine's response" it said in a stmt acc to Reuters.

Hamas had said that assistance from Iran helped it carry out its attack over the weekend.

Iran has backed Hamas for years.
Acc to Blinken the US has "not yet seen evidence Iran was behind this particular attack"

#US officials expect #Israel to launch a ground incursion into #Gaza within the next 48 hours

#Oil prices jumped on Monday over concerns that the latest events could disrupt output from the Middle East
#Israel #hamas

#Thailand 's foreign ministry says 12 #Thai nationals have been killed since #Hamas launched its attacks.

Another 11 were kidnapped, and eight were injured.

One Thai worker told #BBC Thai he was almost killed on Saturday.

"I was crawling underneath a truck then the Hamas militant pulled me out and pointed the gun at me," he said.

There are approximately 30,000 Thai nationals in #Israel , and about 5,000 in the #Gaza Strip.

Here is 'The Times' view of the terrorist attack launched by #Hamas from the #Gaza Strip: Unending war'

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ff1b0e44-660f-11ee-a4e7-0fb10af55688?shareToken=63144bb373ebc1a7fd074ded4436add6
#Israel

'Volunteers searching for bodies at the Supernova music #festival site - where at least 260 people were killed on Saturday - have had to suspend their search because they are “under fire” from militants.

Yossi #Landau , a commander in the #Zaka volunteer group, says his team of 25 have so far recovered 162 bodies from the site of the festival but “couldn’t get any further”.

“We work under fire, so had to evacuate that place,” Landau told the #BBC 's Today programme.
#Israel #Gaza #hamas