Israel continues battling Hamas as fears of wider conflict grow. Follow live updates

Israeli troopers are battling Hamas fighters within the streets of southern Israel and launching airstrikes on Gaza, a day after an unprecedented shock assault by Hamas fighters.

In northern Israel a short alternate of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader battle. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel is “at conflict.”

Observe our dwell updates.

EXPLOSIONS AND AIRSTRIKES IN RAFAH

Within the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, residents heard a loud explosion, apparently from an Israeli airstrike that hit a goal near the borders with Egypt. It was not instantly clear what was focused. Residents stated a home within the space had been evacuated.

Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes in Rafah in a single day. One of many strikes hit three houses in one of the crowded refugee camps, Shaboura, killing 19 members of the identical household, in keeping with a member of the family who posted their names on his social media. Surviving members of the family and neighbors stuffed al-Farouk mosque, holding funeral prayers because the our bodies of these killed wrapped in white shrouds lined the ground. The group then marched to the close by cemetery for burial, some carrying the our bodies.

Additionally on Sunday, loudspeakers from mosques and transferring vehicles in Rafah blared with condolences and reward for fighters from Hamas, believed to be natives of Rafah, who have been killed through the assault on Israel.

THE POPE CALLS FOR THE VIOLENCE TO STOP

Pope Francis on Sunday expressed “apprehension and ache at what is occurring in Israel, the place violence is once more exploding even quicker, inflicting tons of of deaths and accidents.”

Chatting with the trustworthy in St. Peter’s Sq., the pope supplied prayers for the victims and their households “and for all those that are experiencing hours of terror and anguish.” The pontiff referred to as on the assaults by either side to cease. “Terrorism and conflict don’t carry options, solely loss of life. Struggle is a defeat. Each conflict is a defeat.”

ISLAMIC BLOC CONDEMNS ‘ISRAELI MILITARY AGGRESSION’

The world’s largest bloc of Muslim international locations has condemned what it refers to as “Israeli army aggression” amid ongoing preventing between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Saudi-based Group of Islamic Cooperation stated Sunday that it’s “significantly involved concerning the developments on the bottom and the harmful Israeli escalation within the occupied Palestinian territory.”

The 57-member bloc went on to sentence “the Israeli army aggression that led to the autumn of tons of of martyrs and wounded among the many Palestinian individuals.”

The most recent spherical of violence started with an unprecedented shock assault during which Hamas militants raced into Israel, killing tons of of individuals and taking captives again to Gaza.

Israel responded by dashing troops to the border space and launching airstrikes throughout the blockaded territory. Palestinian officers say greater than 300 Gazans have been killed.

HEZBOLLAH REPLACE DESTROYED TENT THAT HAD LED TO TENSIONS

Lebanon’s state-run Nationwide Information Company says Hezbollah fighters have arrange a tent in a disputed space alongside the nation’s tense southern border hours after an Israeli drone destroyed one other one in the identical place.

Hezbollah initially erected the tent over the summer time in a disputed space alongside Lebanon’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that Lebanon claims is Lebanese territory.

That has led to tensions with Israel over the previous months and the UN has been working to steer Hezbollah to take away the tent.

Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells at three Israeli positions within the disputed space of Chebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills and Israel’s army fired again utilizing armed drones.

ROMANIA REPATRIATES HUNDREDS OF CITIZENS AND OTHER FOREIGNERS

Romania’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs says that 346 Romanian residents and different foreigners have been repatriated from Israel in a single day on two separate flights.

The ministry stated Sunday {that a} cell consular crew was despatched to Ben Gurion Airport from the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv and Romania’s consultant workplace in Ramallah to supply consular help.

On Saturday, the ministry “strongly condemned” Hamas’ rocket assaults towards Israel, “together with towards the civilian inhabitants, terrorist infiltrations and hostage-taking.” It stated Israel has a sovereign proper to defend itself.

MEDIA REPORTS: EGYPTIAN POLICEMAN OPENS FIRE ON ISRAELI TOURISTS

An Egyptian policeman opened hearth on Israeli vacationers Sunday within the Mediterranean metropolis of Alexandria, killing at the least two Israelis and one Egyptian, native media reported.

Additional Information tv channel, which has shut ties to Egyptian safety companies, quoted an unidentified safety official as saying that one other individual was injured within the assault which befell within the Pompey’s Pillar vacationer website in Alexandria. The suspected assailant was detained, it reported.

Israel’s Zaka rescue service reported two individuals killed in Alexandria.

CHINA CALLS FOR THE CREATION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE

China’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs stated the nation is “deeply involved over the present escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.”

“The recurrence of the battle exhibits as soon as once more that the protracted standstill of the peace course of can’t go on,” the assertion stated. “The elemental means out of the battle lies in implementing the two-state answer and establishing an impartial State of Palestine.”

The Chinese language overseas ministry stated China would proceed to work with the worldwide neighborhood to discover a technique to result in peace, and urged the neighborhood to behave with better urgency and assist “facilitate early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel.”

EGYPT INTERVENES OVER ISRAELI HOSTAGES

An Egyptian official says Israel has sought assist from Cairo to make sure the security of kidnapped Israelis, and Egypt’s intelligence chief had contacted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group to hunt info.

In response to the official, Palestinian leaders claimed that they don’t but have a “full image” of hostages, however stated those that have been delivered to Gaza have been taken to “safe places” throughout the territory.

“It’s clear that they’ve a giant quantity — a number of dozens,” stated the official, who requested to not be recognized as a result of he was not licensed to transient media.

Egyptian intelligence additionally spoke with either side a few potential cease-fire, he added, however Israel was not open to a truce “at this stage.”

— By Sam Magdy in Cairo.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS HUNDREDS OF HAMAS MILITANTS HAVE BEEN KILLED

An Israeli army official says “tons of of terrorists” have been killed and dozens captured in preventing with Hamas militants in Gaza and southern Israel.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari spoke to reporters on Sunday, greater than 24 hours after the Palestinian militant group launched an unprecedented assault into Israel, killing tons of of individuals, firing hundreds of rockets and taking captives again into blockaded Gaza.

Israel is battling militants within the south and launching airstrikes throughout Gaza which have levelled buildings.

UN PEACEKEEPERS CALL FOR RESTRAINT AFTER ROCKETS FIRED FROM LEBANON

A UN peacekeeping drive deployed alongside Lebanon’s southern border referred to as for “everybody to train restraint” and make use of the drive’s “liaison and coordination mechanisms to de-escalate” and stop a quick deterioration of the safety state of affairs. It stated it had detected a number of rockets fired from southeast Lebanon towards “Israeli-occupied territory,” adopted by artillery hearth from Israel towards Lebanon.

The assertion got here shortly after Hezbollah stated it fired at Israeli positions within the disputed Chebaa Farms alongside the border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The drive often known as UNIFIL stated it’s involved with authorities on either side of the border in any respect ranges “to include the state of affairs and keep away from a extra critical escalation.”

HEZBOLLAH ATTACKS ISRAELI POSITIONS IN GOLAN HEIGHTS

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group fired dozens of rockets and shells on Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed space alongside the nation’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Hezbollah stated in a press release that the assault utilizing “giant numbers of rockets and shells” was in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.” It stated the Israeli positions have been immediately hit.

Israel’s army fired again on the Lebanese areas, however there was no fast phrase on casualties.

AT LEAST 26 ISRAELI SOLDIERS DIE IN HAMAS ATTACK IN COUNTRY’S SOUTH

Not less than 26 Israeli troopers have been killed in an assault by the Hamas militant group on the nation’s south, Israel’s army stated Sunday.

The determine is a part of a loss of life toll of greater than 250 individuals within the deadliest assault towards Israelis in a long time.

ISRAELI MILITARY SAYS 2 HOSTAGE SITUATIONS ‘RESOLVED’

An Israeli army spokesperson stated Sunday morning that two hostage conditions had been “resolved,” however didn’t say whether or not all of the hostages had been rescued alive.

Hamas militants had taken hostages throughout their shock assault on Saturday as Israel’s army scrambled to muster a response. Gun battles continued properly after dusk, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two cities. Militants occupied a police station in a 3rd city, the place Israeli forces struggled till Sunday morning to lastly reclaim the constructing.

On Sunday, Israel was preventing Hamas incursions in eight locations, the Israeli army stated.

MILITANTS FIRE MORE ROCKETS FROM GAZA

Earlier than dawn on Sunday, militants fired extra rockets from Gaza, hitting a hospital within the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. The hospital sustained harm, stated senior hospital official Tal Bergman.

Video supplied by Barzilai Medical Middle confirmed a big gap punched right into a wall and chunks of particles scattered on the bottom of what seemed to be an empty room and a hallway. There was no report of casualties.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza had intensified after dusk, flattening residential buildings in large explosions, together with a 14-storey tower that held dozens of flats in addition to Hamas workplaces in central Gaza Metropolis. Israeli forces fired a warning simply earlier than.

Round 3 a.m., a loudspeaker atop a mosque in Gaza Metropolis blared a stark warning to residents of close by residence buildings: Evacuate instantly. Simply minutes later, an Israeli airstrike diminished one close by five-storey constructing to ashes.

After one Israeli strike, a Hamas rocket barrage hit 4 cities, together with Tel Aviv and a close-by suburb. All through the day, Hamas fired greater than 3,500 rockets, the Israeli army stated.

1 CAMBODIAN AND 1 THAI KILLED IN FIGHTING IN ISRAEL

A Cambodian scholar and a Thai nationwide died within the violence in Israel, their governments stated on Sunday.

Thailand’s Overseas Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara stated he additionally acquired reviews that eight Thais have been injured and 11 have been kidnapped through the assault by Hamas militants. Thai authorities have been working to confirm the knowledge with Israeli authorities, he added. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has put the nation’s air drive on standby to evacuate its residents if wanted. Hundreds of Thai residents work in Israel, a lot of them within the agriculture sector.

Cambodia has some 450 college students in Israel, a press release from its Overseas Ministry stated.

NETANYAHU SAYS ISRAEL WILL CUT OFF SUPPLIES TO GAZA

Israel will cease supplying electrical energy, gasoline and items to Gaza, in keeping with a press release from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace Saturday evening. A lot of Gaza was already thrown into darkness by dusk after electrical provides from Israel, which provides virtually the entire territories’ energy, have been minimize off earlier within the day.

Netanyahu additionally stated the “first section” of the counter operation had ended, and that Israel had fought off the vast majority of Hamas militants.

He vowed to proceed the offensive “with out reservation and with out respite.”

The announcement got here after a shock assault by Hamas militants into Israel on Saturday morning.

AIRLINES SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL

Airways cancelled greater than 80 flights to and from Tel Aviv by Saturday night — roughly 14 per cent of all flights scheduled — due to the unprecedented assault in Israel by the militant group Hamas, in keeping with FlightAware.

Delta Air Traces and American Airways cancelled flights Saturday evening and Sunday evening from New York’s JFK Airport to Tel Aviv, though a Delta return flight was in a position to depart Tel Aviv Saturday evening. United Airways additionally cancelled a Saturday flight from San Francisco. An earlier United flight rotated over Greenland and returned to San Francisco.

German service Lufthansa cancelled a number of flights between Frankfurt and Tel Aviv.

ISRAELI DEATH TOLL RISES TO AT LEAST 250

Israeli media, citing rescue service officers, stated at the least 250 individuals have been killed and 1,500 wounded, making Saturday’s shock early morning assault by Hamas the deadliest assault in Israel in a long time. Not less than 232 individuals within the Gaza Strip have been killed and at the least 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Well being Ministry stated.

Hamas fighters took an unknown variety of civilians and troopers captive into Gaza, a deeply delicate problem for Israel, in harrowing scenes posted on social media movies.

Amongst these killed in Israel was Lt. Col. Jonathan Steinberg, a senior officer who commanded the army’s Nahal Brigade, a distinguished infantry unit.