Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “at war” after militants from the Gaza Strip launched over 3,000 missiles and invaded southern regions of the nation early on Saturday. At least 200 Israelis were killed in the unexpected attack, which was still ongoing as of early Sunday. Meanwhile, at least 230 Palestinians lost their lives in fighting and Israeli military retaliation.
The militant group Hamas’ operation, which involved taking a large number of Israelis captive, was an unprecedented intrusion into Israeli territory and a direct result of the failure of the country’s intelligence efforts.
In a phone discussion with Joe Biden, Netanyahu stated that Israel is geared up for a protracted fight. According to the US president, America’s “support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.” He also denounced Hamas.
All timestamps are in Israel.
Continued Rocket Sirens (3:40 a.m.)
Early on Sunday, according to the Times of Israel, sirens to alert of approaching missile attacks continued to blast in several areas of southern Israel.
According to the newspaper, Israeli forces freed at least 48 hostages who were being held captive in a dining hall in Kibbutz Be’eri.
New York Times (3:30 a.m.): Hundreds from a music festival may be missing.
The New York Times reported, citing local media, that dozens of dead had reportedly been evacuated from the scene of a music festival held in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.
Lists of guests who were still unaccounted for as of Saturday night were circulating on social media; one of these lists, according to the New York Times, contained more than 500 names.
3:15 a.m. Blinken Addresses Middle Eastern, European Counterparts
Middle Eastern and European leaders and peers, including those from Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the European Union, were addressed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to numerous readouts by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, he urged close collaboration and engagement while restating US support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
In Israel, fighting is still ongoing at 2:03 a.m.
An army spokesperson said early on Sunday that fighting between the military and Hamas militants who crossed into Israel from Gaza and killed more than 200 people overnight inside Israel.
The Israeli situation is still not totally under control as of right now, Israeli Defence Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus stated on X, the social networking website that was once known as Twitter. There are still terrorists from Hamas in Israel, and Israeli Special Forces and IDF soldiers are battling them while patrolling every village and going house to house.
He said that on Saturday, “hundreds of terrorists” entered Israel and abducted an undetermined “significant” number of hostages before returning to Gaza. According to Conricus, at than 200 Israelis perished.
“I regret to inform you that these are not the final numbers. That figure will regrettably climb, he added, mentioning the 1200 “casualties,” which included both military personnel and civilians.
Israel conducts nighttime airstrikes against Gaza (12:16 a.m.)
Israeli aeroplanes attacked targets in Gaza overnight, including militant cells that the military claimed were attempting to enter Israel through the border fence around the territory and by sea.
According to the military, other targets included a Palestinian Islamic Jihad base and an operational command centre linked to rocket launches.
Hamas reports that around 250 Palestinians had died in Gaza as of 12:09 a.m.
Following an assault into Israel by heavily armed Hamas gunmen, the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, which is under the leadership of Hamas, reported 232 fatalities and nearly 1,700 injuries on Saturday.
Blinken Requests PA’s Assistance in Calming Down (10:50 p.m.)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority to denounce the attacks and “urged the Palestinian Authority to continue and enhance steps to restore calm and stability in the West Bank,” according to a statement from spokesman Matthew Miller.
War, according to Netanyahu, “Will Be Difficult.” (10:38 p.m.)
The conflict with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will last a long time. He said that the assault, which killed more than 200 Israelis, was among the worst acts of violence ever committed in the country.
This war will rage for a while. It will be challenging. There will be difficult days ahead, Netanyahu declared in a televised speech from the Defence Ministry’s administrative offices. “
The price is high, but we shall win this war.
The Israeli prime minister claimed that among the deceased and the prisoners transferred to Gaza were young children and senior citizens.
Over 200 people have died in Israel (10:20 p.m.)
According to the foreign ministry, at least 200 Israelis have died. According to the government, heavily armed Hamas militants sneaked into communities close to Gaza and went “door to door” in Israel, killing and abducting defenceless citizens. Additionally, thousands of rockets were fired by Hamas towards Israeli cities and villages.
10:08 p.m.: Biden claims that Israel is under terrorist attack.
President Joe Biden vowed “rock solid” US support for Israel and denounced the fatal surprise attacks carried out by the Palestinian militant group Hamas as an assault by a “terrorist organisation”.
“A terrorist organisation, Hamas, is currently attacking the people of Israel. In this tragic time, I want to convey to them, the rest of the world, and terrorists everywhere: Israel has the support of the United States. In remarks from the White House on Saturday, Biden promised, “We won’t ever fail to have her back.
(9:41 p.m.) Israeli Air Force Targets High Rises
According to an Israeli military spokesman, Israeli fighter jets attacked two multi-story structures in the Gaza Strip that housed, among other things, the headquarters and manufacturing facilities for Hamas’s weapons. According to the spokesman, this shows how Hamas intentionally places its military equipment in the middle of Gaza’s civilian population.
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, stated in a separate statement, “We will change the reality on the ground in Gaza for the next 50 years.” “What was before won’t exist anymore. We’ll exert all of our effort.
9:06 p.m.: Netanyahu requests an immediate unity government
Following the tragic incursion in southern Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged opposition leaders to create an emergency unity government, according to a statement from his party.
According to the Likud Party, Netanyahu and the heads of the opposition parties, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, met earlier today and discussed the plan. A unity government for emergencies has been demanded by Lapid. In a statement, Gantz said he was thinking about accepting Netanyahu’s invitation to serve in a wartime administration “that would solely focus on the security challenges.”
Rapidan claims that oil supplies won’t likely be impacted (7:40 p.m.)
The Hamas-Israeli conflict, despite its enormous escalation, is unlikely to affect oil supply, claims the Washington-based Rapidan Energy Group, which provides energy investor advice. However, if Israel targeted Iranian military, political, economic, or nuclear installations, the Strait of Hormuz would ostensibly be disrupted, and there would be hazards to nearby oil facilities. As a result, petroleum prices would skyrocket.
It’s not 1973 for oil. However, it might still get ugly: Jacob Blas
7:35 p.m.: Israel shuts off the power to Gaza
Israel’s energy minister, Israel Katz, gave the Israeli Electric Company the go-ahead to halt power deliveries to Gaza.
(6:30 p.m.) Ex-PM Lapid Issues ‘Multi-Front War’ Warning
There is a “serious risk that this turns into a multi-front war,” warned Yair Lapid, Netanyahu’s predecessor as prime minister and current head of the opposition.
Israeli attack is cunning and brutal. Marc Champion that’s Hamas
According to him, he assured Netanyahu that he was “willing to put aside our differences and form an emergency, narrow professional government.”
Iran Applauds Israeli Attacks (6 p.m.)
The attacks, according to the foreign ministry spokesman for Iran, “opened a new page in resistance and armed operations against the usurpers of occupied territories.”
The semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency cited the spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, as saying that “the element of surprise was used again in this operation and it shows the self-confidence of Palestinians against their usurpers.” It once again “showed how fragile the Israelis are in the face of a serious operation.”
5:40 p.m.: Israel’s military claims that Hamas has abducted prisoners.
According to hostage “incidents” in Ofakim and Bari and confirmation of prisoners of war kidnapped by Hamas during combat on Saturday, the Israeli forces. Daniel Hagari, the military spokesman, noted that there are still some unknown figures.
Hagari claimed that dozens of Hamas militants broke into numerous places, with a separate naval penetration occurring near Zikim. On Saturday night, he declared, “We are engaged in combat in 22 areas.
5:10 p.m.: Brazil will call a special session of the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council’s rotating chair this month is held by Brazil, which announced its intention to call an urgent meeting to discuss the attack by Hamas against Israel. There is no confirmed time.
(5 p.m.) Biden Backs Israel’s Right to Self-Defense in Call
According to a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Joe Biden called Netanyahu on Saturday and assured him that the United States supports Israel and its right to self-defense. Biden was hailed by Netanyahu for his support.
Biden Offers Israel Broad US Support in Retaliation to Hamas Attack
Netanyahu emphasised to the US president the importance of a sustained, robust battle to eliminate threats to Israel.
(4:10 PM) Red Cross Condemns Civilian Hostage-Taking
A senior Red Cross official said the organisation was “aware of reports relating to people being captured or detained” in Israel by armed Hamas rebels in Saturday’s surprise raid in response to photographs posted on social media.
International humanitarian law forbids engaging in or threatening to engage in hostage-taking, according to Fabrizio Carboni, regional director for the Near and Middle East for the International Committee of the Red Cross. “The violence committed against civilians is abhorrent and cannot be excused.”
Four o’clock: Saudi Arabia calls for a stop to the escalation
Saudi Arabia demanded a halt to hostilities while claiming that Israel’s deprivation of Palestinian rights had aggravated the situation.
Defence Treaties Under Review by White House to Support Israel-Saudi Pact
The Saudi government released a statement in which it recalled its repeated warnings about the risks of the situation exploding as a result of the occupation’s continuation, the denial of the Palestinian people’s legal rights, and the repetition of systematic provocations against its sanctuaries.
According to the statement, the international community must “activate a credible peace process leading to the two-state solution.”
3:10 p.m.: UN Envoy calls on all parties to “Pull Back From the Brink”
Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, expressed his utmost worry for everyone’s safety and that he was in constant contact with all parties.
I urge everyone to back away from this precipice because it is perilous.
Hezbollah claims that the attack should convey a “message” regarding ties with Israel.
The terrorist organisation Hezbollah, located in Lebanon, said that the Hamas operation was a warning to Arab nations not to normalise relations with Israel. Hezbollah stated in a statement quoted by the Times of Israel that the only way to stop Israeli “aggression” was through armed resistance.
Hezbollah claimed to be in direct contact with the top Hamas officials in Gaza and elsewhere.
Gaza Strip Hardly Hit by Israeli Jets at 1:52 p.m.
In the last few hours, 17 military compounds and four operational command centres belonging to Hamas were targeted by dozens of Israeli fighter jets, according to Israel’s defence forces.
Netanyahu claims in a video message that Israel is “at war” with militants (11:40 a.m.)
Israel is “in conflict.” After what he called a “lethal, surprise offensive” by Hamas early on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video message in Hebrew.
The leaders of Israel’s security system, according to Netanyahu, have been instructed to “cleanse all settlements of the terrorists who have infiltrated them.” To “fight back at a scope and power that the enemy has not met,” he continued, Israel’s reserves will be called into action.
As Gaza rockets strike, Israel declares a state of war.