Hamas leader Haniyeh says Israel can't provide protection for Arab countries

Reuters
Sat, October 7, 2023 

FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran


(Reuters) -Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, told fellow Arab countries on Saturday that Israel cannot provide them with any protection despite recent diplomatic rapprochements.

Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israelin years on Saturday, killing dozens of people and taking hostages in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into Israel with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

In a televised speech, Haniyeh addressed the Arab countries that have normalised ties with Israel in recent years.

"We say to all countries, including our Arab brothers, that this entity, which cannot protect itself in the face of resistors, cannot provide you with any protection," he said.

"All the normalization agreements that you signed with that entity cannot resolve this (Palestinian) conflict."

In 2020, Israel reached normalisation with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and upgraded ties with Morocco and Sudan, despite talks with the Palestinians being frozen for years.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Israel are also engaged in U.S.-mediated talks to normalise relations, a prospect that drew condemnation from some Palestinian factions.

Haniyeh also said armed Palestinian factions intend to expand the ongoing battle in Gaza to the West Bank and Jerusalem. "The battle moved into the heart of the 'zionist entity'" he said.

(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Surprise Attack on Weakened Israel Imperils Regional Geopolitics

Ethan Bronner and Gwen Ackerman
Sat, October 7, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. MDT·5 min read

Surprise Attack on Weakened Israel Imperils Regional Geopolitics


(Bloomberg) -- A surprise multifront attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas will likely lead to a massive military retaliation on Gaza and possibly to a wider conflagration with repercussions beyond the Middle East.

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The flare-up — involving infiltrations, capture of soldiers and civilians, and thousands of rockets — comes at a time of enormous diplomatic sensitivity and a moment of weakness for Israel that analysts have been warning its enemies might seek to exploit.

The country is in negotiations with the US and Saudi Arabia on a complex three-way deal in which Washington would offer security guarantees to Riyadh. The Saudis, for their part, would normalize relations with Israel. Israel has also been talking with Turkey and others about gas exports to Europe along with corridors for trade from Asia.

Internally, Israel has been embroiled in political turmoil that left it vulnerable. Last April, the nation found itself briefly engaged on three fronts simultaneously — Gaza, Lebanon and Syria — after rocket fire came from all three. Part of the trigger was that Israeli Jews entered the grounds of the al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. This past week, that too occurred.

“I can’t exclude a multi arena war that will cause a very very severe threat to the state of Israel,” Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser in Israel, said in a briefing with journalists. He added, though, that Israel prefers to fight one enemy at a time and would not be quick to open another front.

Israel Latest: PM Says Nation Is at War After Deadly Incursion

Israeli officials have been saying for months that Palestinian militant groups, guided and funded by Iran, were preparing for violence and that Israel was ready to strike back. That said, Saturday’s attack on the Sabbath and Jewish holiday caught the country distinctly by surprise, adding to a sense of injury that could feed its response.

Nation at War

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the focus of the weekly anti-government demonstrations, will likely find a moment of national unity after the attack, leading opposition politicians to back a strong response. The protest that was due to take place on Saturday night was called off.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement. “Not in an operation. Not some back-and-forth. At war.” He added: “The enemy will pay a price it has never known.”

The conflict could further weigh on Israeli financial markets, which have been roiled this year due to mass protests against a government plan to weaken the power of judges. The shekel is down almost 9% against the dollar, one of the worst performances among major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, while investment in Israel’s tech sector has plunged.

The last major Israeli military operation against Hamas in Gaza was in 2014. It lasted for seven weeks and killed more than 2,000 Palestinians there along with dozens of Israelis.

West Bank Risk

Part of the Saudi deal is expected to involve Israeli concessions in the West Bank to strengthen the Palestinian Authority and add to the possibility of an independent Palestinian state. That arrangement will be in jeopardy should the latest fighting lead Israel to extend its operation into the West Bank.

Saudi Arabia wants US protection assurances partly because of its own concerns about Iran. If Iran is shown to be playing a key role in Saturday’s attack on Israel, that could affect those negotiations.

In the current fighting, 40 deaths have been confirmed in Israel as have hundreds of wounded. Thousands of Israeli reservists have been called up. In Gaza, the Hamas health ministry said Israeli retaliatory strikes had injured more than 500 who’d been taken to hospital.

Hours after the infiltrations began, Israeli soldiers were still in live-fire confrontations in half a dozen towns in the south and at least one military base. Hamas operatives seemed to have taken over a collective farm inside Israel, taking Israelis captive.

Adding to the pressure on Netanyahu, the attack is being widely described as the worst lapse of Israeli defense since Syria and Egypt launched an unexpected war on the country 50 years ago.

“This appears to be a colossal intelligence failure by the Israeli establishment,” said Jonathan Conricus, a former Israeli military spokesman. “What we are seeing indicates long and meticulous planning that should have been picked up. Very tough questions are being asked and hard answers will have to be given.”

Iran Question

Conricus blamed Iran, at least indirectly, for being behind the attack and speculated that the Israeli response could spread beyond Gaza.

The military is ramping up its defenses near the border with Lebanon where Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah operates and is also paying close attention to developments in the occupied West Bank.

Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said the infiltrators came via road, sea and air and that the surprise of the operation would be investigated.

The issue now is how the confrontation escalates, said Miri Eisen, a retired colonel who worked in military intelligence and now runs a counter-terrorism institute at Reichman University in Israel. Whether this will lead to a bigger war “is the $64,000 question,” she said. “If Iran has a finger in this, do we now preempt against the next stage?”

--With assistance from Galit Altstein and Paul Wallace.

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THE EMPIRE

Israel Strikes Back at Hamas With Operation ‘Swords of Iron’

Mathew Murphy, Kelly Weill
Sat, October 7, 2023 

AMIR COHEN

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 198 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 1600 wounded amid Israeli retaliation following Hamas attack.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it is launching ‘Operation Swords of Iron’ to strike back.

“Dozens of [Israeli military] fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli military said.


On Saturday night, local time, Israel's infrastructure minister announced that he has ordered the Gaza Strip's electricity to be cut.

Earlier, Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from air, land and sea, firing thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip early Saturday and killing at least 70 people.

“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”

“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, saying Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

The Israeli military said it had killed hundreds of Palestinian militants in southern communities along the Gaza border since Saturday morning.

The initial attack by Hamas caught Israel off-guard coming on Simchat Torah, a religious holiday and 50 years to the day since the 1973 Mideast war.

Smoke is seen in the Rehovot area as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip.
ILAN ROSENBERG

Hamas fired over 2,000 rockets toward Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, and claimed to have captured several Israeli soldiers. One resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz told the country’s Channel 12 television station that militants were trying to break into their homes.

Israel’s health ministry said at least 779 wounded have arrived in hospitals so far. At least 198 Palestinians were killed in Gaza on Saturday, with 1,610 injured, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said.


Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it was behind the operation it dubbed “Al-Aqsa Flood.”

“Enough is enough,” Mohammed Deif, the leader of the group's military wing, said in a recorded message.

“If you have a gun, get it out. This is the time to use it—get out with trucks, cars, axes. Today the best and most honorable history starts,” he said, according to CNN.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned in a televised address that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”

The Israel Defense Forces have released video of what it says are retaliatory airstrikes on Hamas in Gaza.

“Since this morning, the State of Israel has been at war,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of a political-security cabinet meeting. “Our first goal is first of all to cleanse the area of the enemy forces that have infiltrated and restore security and peace to the towns that were attacked. The second goal, at the same time, is to exact a huge price from the enemy, also in the Gaza Strip. The third goal is to fortify other arenas so that no one makes the mistake of joining this war. We are at war, in war you have to keep calm. I call on all citizens of Israel to unite, to achieve our highest goal—victory in the war.”

People react near a fire after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel.
AMIR COHEN

Hamas fighters have taken hostages in Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel’s south, according to Haaretz. A resident told there told Haaretz that he and his family have been hiding in bomb shelter since Saturday morning.

President Joe Biden issued a statement condemning the “terrorist attacks in Israel,” saying he told Netanyahu that the U.S. stands ready “to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel.”

“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people. The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” he said.

Biden added that he and his wife Jill were “keeping in our prayers all of the families who have been hurt by this violence. We are heartbroken by the lives that have been tragically cut short and hope for a swift recovery for all those who have been wounded.”

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said Saturday that he is willing to establish an emergency government with Prime Minister Netanyahu to “oversee the difficult, complex and protracted campaign which lies before us.”

“In the current state of emergency, I am right to put aside differences, to establish with him a professional, limited emergency government, which will oversee the difficult, complex and protracted campaign which lies before us,” he said.

The attack comes amid surging violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the West Bank, which is part of the territories where Palestinians have long tried to establish a state.

An injured soldier is brought into Tel Aviv's Surasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
AMIR LEVY

Commentators remarked on surprise nature of the attack, which escaped notice of Israeli intelligence.

Olga Glikstein, a political analyst based in Tel Aviv, said people were shocked by the news. “Everybody is talking about how Netanyahu missed the invasion, where was our security, our intelligence?” she said.

After sleeping through air raid sirens on Friday night, she heard a big boom at 2 p.m. “This is very serious. Iran, Saudi, Turkey and many other players in the Muslim world are suspected of helping Hamas. Israel, which was too relaxed during the Shabbat, is now going to demonstrate a massive retaliation. But the questions to Netanyahu will remain,” she said.

The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah congratulated Palestinian fighters for the attack, saying the operation was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalization with Israel.”

The Daily Beast.

Israel vows 'mighty vengeance' after deadliest day for 50 years

Hamas' surprise attack came on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

Hamas gunmen enter Israel in unprecedented attack

*

At least 200 Israelis reported dead, more than 1,000 wounded

*

Hamas says it has taken many Israeli captives

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Israel says Hamas has launched 'cruel and wicked war'

*

At least 230 killed in Israeli retaliation on Gaza

By Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ammar Awad

JERUSALEM/GAZA/SDEROT Oct 7 (Reuters) - Gunmen from the Palestinian group Hamas rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday, killing more than 200 people and escaping with hostages in by far the deadliest day of violence in Israel since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago.

More than 230 Gazans were also killed when Israel responded with one of its most devastating days of retaliatory strikes.

"We will take mighty vengeance for this black day," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"Hamas launched a cruel and wicked war. We will win this war but the price is too heavy to bear," he said. "Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders mothers and children in their homes, in their beds. An enemy that abducts elderly, children, teenage girls."

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the assault that had begun in Gaza would spread to the West Bank and Jerusalem.

"This was the morning of defeat and humiliation upon our enemy, its soldiers and its settlers," he said in a speech. "What happened reveals the greatness of our preparation. What happened today reveals the weakness of the enemy."

Bodies of Israeli civilians were strewn across the streets of Sderot in southern Israel, near Gaza, surrounded by broken glass. The bodies of a woman and a man were sprawled across the front seats of a car.

"I went out, I saw loads of bodies of terrorists, civilians, cars shot up. A sea of bodies, inside Sderot along the road, other places, loads of bodies," said Shlomi from Sderot.

Terrified Israelis, barricaded into safe rooms, recounted their plight by phone on live TV.

"They just came in again, please send help," a woman identified as Dorin told Israel's N12 News from Nir Oz, a kibbutz near Gaza. "My husband is holding the door closed ... They are firing rounds of bullets."

Esther Borochov, who fled a dance rave party attacked by the gunmen, told Reuters she survived by playing dead in a car after the driver trying to help her escape was shot point blank.

"I couldn't move my legs," she told Reuters at the hospital. "Soldiers came and took us away to the bushes."

In Gaza, black smoke and orange flames billowed into the evening sky from a high rise tower hit by an Israeli retaliatory strike. Crowds of mourners carried the bodies of freshly killed militants through the streets, wrapped in green Hamas flags.

Gaza's dead and wounded were carried into crumbling and overcrowded hospitals with severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment. The health ministry said 232 people had been killed and at least 1,700 wounded.

Streets were deserted apart from ambulances racing to the scenes of air strikes. Israel cut the power, plunging the city into darkness.

BIDEN OFFERS SUPPORT TO NETANYAHU

Western countries, led by the United States, denounced the Palestinian attack and pledged support for Israel.

At the White House, President Joe Biden said Israel had the right to defend itself "full stop".

"We will never not have her back."

Across the Middle East, there were demonstrations in support of Hamas, with Israeli and U.S. flags set on fire and marchers waving Palestinian flags in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

The Hamas attack was openly praised by Iran and by Hezbollah, Iran's Lebanese allies.

By nightfall on Saturday in southern Israel, residents had yet to be given the all-clear to leave the shelters where they had hidden from the gunmen since the early hours.

"It’s not over because the (army) hasn’t said the kibbutz is clear of terrorists," Dani Rahamim told Reuters by telephone from the shelter where he was still hiding in Nahal Oz, close to the Gaza fence. Gunfire had subsided but regular explosions could still be heard.

Hamas said it fired a fresh volley of 150 rockets towards Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in retaliation for an Israeli air strike that took down a high rise building with more than 100 apartments.

Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri told Al Jazeera that the group was holding a big number of Israeli captives, including senior officials. He said Hamas had enough captives to make Israel free all Palestinians in its jails.

The Israeli military confirmed Israelis were being held in Gaza. A military spokesman said Israel could mobilise up to hundreds of thousands of reservists and was also prepared for war on its northern front against Lebanon's Hezbollah group.

Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction, said the attack was driven by what it said were Israel's escalated attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem and against Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

"This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth," Hamas military commander Mohammad Deif said, announcing the start of the operation in a broadcast on Hamas media and calling on Palestinians everywhere to fight.

Gaza has been devastated by four wars and countless skirmishes between Hamas and Israel since the militants seized control of the strip in 2007. But the scenes of violence inside Israel itself were beyond anything seen there even at the height of the Palestinian Intifada uprisings of past decades.

That Israel was caught completely off guard was lamented as one of the worst intelligence failures in its history, a shock to a nation that boasts of its intensive infiltration and monitoring of militants.

In Gaza, a narrow strip where 2.3 million Palestinians have lived under an Israeli blockade for 16 years, residents rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of war ahead. Some evacuated their homes and headed for shelters.

Scores of Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes at the border into Israel, where fighters captured the crossing point and tore down fences. Some of those dead were civilians, among crowds that attempted to cross into Israel through the damaged gates.

"We are afraid," a Palestinian woman, Amal Abu Daqqa, told Reuters as she left her house in Khan Younis.

BACKDROP OF SURGING VIOLENCE

The escalation comes against a backdrop of surging violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Israeli occupied West Bank, where a Palestinian authority exercises limited self-rule, opposed by Hamas that wants Israel destroyed.

In the West Bank, there were clashes in several locations on Saturday, with stone throwing youths confronting Israeli troops. Four Palestinians including a 13-year-old boy were killed. Palestinian factions called a general strike for Sunday.

Israel itself has been experiencing internal political upheaval, with the most right-wing government in its history attempting to overhaul the judiciary.

Meanwhile, Washington has been trying to strike a deal that would normalise ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, seen by Israelis as the biggest prize yet in their decades-long for Arab recognition. Palestinians fear any such deal could sell out their future dreams of an independent state.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Ammar Anwar in Sderot Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar, Emily Rose and Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by James Mackenzie, Tom Perry, Michael Georgy and Peter Graff; Editing by William Mallard, Robert Birsel, Alex Richardson and Nick Macfie)

Israeli officials are calling on armed civilians to stand guard following Hamas attacks

Jordan Parker Erb
Sat, October 7, 2023


Tour guide Ziv Cohen stands guard in his town, Mazkeret Batya, where some homes were hit by rockets.Ziv Cohen

Israeli officials called on armed civilians to guard their towns following attacks by Hamas.


Hamas launched an attack from Gaza on Saturday. Israel has since declared a "state of war."


Ziv Cohen, a tour guide from Mazkeret Batya, is one of the civilians who volunteered to stand guard.

Ziv Cohen woke up at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday to the rumble of someone moving furniture in the apartment above him.

"Then, suddenly, after it continued again and again, it came to my head that I'm on the top floor," Cohen told Insider. "There is no one above me to move a chair. It was an attack."

Cohen, 54, was actually hearing "barrages of rockets" launched early Saturday by Hamas, the political and military organization governing the Gaza Strip that the United States designates a terrorist organization. The attack has so far killed 150 people and wounded hundreds more.

In the following hours, Israel officially declared "a state of war," launching air strikes on densely populated Gaza in response. Israel has held Gaza under a severe blockade since Hamas gained power in 2007, restricting the movement of goods and people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 200 have so far been killed in Gaza.

Local municipalities in Israel are now calling on armed civilians to guard their own communities.

Cohen, a tour guide from Mazkeret Batya, a small town about 24 miles from Gaza, is one of them.

A home in Mazkeret Batya that was hit by rockets on Saturday.Ziv Cohen

Cohen told Insider that officials from Mazkeret Batya, close enough to Gaza to be targeted by this morning's rockets, called for all civilians who are armed and willing to volunteer to do so.

"They said everyone who has a licensed weapon with him is being called to join the group that is guarding and watching the community," Cohen said. "Israel is in a war. We have to protect ourselves in every house, in every home, in every town."

Cohen, who has a pistol, volunteered to stand guard at one of the town's entrances.

Cohen said he's stationed at one of the town's main gates for his three-hour shift, which will stretch into Saturday night. There, he parked his car — a minivan, which on a typical day he'd use to guide tourists around Jerusalem and nearby historical sites — in the road, creating a blockade to slow down traffic.

He said his team's responsibility would be to speak with drivers and inspect their cars as they come into town.

Though the rockets struck homes and cars in his neighborhood this morning, Cohen said he wasn't nervous to stand guard. He said the job comes with an inherent risk, "but this is something that you don't think about. You make your duty, and everything has a risk in life."



Hamas' surprise attack came on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

"Citizens of Israel, we are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video address. "This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours."

Iran says attack on Israel is Palestinian 'self-defence'

JUST AS ISRAEL DOES IN ATTACKS ON GAZA

Reuters
Updated Sat, October 7, 2023 

Israeli soldiers work to secure residential areas following a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot   WEARING  IMPERIAL HELMETS FROM STAR WARS


DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's foreign ministry said attacks by its ally Hamas on Israel on Saturday were an act of self-defence by Palestinians, and called on Muslim countries to support their rights.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas took Israel by surprise with the biggest attack in decades by gunmen who killed scores of people and brought hostages back into the Gaza Strip.

"This operation ... is the spontaneous movement of resistance groups and Palestine's oppressed people in defence of their inalienable rights and their natural reaction to the Zionists' warmongering and provocative policies," Iranian state media quoted ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani as saying.

"Iran considers that the Zionist occupier regime and its well-known supporters are responsible ... for the violence and killing against Palestinians and calls on Islamic countries to support ...the rights of the Palestinian people," Kanaani said.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said in a statement: "This victorious operation will certainly expedite the collapse of the Zionist regime and promises its imminent annihilation," the semi-official news agency Fars reported.

Iran's Nournews, affiliated with a top security body, said the attacks "showed that, contrary to its claims of intelligence-security dominance over the resistance, Israel could not predict their operations, and that its Iron Dome was nothing but a dome of straw above a sand castle".

Government spokesperson Ali Bahadori-Jahromi told state media that the attacks "proved that the Zionist regime is more vulnerable than ever and that the initiative is in the hands of Palestinian youth".

Videos carried by state television showed people gathered at Tehran's Palestine Square to welcome the news of the attack, chanting "Death to Israel" and setting off fireworks. TV footage also showed scenes of jubilation in a number of cities across Iran.

Yahya Rahim Safavi, a former Revolutionary Guards commander who is now an adviser to Khamenei, earlier said: "We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem."

State television showed parliament members rising from their seats on Saturday to chant "Death to Israel" and "Palestine is victorious, Israel will be destroyed".

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by Jan Harvey, Clelia Oziel and Nick Macfie)

Factbox-World reacts to surprise attack by Hamas on Israel









Reuters
Updated Sat, October 7, 2023 

(Reuters) - The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday.

Here is some global reaction.

UNITED STATES

"There is never any justification for terrorism. We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel, and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: "Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism."

UNITED NATIONS

U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland said: "This is a dangerous precipice, and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink."

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tuerk said:

"This attack is having a horrific impact on Israeli civilians ... Civilians must never be the target of attack."

PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS

The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the "terror of settlers and occupation troops", the official news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as saying.

IRAN

An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday congratulated Palestinian fighters, the semi-official ISNA news site reported. "We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem," it quoted Yahya Rahim Safavi as saying.

Iran's state television showed parliament members rising from their seats to chant "Death to Israel".

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani spokesperson was quoted by ISNA as saying: "In this operation, the element of surprise and other combined methods were used, which show the Palestinian people's confidence in the face of the occupiers."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR OLAF SCHOLZ

"Terrifying news reaches us today from #Israel. We are deeply shocked by the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalating violence. Germany condemns these attacks by Hamas and stands by Israel," Scholz said on social media.

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

Macron strongly condemned the attacks.

"I express my full solidarity with the victims, and their families and those close to them," he said.

SAUDI ARABIA

The foreign ministry called for an "immediate cessation of violence".

EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Egypt warned of "grave consequences" and called for "exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger".

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

"Canada strongly condemns the current terrorist attacks against Israel. These acts of violence are completely unacceptable. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to defend itself. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this. Civilian life must be protected," he said on X.

BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER JAMES CLEVERLY

"The UK unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians. The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself," Cleverly said.

EUROPEAN UNION

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said: "I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel. It is terrorism in its most despicable form."

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: "We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing."

TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN

"We call for restraint from all parties," Erdogan said.

QATAR

The foreign ministry said Israel alone was responsible for the ongoing escalation of violence with the Palestinian people, and called for both sides to show restraint.

RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MIKHAIL BOGDANOV

Russia is in contact with Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries in connection with the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bogdanov said, urging restraint.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY

Zelenskiy condemned what he called a "terror attack" on Israel and said Israel's right to defend itself "cannot be doubted".

HEZBOLLAH

The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an arch foe of Israel, said it was in "direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance" and described events as a "decisive response to Israel's continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel".

POLISH PRESIDENT ANDRZEJ DUDA

"I'm shocked by today's brutal attacks on Israel by Hamas. Rockets attacks and detention of civilians as hostages arouse our deepest opposition. Poland strongly condemns all acts of violence," Duda said.

CZECH PRESIDENT PETR PAVEL

"The attack conducted from the Gaza Strip is a deplorable act of terrorism against the State of Israel and the civilian population," Pavel said in a statement

"The rocket attacks and the infiltration of Hamas commandos into Israel will block any efforts for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for a long time."

ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

"A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was held today on the dramatic situation unfolding in Israel, which has been the target of a military and terrorist attack," a statement said. "The government is following the evolution of the situation with concern ... Particular attention is being paid to the security of the Jewish community in the country."

KUWAIT

Kuwait expressed its "grave concern" over developments between Israel and the Palestinians, blaming Israel for what it called its "blatant attacks".

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

"The UAE calls for the exercise of maximum restraint and an immediate ceasefire to avoid serious repercussions," the official news agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

JAPAN

Japan strongly condemns rocket launches and cross-border attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups into Israeli territory, the foreign ministry said.

KENYA

"We repudiate the planners, funders and implementers of this heinous attack. While Israel has a right to retaliate, a peaceful path to resolving this unfortunate development is urged," Korir Sing'oei, principal secretary at Kenya's foreign ministry, said on X.

UGANDA

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda said: "The break out of renewed violence in Israel- Palestine is regrettable. Why don’t the two sides implement the two States’ Solution? To be condemned, in particular, is the practice of targeting civilians and non- combatants by the belligerents."

(Compiled by Reuters bureaux; Editing by Jan Harvey, Andrew Cawthorne and Ros Russell)

THAT'S A FIRST!

'You don't speak for Canada': Internet reacts as Trudeau says 'we stand with Israel'

The Canadian prime minister called Saturday's Hamas attacks on Israel "completely unacceptable."

Chris Stoodley
·Lifestyle and News Editor
Sat, October 7, 2023 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he "strongly condemns" Saturday's deadly attack in Israel by Hamas militants, leaving people on social media conflicted about his stance.

On Saturday morning, the Liberal Party leader shared a post on X — formerly known as Twitter — indicating that "civilian life must be protected" after a surprise attack out of Gaza stunned Israel and left hundreds of people dead.

"Canada strongly condemns the current terrorist attacks against Israel," Trudeau penned in his post, which has since been viewed more than 1.3 million times. "These acts of violence are completely unacceptable. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to defend itself."

However, people on the social media platform were divided in their response Trudeau's post. Some people applauded the Canadian leader for his stance and showed their support.

Others on X criticized Trudeau's message, with some questioning the lack of support for Palestine and others expressing dismay over Canada's other international support.

Early Saturday morning, a surprise attack by Hamas militants saw thousands of rockets and dozens of fighters sent into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip. The unprecedented incursion came on a major Jewish holiday, leaving dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

As of Saturday afternoon, at least 200 people were killed and 1,100 injured, according to Israel's national rescue service. This makes it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades.

At least 198 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we are at war" during a televised address, adding that it's "not an 'operation,' not a 'round,' but at war," and that "the enemy will pay an unprecedented price."

Both Israel's national rescue service and the Palestinian Health Ministry have said hundreds of people have died, following an unprecedented attack by the Hamas militant group and a retaliation by Israel. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Other politicians have shown their support for Israel following the attacks, including United States President Joe Biden.

In a call with Netanyahu, Biden said the U.S. stands "ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House.

"Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people," Biden said in a statement that also warned "any other party hostile to Israel" against "seeking advantage in this situation."

Canadian politicians condemn deadly surprise Hamas attack on Israel

The Canadian Press
Sat, October 7, 2023 



Canadian politicians condemned an unprecedented Saturday attack Hamas militants waged on Israel that is being called the deadliest in the country in years.

Hours after the militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters to infiltrate the heavily fortified border by air, land and sea, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada strongly condemns the attacks and called for civilian life to be protected.

"These acts of violence are completely unacceptable. We stand with Israel and fully support its right to defend itself," Trudeau wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

At least 70 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured, Israel's national rescue service said Saturday. The Israeli military struck targets in Gaza in response to some 2,500 rockets that sent air raid sirens wailing constantly as far north as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some 80 kilometres away.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 198 people have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in the territory in Israel's retaliation after the attack which caught the country off guard on a major Jewish holiday.

The attacks pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare the country is now at "at war" in a televised address, where he announced a mass army mobilization and vowed to inflict an "unprecedented price."

His declaration and the overseas violence were being watched in Canadian, where some police forces upped their presence at mosques and synagogues and politicians called for peace.

"I unequivocally condemn the invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists and the sadistic violence they have subsequently carried out against innocent civilians," said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, said in a statement. "Canadians pledge their solidarity with all the victims."

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly posted on X condemning "the multi-front terror attack," as did NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who called for hostages to be immediately released.

"We fear what the coming days will bring. Terrorism and violence solve nothing," Singh said.

It's unclear how many Canadians may be in the region.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment, citing the evolving situation.

However, the organization's website urged Canadians travelling to the region to exercise "a high degree of caution" in Israel and avoid all travel to the Gaza Strip and the country's borders with Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Non-essential travel to the West Bank and Gaza Strip border was also discouraged.

Global Affairs urged anyone in the affected areas to limit their movements, remain "extremely cautious" and shelter in place until it is safe to leave the area.

It said the Canadian government's ability to provide consular services to Canadians in the Gaza Strip is "limited" and in cases of deportation, local authorities are not obliged to notify the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv nor the Representative Office of Canada in Ramallah.

"As a result, Canadian officials may not be able to provide you with consular assistance."

Meanwhile, advocacy organization Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East urged the Canadian government to support calls for a ceasefire and a negotiated resolution following the escalating violence.

"Canada must call on all parties to implement a ceasefire, including an immediate end to the brutal daily violence of Israel's military occupation and apartheid practices," said Thomas Woodley, CJPME president, in a statement.

The Trudeau government has opposed efforts for Palestinian justice through non-violence, the organization said, whether through the movement to boycott Israel, the United Nations General Assembly or international courts.

"Violence is an inevitable response when all avenues for peaceful, nonviolent, or diplomatic protest against oppression have been denied," said Woodley.

Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador-designate to Canada, said in a statement that the attack proves Hamas has no interest in the safety of citizens of the Gaza Strip, seeing them as "nothing more than a pawns in its efforts to harm the citizens of Israel."

"On a holy day when the Jewish people should be peacefully coming together in a synagogue to celebrate the Torah, hundreds of Israelis are hiding for their lives while hundreds of thousands remain in shelter and Israel finds itself in a state of war.

Ottawa police said Saturday they would have an increased presence at areas or religious significance, including mosques and synagogues, as a result of the attack and its impact on the local community. Toronto's police chief, Myron Demkiw, said the force is not aware of any threats to Jewish communities in the city, but said they would also increase their presence to ensure the safety of residents.

Hamas militants were still fighting gun battles inside several Israeli communities hours after the incursion began. An unknown number of Israeli solider and civilians were also seized and taken into Gaza.

Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast. The strength, sophistication and timing of the attack shocked Israelis.

Bodies of dead Israeli civilians and Hamas militants were seen on streets of Israeli towns. Images on social media appeared to show fighters parading what seemed to be captured Israeli military vehicles through Gaza streets and a dead Israeli solider being dragged and trampled by crowd of Palestinians.

The serious incursion occurred on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll. It revived painful memories of the 1973 Mideast war practically 50 years to the day, in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, aiming to take back Israeli-occupied territories.

Western nations such as the U.S. also condemned the incursion and reiterated their support for Israel, while others, like Saudi Arabia, called for restraint on both sides. The kingdom said it had repeatedly warned about "the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights."

Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then.

The blockade, which restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, has devastated the territory’s economy. Israel says the blockade is needed to keep militant groups from building up their arsenals. The Palestinians say the closure amounts to collective punishment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2023.

— With files from the Associated Press.

The Canadian Press