The attack on Israel from the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, which started Saturday, has killed more than 900 Israelis, mostly civilians. Vowing retaliation in an evening televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said retaliation has “only started,” and “what we will do to the enemy will echo down through generations.”
(Bloomberg) — The attack on Israel from the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, which started Saturday, has killed more than 900 Israelis, mostly civilians. Vowing retaliation in an evening televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said retaliation has “only started,” and “what we will do to the enemy will echo down through generations.”
As Israel tackled threats on multiple fronts, its military said it killed a number of infiltrators who crossed into its territory from Lebanon in the north. The Lebanese Army reported Israeli air and artillery strikes near its border with Israel. Israel announced its largest-ever mobilization, more than 300,000 army reservists.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory attacks, according to the health ministry in Gaza. A spokesman for Hamas said the group was prepared to kill hostages taken during its surprise assault on Israel. Abu Obaida, representing the armed wing of Hamas, told Al Jazeera that the group would kill one hostage an hour should Israel strike civilian homes in Gaza without warning.
Read more: Hamas Threatens to Kill Israeli Hostages as Rhetoric Escalates
All time stamps are for Israel
US Lacks Evidence Iran Participated Directly in Attacks (10:51 p.m.)
The US doesn’t have any specific intelligence or evidence that points to direct participation by Iran in the attacks against Israel, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said on MSNBC.
“That said, of course, Iran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist networks throughout the region with resources capabilities training,” Kirby said. “And so in that regard, clearly, Iran is complicit here, but in terms of specific evidence on this on these sets of attacks, no, we don’t have anything.”
Hezbollah Says It Struck Two Targets in Israel (10:46 p.m.)
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon said it launched guided missiles and mortar shells into Israel, striking two targets after three of its members were killed in an Israeli attack earlier Monday. Israel said there were no injuries in the Hezbollah attack, to which it retaliated with artillery fire.
The exchange further escalated the possibility of a second conflict opening up along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
EU to Review Aid for Palestinians After Suspension (10:34 p.m.)
The European Union said late Monday that it’s urgently reviewing the bloc’s assistance to the Palestinians after several member states protested an earlier announcement that aid would be suspended.
EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the implications of the deadly attack by Hamas, including for the bloc’s aid to Palestine, at an emergency gathering Tuesday afternoon.
Gaza Health Ministry Cites Death Toll There at 687 (9:35 p.m.)
The health ministry in Gaza cited a death toll there of 687, including 140 children and 105 women, with 3,726 people injured.
Iran’s Role in Attack Far From Clear, Analyst Bremmer Says (9 p.m.)
It’s not yet clear whether Iran was behind Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel, Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer said, while noting that Tehran has long offered the Palestinian group diplomatic cover, weapons and financial support.
“I would be very surprised if they were unaware of the attack, but there’s a very big gap between unaware and orchestrated,” Bremmer said on Bloomberg Television. He also said he “firmly” believes Israel will launch a ground invasion of Gaza “to remove Hamas leadership.”
It’s Most Jews Murdered in One Day Since Holocaust: Herzog (8:28 p.m.)
Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been murdered on a single day, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. Hamas has replicated the savagery of Islamic State, he said, entering civilian homes and murdering entire families in cold blood.
He called on countries that haven’t yet done so to designate Hamas as a terrorist body and to demand the immediate return of Israeli hostages.
Biden Tells Advisers to Coordinate With Israel (8:20 p.m.)
President Joe Biden told his senior national security aides that they should engage Israel for discussions on additional coordination. They met Monday morning at the White House, ahead of an afternoon call with allies about developments on the ground.
Biden also told the US officials they should advise contact in the Middle East, warning anyone who might seek to take advantage of the chaotic situation, the White House said in a statement.
Scholz, Macron Say They’ll Have a Call With Biden, Sunak (6:50 p.m.)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the situation in Israel in a call later Monday with US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and that all four nations agree that a “regional conflagration” must be prevented.
“This Hamas attack on Israel is terrible and it is barbaric,” Scholz, standing alongside Macron, told reporters ahead of a joint Germany-France cabinet meeting in Hamburg. “In these dark hours, Germany and France stand very firmly at the side of Israel.”
Qatar in Hostage Talks Between Hamas, Israel (4:30 pm)
Qatar is leading talks to help free hostages taken by Hamas militants during Saturday’s attack on Israel, according to two people familiar with the matter. The talks have been ongoing since Saturday.
EU Suspends Financial Help For Palestinians (4:20 pm)
The European Union’s executive is putting its financial help for Palestinians under review. “The scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people is a turning point,” Oliver Varhelyi, EU commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement policies, said in a post on social media platform X, adding “There can be no business as usual.”
Hamas Attack Restores the Palestinian Question: Balance of Power
The EU’s Palestinian development portfolio is worth €691 million.
Iran May Have Known About Attack, Israeli Minister Says (4:10 pm)
Iran may have known about the deadly attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel on Saturday, according to one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest allies in the cabinet.
Iran May Have Known About Gaza Attack, Says Israeli Minister
Netanyahu Says Israel to ‘Change the Middle East’ (4:10 pm)
Hamas will undergo a “difficult and terrible” experience, Netanyahu tells mayors and regional council leaders in the south. “I ask that you stand steadfast, because we are going to change the Middle East,” Netanyahu says.
Israeli Forces Kill Infiltrators Crossing From Lebanon (4 pm)
The Israel Defense Forces said they killed armed infiltrators entering from neighboring Lebanon on Monday, the third day of fighting since Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise attack against Israel.
Israel Kills Armed Infiltrators Crossing Border From Lebanon
Security forces backed by helicopter gunships continue to scan the area in Israel’s north, the IDF said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said a group of four infiltrated the border near the town of Dahira and exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers after being spotted.
US Says Nine Americans Killed in Attack (3:46 pm)
At least nine Americans were killed in the Hamas attack Saturday, the US State Department said.
Speaking on CNN, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the agency is working with the Israeli government to locate a number of other Americans who are missing and that officials expect the death toll to rise.
Iranian Central Bank Intervenes in FX Market (3:25 pm)
Iran’s central bank took unspecified action to “maintain calm” in the local currency market in response to “speculation” in the past two days, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.
Iran’s rial has fallen 3.76% to a five-month low of 524,500 per dollar since Hamas started its attack, according to currency trading website Bonbast.com.
Chevron Told To Shut Gas Platform (2 pm)
Chevron Corp. said it had been instructed by Israel’s Ministry of Energy to shut production at the Tamar natural gas platform in the eastern Mediterranean. Supply will be maintained to customers in Israel and in the region from the Leviathan platform, Chevron said.
European gas prices extended gains, rising as much as 12% on Monday.
Israel Halts Electricity, Fuel, Food, Water to Gaza (2 pm)
Defense minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is cutting off electricity, fuel and food supplies to the Gaza Strip.
“I have given an order – Gaza will be under complete closure. There will be no electricity, food or fuel.”
Israel’s energy and infrastructure minister adds water supply to the Hamas-run enclave will be cut off until the end of the military operation.
Israel to Call up 300,000 Reserve Soldiers (12:40 pm)
Israel’s army plans to call up 300,000 reserve soldiers to fight, according to the Israel Defense Forces. That’s its largest-ever call-up.
Conflict Concerns Grip Emerging Markets (12:30 pm)
The possibility of conflict with Iran surged to the top of emerging-market investors’ concerns as they returned from the weekend to assess the fallout of another conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The outbreak of war in the Middle East has momentarily replaced Federal Reserve policy and China’s growth as the most immediate concern. The risk-off move on Monday morning was largely confined to Middle Eastern stocks and crowded currency trades in Mexico and eastern Europe, though, with losses across wider emerging markets more muted.
JPMorgan Tells Israel Staff to Work From Home (12.20 pm)
JPMorgan has told its staff in Israel to work from home for the foreseeable future.
JPMorgan Tells Its 200 Staff in Israel to Work from Home
The Wall Street bank has about 200 employees in the country, a person with knowledge of the work-from-home plan said, asking not to be be identified discussing internal matters. A spokesman for the firm declined to comment.
Airlines Suspend Flights (12:15 pm)
A growing number of international airlines suspended flights to Israel, with US authorities advising carriers to monitor the situation before resuming operations.
Airlines Suspend Flights After Israel Declares State of War
US carriers including Delta Air Lines Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc and American Airlines Group Inc. canceled their service to Tel Aviv, as did European airlines such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM, alongside budget specialist Wizz Air Holdings Plc from Hungary.
Schumer Confronts Xi on Israel-Hamas Stance in Rare Meeting (12 p.m.)
President Xi Jinping’s first meeting with US congressional leaders in eight years was infused with tension, as the Chinese leader was confronted over his nation’s failure to condemn Hamas’ incursion into Israel.
“I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks upon them,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Xi Monday, hours after he blasted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for showing “no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times.”
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