LAST UPDATE | 10 Oct 2023
THE DEATH TOLL in the Israel-Hamas war rose to more than 1,000 people in Israel and over 800 in Gaza as fighting continued today.
The Israeli army said it had “more or less restored control” over the Gaza border after Saturday’s mass breach by Palestinian gunmen.
The army also said it had recovered the bodies of around 1,500 Hamas militants inside Israel, confirming the scale of the assault over the weekend.
Nearly 190,000 people have been displaced in Gaza since the escalation of the conflict, according to the United Nations.
Here were some of the latest developments today:
Good morning, it’s Niall O’Connor starting the liveblog today.
In our article this morning we revealed that before dawn, the Israeli military struck what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza, especially in the Rimal neighbourhood and in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Hamas – which the Israeli army estimates sent about 1,000 fighters across the border, spraying gunfire at civilians – said yesterday that Israeli air strikes had killed four of the hostages.
It later said it could start killing them itself.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would impose a “complete siege” on the long-blockaded enclave of 2.3 million people: “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas – it’s all closed.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply distressed” by the siege announcement, and warned Gaza’s already dire humanitarian situation will now “only deteriorate exponentially”.
The AFP is reporting that a media union is stating that three Palestinian journalists have been killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza City.
Israel’s total siege of the Gaza Strip is banned under international law, the United Nations human rights chief said today.
“The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
The World Health Organization called this morning for a humanitarian corridor to be established into and out of the Gaza Strip, which has been placed under total siege by Israel.
“WHO is calling for an end to the violence… A humanitarian corridor is needed to reach people with critical medical supplies,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a press briefing in Geneva.
Israeli forces had told Gaza residents to leave the city as they said it would be “turned into rubble”.
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied any involvement by his country in Hamas’s shock weekend attack on Israel despite its strong support for the Palestinian militant group.
“The supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) and some people in the usurping regime have been spreading rumours over the past two or three days, including that Islamic Iran was behind this action. They are wrong,” Khamenei said in a speech at a military academy.
“Of course, we defend Palestine, we defend the struggles,” he added, urging “the whole Islamic world” to “support the Palestinians.”
Khamenei said Israel has suffered an “irreparable failure” on both “military and intelligence” fronts.
Iran had issued statements on Saturday welcoming the Hamas attack.
The Israeli army said it was the single deadliest event in the nation’s history, and has responded with a bombardment of Gaza where officials say at least 687 people have been killed.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin, will attend a meeting of the European Union Foreign Ministers at 3pm to discuss events in Gaza.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he has invited the top diplomats from Israel and the Palestinian Authority to address the emergency meeting.
Borrell said Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki were asked to participate in the hybrid video and in-person talks after the surprise Hamas assault.
He will step out of the Dáil and attend the meeting online as the crisis deepens in the Middle East.
The topic of EU aid to Palestine is likely to be on the agenda given that there has been some dispute regarding the cancelling of assistance.
The Commission reversed its decision to suspend development aid payments to Palestinians, contradicting its commissioner for Neighbourhood and Engagement Oliver Varhelyi.
Varhelyi posted on social media earlier that the EU is also placing €691 million of support “under review” after the Hamas assault on Israel.
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced “unacceptable blackmail” by Hamas after the Palestinian militant group threatened to execute some of the around 150 hostages it abducted in a weekend assault.
“The blackmail by Hamas after its terrorist acts is odious and unacceptable,” Macron told reporters on a visit to Germany.
The French president added that he considered it “likely” that Hamas had outside “help” in its onslaught against Israel.
But he stressed there was “no formal trace” of any “direct involvement” by Iran, at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
ActionAid has warned about the ‘rapidly escalating’ humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“The situation inside Gaza is dire as homes and civilians remain the indiscriminate targets of continuous bombing,” Karol Balfe, CEO of ActionAid Ireland, said.
“Our colleagues have fled their homes and are currently using hospitals as shelters. Air raids continue throughout the day and night and our partners are telling us that entire families have lost their lives.”
Civilian infrastructure has been damaged too, with over 400,000 people living without clean water and sanitation. Additionally, hospitals are running out of medical supplies as the death toll and casualties increase exponentially.
Balfe continued: “We’re only a few days into the crisis, but the unprecedented scale of hostilities threatens a humanitarian emergency on an unimaginable scale, even for a region all too familiar with conflict. With a ‘total blockade’ announced in Gaza, over two million people will be plunged even further into crisis and completely cut off from food, electricity, and fuel.”
“We are urgently calling for an end to the violence and to the safe passage of humanitarian aid to those that need it the most.”
Hello, it’s Órla Ryan here, taking over the liveblog from Niall O’Connor.
In our story yesterday, Jane Matthews reported that a Government minister and two MEPs said they do not agree with the projection of the Israeli flag on the European Commission building in Brussels over the weekend.
In a further update, independent Irish MEPs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly today wrote to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to “demand an urgent investigation into the decision to project the Israeli flag on to the facade of the building”.
In a joint statement, Wallace and Daly said they “want to know what is the legal basis for the decision to project the flag and if the Commission is satisfied that it has remained within the limits of its powers in taking this decision”.
The two MEPs also want to know “who initiated the decision and who sanctioned it”.
Israel Defense Minister: "I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly."
— Clare Daly (@ClareDalyMEP) October 9, 2023
With the support of @vonderleyen. A disgrace. She does not speak for us. https://t.co/Mj2F3wPtJk
They have called for “an immediate suspension of the projection until such time as there is full clarity on whether the decision to project the flag, which the MEPs see as a clear political statement on foreign policy by the Commission, was made in full respect of both the EU treaties and Commission procedures”.
“The projection of the Israeli flag onto the facade of the Berlaymont at the current time is an enormously significant foreign policy statement, which has had and will have concrete and material effects on the EU’s relations with third countries.
“It is our view that you, or whoever initiated and gave sanction to this decision, have acted ultra vires of the powers entrusted to you,” Wallace and Daly said to von der Leyen.
The Red Cross today said it stands ready in its role as a neutral intermediary to help clarify the fate of those missing after the surprise Hamas assault on Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was ready to help reunite families and called for all hostages to be freed immediately, AFP reports.
Israel pounded Hamas targets in Gaza on Tuesday and said the bodies of 1,500 Islamist militants were found in southern towns recaptured by the army in battles near the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas has held around 150 hostages since its surprise incursion on Saturday — among them children, elderly and young people who were captured at a music festival where some 270 died.
“Killing civilians and ill-treatment are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the conventions demand that the wounded and sick are cared for,” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said.
She added that she is “extremely concerned” about the suffering families who have lost contact with loved ones and were now in a “devastating situation”.
The ICRC said that without immediate restraint, the conflict was heading towards a humanitarian disaster in which civilians would pay the highest price.
“All sides must exercise restraint and protect civilian lives and property,” Spoljaric said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is currently waging war on Ukraine, said the Israel-Gaza war showed the “failure” of Washington’s Middle East policy and called the creation of “an independent sovereign Palestinian state” a “necessity”.
“I think many people would agree with me that it’s a clear example of the failure of US politics in the Middle East,” Putin said while meeting Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Moscow today.
More than 187,500 people have been displaced in Gaza since the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, according to the United Nations.
The report from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) comes amid ongoing airstrikes in the region.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said it is hosting more than 137,000 people in schools across the territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel’s military campaign following Saturday’s surprise onslaught is only the start of a sustained war to destroy Hamas and “change the Middle East”.
The Israeli army has called up 300,000 reservists for its Swords of Iron campaign and massed tanks and other heavy armour both near Gaza, and on the northern border with Lebanon, AFP reports.
The military said its forces had largely reclaimed the embattled south and the border around Gaza and dislodged holdout Hamas fighters from more than a dozen towns and kibbutzim.
“Around 1,500 bodies of Hamas (fighters) have been found in Israel around the Gaza Strip,” army spokesman Richard Hecht said earlier, adding that security forces had “more or less restored control over the border” with the enclave.
The United States — which reported 11 of its own citizens killed, and more missing in the spiralling conflict — stressed its full support for Israel, as did Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
Their five leaders said they “recognise the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” but said Hamas “offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed”, in a joint statement released by the White House.
The five Western powers and many other nations have reported citizens killed, abducted or missing, also including Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, Paraguay, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Ukraine.
Israeli-Irish woman Kim Damti (22) remains unaccounted for after attending a music festival where one of the Hamas attacks occurred at the weekend.
Washington has pledged to send munitions and military equipment to back Israel and deployed an aircraft carrier group to the eastern Mediterranean, AFP reports.
The White House said there was no intention to put US boots on the ground, while also condemning the “ISIS-level savagery” of the Hamas attack.
Israel faced the threat of a multi-front war after two days of clashes on the northern border with Lebanon with militants from the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
Unrest has also surged in the occupied West Bank, where 15 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday.
Iran — which is openly committed to Israel’s destruction — has praised the surprise attack by Hamas but repeatedly denied playing any role in it.
The EU has called for an end to the violence and for all sides to protect civilians.
EU ministers have been meeting with their Gulf counterparts in Oman this afternoon.
The reaction of neighbouring countries is seen as important in trying to avoid the conflict in Israel spreading across the region.
I have invited Israeli Foreign Minister @elicoh1 to join the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers I am convening this afternoon.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 10, 2023
I have also invited Foreign Minister Malki @pmofa to address the meeting and present the views of the Palestinian Authority.
This lunchtime – following the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council meeting – the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called for calm, EU News Radio reports.
“It is urgent to step up international efforts to stop violence and prevent regional destabilisation,” he tweeted.
I met today with Saudi Foreign Minister @FaisalbinFarhan to exchange views on the situation in Israel/Palestine. It is urgent to step up international efforts to stop violence and prevent regional destabilisation. pic.twitter.com/d06AqjZsNJ
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 10, 2023
A number of aid charities have called for urgent de-escalation in the conflict, amid claims ambulances carrying the injured have been hit by airstrikes, PA News is reporting.
Save the Children UK said its teams and their families in Gaza are “terrified” and humanitarian access is “desperately needed”.
Another charity, Islamic Relief, called for an urgent ceasefire to prevent more civilian suffering, and said getting food, medical supplies and fuel into Gaza alongside humanitarian aid is now vital.
Israel has now sealed the Gaza Strip off from food, fuel, medicine and other supplies while launching retaliatory air strikes on the Hamas-ruled territory, which is home to 2.3 million people.
Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, its only one that bypasses Israel, was hit by an Israeli airstrike today for the second time in 24 hours, an AFP photographer reported.
Witnesses said the strike hit the no-man’s land between the Egyptian and Palestinian gates, damaging the hall on the Palestinian side.
Contacted by AFP, the Israel military said it could “neither confirm or deny” any strike on the crossing “at this point”.
Egyptian group Sinai for Human Rights said the strike had prompted the closure of the crossing but there was no immediate confirmation from either side.
The previous strike on Monday had briefly halted passage through the crossing, a security source and witnesses said.
There has been no comment from the Egyptian authorities.
Israel has announced “a complete siege” of Gaza. The United Nations today said that the siege is “prohibited” under international law and called for the establishment of “a humanitarian corridor”.
Travel through the Rafah crossing is restricted to humanitarian cases and requires often time-consuming authorisations.
We now have more details on the comments made by the United Nations human rights chief about the total siege of Gaza.
Volker Turk said the siege, which is depriving civilians of goods essential for survival, is banned under international law.
Turk called for all sides instead to defuse the “explosive powder-keg situation”, as Israel warned of a sustained war to destroy Hamas.
“We know from bitter experience that vengeance is not the answer, and ultimately innocent civilians pay the price,” he said.
#Israel #OPT – @volker_turk makes urgent plea to all States with influence to take steps to defuse the “powder keg” situation causing loss of life & incalculable suffering. International humanitarian law & international human rights law must be respected. https://t.co/NvrYW17qFw
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) October 10, 2023
Hamas, which abducted about 150 people in its surprise weekend assault on Israel, threatened to execute the hostages if Israeli air strikes continue “targeting” Gaza residents without warning, AFP reports.
The threat came after Israel on Monday imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip, cutting off food, water and electricity supplies.
“The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Turk said in a statement today.
The siege risks seriously compounding the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza, the statement said.
Any restrictions on the movement of people and goods to implement a siege must be justified by military necessity or may otherwise amount to collective punishment, it added.
Turk called on influential countries to try to de-escalate the situation.
“We know how this plays out, time and time again — the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and incalculable suffering inflicted on both communities,” he said.
The UN high commissioner for human rights said he was “deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians, and, in some instances, horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups”.
“It is horrific and deeply distressing to see images of those captured by Palestinian armed groups being ill-treated, as well as reports of killings and the desecration of their bodies,” he added.
“Civilians must never be used as bargaining chips.”
The ongoing UN investigation into alleged human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict said there was “already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed” since Saturday.
“All those who have violated international law and targeted civilians must be held accountable for their crimes,” the Commission of Inquiry said.
The COI, the highest-level investigation that can be ordered by the UN Human Rights Council, was set up in May 2021 to investigate all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The independent commission said it had been “collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes committed by all sides” in the current conflict.
“Taking civilian hostages and using civilians as human shields are war crimes,” it said.
It is also “gravely concerned” by Israel’s total siege on the Gaza Strip, “which will undoubtedly cost civilian lives and constitutes collective punishment”.
The death toll in Israel has surged above 900 from the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history, while Gaza officials have reported around 770 people killed so far.
Hamas gunmen killed more than 100 people in the kibbutz of Beeri alone, said Moti Bukjin, a volunteer with the charity Zaka that recovers bodies in accordance with Jewish law.
“They shot everyone,” he told AFP. “They murdered in cold blood children, babies, old people — everyone.”
Israeli warplanes hammered the Gaza Strip neighbourhood by neighbourhood today, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety in the tiny, sealed-off territory.
Hamas are currently firing rockets from Gaza towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
The group earlier warned civilians to leave before 5pm local time (3pm Irish time).
The European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council have called for sustained aid for the Palestinian territories following concerns it could be axed after the Hamas attack on Israel.
Foreign ministers from the two blocs met in the Omani capital Muscat following mixed messages over EU aid after Saturday’s unprecedented assault.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 10, 2023
“They stressed the importance of sustained financial support for UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees),” a joint declaration read out by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
“And to continue humanitarian and development support for the Palestinians in the occupied territories.”
Borrell said it was “false information” that Germany was cancelling aid after Saturday’s attack, which was strongly condemned by the EU.
“The German minister has clearly stated that this was not the case at all, that Germany will continue providing this support,” he told media.
“Certainly looking at the further development of the medium and long term, but not suspending.”
The EU had earlier rowed back comments from neighbourhood commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on Monday that the 27-nation bloc was immediately suspending “all payments” to the Palestinians.
The EU’s executive arm said it was reviewing hundreds of millions of euros of development aid from the bloc, the biggest donor to the Palestinians, but that payments were not suspended.
Gaza’s sole border crossing with Egypt, the only entry point not controlled by Israel, was hit by an Israeli air strike Tuesday for the third time in 24 hours, an AFP photographer and an NGO said.
The third strike against the Rafah crossing consisted of “four missiles” which targeted the Palestinian side of the crossing, local Egyptian group Sinai for Human Rights reported.
The White House has said it is taking Hamas threats to execute hostages seriously, as US President Joe Biden prepares to deliver remarks about Israel’s war with the militant group.
Biden has not spoken in public since Sunday, and while the 80-year-old has staunchly backed Israel, his response to a possible hostage crisis and threat of a regional war is under the microscope.
The president has said that Americans are likely among those abducted and taken to Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in its surprise attack Saturday on Israel, while at least 11 US citizens were dead.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were due to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today after meeting their national security teams, the White House said.
With Netanyahu they would “discuss our support for Israel” and efforts to “deter other hostile actors from exploiting this attack on Israel” — an apparent reference to Iran, which backs Hamas, and the militant group Hezbollah operating from southern Lebanon.
Biden is then due to deliver remarks at 1pm Washington DC time (6pm Irish time) from the White House, AFP reports.
A fresh salvo of rockets was fired from south Lebanon towards Israel today, Lebanese state media said, an attack that drew retaliatory fire, according to a military source, AFP reports.
It is the third day the border area has seen an exchange of fire.
“Rockets were fired from… southern Lebanon towards the Galilee” region in northern Israel, the official National News Agency (NNA) said, while the military source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed that it triggered retaliatory Israeli fire.
The military source said the rockets were fired from the town of Qlaileh, located in the south Lebanon district of Tyre.
There were no immediate reports of casualties on the Lebanese side, according to NNA.
No group immediately claimed the rocket fire.
“In response to the launches identified from Lebanese territory toward Israeli territory, IDF (army) soldiers are currently responding with artillery fire,” Israeli forces said.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), which acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, said it was in contact with both sides to “de-escalate” the “very dangerous situation”.
Today’s border exchange comes a day after Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed three Hezbollah members, according to the Iran-backed group.
Hezbollah said it retaliated by striking two Israeli barracks.
At around 5:30 pm, UNIFIL detected rocket firing from south of Tyre.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 10, 2023
We continue to be in contact with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to de-escalate this very dangerous situation.
We urge everyone to exercise restraint at this critical time.
Israel’s army said its soldiers had “killed a number of armed suspects” who had crossed the frontier from Lebanon, AFP is reporting.
On Sunday, Hezbollah said it had fired artillery shells and guided missiles at Israel, “in solidarity” with attacks launched from Gaza by its ally Hamas.
Israel’s army said it hit back with artillery into southern Lebanon.
In 2006 Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war that left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly soldiers. The two countries remain technically at war.
Israel has warned Hezbollah against involvement in the war with Gaza.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for sustained humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories.
Ahead of emergency EU talks, Baerbock said “it would be completely wrong to cease essential humanitarian aid for the civilian population”.
An Israeli military official has said the death toll from Hamas’ surprise attack over the weekend has now risen to above 1,000 people.
Brigadier General Dan Goldfus announced the figure during a briefing with reporters this evening, PA News reports.
The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, says it is trying to take action on a flood of posts sharing graphic media, violent speech and hateful conduct about the war between Israel and Hamas.
X says it is treating the crisis with its highest level of response.
But outside watchdog groups say misinformation about the war abounds on the platform that billionaire Elon Musk bought last year, PA News reports.
A post from X’s safety team today said: “In the past couple of days, we’ve seen an increase in daily active users on @X in the conflict area, plus there have been more than 50 million posts globally focusing on the weekend’s attack on Israel by Hamas.
“As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company leadership group has assessed this moment as a crisis requiring the highest level of response.”
That includes continuing a policy frequently championed by Elon Musk of letting users help rate what might be misinformation, which causes those posts to include a note of context but not disappear from the platform.
In the past couple of days, we’ve seen an increase in daily active users on @X in the conflict area, plus there have been more than 50 million posts globally focusing on the weekend’s terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas.
— Safety (@Safety) October 10, 2023
As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company…
The struggle to identify reliable sources for news about the war was exacerbated over the weekend by Musk, who on Sunday posted the names of two accounts he said were “good” for “following the war in real-time”.
Analyst Emerson Brooking of the Atlantic Council called one of those accounts “absolutely poisonous”.
Journalists and X users also pointed out that both accounts had previously shared a fake AI-generated image of an explosion at the Pentagon, and that one of them had posted numerous antisemitic comments in recent months. Musk later deleted his post.
Brooking posted on X that Musk had enabled fake war reporting by abandoning the blue check verification system for trusted accounts and allowing anyone to buy a blue check.
Brooking today said that it is “significantly harder to determine ground truth in this conflict as compared to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” last year and “Elon Musk bears personal responsibility for this”.
Oxfam International has warned that a total siege on Gaza will lead to “a humanitarian catastrophe”.
Oxfam has suspended all of its humanitarian and development work in Gaza due to the ongoing airstrikes and violence.
BREAKING: @oxfam is warning that a total siege on #Gaza will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) October 10, 2023
Read our full statement 👉https://t.co/KAHIFyx8sH pic.twitter.com/N6eWNX8iIG
Mustafa Tamaizeh, Oxfam Acting Country Director in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, said:
“Oxfam is horrified by the recent attacks. Violence never paves the way for peace. The international community must use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to secure an immediate ceasefire.
“The decision to implement a ‘total siege’ by the Israeli government, in addition to the ongoing blockade, will further deny Gazan civilians essentials like food, water and electricity.
“This constitutes collective punishment of a population that bears no responsibility for the violence and is illegal under international law. It will not contribute to peace and security, instead, it will further fan the flames of this crisis.”
Denmark and Sweden have confirmed they are suspending Palestinian development aid but maintaining humanitarian assistance.
Earlier the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council called for sustained aid for the Palestinian territories.
The government in Copenhagen said in a statement it “has decided to put Danish development assistance to Palestine on hold”.
“A thorough review will be conducted to ensure that no Danish funding is misused to indirectly support terrorist organisations that attack Israel,” it said.
The review will be conducted “in close dialogue with Denmark’s partners in the EU and the Nordic countries”, it said.
For 2023, Denmark had earmarked humanitarian and development aid totalling 235.5 million kroner (about €31.5 million) for the Palestinian territories.
Around 72 million kroner (about €9.6 million) of development aid has yet to be disbursed, AFP reports.
“It is this assistance that is now being put on hold,” the statement said.
Sweden also said it was suspending development aid but did not provide any immediate details on the amount.
Israeli soldiers have taken back control of areas including Kfar Aza, around 5km east of Gaza.
Hamas militants overran the kibbutz on Saturday, where many Israelis were killed and taken captive.
In mosques, football stadiums and towns across the Arab world, pro-Palestinian sentiment has surged after a shock Hamas attack on Israel, sparking a groundswell of solidarity for the Palestinians, AFP is reporting.
From Ramallah to Beirut, Amman, Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, people have distributed sweets, danced and chanted prayers in support of “resistance” to Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories.
“My entire life, I have seen Israel kill us, confiscate our lands and arrest our children,” Farah al-Saadi, a 52-year-old from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said.
“I was pleased by what Hamas did,” said the man, whose son is in Israeli detention, adding however that he feared the scale of Israeli retaliation.
Keir Starmer, British Labour leader, earlier got a standing ovation as he condemned the “senseless” killings unleashed by Hamas “terrorists” in Israel in his speech to the Labour party conference.
He said he has been “shocked and appalled by events in Israel”, and was met with loud applause as he reiterated his support for Israel’s right to respond.
WATCH LIVE: My speech at #Lab23 https://t.co/Zbp7WwTPDP
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 10, 2023
“I utterly condemn the senseless murder of men, women and children – including British citizens – in cold blood by the terrorists of Hamas,” he said.
“This party believes in the two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.
“But this action by Hamas does nothing for Palestinians and Israel must always have the right to defend her people.
“And conference, these events, the war in Ukraine, they show precisely the test of our era. The world is becoming a more volatile place.”
A row between the Celtic board and a section of supporters over the Middle East conflict looks set to run after a fan group hit back at the club, PA News reports.
Celtic earlier condemned banners which were displayed in the standing section at their stadium during Saturday’s win over Kilmarnock. The club said ‘Free Palestine’ banners as “entirely inappropriate” following Hamas’ attack on Israel and the ensuing conflict.
But the Green Brigade has now called on supporters to display Palestine flags during their upcoming Champions League game against Atletico Madrid as Israel continues its airstrikes and blockade of Gaza.
The group today reiterated its “unshakeable belief” that football supporters have the right to express political beliefs and accused the Celtic board of being disingenuous and hypocritical over their claim that the club was apolitical, citing issues over the club’s history and the war in Ukraine.
Green Brigade statement @MedicalAidPal Gaza Emergency Appeal:https://t.co/lSjmr6nPD2 pic.twitter.com/pvpCkHGur7
— North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) October 10, 2023
Celtic’s Israel international, Liel Abada, meanwhile, issued thanks to those who had sent messages of support in the wake of the Hamas attack on his country.
Joe Biden’s speech on the war has been delayed but the US president is due to give a press conference soon.
On that note, I shall now hand you over to my colleague Eoghan Dalton who will oversee the liveblog this evening. Thanks for staying with us so far today.
US president Joe Biden stated in his address that the attacks by Hamas last Saturday brought “to mind the worst rampages of Isis” and pledged his support to the nation.
Describing the attack as having brought about “painful memories” of “antisemitism”, he the US was ready to move “additional assets” to back Israel.
“So in this moment so we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”
He added that Hamas “does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination”.
“The loss of innocence life is heartbreaking. Like every nation in the world Israel’s right to respond, indeed a duty to respond to these vicious attacks,” Biden said.
Biden also confirmed that the latest death toll for Americans was now 14 as a result of the conflict.
Biden said at the White House there were “at least 14 American citizens killed” and “we now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas.”
Hamas has held around 150 hostages since the incursion on Saturday — among them children, elderly and young people who were captured at a music festival where some 270 died.
Earlier today, the White House said it is taking Hamas threats to execute hostages seriously.
The EU has warned Elon Musk that his platform X, formerly Twitter, is spreading “illegal content and disinformation”.
In a letter, commissioner Thierry Breton said concerns had heightened after the Hamas attack against Israel, and demanded Musk respond to the complaint within 24 hours and contact “relevant law enforcement authorities”.
As the European Union’s commissioner for industry and the digital economy, Breton is charged with regulating internet giants that trade within the bloc, and can launch legal action.
“Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU,” Breton wrote.
Pro-Israel demonstrators have gathered this evening outside the state’s embassy in Ballsbridge in Dublin.
German airline Lufthansa will send “several special flights” to Israel on Thursday and Friday to repatriate citizens of the country, sources close to the Germany’s foreign ministry told AFP journalists this evening.
German nationals wishing to leave the country by this means must register with the ministry’s dedicated crisis platform, the same source said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Nine O’Clock news this evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he believes support for Israel will “fall apart” if the IDF go “too far” with their response to violence from Hamas.
Varadkar told the programme he was “horrified” by what was happening in Israel and Palestine.
“The targeting of civilians, the killing of women and children, the taking of hostages. We’re particularly concerned for an Irish-Israeli citizen, Kim Danti. We don’t know whether or not she’s still alive, we certainly hope she is, and we’ll help in any way that we can.”
Varadkar added: “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.”
“There’s a lot of solidarity internationally for Israel at the moment. I believe that will fall apart if Israel goes too far in terms of its actions in Gaza.
“And there’s a risk then of violence flaring up in the West Bank, in Lebanon, other places. So we’re very much calling for restraint,” the Taoiseach added.
Hamas has called US President Joe Biden’s comments “inflammatory” after he condemned the group’s unprecedented attack on Israel as “sheer evil”.
“These remarks are an attempt to cover up the crimes and terror of the Zionist government,” Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said in a statement on its website.
In a White House address earlier Biden said that the attacks by Hamas last Saturday brought “to mind the worst rampages of Isis” and pledged his support to Israel.
Medical NGOs raise alert over conditions in Gaza
International medical NGOs have issued a stark warning over the health and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been bombed by the Israeli military following Hamas’s weekend attack.
The groups called for a humanitarian corridor to support medical relief efforts, and respect for humanitarian law.
“The situation is catastrophic… I don’t think anyone is safe in Gaza,” said Sarah Chateau, head of the Palestinian territories programme for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
MSF has been working in the region for more than 20 years, employing 300 Palestinians and 20 international staff.
“We transferred our teams to a United Nations building. The bombardments were so massive that the risks were too great”, she added.
“With a total state of siege, how long will our teams be able to hold out? We need a humanitarian corridor to support the medical response, to bring in equipment, to replace the teams on the ground,” Chateau said.
The United States has said it welcomed EU support for continuing development aid to the Palestinian people after attacks on Israel by Islamist militant group Hamas.
“They did reverse that, which is a step that we welcome. We have made very clear that we do not have any grievance with the Palestinian people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Brussels had earlier rowed back comments from EU neighborhood commissioner Oliver Varhelyi that the bloc was immediately suspending “all payments” to the Palestinians.
Tánaiste calls for ‘principled and clear action’ from the EU
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has met with his EU counterparts at an emergency videoconference meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers this afternoon, to discuss the ongoing violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Speaking after the meeting, the Tánaiste said he reiterated the Irish government’s condemnation of Hamas’ “repugnant” attacks and the need to protect civilians in line with international law.
He said he also underlined the importance of “principled and clear action” by the EU, and emphasised the importance of moving towards de-escalation in the conflict.
“I was clear that continued development and humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is essential,” Martin said.
“I underlined that the review of by 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.”
Contains reporting from © AFP 2023 and Press Association
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say