Top Israeli officials vowed to punish the Gaza Strip following an unprecedented and deadly incursion into Israel by Hamas.
Israel formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for Saturday’s surprise attack. The hostilities so far have killed around 700 people in Israel and 493 people in Gaza, according to authorities on each side.
READ MORE: What Israel’s declaration of war means, and other takeaways from the weekend’s fighting
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.
Israel’s military scoured the country’s south for remaining militants and pounded Gaza from the air. Rockets launched from Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
“I ask you to stand firm because we are going to change the Middle East,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told authorities from southern Israel. “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.”
At least 11 U.S. citizens have been killed, Biden says
At least 11 U.S. citizens have been confirmed dead in the surprise Hamas attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
Biden also said the U.S. government believes it is “likely” that Americans are among those currently being held hostage by Hamas militants, while other U.S. citizens are still unaccounted for after the deadly assault.
“My heart goes out to every family impacted by the horrible events of the past few days,” Biden said in a statement. “The pain these families have endured, the enormity of their loss, and the agony of those still awaiting information is unfathomable.”
He stressed that the State Department is offering assistance for U.S. citizens who are currently in Israel, and air and ground options to leave the country are still available for those who choose to do so. He also said federal law enforcement officials are “closely monitoring” potential domestic threats stemming from the weekend attacks.
British prime minister at synagogue to support Israel
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined a large crowd gathered for prayer at a London synagogue on Monday to underline his solidarity with Israel.
Addressing the congregation at Finchley United Synagogue in north London, Sunak condemned Hamas’ bloody incursion into Israel on Saturday as “evil.”
“There are not two sides to these events. There is no question of balance. I stand with Israel,” he said. “The United Kingdom stands with Israel against this terrorism today, tomorrow and always.”
He also sought to assure Britain’s Jewish community that he will do everything to protect them amid concerns about the rise of antisemitism.
Hundreds join pro-Palestinian protests in London, Athens
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters held vocal but peaceful gatherings outside Israeli embassies in London and Athens, Greece, on Monday.
In London, hundreds chanted “Israel is a terrorist state” and “Free Palestine” and some waved signs calling for Israel to “end the occupation.”
Boards of wood were placed around the entrance to the embassy, and large numbers of police officers were present.
The demonstration came as Britain’s home secretary, Suella Braverman, said she is writing to police chiefs across the U.K. to urge them to step up patrols to prevent any antisemitic disorder.
In Athens, an estimated 250 people, mostly Palestinian expatriates and members of Greek left-wing groups, held a peaceful protest outside the Israeli embassy to show solidarity with Palestinians. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans, while a strong police contingent blocked off access to the embassy building.
European Union reverses suspension of aid to Palestinian authorities
The European Union late Monday reversed an earlier announcement by an EU commissioner that the bloc was immediately suspending aid for Palestinian authorities and instead said it would urgently review such assistance in the wake of the attacks on Israel by Hamas.
“There will be no suspension of payments” at the moment, a terse European Commission statement said late Monday, five hours after EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi had said that all payments from the development program for Palestinians would be immediately suspended.
No immediate explanation for the reversal was given. The reversal on a 691 million-euro ($730 million) program capped an embarrassing day at the EU’s executive at a time of extreme geopolitical sensitivities.
More than 680 people killed in Gaza, Health Ministry says
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said Monday that more than 680 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes following an unprecedented Hamas attack.
The ministry said more than 3,700 people have been wounded.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Saturday attack, striking hundreds of targets and leaving vast destruction.
UN says efforts underway to prevent conflict from spreading
The United Nations says intense diplomatic activity is taking place aimed at ensuring that regional and international leaders are on the same page in trying to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Monday that he and U.N. Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland are engaging with key parties in the region.
Guterres has spoken to Israel’s president and Jordan’s king and expects to talk to the Palestinian president, Israel’s prime minister, Egypt’s president and Lebanon’s prime minister, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Wennesland has been in touch with his counterparts from the United States, European Union, Qatar, Lebanon and others.
More than 100 bodies found in farming community, Israel says
Israeli rescue service Zaka says more than 100 bodies have been recovered from a small farming community that was the scene of a hostage standoff during Hamas’ attack against Israel.
The figure is part of the total 900 reportedly killed in Hamas’ multi-pronged attack. Beeri, a kibbutz, had a population of about 1,000 people before the attack.
Biden to speak with allies on Israel situation, White House says
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to speak with several allies Monday regarding the situation in Israel, according to the White House.
Earlier Monday, Biden convened a meeting with top national security aides, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
During that meeting, Biden urged continued coordination with Israel and other regional partners, the White House said.
The White House has called a “lid” for the day, meaning the public won’t lay eyes on the U.S. president until Tuesday.
Biden has spoken at least twice with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House says his top national security aides have been in regular contact with their counterparts in the region since the surprise Hamas attack on Saturday.
Chevron to stop production in Mediterranean off Israel coast
American oil giant Chevron Corp. said Monday that at Israel’s instruction it had stopped production at its offshore Tamar natural gas rig in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel.
In a statement announcing the action, the company declined to discuss any security issues and didn’t say why Israel ordered it.
“Chevron is focused on the safe and reliable supply of natural gas for the benefit of the Israeli domestic market and our regional customers,” Chevron said. “Our top priority is the safety of our personnel, the communities in which we operate, the environment and our facilities.”
The Tamar field, which went online in 2013, is believed to hold more than 300 billion cubic meters of gas. Chevron and the Israeli-American company Isramco each own around a third of Tamar, with the remainder held by smaller firms.
There have been threats previously against Israel’s offshore oil rigs by militant groups in the region and Lebanon has disputed Israel’s maritime boundaries.
The ongoing fighting in Israel and the Gaza Strip has sparked a jump in crude oil prices, in part over a fear of a wider regional conflict breaking out. Israel and the Palestinian territories don’t produce oil. Benchmark Brent crude traded up Monday to over $87 a barrel.
Hezbollah says member killed in Israeli shelling in Lebanon
A member of Hezbollah was killed during Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group announced in a statement Monday. It identified him as Hussam Mohammad Ibrahim and shared photos of him in military garb posing with an AK-47 assault rifle. The group did not comment further.
Earlier Monday, the Israeli Defense Forces reported that its troops shot and killed several gunmen who crossed into the country from Lebanon. Israel intensified shelling of southern Lebanon in response to the incident.
Also Monday, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said in a statement that it sent four gunmen across Lebanon’s border into Israel as part of the Hamas-led attack that started over the weekend.
The group said seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in Monday’s cross-border operation.
The Lebanese military called on residents of border towns to “take the utmost precautions.” Families in several towns in southern Lebanon started fleeing north as the Israeli shelling continued.
Palestinian diplomat in UK says Israel is committing a war crime
The top Palestinian diplomat in the U.K. says Israel is committing a war crime by cutting off water and electricity supplies to Gaza.
Husam Zomlot told a gathering of Palestinian supporters at the Labour Party’s annual conference that Israel was acting out of “sheer vengeance” in response to weekend attacks by Hamas.
Zomlot told the meeting he had just learned that six members of his own family, including a cousin and her children, had been killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
A member of Fatah, Zomlot said his party rejects the targeting of civilians. He added that Palestinians “need justice, not revenge.”
“And what Israel is doing now is revenge, sheer vengeance.”
He received a standing ovation from dozens of Labour members attending a meeting organized by the group Labour and Palestine.
The left-of-center Labour Party has been riven in recent years by allegations that antisemitism was allowed to spread under previous leader Jeremy Corbyn, a strong advocate of the Palestinian cause.
Labour’s leadership has strongly condemned Hamas’ weekend attacks, and conference delegates held a minute’s silence for the victims at the conference on Monday.
Hamas wing warns that Israeli strikes will bring hostage deaths
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has warned that it will kill an Israeli hostage every time Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in the Gaza Strip without warning.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, said in an audio released Monday night that the threat was a response to intense air strikes by Israel on civilian areas.
“We have decided to put an end to this and as of now, we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding,” he said.
In a video statement Monday, Israel’s foreign minister warned Hamas against harming any of the hostages who were taken from Israel and being held in Gaza. Eli Cohen said Israel was committed to bringing the hostages home “in the spirit of mutual responsibility.”
“We demand Hamas not to harm any of the hostages, Cohen said. “This war crime will not be forgiven,” he added.
UN leader ‘distressed’ by Israel’s plans for a Gaza siege
U.N. 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,” Guterres said at a news conference Monday.
READ MORE: Israel strikes and seals off Gaza after Hamas incursion
He spoke after the Israeli defense minister said he had ordered a cutoff of electricity and deliveries of food, fuel and other supplies to the territory.
Guterres called for U.N. access to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. He pressed the international community to provide immediate support for the humanitarian effort.
Turkey’s leader holds calls with Palestinian, Israeli presidents
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.
Erdogan and Abbas discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. “President Erdogan stated that Turkey is making every effort to end the conflicts in the region and ensure calm as soon as possible” a statement from his press office said.
In his call with Herzog, “President Erdogan emphasized that any step that could harm the people of Gaza collectively and indiscriminately will further increase the suffering and spiral of violence in the region.” the presidential office statement said.
Erdogan also told his Israeli counterpart that its “necessary to act with common sense and that establishing tranquility in the region as soon as possible is of great importance for the well-being of the entire region.”
European leaders and U.S. president plan to discuss Israel
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.
Scholz, who was hosting Macron at a joint German-French Cabinet retreat in Hamburg, called Hamas’ attack on Israel “barbaric.” But he added that Germany, France, the U.S. and the U.K. agree that there must not be a “conflagration” in the region, and “no one should further fuel terror in this situation.”
Macron pledged his “full support and solidarity for Israel.” He spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in three days and spoke spoke over the weekend with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of Lebanon, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
International aid group warns of ‘utter disaster’ in Gaza
The secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid organization, warns that the Israeli government’s vow to besiege and blockade the Gaza Strip would spell “utter disaster” for the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the small territory.
Jan Egeland’s comments came after Israel’s defense minister ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza after an unprecedented incursion by Hamas fighters into Israel early Saturday. Israel formally declared war on Sunday and has since retaliated against Hamas for the attack.
“There is no doubt that collective punishment is in violation of international law. It’s clear as that.” Egeland told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “If and when it would lead to wounded children dying in hospitals because of a lack of energy, electricity, and supplies, it could amount to war crimes.”
Egeland also slammed donor countries for halting humanitarian assistance to Gaza after the unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on Saturday.
France reports uptick in antisemetic acts
French police have arrested 10 people in connection with antisemitic acts that were reported since the latest fighting between Israel and Hamas militants began.
The 20 reported incidents included threats to synagogues or people frequenting Jewish stores, the interior minister said Monday.
Prosecutors have also opened 44 investigations into antisemitic hate speech online or posts glorifying terrorism in connection with the violence, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s office.
While France’s sees sporadic acts targeting Jews or Muslims, Darmanin said the number of antisemitic incidents since Saturday was ″dramatic.″
France has the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the U.S.
Two French citizens are confirmed dead in Israel following the outbreak of violence. At least eight others are missing or believed held hostage, according to a lawmaker who represents French people abroad.
Militant group says it sent gunmen into Israel from Lebanon
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.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a statement that seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in Monday’s cross-border operation.
The Israeli Defense Forces reported earlier that its troops shot and killed several gunmen who crossed into the country from Lebanon. Israel also intensified shelling of southern Lebanon in response to the incident.
The Lebanese military called on residents of border towns to “take the utmost precautions.” Families in several towns in southern Lebanon started fleeing north as the Israeli shelling continued.
UN agency near capacity for displaced Palestinians in Gaza
The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, says it is near maximum capacity in accommodating internally displaced people in Gaza.
The agency’s director of external communications, Tamara Alrifai, said Monday that nearly 137,000 people have sheltered so far in over 70 U.N. schools around Gaza. Alrifai said the agency can host up to 150,000 people at up to 79 schools around the territory.
She added there is fuel in Gaza that could last for up to 10 days.
Families near Lebanon-Israel border flee under shelling
Families in several border towns in southern Lebanon have started fleeing north as Israeli shelling continues in the area.
An Associated Press team saw several cars packed with people and belongings departing Monday. “We tried to flee Ait el-Shaab to Rmeish, but they told us everyone has to stay in their area,” a man said as he and his family tried to flee.
Israeli shelling intensified after four militants crossed over the border and clashed with Israeli Defense Forces troops on Monday. Several rockets were fired from near the Lebanese border earlier. A Hezbollah spokesperson denied the militant group’s involvement in the operation.
Arab League schedules meeting at request of Palestinians
Arab foreign ministers plan to convene Wednesday in Cairo for a meeting on the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.
Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki said the ministers would discuss Arab efforts to “stop the Israeli aggression” on Gaza.
The meeting was called by the Palestinians.
French citizens confirmed dead in Israel-Gaza fighting
Two French citizens have been confirmed dead in the fighting, the French Foreign Ministry said Monday, without elaborating. Several others (or dual citizens) are unaccounted for believed missing or held hostage.
European Union suspends payments to Palestinians
European Union Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Monday that the bloc is suspending “all payments immediately” to the Palestinians because of what he called he called the “scale of terror and brutality” during the attacks of Hamas against Israel.
The surprise announcement by Varhelyi came just hours after EU officials stressed that no EU money had been going to Hamas and that contacts had been frozen for 16 years. The EU considers Hamas a terror group.
U.S. senator welcomes China’s new statement on Hamas attack
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer says he is grateful for a strengthened statement from China condemning the killing and kidnapping of Israeli and foreign civilians by Hamas.
During a bipartisan congressional visit to Beijing, Schumer had said earlier Monday that he was very disappointed by China’s failure to strongly condemn the militant group’s attack on Israel or to express sympathy for the country and its people.
Schumer led a delegation of six senators to China for talks aimed at stabilizing ties following a sharp deterioration in recent years over trade, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, human rights and other issues.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that China is “deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict between Palestine and Israel.”
State Department: 9 Americans are among the dead in Israel
The U.S. State Department said Monday that at least nine American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel, raising the toll from four.
The State Department says an undetermined number of American citizens remain missing and unaccounted for. It is not clear whether the missing had been taken hostage, were killed or are in hiding.
The State Department is in touch with families “and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Israel reports killing gunmen who came from Lebanon
Israeli troops shot and killed several gunmen who crossed into the country from Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces said without specifying the number of people killed nor their alleged affiliation.
Local media quoted Hezbollah officials on Monday as denying their involvement in the border incident. Iran-backed Hezbollah has praised key ally Hamas for its unprecedented weekend incursion into Israel but not said if it would attempt to join forces.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, four gunmen crossed Lebanon’s southern border into Israeli territory from the border town of Dahaira before coming across an IDF position.
Israeli and Lebanese troops deployed in large numbers over the weekend along the U.N-demarcated Blue Line border that separates the two countries.
Hezbollah fired rockets Sunday at Israeli positions in disputed territory in southern Lebanon. Senior Hezbollah official Hashim Safieddine later said the volley was intended to “send a message.”
In response, Israel shelled the positions where the rockets came from.
Russian minister and Arab League chief meet in Moscow
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit met Monday in Moscow but did not announce any immediate steps in response to the violence in Israel and Gaza.
“As for mediation efforts, first of all the parties themselves must stop hostilities. Everything else can be decided later in a normal, non-military situation,” Lavrov said following the meeting.
Before speaking with Russia’s top diplomat, Aboul Gheit said: “We completely reject violence from both sides. … We demand the creation of political perspectives and fair solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
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