Israel-Hamas war HIGHLIGHTS: Death count on both sides climb to 1,400 as Hamas strikes kill 900 in Israel

Around 1,400 Israelis and Palestinians are dead two days after Hamas launched an attack: around 900 people, including 73 soldiers, have been killed in Israel, and 493 people have been killed in Gaza, according to media and authorities on each side.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres says he’s “deeply distressed” by Israel’s announcement of a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now, it will only deteriorate exponentially," he said.

A Palestinian militant group claims it sent four gunmen across Lebanon’s border into Israel as part of the Hamas-led attack that started over the weekend.

“I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told authorities from the south Monday. “I know you have been through terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible … we have only just begun.”

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says, "I want to assure you that we will defeat the devil because we have no other choice. There are many Israeli and others from different nationalities who have been held hostage. We are committed to bringing them back in the spirit of mutual responsibility. We demand the Hamas not to harm any of the hostages..."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held back-to-back telephone calls with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to Erdogan’s press office.

The Hamas terror group is threatening to begin executing hostages in response to Israeli strikes in Gaza carried out without warnings, the spokesperson for Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades says, The Times of Israel reported citing Gaza’s Shehab news outlet.

Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says, "...There is no dispute in regards to the land of Gaza. We gave the Palestinian Gaza till the last millimetre. There is no dispute in regard to the land..."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Israel with U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak late Monday.

Dozens of students held a rally in support of the Palestinian people Monday at the prestigious American University in Egypt’s capital. Students were seen waving Palestinian flags and holding banners with slogans such as “Free Palestine.”

On Israel-Palestine conflict, the Spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lior Haiat says, "We appreciate the support from the Prime Minister of India, from other leaders in India and also from the people of India in general. We got thousands of messages of support...We will remember who stood with us and supported us."

Nepal Cabinet decides to observe a day of national mourning on 10th October and repatriate the dead bodies in coordination with the Israeli government at the earliest, announces Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it carried out airstrikes against 130 Hamas targets in Gaza over the last three hours, CNN reported citing an official statement.

On the India-Israel relationship amid the Israel-Palestine conflict, the spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lior Haiat says, "I don't think the war will have an impact on the relations between Israel and India. I do hope that the initiatives will continue to flourish. This is not just for Israel but the entire region...I do believe that the strong relations between Israel and India will continue and get even stronger."

European Union Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Monday the bloc is suspending “all payments immediately” to the Palestinians because of what he called the “scale of terror and brutality” during the attacks of Hamas against Israel.

The State Department said on Monday that at least nine American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel, raising the toll from four. It says an undetermined number of American citizens remain missing and unaccounted for.

Major airlines have suspended flights to Israel after the nation declared war following a massive attack by Hamas. American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines suspended service as the US State Department issued travel advisories for the region citing potential for terrorism and civil unrest.

The Kremlin is “extremely concerned” by the “spiral of violence” in Israel, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

“We believe that this situation needs to be put onto a peaceful track as soon as possible. And the continuation of such a spiral of violence, of course, is fraught with further escalation and expansion of this conflict. This is a great danger for the region, so we are extremely concerned,” Peskov said.

Israeli opposition leader and former caretaker Prime Minster Yair Lapid said a ground incursion into Gaza is "not off the table," but that Israel must consider the fate of the dozens of hostages, CNN reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn a parallel between Russia’s invasion of his country and the Hamas militant group’s incursion into Israel, saying only “rules [and] international law” can ensure peace around the world.

Israel's defence minister has ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.

Austria’s foreign minister says his country will freeze development aid for the Palestinian areas following the attack by Hamas on Israel. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told Oe1 radio on Monday that all development aid payments will be “put on ice for now” and that the affected funds are worth around 19 million euros ($20 million).

The leaders of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on Monday discussed the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed on “the importance of … advancing diplomatic efforts that aim to de-escalate violence, protect civilians, spare blood,” a statement from the Egyptian president’s office said. Such efforts should include establishing “a comprehensive, just and permanent peace,” it added.

Hamas wants to “liberate all Palestinian prisoners” from Israel and end Israeli provocations in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque, a spokesman for the militant group said on Monday.
Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua told The Associated Press over the phone that Hamas militants were still fighting Israeli forces and had captured more Israelis on Monday morning.

“We are in an open battle to defend our people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said. “This battle is linked to the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners and the cessation of this fascist government’s activities in Jerusalem.”
He said the group has captured “a large number of Israelis” in Gaza, without giving a specific figure. He said Hamas’ military wing, al-Qassam, would announce the figures later.

 The outdoor Tribe of Nova music festival was meant to be an all-night dance party in a rural area near the Gaza-Israel border, where thousands of young people would celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. But it became a site of deadly chaos when Hamas militants attacked the festival in the desert area early Saturday, killing an estimated 260 people.

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US Senate Majority Leader Schumer criticized China on Monday and told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that he was very disappointed by China’s statement on the recent Hamas attack because it didn’t show any sympathy or support for Israel.
Schumer is leading a delegation of six senators to China this week. “I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn these cowardly and vicious attacks,” said Schumer.

Israel’s central bank says it will sell up to $30 billion in foreign exchange to prop up the country’s shekel currency following market uncertainty in the wake of Hamas’ incursion from the Gaza Strip. The shekel has fallen to a near eight-year low against the U.S. dollar in early trading Monday.

Nasser Abu Quta lost 19 members of his family in an instant when an Israeli airstrike blew up his home in a crowded refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
The airstrike in Rafah, a southern town on the border with Egypt, came as Israeli forces intensified their bombardment of targets in the Gaza Strip following a big, multi-front attack by Hamas militants Saturday that had killed over 700 people in Israel by Sunday night.

Israel’s military spokesperson Richard Hecht said it was taking longer than expected to repel the incursion because there were still multiple breaches in the border, which Hamas could be using to bring in more fighters and weapons. “We thought this morning we’d be in a better place,” Hecht said.

An Indian national was reportedly injured in an airstrike in Israel's Ashkelon city. According to media reports, the victim has been identified as 41-year-old Sheeja Anand-- a native of Kerala’s Kannur district.

As many as 10 Nepali students were confirmed dead in the ongoing terrorist attack by Hamas terror group in Israel, a Nepal Embassy official told ANI late on Sunday evening. Talking over phone, Arjun Ghimire, First Secretary at the Nepali Embassy in Israel in conversation with ANI, said, "The Israeli Police has confirmed to us that dead bodies of 10 Nepalis has been confirmed. Some are still out of contact and some are in serious medical condition, so the number might go up. An announcement about it in detail is due from the Foreign Ministry."

The outdoor Tribe of Nova music festival was meant to be an all-night dance party in a rural area near the Gaza-Israel border, where thousand of young people would celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
But it became a site of deadly chaos when Hamas militants attacked the festival in the desert area early Saturday, killing an estimated 260 people. Terrified revelers tried to run and hide from the gunfire, according to an Israeli rescue organization, news outlets and accounts on social media.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says senators were briefed by senior State Department and Pentagon officials and given assurances that the United States was giving Israel “everything they need.”
“I asked the representatives of our Defense Department if they are giving Israel everything they need, and I was heartened that they said yes and that they are surging support,” Schumer said in a statement after Sunday evening’s unclassified briefing.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there is bipartisan unity in Congress “in support of what we need to do” to support Israel. Speaking at an event in San Francisco on Sunday organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, Pelosi condemned the attacks on Israel as “acts of cowardice.”
“I want you to know that in the Congress of the United States … there is unity, bipartisan unity in support of what we need to do, whether it’s militarily, whether it’s diplomatically, whether it’s financially to help our friends, the Israelis,” Pelosi said, according to a recording of her remarks provided by her office.

The United Nations says the number of displaced Gazans has risen to more than 1,23,000 as a result of the fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas following the militant group’s unprecedented attack on Israel.
As of late Sunday, retaliatory Israeli airstrikes had destroyed 159 housing units across Gaza and severely damaged 1,210 others, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said a school sheltering more than 225 people took a direct hit. It did not say where the fire came from.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors Sunday, with the United States demanding all 15 members strongly condemn “these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas,” but they took no immediate action.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told The Associated Press the Americans tried to say during the meeting that Russia isn’t condemning the attacks, but “that’s untrue.”
“It was in my comments,” he said. “We condemn all the attacks on civilians.”

Jonathan Conricus made the statement in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. His words appeared to go further than those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu said Sunday that his security cabinet had made the decision to destroy Hamas’ ability to govern in a way that posed a threat to Israeli civilians.

As the war entered the third day, Israel's Defence Forces spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a video message, said Israel has been paying a heavy price but it will restore security to the people of the country and the militant organisation, Hamas, has to pay heavy price for carrying out massacre. 

A French woman in Israel has died “in the context of the terrorist attacks,” France’s foreign ministry said Sunday, without providing details. French teams in Israel and Paris are trying to clarify the situations of several citizens who have not been located, the statement said. Germany’s Foreign Ministry says it has to assume that German citizens are among those kidnapped by Hamas on Saturday. It didn’t say how many people that might be, but said they are all believed also to be Israeli citizens.

Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, said American citizens are among those who were taken captive but gave no details about them, nor about Americans who might have been killed. “Unfortunately I can’t. We have a lot of dual citizens in Israel. I suspect there are several, but we’re still trying to sort through all of all this information after this horrific surprise attack and we’ll make sure to put that information out so that the loved ones of these people who were killed and who are held hostage, they know as quickly as possible,” Dermer told CNN’s ‘’State of the Union.’’

At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pound the territory, AP reported.

Three British men were said to either be dead or missing after the Hamas attack on Israel. Nathanel Young, 20, was killed while serving in the Israel Defense Forces, his sister, Gaby Shalev, said on Facebook, AP reported.

A French woman in Israel has died “in the context of the terrorist attacks,” France’s foreign ministry said Sunday, without providing details. Citizens from Germany, Ukraine and Belarusian are also among those killed, injured or captured by Hamas militants, AP reported.

Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, said American citizens are among those who were taken captive but gave no details about them, nor about Americans who might have been killed.

IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht says, "This is against international law...Hurting children it is just hard to comprehend...We are standing strong and we will overcome this..." 

Four Nepalese students studying in Israel have been injured and 11 are still missing after Hamas militants attacked a farm, Foreign Minister N P Saud said on Sunday. The minister said that casualties are feared among the missing students studying in the southern part of Israel.

Hamas claimed on Sunday that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi praised its surprise attack on Israel in a phone call with the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh, CNN reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is looking at additional requests for assistance that the Israelis have made, and there could be developments on that front later Sunday.

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz is stressing the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East after Hamas attacked Israel. He said he plans to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and will support Egypt in efforts to mediate and de-escalate.

Twelve Nepalese students studying in the southern part of Israel are missing after the attack by the Hamas militant group and casualties are feared among them, Foreign Minister N P Saud said on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says his Security Cabinet has declared the country at war following a deadly Hamas assault in southern Israel, AP reported.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip says 370 Palestinians have been killed and another 2,200 have been wounded in the Gaza Strip, reported the Times of Israel.

Tel Aviv: Spokesperson, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Major Libby Weiss says, "The widespread support we are seeing is the result of the horrors that everybody saw yesterday...When women, children & elderly people are dragged across the border and when young people at the music festival are slaughtered. It is clear that nobody can support that. It is painfully clear that Hamas are war criminal. What they have done here is horrific & completely inexcusable..."

Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon says, "We are heartfelt from the huge support we got from India, from the Prime Minister, through a few ministers who called me, businessmen, civil servants. Our social media is full of people who are showing their support. And we appreciate it. We appreciate it very strongly. I'll tell you why. Because India, first of all, is a very important country in the world. Secondly, India comes from the position of a country who knows terrorism. So it comes from a point of knowledge and not of ignorance. And for that, we are very much thankful. And again, Israel needs only the moral and political support, the work on the ground we know how to do it, but we need to have the ability to execute the plan in order to make sure that Hamas will not threaten anyone else again."

Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon says, "...They (Hamas) murdered, hijacked, children, women, elderly. The numbers that we are so far counting, and they will increase, I'm sorry to say, are more than 300 killed, murdered and some of them kidnapped. We don't know of Indian foreign nationals so far, we didn't get any information of such. There are more than 1800 wounded...The terrorists are going to pay a very big price. We will do it in our pace, in our choosing, the way we want it..."

Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon says, "Israel never asked for anyone to come and fight for us. We fight our own fights. We don't want other people to fight our fights. It's true that Americans are helping us with supply, ammunition because we manufacture together, we develop together... I don't need anyone to come into my aid. We will do that. We have all the capacity to do that..."

The leaders of Israel’s neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, discussed the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.

The death toll in Israel following a surprise attack by the militant group Hamas stands at 600, according to several Israeli media outlets.

In the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday, residents heard a loud explosion, apparently from an Israeli airstrike that hit a target close to the borders with Egypt. It was not immediately clear what was targeted. Residents said a house in the area had been evacuated, AP reported.

The world’s largest bloc of Muslim countries has condemned what it refers to as “Israeli military aggression” amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, AP reports.

At least 313 Palestinians have been killed and close to 2,000 wounded in the last 24 hours, CNN reported citing the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

An Egyptian policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists Sunday in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least two Israelis and one Egyptian, local media reported.
Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies, quoted an unidentified security official as saying that another person was injured in the attack which took place in the Pompey’s Pillar tourist site in Alexandria. The suspected assailant was detained, it reported.

At least 26 Israeli soldiers have been killed in an attack by the Hamas militant group on the country’s south, Israel’s military said Sunday. The figure is part of a death toll of more than 350 people in the deadliest attack against Israelis in decades.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fired dozens of rockets and shells on Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the country’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the attack using “large numbers of rockets and shells” was in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.” It said the Israeli positions were directly hit.

An Egyptian official says Israel has sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of abducted Israelis, and Egypt’s intelligence chief had contacted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group to seek information.
According to the official, Palestinian leaders claimed that they don’t yet have a “full picture” of hostages, but said those who were brought to Gaza were taken to “secure locations” across the territory.

In an unprecedented escalation, armed Hamas fighters blew up parts of Israel’s highly fortified separation fence and strode into Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier, terrorizing residents and trading fire with Israeli soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies were scrambling to respond to the rapidly changing events. As the day wore on, the casualties quickly mounted.

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Air India on Sunday said it has cancelled its flights to and from Tel Aviv till October 14. Israel came under attack by Hamas militants on Saturday and since then, both sides are engaged in fighting in which scores of people have died.

"Our flights to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended till 14th October, 2023, for the safety of our passengers and crew," an airline spokesperson said in a statement.

A UN peacekeeping force deployed along Lebanon’s southern border called for “everyone to exercise restraint” and make use of the force’s “liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate” and prevent a fast deterioration of the security situation. It said it had detected several rockets fired from southeast Lebanon toward “Israeli-occupied territory,” followed by artillery fire from Israel toward Lebanon.

An Israeli military official says “hundreds of terrorists” have been killed and dozens captured in fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza and southern Israel.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari spoke to reporters on Sunday, more than 24 hours after the Palestinian militant group launched an unprecedented assault into Israel, killing hundreds of people, firing thousands of rockets and taking captives back into blockaded Gaza.

 China on Sunday called on Palestine and Israel to immediately end the hostilities, exercise restraint, and remain calm to protect civilians to avoid further deterioration of the situation.
China is deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel, and calls on relevant parties to remain calm, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in response to questions on the fierce conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip resulting in massive casualties on both sides.

The Israel Defense Forces says it struck the home of the head of Hamas’s intelligence in the Gaza Strip. The IDF says the home was used as military infrastructure by the terror group.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday decried the “unconscionable” assault by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel’s allies.

Biden said from the White House that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. There’s never a justification for terrorist attacks and my administration’s support for Israeli’s security is rock solid and unwavering.’’

A Cambodian student has died in the violence in Israel, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The Southeast Asian country has some 450 students in Israel, the statement added.
Two workers from Thailand were also believed to have been kidnapped in Israel, according to a statement from Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The information came from the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel has not been able to verify the claim.

Amid the war between Israel and Palestine, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah said it fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" in a contested border area. In response, the Israeli army said it too has fired artillery at southern Lebanon.

In response, Israel, IDF Artillery struck targets in the area. An IDF UAV also struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area of Mount Dov. "The IDF has taken preparational measures for this type of possibility. We will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians," it said.

Amid the unprecedented scenario, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has shown up for reserve duty, the Jerusalem Post reported. Bennett, who served in office between June 2021 and June 2022, was pictured wearing an IDF military uniform.

Gun battles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns. Militants occupied a police station in a third town, where Israeli forces struggled until Sunday morning to finally reclaim the building. An Israeli military spokesperson said Sunday morning that the hostage situations had been “resolved,” but did not say whether all the hostages had been rescued alive.

Before daybreak on Sunday, militants fired more rockets from Gaza, hitting a hospital in the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon. The hospital sustained damage, said senior hospital official Tal Bergman.
Video provided by Barzilai Medical Center showed a large hole punched into a wall and chunks of debris scattered on the ground of what appeared to be an empty room and a hallway. There was no report of casualties.

A mosque in Cairo that is a seat of Sunni learning has expressed its solidarity with Palestinians in the wake of an attack by the militant group Hamas that took Israel by surprise.
The Al-Azhar al-Sharif mosque houses the Sunni world’s foremost seat of religious learning. A statement by the mosque said it “stands fast with full support to the free people of Palestine, who have come to revive our self-confidence, lifeline, and a long-lost sense of aliveness,” the statement read.

Israel will stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, according to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office Saturday night. Much of Gaza was already thrown into darkness by nightfall after electrical supplies from Israel, which supplies almost all of the territories’ power, were cut off earlier in the day.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video messages, urged Gaza residents to flee as his defence forces seeks to revenge in which Hamas killed over 250 Israelis. “I say to the residents of Gaza: get out of there now, because we will act everywhere and with all the strength,” Netanyahu said in a video address to Israeli citizens.

Live briefing from Tel Aviv—with an IDF Spokesperson LTC (Res.) Jonathan Conricus

President Joe Biden has condemning the “appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza” and says he’s spoken with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden says in a statement released by the White House that he told the Israeli leader that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support” to the Israeli government and the Israeli people.

Airlines canceled more than 80 flights to and from Tel Aviv by Saturday evening — roughly 14% of all flights scheduled — because of the unprecedented attack in Israel by the militant group Hamas, according to FlightAware.

An Israeli army spokesman says fighting is continuing in 22 locations in southern Israel some 12 hours after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari also said that Israel was striking targets in Gaza from the air and that ground operations were imminent.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has spoken to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge a halt to the violence in and around Gaza. A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement released late Saturday says the two discussed “the necessity of working toward an immediate halt to the escalation.”

Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 250 people were killed and 1,500 wounded, making Saturday’s surprise early morning attack by Hamas the deadliest attack in Israel in decades. At least 232 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.