Biden backs Israel in TV address after terror attacks
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Sirens blared in Jerusalem as explosions were heard in the holy city today, as Israel ordered a “complete siege” on Gaza in retaliation to Hamas’s unprecedented attack.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant officially announced the blockade of the besieged enclave on Monday, saying authorities will cut electricity and prevent the entry of food and fuel.
“No electricity, no food, no fuel. We are fighting animals, and we will act accordingly,” he said. Hamas launched salvos toward Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as rockets continued to rain down in the southern Israeli town Ashkelon. More than 10 British citizens are reported to be feared dead or missing in Israel as more than 260 bodies have so far been removed from the attacked Supernova festival. British citizen Jacob Marlowe is also among the missing.
At least 800 people have reportedly been killed in Israel, local media has reported — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and almost 500 have been killed in Gaza, with thousands wounded. Palestinian militants claimed to be holding over 130 captives.
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Mother recalls phone call with missing daughter after festival attack
The mother of a missing woman has recalled the harrowing phone call she had with her daughter as Hamas militants attacked a music festival near the Gaza-Israel border.
At least 260 people were killed in an early-morning attack on the Supernova festival, near Kibbutz Re’im, on Saturday 7 October.
“She called us and said ‘Mummy, we were bombed, they shot at us,’” mother Meirav Leshem Gonen said, speaking through tears as she described a call with her missing daughter, Romi.
“I cannot tell you how we feel… these are kids, they are not soldiers,” she added.
Palestinian ambassador to UK claims Israel ‘responsible’ for violence
The Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot has refused to condemn Hamas’ attacks, lashed out at the west for “blaming the victim”.
He said: “The one side that is responsible fully on this is the occupying power.”
Mr Zomlot – who is set to appear at a Labour conference fringe event alongside shadow foreign secretary David Lammy on Tuesday – said the international community is “obsessed with blaming the victim, the occupied, the colonised”.
‘This will be catastrophic’: Bel Trew on Gaza complete siege
Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew said Israel’s reinforced and “complete siege” on the already heavily controlled Gaza strip- a narrow enclave choking with over two million residents- will be “catastrophic”.
EU Commission suspending ‘all payments immediately’ to Palestinians
The EU Commission has said it is suspending “all payments immediately” to the Palestinians following the Hamas attack on Israel.
It comes after Austria and Germany both said on Monday they were suspending aid worth tens of millions of euros to the Palestinians.
Arab League to meet on Wednesday to discuss how to ‘stop Israeli aggression’
Arab League foreign ministers are to meet on Wednesday to discuss ways “to stop the Israeli aggression” against the Gaza Strip, the pan-Arab group said in a statement.
The extraordinary session was scheduled in response to a Palestinian request, the statement said.
Who are the Hamas?
The Hamas movement was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, shortly after the first of the intifada uprisings by Palestinians against Israel.
An acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement, which also means “zeal” in Arabic, Hamas was created on the three pillars of religion, charity and the fight against Israel – also establishing a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, named after the militant Syrian preacher first active in the 1920s.
Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since winning the most recent elections in 2006, held a year after Israel’s withdrawal from the enclave, since which time its borders and airspace have been strictly controlled by Israel and Egypt.
A brief history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict – explained
Historians and commentators offer differing opinions as to when this chapter of history begins. In her series Al Nakba (2008) on Al Jazeera, documentary maker Rawan Damen begins her story with Napoleon Bonaparte, who proposed a Jewish homeland in Palestine as long ago as 1799 in the wake of the siege of Acre during his war against the Ottoman Empire.
Read more about the history of the conflict here.
Scotland’s Humza Yousaf says his parents-in-law ‘trapped’ in Gaza
Scotland’s First Minister has said his parents-in-law are “trapped” in Gaza after visiting family, leaving him worried if they will “make it through the night”. The parents of Humza Yousaf’s wife Nadia El-Nakla were in Gaza visiting family when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel this weekend, killing hundreds, according to reports.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Mr Yousaf said: “As many will know, my wife is Palestinian, her mum and dad, my in-laws, who live in Dundee, live in Scotland, they’ve been in Gaza and are currently trapped in Gaza, I’m afraid.”
They went to visit Mr Yousaf’s father in-law’s 92-year-old “elderly and frail” mother, when the Hamas attack took place and have been told by Israeli authorities to leave because “Gaza will effectively be obliterated”, the First Minister said.
“Despite the best efforts of the British Foreign Office, nobody, nobody can guarantee them safe passage anywhere,” he said. “So I’m in a situation where, frankly, night by night, day by day, we don’t know whether or not my mother in law and father in law – who have nothing to do, as most Gazans don’t, with Hamas or with any terror attack – whether they will make it through the night or not.”
Mr Yousaf also issued an “unequivocal condemnation” of the Hamas attack.
Democrat slams Squad members over comments about Hamas attack
Representative Ritchie Torres has slammed some of his fellow Democrats over their comments about the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas militants.
Following the surprise invasion on Saturday morning, Rep Rashida Tlaib, a member of the so-called “Squad” of progressive lawmakers, called for the US to stop funding Israel, which she called an “apartheid system”.
“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity,” she wrote in her statement.
US confirms death of nine Americans in Israel
The United States on Monday confirmed the death of nine Americans in Israel during the violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in touch with our Israeli partners, particularly the local authorities,” a National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.