Israel-Gaza conflict Updates: Over 200 killed, dozens held hostages, says Army

The total number of Israelis captured by Hamas in a surprise attack on Israeli towns on Saturday was "several times greater" than dozens, a spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas said in a recording aired shortly after midnight on Sunday, reports Reuters.

The spokesman said those taken captive were spread throughout all areas of the Gaza strip.

Germany and France on Saturday moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel.

Germany tightened police protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, as some supporters of the Palestinians took to the streets of Berlin to celebrate the attack.

France focussed on Jewish temples and schools in cities across the country, as one Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there.

The Israel death toll from the Hamas surprise attack Saturday has surged to more than 200, the army said, accusing the Palestinian militants of breaking into homes and "massacring civilians".

"Terrorists rampaged and broke into homes, massacring civilians," the army said, adding that more than 200 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the assault that began at dawn, AFP reported.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Palestinian Authority to restore calm and stability in the West Bank in a call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, the U.S. State Department said in a statement, reports Reuters.

Blinken "reiterated the United States' unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel, and called on all leadership in the region to condemn them," a State Department spokesperson said.

"The Secretary urged the Palestinian Authority to continue and enhance steps to restore calm and stability in the West Bank," the spokesperson said.

Israel PM tells Palestinians to leave Gaza, vows to turn Hamas hideouts into 'rubble'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to avenge what he said was a "black day" for Israel Saturday, saying the army will strike back at Hamas in Gaza with full force.

"The IDF (army) is about to use all its force to destroy Hamas's capabilities," Netanyahu said in a brief televised statement.

"We'll strike them to the bitter end and avenge with force this black day they brought on Israel and its people," he said, after Hamas militants launched a surprise dawn attack, sending hundreds of militants into Israel under cover of a huge rocket barrage.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Saturday of a "vicious cycle" of violence after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, which responded with devastating air strikes on Gaza.

Sisi received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron, Egypt's presidency said, and the two discussed "coordinating efforts to stop the escalation in the Gaza Strip between the Palestinian and Israeli sides".

Cairo has historically been a key mediator in conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sisi's spokesman said he "warned against the danger of the situation deteriorating and sliding into more violence, the worsening of humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the region entering into a vicious cycle of tensions that threatens regional stability and security".

Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Saturday expressed her condolences over the deaths of people in the rocket strikes launched by Hamas on Israel.

A barrage of rockets slammed into southern and central Israel on Saturday morning after Hamas launched a surprise attack.

Union Minister Lekhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed his condolences and stands with Israel at this difficult juncture.

"PM Modi has already given his condolences and stands with Israel at this difficult juncture. We express our condolences to all those who have been killed in this attack and the families of the injured at this difficult time," the Union Minister told ANI.

"The President expressed his concerns over the situation and reminded each of them of the importance of condemning unequivocally the terrorist attacks against Israel, its soldiers and its people," said a statement from Macron's Elysee office.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday informed that as many as 27 people from the state are stranded in Jerusalem, Israel adding that he is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to rescue them.

This comes after a barrage of rockets slammed into southern and central Israel after Hamas launched a "surprise attack" on Saturday morning.

"27 citizens of Meghalaya who travelled for the Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem are stuck in Bethlehem due to the tension between Israel and Palestine. I am in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure their safe passage back home," CM Sangma posted on X.

Israel told the United Nations Security Council on Saturday that Palestinian Islamist group Hamas "holds the sole responsibility and will bear the results" of its attack on the country.

"The state of Israel will act in any way necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from the ongoing terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip and carried out by Hamas and other terrorist organizations," Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan wrote to the 15-member council in a letter seen by Reuters.

During the Jewish high holiday of Simchat Torah, Hamas executed a sudden attack on Israel, blending gunmen infiltrating security barriers with a relentless rocket barrage fired from Gaza. This assault occurred precisely 50 years after an eventful day when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an attack during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Their aim was to regain territory that Israel had captured in a short-lived conflict in 1967. Unfold more details here

At least 100 Israelis lost their lives in what is described as the largest attack in years, orchestrated by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday. Hamas claimed to have taken dozens of hostages in this "unprecedented" assault, which involved a combination of gunmen infiltrating Israel and a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza, as reported by the news agency Reuters.

Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

"Our enemy will pay a price the type of which it has never known," he said. "We are in a war and we will win it".

The Israeli military said it had responded with air strikes into Gaza, where witnesses reported hearing heavy explosions and multiple dead and wounded being carried into hospitals. The Israeli military said navy forces killed dozens of Palestinian militants trying to infiltrate Israel by sea.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it would convene an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council following the biggest attack on Israel in years.

Brazil, which assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month, condemned the attacks in a public statement and expressed solidarity with the people of Israel. It also reaffirmed a commitment to a "two-state solution," with Palestine and Israel coexisting within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Germany "firmly condemns the terrorist attacks from Gaza against Israel", Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Saturday after a barrage of rockets was fired at Israel from the Palestinian enclave, news agency AFP.

Baerbock said the Palestinian militant group Hamas contributes to the "intensification of violence", adding that "violence and rockets aimed at innocent people must stop immediately".

Israel "has our full solidarity" and "the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorism", Baerbock said on social media, as the Israeli army began carrying out air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

A government crisis meeting on the situation was called for Saturday afternoon, the foreign ministry said, adding that it was concerned about German citizens in Israel.

Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday sought the help of the ministry of external affairs to rescue 27 people from the state stranded in the war-like situation between Israel and Palestine. Sangma said he is in touch with the ministry to bring the people back to the state.

“27 citizens of Meghalaya who traveled to Jerusalem for the Holy Pilgrimage are stuck in Bethlehem due to the present tension between Israel and Palestine,” Sangma wrote on X.

"I am in touch with the MEA to ensure their safe passage back home," the chief minister added.

Jesuralem is one of the international destinations for Christians in Meghalaya for its religious importance.

Japan's foreign ministry on Saturday issued a statement, as reported by the news agency Reuters, in which it "strongly condemns" the rocket attacks by the Hamas militant group on Israeli territory.

Israel said it was at war with Hamas following the surprise dawn attack from the blockaded Gaza Strip that, according to medics, had so far killed at least 40 people on its territory.

-Israeli soldiers are actively engaged in securing residential areas in Sderot after a significant infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip.

-Israeli police are inspecting a vehicle displaying a Palestinian license plate in response to the mass-infiltration of Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, which occurred in Sderot.

-According to a report from Israel's N12, approximately 50 Israeli hostages are being held by Hamas gunmen in Beeri Kibbutz, located near the Gaza border.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Egypt has called on both Palestinians and Israelis to “exercise restraint” following a multi-pronged assault by Hamas militants on Saturday, which encompassed air, land, and sea attacks launched from Gaza. In response, Israel conducted air strikes. The Egyptian foreign ministry, historically playing a pivotal role as a mediator in conflicts between the two parties, issued a statement stressing the need for “the utmost levels of restraint” and underscored the severe risk associated with the ongoing escalation.
(AFP)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the United States would work to ensure that Israel "has what it needs to defend itself".

"Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism," news agency Reuters quoted Austin as saying.

At least 40 people have been killed in an extensive Hamas attack on Israel stated the national rescue service on Saturday. The most recent casualty figures were reported by the Magen David Adom rescue service while fighting continued on Saturday. Hospitals in Israel are currently tending to hundreds of injured individuals, including dozens in critical condition.

(AP)

The United States on Saturday "unequivocally" condemned the attack by "Hamas terrorists" against Israel, news agency AFP reported citing the White House statement.

"The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians," the statement said, adding that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was in close contact with Israeli partners over the operation.

"We stand firmly with the Government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks," it added.

The Palestinian group Hamas has launched an unprecendented attack from Gaza into Israel, in one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.

Founded in 1987 during the initial Palestinian Intifada, Hamas, also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, espouses an Islamist ideology aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood's principles, which originated in Egypt in the 1920s. Supported by Shiite Iran, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, following a brief internal conflict with Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas, who leads the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and operates from the West Bank, deemed the situation a coup, subsequent to Hamas's victory in the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, the last held to date. Since then, the region has witnessed recurring cycles of conflict, characterized by Hamas launching rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel and Israel responding with airstrikes and bombardments of Gaza. (With inputs from Reuters)

Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday called for Israeli and Palestinian forces to stop armed hostilities after attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, news agency AFP reported.

"We call on the Palestinian and Israeli sides to immediately ceasefire, renounce violence, show the necessary restraint and -- with the help of the international community -- establish a negotiation process aimed at establishing a comprehensive, lasting and long-awaited peace," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Nepali Ambassador to Israel said that at least seven Nepalis have been injured so far and 17 have been held captive by Hamas in Israel.

The al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas declared the capture of several Israeli soldiers during their "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, with reports indicating that civilians were also held as hostages. On their social media channels, Hamas posted videos claiming to show Israeli captives being brought into Gaza alive.