Hamas Gaza hideouts will be turned to ‘rubble’, Netanyahu says, amid Israeli operations to rescue hostages – live
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Saturday that the country was “embarking on a long and difficult war” and that all the places where Hamas is based in Gaza or operates from will be turned “into rubble”.
His remarks came after Israeli officials said at least 250 Israelis died in Hamas attacks on Saturday, with more than 1,590 wounded.
At least 230 Palestinians have been killed and 1,610 wounded in Gaza by Israeli retaliation after the Hamas attack.
Netanyahu said the “first phase” of the counter-operation had ended, and that Israel had fought off the majority of Hamas militants inside its territory. He vowed to continue the offensive “without reservation and without respite”.
Israeli civilians and soldiers are held hostage in Gaza, a spokesperson for the Israeli defense forces confirmed. The spokesperson declined to specify the number of hostages, amid reports dozens were being detained. Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that an Israeli couple being held hostage in Ofakim had been rescued, with three soldiers “moderately and lightly wounded” and the hostage-takers killed.
The US president, Joe Biden, issued a staunch condemnation of the attacks by Hamas against Israel, saying in an address on Saturday “The United States stands with Israel”. He issued a statement earlier calling the attacks “horrific” and an “appalling assault.”
Hamas militants entered Israeli territory in the early hours of Saturday morning, appearing to take control of various communities in the south of the country. Fighting is still going on in some areas.
Hamas fired thousands of rockets towards Israel, according to Israeli authorities. The Hamas military commander, Mohammed Deif, said 5,000 had been fired, but an Israeli military spokesperson said 2,500 had been fired.
Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes, sending the area’s already crumbling medical infrastructure into chaos.
Netanyahu has offered a unity government after declaring a state of war. The move would bring Netanyahu and the opposition Yesh Atid leader, Yair Lapid, together during the national emergency.’
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas told US secretary of state Antony Blinken that “injustice” towards Palestinians is driving the conflict with Israel to an “explosion”, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The agency also reported Abbas received a phone call from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in which Abbas “emphasised that the current escalation in the region is a result of the political impasse” and a “denial of the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to self-determination”.
The UN security council is due to meet on Sunday. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, condemned the attack by Hamas and urged “all diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration”, UN spokesperson Steéphane Dujarric said in a statement.
The White House said that US and Israeli officials have been discussing Israel’s defence needs in the wake of Saturday’s Hamas attack and that an announcement of military aid could come “as early as tomorrow”.
Egypt is in talks with Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a bid to defuse Palestinian-Israeli tensions, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi discussed in a phone call with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell the need for international action to stop escalation in Gaza and “create a real political horizon to end the occupation”, the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the US about normalising relations with Israel, called on both sides to exercise restraint.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said the UK government stands in “full solidarity” with Israel against a “cowardly and depraved” attack.
The US does not have anything to suggest Iran was involved in “specific” Hamas attacks on Israel, a senior official said. The official also denied that Iran had any specific warning or indicator of the strike before it happened.
The UN peacekeeping force has been deployed along the Lebanon-Israel border to “maintain stability and help avoid escalation”.
The Metropolitan police in London said it is aware of a “number of incidents” related to the Israel conflict in parts of London, it has said in a statement. As a result, the force has increased policing patrols across parts of London.