Israel declares state of war after Hamas fires thousands of rockets and ‘militants cross border’ – live
Palestinian fighters have launched the largest attack on Israel in years, infiltrating areas of southern Israel amid a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip that killed at least one woman and injured 15 others, Israeli medical workers said.
The rocket fire began from multiple locations in Gaza starting at 06:30am local time (03:30 GMT) on Saturday and continued for nearly half an hour, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas military commander, later announced the start of a military operation in a broadcast on Hamas media, calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.
Deif said the rockets fired marked the start of “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm”, according to reports.
“We’ve decided to say enough is enough,” Deif said as he urged all Palestinians to confront Israel. “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth,” he said, adding that 5,000 rockets had been launched.
Israel’s military told Israelis living around the Gaza Strip to stay in their homes and warned that Hamas will pay a “heavy price for its actions”.
Israeli media reported that armed fighters had opened fire on passersby in the town of Sderot, in southern Israel, and footage circulating on social media appeared to show uniformed Palestinian fighters engaged in clashes in the border town.
Another video on social media appeared to show a burning Israeli tank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with his top security officials on Saturday morning.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the “element of surprise” in the early morning attack which appeared to involve Palestinian fighters in trucks inside Israel and on paragliders, in addition to the rocket fire, will leave Israelis “shocked and stunned”.
The fighting on Saturday comes after weeks of growing tensions along Israel’s volatile border with Gaza, and clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. At least 247 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces so far this year, while 32 Israelis and two foreign nationals have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas called on “the resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as “our Arab and Islamic nations” to join the battle.
Saleh al-Arouri, an exiled Hamas leader, said the operation on Saturday was a response “to the crimes of the occupation”.
He said Palestinian fighters were defending the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and fighting for the thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant approved the mobilisation of army reservists on Saturday in response to the Hamas operation, an Israeli defence ministry spokesperson said.
Israel’s military declared “a state of war alert”, earlier in the day.
Woman whose body was paraded around on back of Hamas pick-up truck identified
By Lizzie McAllister, News reporter - The Daily Star
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A woman who was killed in yesterday's strike on Israel before her lifeless body was paraded around on a pick-up truck has been identified by her family.
Shani Louk, 30, had been visiting the besieged nation from Germany with a tourist group and was attending a "music festival for peace" when she was kidnapped during a surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday (October 7). The assault saw thousands of rockets fired at civilian settlements from Gaza as gunmen took to the streets.
Horror footage on social media showed Shani's corpse lying in the truck surrounded by terrorists, with one of her legs cocked at an unnatural angle. Hamas supporters were heard cheering and ran next to the truck, while some were even filmed spitting on Shani.
Hamas claimed the body belonged to a female Israeli soldier. However, multiple members of Shani's family have since identified her, with her cousin saying they had recognised the tattoo artist's leg tattoos and dreadlocks.
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"It is definitely Shani," Tomasina Weintraub-Louk confirmed to the Daily Mail. "She was at a music festival for peace. This is a nightmare for our family."
Meanwhile Shani's devastated sister took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: "This is my sister Shani Louk. She is taken by Hamas. She is a German citizen," alongside the same message translated into German.
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In a heartbreaking video posted to social media, Shani's mum asked for "any help or news" concerning her daughter's demise. Speaking in German, she said: "This morning my daughter Shani Louk, a German citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas with a tourist group in the south of Israel.
"We were sent a video where I could clearly see our daughter, unconscious in the car with the Palestinians, driving through the Gaza Strip."
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Shani's mum has asked for 'any help or news' following her daughter's death (Image: Instagram)
Shani is one of at least 250 people who lost their lives in yesterday's attacks, while another 3,200 were injured. The assault also saw property and infrastructure damaged or destroyed across Israel.
Hamas, recognised as a terrorist group by the UK and a number of other countries, said its goal was to "set the earth on fire under the feet of the occupiers" after it launched the attack – which fell on the Jewish high holiday of Simchat Torah.
The group's military chief Mohammed Deif said: "This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth." Deif claimed some 5,000 rockets were launched in the initial attack, while other estimates have put the figure closer to 2,200.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the country would fight back. Taking to X, he simply wrote: "We are at war," accompanied by a video statement in Hebrew.
At least 9 Americans killed in Israel war, State Department spokesman says
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
At least nine Americans have been killed in the unprecedented assault on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the State Department said Monday.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken announced on Sunday that the U.S. had received reports that Americans had been killed or taken hostage in the Hamas assault. President Biden's administration has yet to clarify whether or how many Americans may have been taken hostage.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller announced the new death toll on MSNBC on Monday.
The updated death toll comes as Israeli media say at least 800 people were killed in the Hamas attack, with more than 2,000 wounded.
The U.S. military has responded to the attack by moving an aircraft carrier group into the eastern Mediterranean Sea closer to Israel. The U.S. has supplied Israel with aid, but has yet to take direct action.
12 rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel as fears of Hezbollah joining war simmer
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Extremists in Lebanon fired 12 rockets into Israel on monday, stoking fears that the terror group Hezbollah may join Israel's ongoing war with Hamas.
Israel's military is deployed against Hamas terrorists in around Gaza in southern Israel, but the threat of Hezbollah would come from Israel's northern border. Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel earlier this weekend, leading to swift airstrikes from the Israeli military.
Amir Avivi, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), told Fox News Digital that he was surprised that Hamas’s attack on Saturday was not coordinated with Hezbollah or that Hezbollah did not take advantage of the events unfolding to also attack Israel.
Avivi said that Hezbollah’s failure to join forces with Hamas could have been due to an Iranian desire to keep the Shiite group intact for any future confrontations. If both groups attacked Israel together, he theorized, they might end up being destroyed and leaving Iran more vulnerable.
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Attacks on Israel have now killed at least 800, local media report
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Attacks from Hamas terrorists on Israel have killed at least 800 people, Israeli media reported Monday.
The casualties numbers have continued to mount as the Israeli military regains control of the areas surrounding the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the region, and military officials have declared they will "kill every terrorist in Israel.
Israeli forces recaptured areas near the Gaza Strip that had been overrun in a Hamas mass-infiltration over the weekend, Reuters reported. The Israeli Defense Force re-established control of communities but isolated clashes remain throughout the country, a military spokesperson said on Monday.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters mock Israeli dead in New York City
by Anders Hagstrom - FOX News
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Pro-Palestinian protesters rejoiced in the deaths of Israeli citizens at the hands of Hamas terrorists at a demonstration in New York City on Sunday.
Pro-Palestinian groups in Times Square could be heard chanting "700," the confirmed number of Israeli dead as of Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, pro-Israel demonstrators nearby held the Israeli flag and mourned the loss of life.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they chanted.
Meanwhile, pro-Israeli demonstrators chanted "shame" and "murderers" at the protesters.
“In their place, I would be very ashamed to show my face here today, after yesterday they murdered so many of our children, the elderly, women and helpless people,” Israeli demonstrator Tanya Farhi-Altman told the Times of Israel. “I would be ashamed and stay home. I would also say ‘I’m sorry.'”
“The whole world should know there was a massacre in Israel. That’s why I’m here,” she added.
Israel launches massive airstrikes on downtown Gaza City, Netanyahu says: 'We have only started'
By Lawrence Richard | Fox News
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Israel's counteroffensive into Gaza extended through the night, including airstrikes in Gaza City, home to Hamas' centers of government.
Israeli warplanes pounded downtown Gaza City with relentless bombardments into early Tuesday, after Israel’s prime minister vowed retaliation against the Islamic militant group that would "reverberate for generations."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a nationally televised address, where he said: "We have only started striking Hamas."
He added: "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."
Israel has, so far, issued warnings to civilians in areas of Gaza City and others where they intend to strike. The warnings have given civilians moments to evacuate so as to reduce the number of civilian deaths.
Hamas has threatened to start executing captured Israelis if strikes targeted civilians without warning. Israel said that Hamas is holding more than 150 soldiers and civilians hostage in Gaza.
The war is only expected to escalate as Israel could launch a ground invasion to eradicate Hamas from Gaza.
On Tuesday morning, Israel’s military said it regained effective control over areas near the Gaza Strip border with Israel, which was breached over the weekend in Saturday's surprise attack.
The Israeli military also said it recovered the bodies of roughly 1,500 Hamas militants on Israeli territory.
The four-day-old war has already claimed at least 1,600 lives, after Hamas terrorists invaded the Gaza-Israel border and attacked towns and villages.
Israel saw gun battles in the streets of its own towns for the first time in decades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Israel soldiers said to discover unspeakable horrors in community attacked by Hamas
by Chris Pandolfo - FOX News
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Israeli soldiers shared details of unimaginable atrocities committed in a community where dozens of victims, including about 40 babies, were massacred by Hamas terrorists.
Israel's rescue service said 200 Israelis were found dead in Kfar Aza, i24 News reported.
Reporters with i24 News toured the "scene of devastation" in the community of about 700, where soldiers worked to remove bodies of victims who were brutally murdered in their homes. Some soldiers said they found babies with their heads cut off, according to i24 News.
"The community’s cars, parked outside, were completely torched. And it was just a small part of the destruction, with no exact number yet of how many people were murdered, as bodies are still being collected and removed from the homes," the report said.
More than 70 terrorists invaded the community and butchered residents, leaving naught but a "smell of death" behind, i24 News reported.
“It’s not a war, it’s not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mother, the father, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms, and how the terrorists killed them,” IDF Major General Itai Veruv said. “It’s a massacre.”
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CBC tells reporters not to use 'terrorist' in Hamas coverage: Leaked emails
by Chris Pandolfo - FOX News
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The Canadian Broadcast Company instructed reporters not to use the term "terrorist" in their coverage of Israel's war with Hamas, leaked emails reveal.
"Do not refer to militants, soldiers or anyone else as ‘terrorists.’ The notion of terrorism remains heavily politicized and is part of the story," CBC's director of journalistic standards, George Achi, wrote in an email to employees on Saturday.
The CBC executive instructed journalists to make sure audiences understand that when quoting someone using this term, they are stating "opinion."
"Even when quoting/clipping a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorists,’ we should add context to ensure the audience understands this is opinion, not fact," he added.
U.S.-based group "StopAntisemitism" first shared the leaked email on X.
CBC journalists were also urged to avoid calling 2005 "the end" of Israeli occupation.
"Please do not describe 2005 as 'the end of the occupation' as Israel has maintained control over airspace, seafront, and virtually all movement into or out of the area," the email said. "Our description should be fact-based, referring to the end of permanent Israeli military presence on the ground."
A CBC spokesperson confirmed the internal email's legitimacy to Fox News Digital. The CBC characterized the protocol as similar to practices followed by other media outlets.
"CBC News attributes the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism’ to authorities, politicians and other officials who use these terms. There is no ban on these words. However, we ourselves avoid declaring specific groups terrorists, in line with the policies of many reputable news organizations and agencies around the world," the spokesperson said.
"The focus of our news coverage is on describing exactly what happened in detail, as we have with all that has transpired this weekend. Our approach has been consistent and ensured CBC’s journalism over decades of conflict in the Middle East lives up to our commitment to accuracy, balance and fairness," the statement concluded.
The U.S. Department of State designates Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.
Israeli defense minister removes 'every restriction' as IDF prepares ground operation in Gaza
By Greg Norman - FOX News
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Israel’s defense minister has told soldiers near the country’s border with Gaza that he has "removed every restriction" and "we will eliminate anyone who fights us" ahead of an expected ground invasion of the Hamas-controlled territory.
The comments from Yoav Gallant came as Israeli airstrikes hit the family home of Mohammed Deif -- the reclusive leader of Hamas’ military wing – in the Gaza city of Khan Younis late last night, killing his father, brother and two other relatives, a senior Hamas official told The Associated Press.
The Israel Defense Forces have been unrelenting in their retaliatory strikes against Gaza following Saturday’s attack by Hamas, posting Wednesday that "A short while ago, the IDF struck an important Hamas operational, political and military center in Gaza -- the Islamic University."
"We will not allow a reality in which Israeli children are murdered," Gallant said in a meeting with Israeli soldiers near the southern border on Tuesday, according to the AP. "I have removed every restriction -- we will eliminate anyone who fights us, and use every measure at our disposal."
As of Wednesday, more than 1,200 people – including 155 Israeli soldiers – have been killed in Israel since Hamas started attacking the country over the weekend, the Israeli military says.
In Gaza, around 1,055 people have been confirmed dead there, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced.
ISIS flag found in Hamas equipment as Netanyahu makes direct connection between terror groups: 'Hamas is ISIS'
By Lawrence Richard | Fox News
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Israeli soldiers said they found an ISIS flag among the belongings of a Hamas operative, drawing a connection between the two terrorist groups.
ISIS, also ISIL or the Islamic State, is a terror group that rose to prominence in 2014 when it declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. It also claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in different parts of the Middle East, including Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.
"Hamas brought ISIS flags to massacre Israeli children, women and men," the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on X, with a photo of the flag.
The IDF added: "Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization. Hamas is worse than ISIS."
A connection between the two terror groups was also made during a news conference in Israel with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu made a direct connection between the two terror groups, saying: "Hamas is ISIS."
"Just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed and Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated," Netanyahu said. "They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leaders should meet them. No country should harbor them. And those that do should be sanctioned."
And, "There will be many difficult days ahead, but I have no doubt that the forces of civilization will win."
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Blinken highlighted the brutality of Hamas, including beheadings and the burning of victims, which the world also saw during ISIS's rise to power.
"Hamas has only one agenda: to destroy Israel and to murder. No country can or would tolerate the slaughter of its citizens or simply return to the conditions that allowed it to take place," he said. "Israel has the right, indeed, the obligation to defend itself and to ensure that this never happens. So the prime minister and I discussed how Israel does this matters. Our humanity, the value that we place on human life and human dignity. That's what makes us who we are. And we count them among our greatest strength."
Blinken followed up these remarks by underscoring U.S. support for Israel amid its conflict with Hamas.
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"My message to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself but as long as America exists, you'll never have to," he said.
The U.S. State Department has designated both ISIS and Hamas foreign terrorist organizations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Iran says Hamas ready to release hostages if Israel stops airstrikes as at least 199 now known taken
By Isabel Keane - New York Post
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Iran tried to pressure Israel into ending its revenge airstrikes on Gaza by claiming Monday that the Hamas terrorists long sponsored by Tehran would be willing to free the 199 hostages now known to have been taken during the slaughter of more than 1,400 people.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani claimed that Hamas is “ready” to release the hostages, but doing so would be “impossible” under Israeli airstrikes in the region.
He reckoned that the terror group “stated that they are ready to take necessary measures to release the citizens and civilians held by resistant groups, but their point was that such measures require preparations that are impossible under daily bombardment by the Zionists against various parts of Gaza,” Kanaani said.
Despite this, Hamas has yet to make such an offer publicly.
The terror group did, however, speak out Monday to maintain that its unprecedented Oct. 7 attack was a solo effort not driven by Iran, despite widespread belief among Israeli and Western officials.
The war in Gaza is “a Palestinian battle and the decision to enter it was a Palestinian decision” made by Hamas and its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al Qassam Brigades, “together with the Palestinian resistance factions,” according to Hamas’ rep in Lebanon, Ahmed Abdul-Hadi.
Although no government worldwide has offered direct evidence to support the widely held belief that Iran orchestrated the attack, Tehran has long sponsored Hamas, including training, funding and providing it with weapons.
Abdul-Hadi said that Hamas allies Iran and Hezbollah will not allow Israel “to crush Gaza” or to launch a “comprehensive ground attack,” but that the groups have deliberately left ambiguity about when and how they would respond. “This is up to the developments in the situation at the time.”
In case of a “ground attack, regardless of its level,” or if “more and more massacres continue to be committed” in Gaza and Hamas is using up its resources, he said, there will be “surprises announced.”
Israel held firm Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stating, “There is no ceasefire.”
It came as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday confirmed that at least 199 hostages are known to be held in Gaza, a number much greater than previously believed.
Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said families have been notified. He did not say how many held captive were foreigners, or who was holding them, though most are believed to be held by Hamas, which rules Gaza.
The terrorists have previously threatened to post footage of hostages being executed in revenge for Israeli counterstrikes.
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Iran’s government has backed Hamas, and Iranian security officials are widely thought to have helped the terror group plan its Oct. 7 sneak attack on Israel, according to reports.
Iran has cautioned it could enter the war as well if Israel launches a widely anticipated ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in the coming days.
The Israeli military again said Saturday that it is “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans which include, among other things, an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land.”
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The Lebanon-based terrorist organization Hezbollah has already waded into the conflict by launching missiles into Israel, a move it insists is a “warning” rather than an entry into the war.
“We heard from the resistance that they have no problem to continue resisting,” Kanaani said, referring to Hamas. “They said the resistance holds military capability to continue resisting in the field for a long time.”
More than 2,600 people in Gaza have died as Israel pounds the region with missiles, the Palestinian health ministry said. Officials in Israel say the ongoing conflict has killed at least 1,400.
US Defense Secretary Austin puts 2,000 personnel on 'prepare to deploy order' in Middle East
by Lawrence Richard - FOX News
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has put 2,000 personnel on a "prepare to deploy order" to increase the U.S. military readiness to response to the Middle East as the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists continues to escalate.
"Today, Secretary Austin placed approximately 2,000 personnel and a range of units on a heightened state of readiness through a prepare to deploy order, which increases DoD's ability to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East," according to Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh on Force Posture. "No decisions have been made to deploy any forces at this time. The Secretary will continue to assess our force posture and remain in close contact with allies and partners."
The statement added: "Additionally, he approved a deployment extension for the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Sixth Fleet Area of Operations. The strike group was nearing the end of its six-month deployment to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility."
Israel continues to prepare for a ground invasion of Gaza, to eliminate the Hamas terrorist organization. An invasion is expected to take weeks, months or longer and surrounding countries have all weighed in on what further escalation could mean.
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Jordan's King Abdullah draws 'red line,' says he will not accept refugees
by Lawrence Richard - FOX News
Jordan's King Abdullah said during a news conference in Germany that neither Jordan nor Egypt would accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza, where more than 1 million people have been displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
"No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt," King Abdullah said in Berlin Tuesday, pushing back against pressure from the international community to accept the Palestinian refugees, according to Reuters.
He added: "That is a red line, because I think that is the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground."
King Abdullah also said the humanitarian situation must to be dealt with inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The comments came following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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Israel’s hunt for Hamas terror group leader Yahya Sinwar: 'Dead man walking'
by Lawrence Richard - FOX News
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A clear objective of Israel’s war in Gaza right now is hunting down and assassinating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Referred to by Israel as the Butcher of Khan Younis for his violent and cruel torture methods against his enemies, both Israeli and Palestinian, Sinwar, 60, is widely seen as being behind the massacre of Israeli civilians carried out by thousands of Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
The attack, in which 1,400 people are now known to have been killed, with a further 200 missing and likely being held hostage inside the Gaza Strip, is the worst against Jews since the Holocaust. Civilian men, women and children were not only murdered but, according to multiple eyewitness reports also brutalized, raped and even decapitated.
"That man is in our sights," Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told journalists over the weekend. "Sinwar is the leader of Hamas in Gaza and he’s a dead man walking."
"We will get to him, however long it takes… and this war could be long," he said.
Sinwar is believed to be somewhere in the Palestinian enclave but hidden deep underground in the warren of tunnels Hamas uses to transport weapons and fighters and where they may even be keeping the hostages. He was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp when the area was part of Egypt.
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Hamas will 'protect' hostages, release them 'when circumstances on the ground allow,' it says
by Lawrence Richard - FOX News
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Hamas is reportedly claiming that it will "protect" its hostages taken during the war with Israel and will only release them "when circumstances on the ground allow."
Hamas has "a group of detainees of different nationalities, these are our guests and we seek to protect them," according to Abu Obeida, whom Reuters says is the spokesman of the Palestinian terrorist group’s armed wing.
"We will release detainees of different nationalities when circumstances on the ground allow," he added, without elaborating.
The comments surfaced Monday in a video message from Israel says Hamas is holding 199 Israelis hostage, while 13 Americans remain unaccounted for.
Iran's foreign minister warns 'Time is OVER!' for Israel in ominous message
by Chris Pandolfo - FOX News
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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday declared "Time is OVER!" for Israel in an ominous message posted on X.
“After the terrible crime of the Zionist regime in the bombing and massacre of more than 1,000 innocent women and children in the hospital, the time has come for the global unity of humanity against this fake regime more hated than ISIS and its killing machine,” Amirabdollahian wrote.
The Iranian embassy in Syria also posted "time is up" in both Hebrew and Arabic, the New York Post reported.
The statements came after the Hamas blamed Israel for a blast at a hospital in Gaza that killed as many as 500 people on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces have said a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket misfired and caused the explosion and released audio evidence supporting their version.
President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he reviewed evidence suggesting Israel was not responsible for the explosion.
"I was outraged by the bombing of the hospital yesterday. Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by the other team. Not you," Biden said to Netanyahu. "But there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure."
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Iran calls on Islamic countries to impose oil embargo on Israel
by Chris Pandolfo - FOX News
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday called for Islamic countries to expel Israeli ambassadors and impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel.
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas after a blast rocked a hospital in Gaza reportedly killing a large number of Palestinians.
"The foreign minister calls for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors if relations with the Zionist regime have been established," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Amirabdollahian also called for the formation of a team of Islamic lawyers to document potential war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
Iran has no diplomatic relations with Israel, which it calls a "Zionist regime," and its supreme leaders have a long history of issuing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements calling for the Jewish state's destruction.
Reuters contributed to this update.
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IDF says report confirms misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad caused deadly blast at Gaza hospital
by Elizabeth Pritchett - FOX News
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Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari held a news conference Wednesday morning in efforts to prove a deadly explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza was caused by Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad, and not Israel.
The IDF conducted an after-action review with all relevant branches following the deadly explosion that left at least 500 people dead Tuesday evening, Hagari said. The review revealed that Hamas fired a barrage of rockets toward Israel at 6:15 p.m. local time, which was followed by the launch of around ten rockets by Islamic Jihad approximately 45 minutes later.
It was determined that one of the rockets launched by Islamic Jihad misfired and continued its flight toward the ground until it hit within the hospital compound, Hagari said, adding that intelligence captured two Hamas terrorists discussing the failed launch.
That conversation between the two was released publicly by the IDF Wednesday morning and translated into English. The two men can be heard acknowledging the misfire when one says "they are saying it belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," and that the shrapnel looks like it is local, not from the Israelis.
Then they start discussing how the rockets were shot from a cemetery behind the hospital, which is what Hagari said was determined in the review based on the trajectory analysis.
Hagari also said the IDF has counted approximately 450 rockets that have misfired and failed inside Gaza since Oct. 7, adding that "Palestinians pay the price."
Fox News' Trey Yingst reported that the Israelis have been consistent in denying responsibility for the attack.
"The facts on the ground, what we can report, the Israelis have provided both drone evidence, they've provided images, videos, and they have provided intercepted phone calls to indicate this was an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired," Yingst said.
Yingst noted that Hamas stands by its initial claim that the Israelis are responsible for the hundreds killed at the hospital.
IDF releases audio of terrorists admitting they fired at hospital
By Jesse O’Neill - New York Post
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Israel Defense Forces released an audio recording Wednesday morning of what it said were two Islamic Jihad terrorists admitting responsibility for the Gaza City hospital bombing a day before that killed hundreds of people.
The clip, posted on X, is captioned “Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not. Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves.”
It was released as Hamas and Israel blamed each other for the attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, which was crammed with Palestinians injured in retaliatory Israel airstrikes and residents seeking refuge.
“Is it from us?” one operative is heard asking on the recording, according to the IDF’s translation.
“It looks like it,” his cohort replies.
The purported members of Islamic Jihad – an arm of the ruling militant group Hamas – are then heard acknowledging that the shrapnel of the missile “are local pieces, and not Israeli shrapnel,” from rockets fired from the “cemetery behind the hospital.”
“But God bless, it couldn’t have found another place to explode?,” one of them asked.
Hamas leaders have fingered Israel and the US for the attack, while Israel claimed that a failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch resulted in the devastation, as leaders noted some 450 other rockets fired from Gaza had fallen short of Israel in the past week and a half.
As protestors blaming Israel took to the streets in Arab countries throughout the region, President Biden spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, and said that Israel was not to blame for the attack, citing “the data I was shown by my Defense Department.”
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Netanyahu.
Israel said its radar and an independent video depicted a misfired rocket barrage that caused a large explosion as it hit the hospital. It also said the blast left no crater, as a deliberate strike would have.
The IDF’s audio post was met with widespread skepticism on X, as many users questioned the veracity of the high-quality recording and wondered why the military was now able to surveille Hamas operatives but was caught off guard by the group’s heinous and long-planned Oct. 7 surprise attack across the disputed border that killed more than 1,400.
The strike on the hospital was the deadliest single incident since war broke out following that onslaught. According to Gaza officials, it killed more than 500 people.
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Before the hospital attack, Israeli strikes had killed at least 2,778 Palestinians and injured nearly 10,000 with 1,200 others thought to be buried under rubble, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Israel also ordered the displacement of more than a million people from the northern part of the densely populated Gaza Strip, escalating an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the blockaded territory.
Hamas terrorists likely used North Korean weapons during brutal attack on Israel, evidence shows
By Lawrence Richard | Fox News
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The Hamas terrorists that carried out a barbaric assault in Israel on Oct. 7 likely used North Korean weapons, analysis and various evidence including a militant video and weapons seized by Israel now show. North Korea has previously denied selling arms to the terrorist group.
One weapon at the center of the controversy, used by Hamas, is the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles. A video of Hamas terrorists using the F-7 rocket launcher has been confirmed through analysis by two experts on North Korean arms and South Korean military intelligence. The Associated Press also conducted an analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield.
These rocket launchers fire a single warhead and can be quickly reloaded, making them valuable weapons for smaller militias and guerrilla forces running skirmishes against heavy vehicles.
"It is not a surprise to see North Korean weapons with Hamas," said Matt Schroeder, a senior researcher with Small Arms Survey who wrote a guide to Pyongyang’s light weapons.
In addition to the F-7 rocket launcher, Hamas propaganda videos and photos have shown its fighters with North Korea's Bulsae guided anti-tank missile.
Hamas also used North Korea's Type 58 self-loading rifle, a variant of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, according to N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a weapons expert who works as the director of the consultancy Armament Research Services.
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Jenzen-Jones cited imagery of the weapons wielded by Hamas terrorists.
"North Korea has long supported Palestinian militant groups, and North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies," Jenzen-Jones told The Associated Press.
Russia uses similar weaponry and the North Korean F-7 resembles a widely distributed Soviet-era RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade, but has a few noticeable differences including a distinctive red stripe across its warhead.
Hamas has published images of their training that show fighters with a weapon with a rocket-propelled grenade with the red stripe, and other design elements matching the F-7, Schroeder said.
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A militant video examined by the AP shows one fighter carrying the F-7, with the evident red stripe. Weapons seized by the Israeli military and shown to journalists also included the red stripe and other design elements matching the F-7.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff specifically identified the F-7 as one of the North Korean weapons it believed Hamas used in the attack during a press briefing Tuesday.
The Israeli military declined to identify the origin and the manufacturer of those rocket-propelled grenades, citing the ongoing war with Hamas.
Jenzen-Jones said the F-7 has been documented in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
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Last week, Pyongyang dismissed that it was supplying Hamas with its weapons as "a groundless and false rumor" orchestrated by the United States.
"The U.S. administration's reptile press bodies and quasi-experts are spreading a groundless and false rumor that 'North Korea's weapons' seemed to be used for the attack on Israel," North Korean international affairs commentator Ri Kwang-song said through its state-run KCNA news agency.
"It is nothing but a bid to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by its wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country and thus evade the international criticism focused on the empire of evil," the statement continued.
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In 2012, the United States detected a North Korean cargo plane reportedly carrying rockets and rocket-propelled grenades that had been bound for Hamas.
North Korea has maintained diplomatic relations with Palestinian leaders since 1966.
The White House said last week that North Korea continues to supply conventional arms to Russia, after it delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to resupply Russia’s military in its war with Ukraine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hezbollah says it's 'thousands of times stronger' than before, warns US, Israel: report
By Greg Norman - FOX News
A Hezbollah official is warning that the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group is "thousands of times stronger" than before, and that U.S., Israel and other "malicious Europeans" should be careful, reports say.
The comments were made Wednesday by senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine during a rally in a suburb of Beirut, where protesters also waved Hezbollah and Palestinian flags and chanted "Death to America and Israel," according to The Guardian.
"The response to the mistake you might make with our resistance will be resounding," Safieddine also was quoted by Reuters as saying. "Because what we have is faith, and God is stronger than you, all your battleships, and all your weapons."
The fiery remarks came on the same day President Biden visited Israel and cautioned other countries from becoming involved in the Israel-Hamas war.
"The world will know that Israel is stronger than ever. And my message to any state or any other hostile actor thinking about attacking Israel remains the same as it was a week ago. Don't, don't, don't," Biden said.
"And later this week, I'm going to ask the United States Congress for an unprecedented support package for Israel's defense. We're going to keep Iron Dome fully supplied to continue standing sentinel over Israeli skies, saving Israeli lives," he added. "We moved U.S. military assets to the region, including positioning the USS Ford carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean with the USS Eisenhower on the way to deter further aggression against Israel and to prevent this conflict from spreading."
Tanks line up at Gaza border as ground invasion appears imminent
By Melissa Koenig - New York Post
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Israel appeared to be readying its expected ground invasion of the Gaza Strip early Friday, with a large border town evacuated and fleets of tanks lining up on the border where hundreds of thousands of soldiers are already camped out.
Israeli officials have been warning for days that it will soon launch its ground invasion, as they massed at least 300,000 troops along the border in response to Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, when the terrorist organization killed at least 1,400 people — mostly civilians — and took more than 200 others hostage, the Voice of America reports.
Speaking to those troops Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they would soon see Gaza “from the inside.
“Whoever sees Gaza from afar will soon see it from the inside,” he said. “The order will come.”
Gallant’s meeting with troops came as Economy Minister Nir Barkat announced that the Israel Defense Forces had been given a “green light” to bring the offensive to Gaza — a roughly 140-square-mile parcel of land between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea.
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“We shall [make] all efforts to bring our hostages, to bring our hostages [back] alive,” he insisted to ABC News while acknowledging that the “first and last priority” is destroying Hamas.
The terrorist group has claimed it is holding about 203 Israeli hostages within the network of tunnels it built underneath Gaza — which Barkat vowed will become the “world’s biggest cemetery.”
As tanks appeared at the ready Friday, there were also reports of heavy airstrikes hitting Gaza, where Israel says it has struck more than 100 targets linked to Hamas, including a tunnel and arms depots.
Israel has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the country.
The Defense Ministry announced evacuation plans Friday for Kiryat Shmona, a town of more than 20,000 residents near the Lebanese border.
The IDF is intent on decimating the terrorist group “even if it takes a year” — with hostages and civilian casualties taking a backseat, Barkat explained.
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Israeli officials have been adamant that they have no choice but to launch the massive assault, codenamed Operation Swords of Iron.
Since Hamas seized power in the region 16 years ago, they argue, Israel has fought three major conflicts.
But each of those operations was aimed at keeping Hamas in check, rather than destroying the terrorist group as they are now planning.
“The strategy was to have a longer gap every time between the different conflicts, but it failed and it cannot happen anymore,” an unidentified senior IDF official told the Guardian.
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“So the only conclusion is that we have to go in, we have to go in and clear it and eliminate Hamas from the roots, not only militarily, but also economically, its administration.”
“Everything should go away.”
“That’s the idea now, and we are getting prepared for that,” the official said.
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“It won’t be as clear cut and it won’t be as short as we would like as Israelis. It will be a prolonged campaign. It will take time.”
As part of the ground invasion, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi instructed troops to find and destroy the hideouts used by Hamas as they try to target top Hamas officials, the Times of London reports.
At the top of the target list is Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, and Mohammed Deif, the head of the al-Qassam Brigades — the military arm of Hamas.
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But as the Israeli forces enter the Palestinian-controlled land, Hamas will likely adopt terrorist tactics like positioning snipers in the windows of apartment blocks, using tripwires to set off IEDs, dropping grenades on armored vehicles, and disguising their members as civilians, according to Gen. Sir Richard Barrons, the veteran British commander of counter-insurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He told the UK Times that “the chances of being so successful that they destroy Hamas entirely are very slim indeed.
“The chances of deepening the conflict around Israel and Gaza are already much greater,” he warned. “Hamas intended to do that.”
