US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the first tranche of a security aid package for Israel was already on the way and that additional assistance would be announced soon. Kirby added that the US wanted to press ahead with diplomacy to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel after the Hamas attack, which further inflamed tensions in the Middle East.
(Bloomberg) — US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the first tranche of a security aid package for Israel was already on the way and that additional assistance would be announced soon. Kirby added that the US wanted to press ahead with diplomacy to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel after the Hamas attack, which further inflamed tensions in the Middle East.
In Washington, President Joe Biden said at least 11 American citizens had died, and “it is likely” that others were being held hostage by Hamas. Biden plans to speak about the attacks on Tuesday. Israeli forces carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip from the air and the sea and the top US general warned Iran to stay out of the fight.
The attacks on Israel by the militant group Hamas, which began Saturday, have killed more than 900 Israelis, mostly civilians. At least 600 Palestinians have also died. Vowing retaliation in a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the response had “only started,” and “what we will do to the enemy will echo down through generations.”
Read more: Hamas Threatens to Kill Israeli Hostages as Rhetoric Escalates
All time stamps are for Israel
Biden Asked to Weigh Joint Ukraine, Israel Aid Package (6:09 a.m.)
Some US lawmakers have proposed the Biden administration pursue a joint aid package for Israel and Ukraine that would capitalize on broad bipartisan support for the Jewish state to overcome opposition from some Republicans to continued funding for Kyiv.
White House officials described the discussion as premature, noting that Biden could tap current authorizations to provide immediate aid. In addition, no aid package can advance until the House settles on a speaker.
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Warns Iran to Stay Out (5:14 a.m.)
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., warned Iran to “not get involved” in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Financial Times reported.
“We want to send a pretty strong message,” Brown said while en route to a meeting in Brussels to discuss Ukraine. “We do not want this to broaden, and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear.”
The US is sending the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean to bolster deterrence efforts. The group includes an aircraft carrier, a guided missile cruiser and guided missile destroyers.
Congress’s Aid for Israel Hinges Upon Speaker Selection (3:10 a.m.)
Key members of the US House of Representatives are considering ideas for assistance to Israel, but the process won’t advance until lawmakers resolve a political fight to determine the next leader of the chamber. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul said Monday the lack of a House speaker plays into the hands of the country’s enemies.
The chamber cannot conduct much normal legislative business until a new person for the top job is elected. McCaul said the first step would be a resolution condemning Hamas. Congress then, he added, should consider replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, as well as supplying precision munitions and ammunition. House lawmakers are scheduled to have a classified briefing on Wednesday with officials from the State Department, Defense Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Seven Argentines Among the Victims (3:10 a.m.)
Seven Argentines were killed in the Hamas attacks and 15 are missing, President Alberto Fernandez’s government said Monday. The country, home to one of the world’s largest Jewish communities, has strong links with Israel.
Saturday’s events led the Argentine government to order heightened security around buildings and property of the Jewish community in Argentina. The Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was destroyed in a 1992 suicide bombing that killed 29 people. Two years later, also in Buenos Aires, 85 people were killed in the suicide bombing of a Jewish community center. Argentina has accused the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Iran of being behind that attack.
FBI Joins Search for Missing Americans (2:20 a.m.)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with Israel and security agencies to find Americans who haven’t been accounted for and determine if any were kidnapped following the attacks on Israel from the militant group Hamas.
“FBI personnel are working with our partners on the ground to locate and identify any impacted Americans,” the bureau said in a statement Monday. “Reports of deceased, injured, or missing Americans are being treated with the utmost urgency and aggressively investigated.”
Leaders Affirm Support for Israel After Call (1:25 a.m.)
The leaders of the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK spoke in a call on Monday and afterward released a statement that renewed their support for Israel and condemned Hamas “and its appalling acts of terrorism.”
“Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities,” Biden along with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in the statement. “We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.”
Israel Attacks Gaza From Air and Sea (12:10 a.m.
The Israeli Defense Force said Monday night that attacks against the Gaza Strip were proceeding, from the sea as well as the air. Israeli aircraft hit a building where, according to an IDF statement, Hamas carried out operations within a mosque. Another mosque that concealed the militant group’s operations headquarters and a tunnel shaft were also targets of the latest Israeli attacks.
Two militants were killed when aircraft attacked what the IDF described as a weapons depot and meeting house of another group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Some Americans ‘Likely’ Were Abducted, Biden Says (11:35 p.m.)
Biden, in a statement on Monday, mourned the Americans killed in the attacks, and pointed out that others are missing. “The pain these families have endured, the enormity of their loss, and the agony of those still awaiting information is unfathomable,” he said. “This is not some distant tragedy. The ties between Israel and the United States run deep.”
Turning to the possibility that some Americans had been abducted, the president said had “directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts.”
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.
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.
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.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.