LAST UPDATE | 11 Oct 2023
THE ISRAELI army today ruled out an attack from Lebanon on its northern border after it previously reported a suspected “aerial infiltration” into Israeli air space from Lebanon.
Citizens in the north were urged to take shelter after earlier reports.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon announced an “emergency government” with an opposition party leader, Benny Gantz, for the duration of the war with Gaza militants.
Palestine’s electricity authority has said Gaza’s only power plant has ran out of fuel.
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel.
In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed, according to authorities there.
22-year-old Irish-Israeli woman Kim Damti has been confirmed dead following Saturday’s attack by Hamas.
Here are the latest developments as they happened today:
Hamas officials have said at least 30 people were killed and hundreds wounded in air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight.
The Israeli military confirmed it had hit several Hamas targets.
It said fighter jets destroyed “advanced detection systems” that Hamas used to spot military aircraft.
They also hit 80 Hamas targets in the Beit Hanoun area of the northeastern Gaza Strip, including two bank branches used by the Islamist group to “fund terrorism” in the enclave, the military said.
Air strikes also hit a weapons storage facility, and an operational command centre used by the Islamic Jihad militant group, it added.
Yesterday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin met with his EU counterparts at an emergency videoconference meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers to discuss the ongoing violence.
Speaking after the meeting, Martin said he was “clear that continued development and humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is essential”.
On Monday, the European Commission launched a review of its development aid to the Palestinians.
Martin said: “I underlined that the review of the European Commission’s development cooperation funding needs to take place as rapidly as possible and in close coordination with Member States.
“I welcomed the confirmation that EU humanitarian aid to Palestinians will continue uninterrupted, for as long as needed.”
In an update yesterday, the United Nations said over 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Gaza Strip, as heavy Israeli bombardments from the air, land and sea continue to hit the Palestinian enclave.
“Over 263,934 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes,” said UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in an update yesterday, warning that “this number is expected to rise further”.
Among the displaced, nearly 175,500 people sought shelter in 88 schools run by the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, it said.
More than 14,500 others had fled to 12 government schools, while close to 74,000 were estimated to be staying with relatives and neighbours or seeking shelters in churches and other facilities.
The number of displaced people inside of Gaza “represents the highest number of people displaced since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014,” it said.
An Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson said today that more than 1,200 Israelis have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
This is an increase on the 1,000 previously reported.
“The death toll is a staggering 1,200 dead Israelis,” IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said in a video message, adding that “the overwhelming majority of them” were civilians.
Gaza officials have reported 900 people killed since the air strikes began.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Israel is “surrounded by enemies that want to wipe it off the face of the Earth”.
However, he warned that “solidarity” with Israel “could evaporate” if its response if not proportionate.
“Ireland’s position is very clear on this,” said Varadkar. “Israel is a democratic state, it’s a sovereign state. It’s a state that is internationally recognised, it has a right to exist.”
He added: “It is unfortunately surrounded by enemies that want to wipe it off the face of the earth and that’s why it has to be able to defend itself.
“But it has to do so in a way that’s proportionate.
“We’re saying very clearly to the Israeli government that while there’s a lot of solidarity from the US and from European countries behind Israel at the moment, that solidarity could evaporate.
“And I think will evaporate, if Israel’s response in Gaza is disproportionate, particularly if it targets civilians, and we very much oppose the fact that civilian infrastructure is being cut off, like water and electricity.
“We think that’s very much the wrong approach.”
Speaking this morning on Morning Ireland, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said “we have to reflect on the enormity of the trauma and savagery that was visited upon Israeli people and Israel last Saturday”.
“There is a tendency to quickly move on from it, in society in general and in commentary,” added Martin.
“What we witnessed was a jihadist, pan-Islamic organisation, and there should be no truck with that.
“Europe cannot, in any shape or circumstances, pull back on humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“There can be no collective punishment. Israel has a right to defend itself but it must be in accordance with international law and there can’t be collective punishment of the entire civilian population in Gaza.
“There is nowhere to go if you’re a resident, all exits are closed and we are very worried about a potential human catastrophe unfolding within Gaza.”
Martin added that there is a worry “the potential for regional implosion”.
“We’re conscious of Hezbollah in Lebanon, we’re conscious of the situation in the West Bank, and the need for calm and control.”
Israel has shelled south Lebanon today following rocket fire from the border area, Lebanese state media said, the latest exchange on Israel’s northern border as it battles Hamas militants in Gaza.
“The area around Dhayra is being bombarded by enemy artillery, while the area around Yarin is being hit with phosphorus shells,” Lebanon’s National News Agency said, earlier reporting “two rockets fired from Lebanese territory”.
The Israeli military said that “in response to the anti-tank missiles that were launched at… soldiers a short while ago, the IDF (army) is currently striking in Lebanese territory”.
Israel is not conducting itself “like a state” in the Gaza Strip, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, as Israel pounded the territory following the weekend attack by Hamas.
“Israel should not forget that if it acts more like an organisation rather than a state, it’ll finish by being treated as such,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, attacking “shameful methods” of the Israeli army in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.
It follows a similar call for restraint by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last night, who warned that support for Israel will “fall apart” if the country goes “too far” with their response to violence from Hamas.
“From Ireland’s point of view we are saying to Israel, ‘Yes, you’ve the right to defend yourself, you’re surrounded by enemies who want to end your existence, but any response must be proportionate,’” Varadkar told RTÉ.
An update for Irish citizens in Israel has been issued by the Rrepresentative Office of Ireland in the occupied Palestinian territory.
It advises that Ben Gurion Airport, located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, is still open but several commercial airlines have suspended flights.
The Office said that people should contact their airline directly for guidance and find out more on the airport’s website.
For people in the West Bank, the office advises that people continue to shelter for safety.
“Some land border crossings are open, but subject to change,” the office said.
— Ireland in Palestine (@IrlRepRamallah) October 11, 2023
Osher Vaknin, one of the organisers of the music festival close to the Gaza Strip which saw a shock attack by Hamas fighters, has been buried while his twin brother Michael remains missing.
Osher was buried in Jerusalem yesterday, while no signs of Michael have emerged since the weekend assault on the site by the Palestinian militants.
The brothers’ family members told AFP that they were still hoping for a sign of life of Michael.
“He’s coming home. I hope he hasn’t been kidnapped. It’ll kill us. It’s very, very painful,” said the twins’ sister Ausa Meir, 32.
Osher was killed as “he stopped the bullets for a friend, for a brother,” said Ausa, a French-Israeli mother of three.
The rave organised by the twins had drawn thousands of party-goers from Friday to the desert site close to Kibbutz Reim, less than five kilometres from the Gaza Strip.
Around 250 people were killed at the site alone as Hamas launched their surprise offensive on Israel.
Around 150 people were taken prisoner by Hamas. Not all their identities are known or have been made public. The channels of negotiation or discussion over their fate have so far been remained secretive.
Aerial images obtained by AFP showed dozens of burnt-out cars on the side of the road leading to the festival site.
Sunny Vaknin, Osher’s widow, said she went to search for her husband on Monday.
“We thought he was still alive, we had hope. Finally, I found our car… and saw what had happened.
“The whole car was covered in blood. All the front windows were shattered. Full of bullet holes,” the widow said, shaking as she recounted the violent fate met by her husband, who was in his thirties.
“Everything was covered in blood. Pieces of flesh. Everything, my daughter’s car seat was covered in blood.”
At Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil, the Taoiseach has warned that Israel must not target civilian infrastructure in its reprisals against Hamas in Gaza.
Drawing a comparison with Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, Leo Varadkar said:
“Israel is gaining a lot of solidarity from other parts of the world but I believe that will evaporate and evaporate very quickly, if the Israeli response in Gaza and elsewhere is disproportionate, so there must be restraint.
“There must be no attacks on civilian infrastructure. If it’s unacceptable for the president of Russia to target power stations or to [target] civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the same must apply to the Israeli government and the actions it takes on targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza.”
The UN says that nine of its staff have been “killed in airstrikes” on the Gaza Strip since Saturday.
“The protection of civilians is paramount, including in times of conflict. They should be protected in accordance with the laws of war,” director of communications Juliette Touma said.
9 of our @UN staffers have been killed in airstrikes in📍#GazaStrip since Saturday.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 11, 2023
“The protection of civilians is paramount, including in times of conflict. They should be protected in accordance with the laws of war.” @JulietteTouma @AP https://t.co/Bt87Djf4GM pic.twitter.com/Vxy170Y3pH
A group of families of Irish troops based in Lebanon have left their residences in a seaside town near where Hezbollah militants launched missiles into Israel.
News correspondent Niall O’Connor reports that the families, around ten people in total, decided to leave in recent days.
Ireland and the Irish Defence Forces have a large footprint in the Middle East.
The families are associated with a team of soldiers working on the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO). It is understood that soldiers on this long term mission have scope to bring their families with them to live in compound accommodation while they are on the mission.
That’s all from myself Eoghan Dalton. My colleague Lauren Boland will take you through updates on the war this afternoon.
The World Health Organisation has said that media supplies which it had readied for seven hospitals in Palestine have run out as hospitals are overwhelmed with people injured in the conflict.
An emergency room physician Mohammed Ghonim told AFP that medical supplies, including oxygen, are running low at the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza.
Matthias Kannes, the head of Doctors Without Borders’ mission in Gaza, also said that the hospital only has enough fuel for three days.
Surgical equipment and antibiotics as well as fuel and other supplies are running out at two hospitals where the medical aid group operates in Gaza, according to Kannes.
In one hospital, the group has “consumed three weeks’ worth of emergency stock in three days, partly due to 50 patients coming in at once”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent (the equivalent of the Irish Red Cross) has said that three of its medics have been killed in Gaza in the last hour.
THREE PRCS MEDICS KILLED
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) October 11, 2023
🚨Israeli occupation forces directly targeted a PRCS ambulance in the northern Gaza Strip moments earlier, killing three martyrs of humanitarian duty: Khalil Al-Sharif, Yusri Al-Masri, and Ahmad Dahman.#WarCrime #EndImpunity
A fourth paramedic has also been killed in a separate strike in the east of Gaza, the Red Crescent said.
In Leinster House this afternoon, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald welcomed the government’s commitment to aid.
She also welcomed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s stance that Israel “is not exempt” from the rule of law.
She said there needs to be a “step change” in how the region is approached and that Israel “cannot play fast or loose as a rogue state violating again and again the basic rights of the Palestinian people”.
McDonald called for the government to take a firm line.
In response, Varadkar said the “baseline position” is that peace can only be achieved through a two-state solution, which becomes “increasingly difficult with every day that passes [and] every settlement that is built”.
NEW: An energy official has said that Gaza’s only power plant has ran out of fuel.
More updates to follow as we learn more.
In a new statement, head of the Gaza Strip’s electricity authority Jalal Ismail said that the only power plant in the Gaza Strip stopped functioning at 2pm (11am GMT).
He had warned earlier that the plant was running short of fuel.
The BBC has reported that Gaza’s mains electricity is gone after the power plant ran out of fuel, which means residents’ only option is to rely on generators if they have enough fuel personally to run one, but many would not.
Multiple countries have announced operations to evacuate their citizens.
Brazil has 14,000 citizens living in Israel and 6,000 living in Palestine and is planning to send at least six plans to repatriate any who want to leave. Also in South America, Argentina has started to evacuate 1,246 Argentines on three flights, stopping over in Rome before returning to Buenos Aires.
300 Nigerian citizens who were in Israel on a Christian pilgrimage left the country first by road to Jordan and then on a chartered flight to Lagos.
Switzerland has around 28,000 citizens in Israel and Palestine and has organised several flights in the coming days, with 220 Swiss nationals repatriated yesterday. Other European countries with flights planned include Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Portugal, and Spain.
A rocket fire from Gaza has hit a hospital in southern Israel, according to the hospital.
No deaths have been reported as a result of the strike.
A spokesperson for the hospital said that the “child development centre at the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon suffered a direct hit by a projectile from Gaza”.
The armed wings of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad has said they were targeting southern and central Israel with rockets.
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said it was targeting the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Ashkelon as well as communities near the Gaza border with “heavy rocket fire”.
Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had fired a rocket at Ben Gurion airport, where Israeli officials reported no hit.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced an “emergency government” with an opposition party leader, Benny Gantz, for the duration of the war with Gaza militants.
“Following a meeting … held today, the two agreed on establishing an emergency government and war cabinet,” said a joint statement by the premier and Gantz, a former defence minister.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid has not joined Gantz, but the statement said a seat would be “reserved” for him in the war cabinet.
More on the “emergency government” which has been announce by Israel’s Netanyahu.
The three-member “war cabinet” would include Netanyahu, Benny Gantz and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Gadi Eisenkot, also a former army chief from Gantz’s party, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will serve as observers, according to the statement a joint statement by the premier and Gantz.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid has not joined his former ally Gantz, but the statement said a seat would be “reserved” for him in the war cabinet.
Netanyahu’s extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies would remain in government.
The premier has agreed to freeze the hardline government’s divisive judicial overhaul, which had triggered mass street protests – the biggest in the country’s history.
“During the war, no bills or government-sponsored motions that are unrelated to the war would be advanced,” the statement said.
Gantz last served in a Netanyahu administration in 2020-2021 under a rotation agreement that was meant to see him take the helm for the second half of the government’s tenure, but early elections had been called before he was to become prime minister.
Israel got a warning from Egypt of potential violence three days before Hamas caught Israeli forces off-guard in the large-scale attack, the chairman of the powerful US House Foreign Affairs Committee has said.
“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” Republican Michael McCaul told reporters following a closed-door intelligence briefing for lawmakers on the crisis.
“I don’t want to get too much into classified, but a warning was given,” he said.
“I think the question was at what level.”
McCaul said the attack may have been planned as long as a year ago.
“We’re not quite sure how we missed it. We’re not quite sure how Israel missed it,” he told reporters.
British Airways has suspended flights to and from Israel due to safety concerns, the airline said.
Flight BA165 is returning to Heathrow after nearly reaching Tel Aviv today.
A British Airways spokesman said: “Safety is always our highest priority and following the latest assessment of the situation, we’re suspending our flights to and from Tel Aviv.
“We’re contacting customers booked to travel to or from Tel Aviv to apologise for the inconvenience and offer options including a full refund and rebooking with another airline or with British Airways at a later date.
“We continue to monitor the situation in the region closely.”
Other carriers such easyJet and Wizz Air suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv after the Hamas attacks on Saturday.
Virgin Atlantic is continuing to operate flights between Heathrow and Tel Aviv.
Ryanair has also cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv between Monday and tomorrow “due to operational restrictions beyond Ryanair’s control”.
“Affected passengers will be notified of their options to either change flight or to receive a full refund by email/SMS,” the airline has said.
“Ryanair apologises for these unavoidable cancellations, and we advise all passengers due to travel to/from Tel Aviv between Mon 9 – Thu 12 Oct to check the Ryanair App for the latest flight status updates.”
Israel’s war to “uproot” Palestinian Islamist group Hamas will deter militants from carrying out attacks across the world, the country’s Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel told AFP in an exclusive interview.
“We have to uproot it so it doesn’t happen, there won’t be any option, even a thought, to others in the world that they could use what happened (in Israel) as a model” for future attacks, Gamliel said.
The International Federation of Red Ross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has confirmed the deaths of five of its members “due to the armed hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip”.
Five IFRC network members killed. Civilians and healthcare workers must be respected and protected. #NotATarget @PalestineRCS @Mdais pic.twitter.com/RbCDRCPxyw
— IFRC (@ifrc) October 11, 2023
Press Association is reporting that Israel has urged citizens in the north to shelter after “hostile aircraft” entered from Lebanon.
More as we get it.
The Israeli army has reported a “suspected infiltration” from Lebanon into Israeli air space.
Sirens have been blaring in cities and towns across Israel’s northern border.
The army’s Home Front Command asked resident of the cities of Beit Shean, Safed and Tiberias to shelter “until further notice” fearing a “large-scale attack”.
The US Embassy in Beirut has refuted claims that it has been evacuated.
It tweeted that it is “open and operating normally”.
“Reports saying otherwise are false,” it said.
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has not evacuated and is open and operating normally. Reports saying otherwise are false. For more information and travel advisories, visit our embassy website: https://t.co/QDEaP8dkZR
— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) October 11, 2023
Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney spoke to RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime this evening and discussed the current situation in Israel and Gaza.
He said that “what happened, and the savagery of what happened, when Hamas militants slaughtered unarmed people, many of them of them whole families, children, women, up to 1,200 of them, that has to be absolutely condemned outright, unreservedly”.
“There is no justification for that kind of terrorism. I think we have to be clear and unambiguous about that,” Coveney said.
“What is happening now, unfortunately in Gaza as Israel responses to that savagery is also hugely concerning,” he said.
Coveney served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2022. During his time in the role, he visited Gaza, the West Bank and Israel on numerous occasions.
The Minister said Israel has “a right to defend itself and its people”, but added that it has to “abide by international law”.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is a small piece of land that’s 12km wide and 42km long, that’s it. About 2.2 million people live there and they have nowhere they can escape to,” he said.
Coveney added: “I think what we have to try and do as an international community now is to try and find a way of protecting civilians, to open up humanitarian corridors.”
He said he believes Israel is “going after the militants responsible”, but added: “The problem with that, through, is that Gaza is such a densely populated place where civilians cannot escape because they have nowhere to go to. They can’t escape into Egypt, they can’t escape into Israel.
“That is why the international community needs to insist on Israel abiding by international law and taking actions to protect civilians.”
A large crowd of people have turned out for a protest in support of Palestine in Dublin city centre this evening.
The crowd is chanting “free free Palestine”. pic.twitter.com/ssPMijPkWW
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) October 11, 2023
At least 22 US citizens have been killed since Hamas militants launched its attack against Israel, the US State Department has said, with Washington pledging firm support for its close ally.
“At this time, we can confirm the deaths of at least 22 US citizens. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The Israeli army has denied claims that there was an “aerial infiltration” from Lebanon and claimed an “error” was behind reports of a suspected attack.
The force also ruled out any major incident near the border.
The matter is currently being looked into, an army spokesperson told Israeli local media.
“There are no launches at this point from Lebanon. There are no alerts,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
“This has been an error that we are looking into… We will check whether it’s a technical malfunction or a human error.”
At least 11 UN staff and personnel, as well as 30 students at UN schools, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants launched their attack on Israel, a spokesman has said.
“11 UNRWA staff and personnel have been killed since Saturday,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees which also runs schools in Gaza.
“30 UNRWA students have also been killed and another eight have been injured.”
The dead included five teachers, a gynecologist, an engineer, a counselor and three support staff, UNRWA’s deputy director Jennifer Austin said in a statement.
“UNRWA mourns this loss and is grieving with our colleagues and the families,” she said.
“UN staff and civilians must be protected at all times during conflict. We call for the fighting to come to an end to spare more civilian lives lost.”
We are very saddened to confirm that 11 @UNRWA colleagues have been killed since 7 October in the 📍#GazaStrip
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 11, 2023
Some were killed in their homes with their families.
UNRWA mourns this loss and is grieving with our colleagues and the families.https://t.co/TtpW8f7q0s
The White House has said the US is “actively working” with Israel and Egypt on giving civilians safe passage from Gaza.
“We’re actively discussing this with our Israeli and our Egyptian counterparts. We support safe passage for civilians,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing.
At least four Palestinians were killed today as armed Israeli settlers attacked a town south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
In a separate incident, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli army fire near Bethlehem, the ministry said.
The latest fatalities bring to 28 the Palestinian death toll in the West Bank in violence related to the conflict since Hamas militants launched on Saturday an assault on Israel’s south.
The health ministry reported in a statement “three martyrs as a result of a settler assault on the town of Qusra” in the northern West Bank, later revising up the toll to four.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem shared on social media footage of what it described as an “incursion of the Israeli military and Israeli settlers” into Qusra.
When contacted by AFP, the army said in a statement that “soldiers operating on the outskirts of the town of Busra reported hearing shots fired in the area”, adding it was “looking into reports” of Palestinian casualties.
B’Tselem said on X, formerly Twitter, that “since Saturday, settlers have been attacking Palestinian residents in many parts of the West Bank”.
The Palestinian health ministry in a separate statement said it had been informed by the Palestinian Authority’s civil affairs authority of “the martyrdom of a citizen … after the occupation (Israeli army) opened fire at him near Bethlehem” in the southern West Bank.
The statement did not identify the slain man or elaborate on the circumstances of his death.
At tonight’s Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, it was unanimously agreed to send a letter of condolence to the Israeli embassy following the attack, including an appeal for restraint and adherance to international law.
Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney told the meeting that the attack by Hamas had to be condemned unreservedly as an act of terrorism.
He also emphasised the need for de-escalation of violence and adherence to international law to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to Israel in a show of solidarity after the attack by Hamas.
Blinken is set to arrive in Israel tomorrow for a lightning visit in which he is likely to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken’s spokesman, Matthew Miller, made clear that the top US diplomat will lock arms with Netanyahu, who has had a rocky relationship in the past with US President Joe Biden and other Democrats in part over his opposition to Palestinian sovereignty.
“He will also discuss measures to bolster Israel’s security and underscore the United States’ unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself,” Miller said.
Biden said today that he made another phone call to Netanyahu and he reiterated “unshakeable” US support.
The White House announced today that the US Navy is ready to send a second aircraft carrier to the region – in addition to one already dispatched – “if needed”.
Arab foreign ministers have denounced Israel’s siege of Gaza following the shock attack by Palestinian militants on Israel, demanding that aid be “immediately” allowed to enter the blockaded enclave.
Israel has imposed a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, cutting off the water supply, food, electricity and other essential supplies, after Saturday’s massive assault by Hamas militants.
Today, as Israel kept up its bombardment of targets in the crowded and impoverished coastal enclave for a fifth day, the only power plant in Gaza shut down.
Meeting at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Arab foreign ministers discussed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and demanded Israel lift its siege of Gaza.
They also called for the “immediate” dispatch of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to the impoverished and densely populated coastal enclave.
The Arab foreign ministers also urged Israel to reconsider its “unjust decision to cut electricity supply and water to Gaza”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian forces.
“It is necessary to avoid the expansion of the conflict at all cost, because if it happens it will have an impact on the international situation,” Putin said.
Parties “need to return to a negotiation process that should be acceptable to all sides, including to the Palestinians”.
He also said it was “necessary to engage in diplomacy rather than with the military side (of the conflict) to find solutions to stop the fighting”.
Russia has over the years maintained friendly relations with both Palestinians and Israeli authorities – though ties with Jerusalem have been strained by Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
While the West have condemned Palestinian attacks, Russia has so far carefully denounced violence from both sides.
It has instead blamed the conflict on US foreign policy “failure”.
Russia “could contribute to the settlement process,” Putin said, while noting that any mediation effort would be difficult given the gravity of the situation.
A day earlier Putin called for “the creation of an independent sovereign Palestinian state”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a negotiation process with Hamas seeking the release of Israeli hostages who were kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group, an official source has told AFP.
“They are negotiating to secure the release of the hostages,” the source said, confirming a report by the private TV channel Haberturk.
A number of Palestinians spoke about the plight of their family members and friends in Gaza at the protest in support of Palestine in Dublin city centre this evening.
Ibrahim is eight years old. He says he worried for his sister, who is in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Pw0vc3h0NQ
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) October 11, 2023
Death tolls
The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel.
In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed, according to authorities there.
Matthias Kannes, a Gaza-based official for Doctors Without Borders has said the strip’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, only has enough fuel to keep power on for three days.
The group said the two hospitals it runs in Gaza were running out of surgical equipment, antibiotics, fuel and other supplies.
“We consumed three weeks worth of emergency stock in three days,” Kannes said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said other hospitals’ generators will run out in five days, while residential buildings, unable to store as much diesel, likely will go dark sooner.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting Hamas, saying that every member of the Palestinian militant group was “a dead man”.
“Hamas is Daesh (Islamic State group) and we will crush them and destroy them as the world has destroyed Daesh,” he said in a brief televised statement, the first delivered jointly with his war cabinet.
Irish-Israeli woman Kim Damti who had been missing since Hamas militants launched an unprecedented series of surprise attacks on Saturday has died, the Tánaiste has confirmed.
22-year-old Kim Damti had remained unaccounted, having been attending a music festival when Hamas carried out a bloody mass-shooting on the event, which was attended by hundreds of young Israelis and foreigners near Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said in a statement this evening that “it is with immense sadness that I learnt this evening that Kim Damti’s death has been confirmed”.
“When news reached us over the weekend that an Irish citizen was one of the many hundreds missing after the repugnant terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel, we hoped against hope that she would be found safely. The news that this hope has now been extinguished is devastating,” Martin said.
“Anyone looking at the photo of Kim in the media over the last few days will have been struck by the radiance and energy in her expression; a young 22 year old woman with a whole life ahead of her, full of promise,” he said.
“For anyone to lose a child is devastating. To lose a child in such circumstances is indescribable,” the Tánaiste said.
He added: “On my behalf and on behalf of the Government and people of Ireland, I convey our heartfelt condolences to Kim’s family in Ireland and in Israel. We are with them in their grief. I spoke with Kim’s family earlier this evening and expressed this to them.
“Our thoughts remain with all the families of those who have died, who are injured or who are missing in the wake of these terrible events.
“May her memory be a blessing.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said in a statement that “as a nation we are united in mourning for Kim Damti”.
“This vibrant young Irish-Israeli woman was struck down in her prime, with her adult life ahead of her. Her death, and the deaths of more than a thousand other citizens of Israel and from around the world, was senseless and barbaric,” Varadkar said.
“Kim gave happiness and joy to her family and those around her. As we learn of her death, we pause to think of her, her family in Israel and Ireland and of all those now grieving in countless other nations.”
An Israeli woman and her two children who were held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip have been freed, a statement issued by the armed wing of the group said.
“An Israeli settler and her two children were released after they were detained during the clashes,” Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said.
US President Joe Biden has called Hamas’ attack on Israel “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust” and a campaign of “pure cruelty”.
Biden has warned Iran to “be careful” as tensions rise in the Middle East over Israel’s war with Hamas.
“We made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful,” Biden said during a roundtable with Jewish community leaders at the White House.
Iran has long financially and militarily backed Hamas, but has insisted it had no involvement in the group’s assault that erupted on Saturday.
Thoughts and prayers with the family and friends of Kim Damti as they endure the heartbreak of the loss of her young precious life. A trauma that should not be inflicted on any family. Ar dheis De go raibh a hanam dílis.
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) October 11, 2023
Biden has urged Netanyahu to follow the rules of war after the Israeli prime minister vowed to destroy Hamas following the Palestinian militants’ brutal attack.
The US president said he had known “Bibi” Netanyahu for 40 years and they had a “very frank relationship, I know him well”.
“And the one thing that I did say is that it is really important that Israel, with all the anger and frustration … that exists, is that they operate by the rules of war,” Biden said.
“And there are rules of war.”
The remarks have been the first time Biden has made any kind of call for restraint over Israel’s response to what he called the “sheer evil” of the Hamas attacks on Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on his compatriots to show solidarity with the country’s Jewish population and guarantee their safety, condemning excesses at pro-Palestinian rallies.
“I ask for the support of all citizens so that together we can guarantee the safety of our Jewish fellow citizens, and to do this we must show solidarity with them,” the head of state said on ARD television.
That’s all from us on the liveblog tonight.
A recap on the main points today:
Additional reporting by Press Association and AFP
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