Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet has declared a “long and difficult” war against Palestinians as the estimated death toll from a surprise offensive by the Hamas resistance movement against the Israeli regime has jumped to 700.
According to the latest Israeli media reports, the Israeli death toll from the Hamas onslaught surpassed 700 by Saturday evening.
The bodies are found as Israeli forces continue to battle with Hamas fighters, who have infiltrated illegal settlements near the Gaza border.
Among the dead are dozens of Israeli soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas resistance fighters.
The Israeli health ministry also confirmed that the number of wounded in hospitals had reached 2,048, including 20 in critical condition and 330 seriously wounded.
There are some 700 injured Israelis being treated at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
The new toll comes as Israel’s army said it aims to evacuate all Israelis living close to the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as it deployed thousands of soldiers in the area.
Netanyahu’s office announced that the cabinet voted last night to put Israel officially at war, and it can carry out “significant military activities.”
The decision, announced on Sunday, formally authorizes “the taking of significant military steps,” it said in a statement.
Netanyahu warned of a “long and difficult” war ahead after the Palestinian fighters launched a massive surprise operation.
“The first phase is being completed… with the elimination of the vast majority of enemy forces that have infiltrated our territory,” Netanyahu said, warning the Israelis that they were “embarking on a long and difficult war.”
Netanyahu also joined his air force chief Tomer Bar at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv as Israeli warplanes carried out attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has said dozens of warplanes were carrying out a wave of “intense” airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
Nearly two dozen members of same family killed in southern Gaza
In the latest Israeli attack on Gaza, at least 22 members of the Abu Daqqa family were killed near Khan Younis after their home was targeted in an Israeli air strike.
“Among those killed include seven children. Civil rescue teams are still trying to rescue six members of the family who are stuck under the rubble of the destroyed house,” Azzoum added.
Netanyahu says Israel will cut off supplies to Gaza
Israel will stop supplying electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office Saturday night.
Much of Gaza was already thrown into darkness by nightfall after electrical supplies from Israel were cut off earlier in the day.
US to announce new military aid to Israel
On Saturday, US-led Western allies expressed their unconditional support for Israel. The United States warned “any party hostile to Israel” from exploiting the situation.
US President Joe Biden added that his country’s support for Israel was “rock solid and unwavering”.
Speaking to attendees of the two-day gathering of the Renaissance political party in Bordeaux, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union “stands with Israel”, and that the “ordeal” would be the latest in a long list of challenges that would be “overcome together”.
Support for Hamas resistance
Thousands in Turkey’s capital Istanbul participated in a march called “March for Fatah” to support the Palestinians.
It was a response echoed in Sanaa in Yemen, where thousands of pro-Palestine Yemeni supporters took to the streets with Palestinian flags on Saturday to celebrate Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.
In Beirut, Lebanon, hundreds of Hezbollah resistance movement’s supporters took to the streets, waving the Palestinian flags together with the Hezbollah flag and chanting supportive slogans while others distributed celebratory sweets to passers-by.
Supporters hailed Hamas’ operation and considered it a victory for the resistance against Israel. Others expressed their joy and happiness and announced the 7th of October as a day of victory.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States, a close ally and major supplier of arms to Israel, could announce later today new military support for the country following the Hamas attack.
“We’re looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made. I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” Blinken was quoted as saying by CNN.
“President [Joe] Biden’s direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Blinken said, “We have reports that several Americans were killed” in the assault.
Earlier in the day, the US Embassy in Israel would not comment on the number of Americans killed, injured, and missing in the Hamas attacks.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and have no further details,” said an embassy spokesperson.
Palestinians seek refuge in UN schools
The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, says over 20,000 people are sheltering in 44 of its schools around Gaza.
“The number [of displaced] is rapidly increasing, “ says Inas Hamdan, acting public information officer in Gaza.
The agency said three of its schools suffered “collateral” damage from Israeli airstrikes.
The agency also said its operations of nine water wells around the Gaza Strip were stopped early Saturday. Operations in three wells resumed Sunday, said Hamdan.
The agency’s food distribution centers, which provide for over 540,000 Gaza residents, have been closed since Saturday.
UN food agency calls for humanitarian corridors in Gaza
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to bring food into Gaza as Israeli air strikes pounded the Palestinian enclave.
“As the conflict intensifies, civilians, including vulnerable children and families, face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies,” the WFP said.
The WFP provides direct food assistance to some 350,000 Palestinians every month, while also offering aid to nearly one million Palestinians in cooperation with other humanitarian partners.
“While most shops in the affected areas in Palestine currently maintain one month of food stocks, these risk being depleted swiftly as people buy up food in fear of a prolonged conflict,” it said.
Top Hezbollah official warns US, and Israel that fighting may spread
Hashim Safi al-Din, the head of the Executive Council of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, during a press briefing on Sunday, gave a message to the US and Israel, saying that their violations of Islamic holy places and “crossing of all lines” have led to Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Deluge” operation.
The whole Islamic nation will join the “deluge” if they persist in their “foolishness,” he said.
On Saturday, the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement launched its large-scale operation, with a heavy barrage of rockets in response to Israel’s desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
At least 600 Israeli settlers and troops have been killed as a result of Operation al-Aqsa Storm. More than 2,000 Israelis have also been injured.
In the wake of the Palestinian operation, a spokesperson for the Israeli military confirmed that settlers and soldiers are held captive in Gaza. But the spokesperson declined to specify any exact number.
Israeli media outlets say by unofficial estimates approximately 750 Israeli soldiers and settlers have been missing.
And in the Gaza Strip hospital officials have recorded the death of 320 Palestinians and the injury of nearly 2,000 others. A large number of buildings, homes, and public facilities have also been badly damaged due to heavy Israeli bombardments.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has called on Palestinians “to join this battle” as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters continues.
Meanwhile, Mohannad Aklouk, Palestine’s permanent representative to the Arab League, said he had submitted a request for an emergency meeting of the regional body’s foreign ministers in the wake of the latest Israeli onslaught.
