#Israel orders 'full siege' of #Gaza

The #IDF says it has recaptured its territory & gathered 300k troops ahead of an anticipated #GroundOperation.

9 #UScitizens killed in #conflict

#Hamas attack bears hallmarks of #Iranian involvement, fmr U.S. ofcls say

Vast #HostageCrisis grips Israel after Hamas attack

A music festival in the Israeli desert became a scene of #massacre & #abduction

#Palestine #war
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/09/israel-hamas-war-gaza-violence/

Israel-Hamas conflict live updates: Israel orders siege of Gaza Strip; Hamas says it struck Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Hamas said it struck the Israeli cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod on Monday, the third day of fighting since the militant group’s attack on Israel began.

The Washington Post

9 #UScitizens have been killed in the fighting between #Hamas & #Israel, State Dept spox Miller said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims & to the families of all those affected”

Miller also said that “there are unaccounted-for U.S. citizens, & we are working w/our Israeli ptnrs to determine their whereabouts.”

Secy of State Tony #Blinken said Sunday it was possible that U.S. citizens are among the #hostages being held by Hamas in the #Gaza Strip.

#Palestine #geopolitics #war

Dozens of rockets rained down on the city of #Askhelon in south #Israel Monday though most were intercepted by the nation’s #IronDome antimissile system. 2 however hit the city.

Israeli #security forces declared all Israeli communities back under their control Monday. But residents are skeptical, & many neighborhoods remain on edge or largely evacuated.

In the town of Sderot Israeli troops took up positions on rooftops after clearing the area.

#Palestine #Gaza #Hamas #geopolitics #war

#Iran’s #UN mission denies #Tehran involvement in #Hamas coordinated attack on #Israel, saying in a statement that the “response” was “taken solely by #Palestine itself.”

“The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are fiercely autonomous & unwaveringly aligned w/ the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people,” the statement said. It emphasized Iran’s “unflinching support of Palestine.”

#Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics #war

#Iran’s statement cont: The #Hamas operation was successful because it came as a surprise, marking “the biggest failure of the Israeli regime’s #security organizations” ever. It said #Israel is attempting to attribute this security failure to Iranian intelligence because the state is struggling to accept that its intelligence was “defeated by a Palestinian group.”

#Palestine #war #Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics

#Germany’s Ministry of Economic Cooperation (#BMZ) announced the suspension of all development #aid for the #Palestinian territories while the funds are being “comprehensively examined.”

The BMZ, committed ~$130M in bilateral development cooperation for Palestinian territories this yr & next. It includes #development co-op, #water supply & #waste disposal, #desalination plants, vocational #training, #job creation for young people & #FoodSecurity.

#Israel #Palestine #Hamas #geopolitics #war

“But that doesn’t mean it will stop. It is being checked & temporarily suspended,” #Germany’s #BMZ spox said.

“These are commitments, which means it is not money that has flowed, but rather money that has been allocated. And these funds are now being comprehensively examined. That means at the moment it is not flowing while it is being checked.”

#PalestinianAid #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #Hamas #MiddleEast #geopolitics #war

The #Palestinian Ministry of Health said repeated Israeli strikes on the surroundings of Beit Hanoun #Hospital have knocked the building out of service. Personnel are unable to enter or leave the hospital, the ONLY ONE in the city, & large parts of the hospital have been damaged.

#Israel #Palestine #Gaza #Hamas #HumanitarianCrisis #MiddleEast #geopolitics #war

The Israeli military announced that its aircraft were engaging targets in #Lebanon following the infiltration attempt on the northern border. It reported that three Israeli soldiers were wounded in the shootout. Residents in the largest city near the border, #KiryatShemona, have been told to shelter in place. The UN peacekeeping force in the area reported explosions.

#Hezbollah #Hamas #Israel #Palestine #war #MiddleEast #geopolitics

Israeli soldiers killed 2 of 5 militants who crossed into #Israel from #Lebanon, IDF spox said. There was no word on the fate of the other 3.

Israeli helicopter gunships were deployed to Lebanese territory, & the IDF reported destroying a #Hezbollah position. The Hezbollah-linked al-Manar TV channel reported that an empty home was hit.
#UNIFIL reported hearing explosions & said it was monitoring the situation.

#Hamas #Palestine #war #Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics

The #Hezbollah told The Washington Post via Telegram that “we have nothing to do w/ this. It’s not us. And we don’t know if there was an infiltration or not.”
#Israelis living in northern #Israel have been told to report to #BombShelters.

The incidents raise fears of an #escalation along Israel’s northern border & confrontation w/ Hezbollah. Israel fought a #war w/ the militant group in 2006 that killed >1 thousand people.

#Lebanon #Hamas #Palestine #MiddleEast #geopolitics

🚨🚨

The spox for Hamas's military wing, Abu Obeida, has threatened to #execute a #civilian #hostage every time an #airstrike hits "our civilians in their homes without warning."

#Hamas is believed to be holding about 150 Israelis hostage.

🚨🚨

#Israel #Palestine #Gaza #HumanitarianCrisis #MiddleEast #geopolitics #war

#Rockets have fallen in parts of #Jerusalem, #Israel’s largest city & the seat of government, where sirens went off & loud booms were heard Monday.

The Magen David Adom (#MDA) #EmergencyServices confirmed that the barrage hit at least 3 points & wounded at least 7 people.

#Hamas’s armed wing, the #IQB, said earlier Monday that it had struck the city w/a rocket barrage in response to the bombardment of #civilian houses in the #Gaza Strip.

#Palestine #war #Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics

Rear Adm Hagari, Israel’s chief military spox, said that the army had a full list of #hostages being held in the #Gaza Strip & that it had notified 30 families of missing relatives. He said #Israel has killed hundreds of #Palestinian militants inside Gaza & Israel, & that it was holding hundreds of Palestinian captives. “We have regained control of the Israeli areas near the border,” Hagari said. He added that no more Palestinian militants have crossed Israel’s barrier fence.

#Palestine #war

#Netanyahu vows to intensify attacks; #Hamas threatens to kill #civilian #hostages in retaliation

In a fiery speech Monday, Israeli #PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would intensify its operations against Hamas, adding that “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate w/ them for generations.”

#Israel #Palestine #war #Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics

Earlier, a spox for #Hamas’s military arm, the #IQB, warned #Israel that attacks “without prior warning” on people sheltering in their homes in the #Gaza Strip would result in retaliatory #executions of captured Israeli civilians. The threat came after Israel announced a siege of Gaza on the third day of fighting since Hamas’s attack began, w/ #MOD Minister #YoavGallant saying there would be “no #electricity, no #food, no #fuel.”

#Palestine #war #MiddleEast #geopolitics

≥900 people have been killed in #Israel & about 2,600 wounded.

President #Biden said in a statement that at least 11 #American citizens were among the dead, & more “still remain unaccounted for.”

≥ 260 bodies were recovered at the site of a #musicfestival near the border w/ #Gaza.

Israeli authorities have also said that 73 soldiers have been killed & >100 people taken captive.

#Palestinian authorities said that in Gaza, ≥680 people have been killed & ~3,700 injured.

#Hamas #Palestine #war

President #Biden said Monday afternoon that the number of #UScitizens killed in the fighting had risen to 11. He also hinted that the number could climb.

“It’s heart-wrenching. These families have been torn apart by inexcusable hatred & violence,” Biden said in a statement released by the #WhiteHouse. “We also know that #American citizens still remain unaccounted for.”

#Hamas #Israel #Palestine #war #Gaza #MiddleEast #geopolitics

US ofcls expect #Israel to launch a #ground incursion into densely populated #Gaza early this week. Israel maintains a complete air & sea #blockade of the Gaza Strip & allows only a small flow of goods & people through 2 land crossings, which have been cut off amid the fighting. Israel had also provided the enclave w/electricity.

#Hamas #Palestine #war #MiddleEast #geopolitics

#Hostages taken from #Israel by #Hamas consumes & unifies a terrorized nation

In the absence of a govt response, they’re dreading the one most likely: a massive #MilitaryOperation, which they fear could put targets on their loved ones.

Sunday, PM #Netanyahu made a belated appt to the vacant position of comm’r for #prisoners & #MissingPersons, responsible for building relationships w/local & intn’l negotiators.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/09/israel-hostages-families-gaza-hamas/

Fate of Israeli hostages consumes and unifies a terrorized nation

The families of more than 100 Israelis thought be held captive inside of Gaza are growing ever more desperate for information as full-scale war looms.

The Washington Post

#Israel has a long & controversial history w/ #hostage taking, hostage swaps & hostage rescues — sometimes deadly ones.

In 1976, Israeli commandos stormed an airport in Uganda, freeing >100 Israelis held by #Palestinian hijackers. (3 of the captives were killed, as was Netanyahu’s commando brother.)

In 2011, #Netanyahu agreed to release 1,027 #Hamas prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who had been held in #Gaza for >5 yrs.

#Palestine #war

@Nonilex you can literally see #Gaza from the site were the festival took place. See location of kibbutz Re’im. It’s not in the “desert”.