2023-10-09 22:50:44
Israel’s army continues to attack Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip in its counterstrikes following Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel. The army announced late on Monday evening that the positions were attacked from the air and from ships. The military bombed, among other things, weapons depots, tunnels and a Hamas command center in a mosque.
In addition, a meeting point and residential building of members of the Islamic Jihad was hit, it said. Two terrorists were killed. According to unconfirmed media reports, the bodies of around 1,500 Palestinian terrorists are said to be on Israeli territory. The army itself had previously announced that it had killed hundreds of attackers who had entered Israel from the Gaza Strip since Saturday. The soldiers also took hundreds of Palestinian militants prisoner.
A spokesman for the Islamist Palestinian organization, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the USA and Israel, told the Arabic broadcaster Al-Jazeera that the group was open to mediation. Hamas had previously called for a prisoner exchange.
There were also clashes with deaths again in the West Bank. Three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in Ramallah on Monday, according to the Health Ministry. An 18-year-old is said to have tried to ram a settlement with a tractor. In addition, a 16-year-old died from his injuries after a confrontation with soldiers on Sunday.
Israel’s army has ordered people in the country to stock up on enough food, water and medicine. The military said the supplies should last at least 72 hours – apparently in view of the threat of military conflict with the Islamist Hamas. Citizens should also obtain other equipment for emergency situations and check where the nearest air raid shelter is, it said on Monday. According to Israeli media, supermarkets were full of people afterwards, but many shelves were empty. The army then emphasized that it was simply a reminder of a standard recommendation and not a new instruction.
The heads of state and government of the USA, Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain want to jointly help Israel defend itself against attacks by Hamas. “Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities,” said US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak according to a statement released by the German government on Monday evening. “We further emphasize that this is not the moment for any anti-Israel group to exploit these attacks to gain an advantage.”
At the same time, the quintet emphasized that it recognizes the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” and supports justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. “But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent these aspirations, and it offers the Palestinian people nothing other than more terror and bloodshed,” it emphasizes. In the coming days we want to act united and coordinated. The aim is to ensure that Israel is able to defend itself and “ultimately create the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region.” All five politicians expressed horror at Hamas’ brutal actions in its attack on Israel, in which hundreds of people died.
According to the US presidential office, the USA will not deploy ground troops in Israel. The US government will protect US interests in the region, says White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. The US government expects additional security requests from Israel and will try to fulfill them as quickly as possible. There is no question that Iran has some degree of involvement in supporting Hamas, but the US has seen no concrete evidence that Iran was directly involved in planning the current attack. US President Biden wants to give a speech on the situation in Israel on Tuesday at 1 p.m. local time (7 p.m. CEST).
Thousands of people took to the streets in London on Monday evening in response to the Islamist Hamas attacks on Israel and the Israeli military’s response. According to the British news agency PA, hundreds of people gathered for a pro-Palestinian demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in the Kensington district. According to the news channel Sky News, there were even up to 5,000 people.
Meanwhile, around 2,000 people gathered in the government district of Westminster for a vigil for the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack. The British Parliament was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended a Jewish service in north London. “Those who support Hamas are entirely responsible for this heinous attack. They are not militants, they are not freedom fighters, they are terrorists,” Sunak said. “There are no two sides to these events, there is no question of balance. I stand with Israel,” he continued. Anti-Semitic hatred will not be tolerated in Britain, he assured the Jewish community in Britain.
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