Hamas-Israel war: Israel bombards Gaza as death toll surpasses 1000 on second day of fighting - as it happened

Ahram Online , Sunday 8 Oct 2023

Gun battles between Palestinian and Israeli combatants raged for a second day on Sunday following a surprise military operation by Hamas. The Israeli army struck several buildings in Gaza as rockets continued to be fired from the strip, with the total death toll reaching into the hundreds on both sides.

Gaza
Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. AP

 

Ahram Online provides updates as events are developing on the ground on the second day of Hamas-Israel war.

 

Summary

  • President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, German Chancellor Olaf Schulz and President of the European Council Charles Michel ways to defuse the crisis in Gaza.

  • At an emergency session, several members of the United Nations Security Council denounced Hamas over its massive assault on Israel.

  • Israel bombards Gaza destroying strategic buildings and homes.

  • Palestine announced that 413 Palestinians were killed including 78 children during the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

  • US has directed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the eastern Mediterranean and said it will supply Israel with additional equipment and munitions.

  • Israel death toll surpassed 700 and more than 2000 other people wounded.

  • The Prime minister office admitted that over 100 Israelis are being held captives.

  • Egypt have been engaged in ‘intensive contacts’ to prevent further escalation and end the crises.

  • A cross-border fire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel forces was reported by media outlets.

 

23:55 Sirens in central Israel as Hamas claims it launched rocket attack on Ben Gurion Airport.

23:15 Hamas said that the United States' plan to provide increased military aid to Israel amounts to "aggression" against Palestinians, after Washington ordered navy ships and warplanes closer to Israel.

"The announcement of the US that it will provide an aircraft carrier to support the occupation (Israel) is actual participation in the aggression against our people," Hamas said in a statement.

22:45 Israel army says dozens of fighter jets struck 150 targets in Shuja'iyya. They also hit the residence of Farah Hamed a senior member in Hamas.

22:05 Palestine's envoy to the United Nations, Riad Mansour, emphasized that the Palestinian people deserve protection in accordance with international laws, and there is no justification for their loss of life. Granting Israel the right to defend itself would be a license to kill Palestinians. He further noted that Israel's continued use of excessive force hinders the prospects for peace.

Israel's envoy accuses Hamas of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip and assures that now is the right time to eliminate Hamas' military infrastructure.

22:00 Israel Air Forces says it attacked two strategic targets in high-rise buildings and the Islamic National Bank in the Gaza Strip. The statement added that the Air forces continue to attack Gaza.

21:50 President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas the situation in the Palestinian territories. Both leaders stressed on the necessity of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution to achieve stability in the region.

21:25 413 Palestinians were killed including 78 children following Israel’s attack on Gaza, the Palestine health ministry said.

20:50 "The United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

The US defense chief also said he had directed the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier, and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean, and that Washington was augmenting fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

20:15 Israel's National Security Council asked Israelis to refrain from traveling to Middle Eastern countries and other nations with travel warnings for the time being.

20:00 Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza.

19:46 The Israeli death toll from the Hamas attack has surpassed 700 people, according to Israeli media citing medical sources.

19:45 US President Joe Biden has ordered "additional support" for Israel after the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the White House said Sunday, without giving details.

18:30: Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the US is "actively working" to verify reports regarding the status of several Americans overseas following Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel.

"We have reports that several Americans were killed. We're working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we're working to verify those reports," Blinken told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

18:00: According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, a total of 2,156 Israelis have been injured, with hundreds in critical condition.

17:40: Israel’s Government Press Office said in a post on Facebook that at least 100 Israelis are being held captive in Gaza, adding that more than 600 Israelis have been killed and more than 2,000 injured. 

Until now Israel has refused to confirm the number of civilians or soldiers being held hostage, although media reports have suggested that the number may be at least 170

17:35: An Israeli official confirmed to Channel 12 News on Sunday that there are ongoing efforts by Egypt, Jordan, and the United Nations to mediate a release of Israeli prisoners. The official noted that Egypt is in talks with Hamas to secure the release of vulnerable Israelis, including the elderly and children.

17:30: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced that it has been engaged in "intensive contacts to end the crisis" since Saturday and FM Shoukry is in contact with international officials to prevent further escalation.

17:00: Pope Francis called for "peace in Israel and in Palestine", saying "terrorism and war does not lead to a solution".

"War is a defeat. All war is a defeat. Let us pray for peace in Israel and Palestine," he said at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.

16:00: The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel has climbed to 370, according to the Health Ministry.

15:45: Israel fired a Patriot surface-to-air missile at an unknown target near the border with Lebanon, according to Israeli media reports citing local sources in the northern city of Safed. Cross-border fire between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel renewed when an Israeli tank fired a shell towards the vicinity of the Khuraibah border area in south Lebanon, as reported by an Al-Jazeera correspondent.

15:15: Several Israeli media outlets are reporting that the death toll of Israelis has risen to 600. The Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12, as well as the Haaretz and Times of Israel newspapers, reported the toll Sunday. There has been no official confirmation.

15:00: The Israeli security cabinet voted to put the country officially at war, giving the government legal authority to carry out “significant military activities,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced. The decision comes on the heels of Saturday’s informal declaration of war by PM Netanyahu in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack.

14:59: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke with Jordanian King Abdullah II over the telephone about the ongoing fighting. Both leaders agreed to work on preventing the situation from deteriorating further, a statement by the Egyptian presidency said.

14:30: Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli aircraft carried out an airstrike close to the Gaza town of Rafah on the Egyptian border, according to the AP news agency. However, the strike could not be confirmed, or further details ascertained. Loudspeakers from mosques and moving cars in Rafah blared condolences and praise for Hamas fighters from Rafah who were killed during the attack on Israel.

14:07: The death toll of Israeli death climbes to 400, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

14:05: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the world’s largest bloc of Muslim countries, has condemned Israeli military aggression amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.

14:03: Pope Francis on Sunday called for "an end to the attacks" in Israel, explaining that "terrorism and war do not lead to a solution."

14:00: The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the international community's silence in the face of the ongoing Israeli aggression and massacres against Palestinian civilians.

13:49: UNRWA said 20,300 Palestinians have been displaced and are sheltering in 44 of its schools around Gaza. “The number (of displaced) is rapidly increasing, “ said Inas Hamdan, acting public information officer in Gaza. The agency said three of its schools suffered “collateral” damage from Israeli airstrikes. The agency also said its operations of nine water wells around the Gaza Strip were stopped early Saturday before resuming on resumed Sunday. The agency’s food distribution centers, which provide for over 540,000 of Gaza residents, have been closed since Saturday.

13:40: The death toll of Israeli soldiers since Saturday has climbed to 44, according to the Isareli army. The Israeli army revealed that among the military commanders killed was Col. Roi Levy the head of the elite Multidimensional unit, also known as the “Ghost” as his forces clashed with Hamas in the southern settlement of Re’im.

13:30: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas directed the sending of relief convoys to the Gaza Strip

13:09: Israeli embassies worldwide have been set at maximum alert and their ambassadors have been instructed not leave their residencies, Israeli media reported. Meanwhile, A growing number of flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled and the Israel Airports Authority announced that airports in the south and center of the country are closed to private and tourism flights.

13:00: The Israeli army is sending tanks and heavy armoured vehicles to reinforce the Gaza border.

12:46: Alarm sirens are sounding in all settlements surrounding Gaza, Al Jazeera reported few minutes after a new Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip. 

12:30: Israeli media said 15 Israelis were killed by gunmen who penetrated the Mafkim area south of the coastal city of Ashkelon.

12:34: Al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesman, Abu Ubaida, said the group was able to replace some of its forces in combat areas and conduct new support operations on several axes. He said that the group has carried out new infiltration operations over the past few hours. “We will continue the battle of Al-Aqsa flood,” he added, calling on "Palestinian people everywhere to join us in the battle."

12:14: An Egyptian policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists in Alexandria on Sunday, Al-Qahira News channel said, citing an Egyptian security source. Additionally, an Egyptian citizen was killed and another injured during the same incident. The suspected shooter has been apprehended and is currently under investigation by authorities, according to the source.

12:13: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “the recurrence of the conflict shows once again that the protracted standstill of the peace process cannot go on.”
“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine,” the Chinese ministry added in a statement.
 
11:45: An Israeli army official said "hundreds" of Palestinian fighters have been killed and dozens captured during fighting in Gaza and southern Israel.

12:10: The Foreign Ministry of Thailand said 11 of its nationals were captured during the fighting in southern Israel and are presumed to have been brought to Gaza. The British Embassy also confirmed to Sky News that a British-Israeli citizen is missing near Kibbutz Re’im.

12:10: The Palestinian Authority called for an emergency Arab League meeting at the ministerial level.

11:34: Israeli strikes renewed on the outskirts of Kafr Shuba and Sadana in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese News Agency.

11:21: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a situation assessment with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, and other senior defence officials, according to a statement from his office.

11:17: Israel imposes a comprehensive closure on the northern governorates of the West Bank.The Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Sunday the Israeli forces was preventing people from entering or leaving villages in Ramallah, including the city of Al-Bireh

11:00: Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said they fired 100 rockets at the town of Sderot in response to Israel’s targeting of homes in Gaza.

10:45: Rocket sirens sound in Sderot Israeli settlement, nearby Gaza.

10:35: 313 people have been killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip so far, 1,990 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. 

10:14: Israel will evacuate all residents living in towns near the Gaza border within 24 hours, Israel army spokesperson said on Sunday, adding that the fighting in the town of Kfar Aza is ongoing to free the soldiers and settlers captured by Hamas inside the town.

10:01: Israel announced Sunday that 30 police officers and 26 soldiers were killed during the first day of the war with Hamas.

9:44: The Israeli military said its forces were fighting Hamas fighters in eight places. 

9:19: The Israeli air force struck the home of the head of the Hamas intelligence department, the Israeli army said on Sunday.

9:15: Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza, its military said. The targets included a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments, which was flattened, as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City.

9:10: 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers have been captured by Palestinian fighters, the Israeli Embassy to the United States said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

8:55: The Israeli army, Shin Bet security service and Border Police forces arrested 19 Hamas operatives throughout Saturday night in the West Bank – including six Hebron, according to the army’s spokesman.

8:30: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, said its fighters were still "engaged in fierce clashes" in several locations inside Israel.

Relive the first day as it happened.

 

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