Day Four of Swords Of Iron

9 pm
An Air Canada pilot has been removed from flight duty for an unspecified amount of time after his anti-Israel social media posts left others expressing concerns about his trustworthiness in the cockpit. The StopAntisemitism Twitter account posted screenshots of several selfies posted to social media by Air Canada’s Captain Mostafa Ezzo, noting that the plane that he flies is the same one that the airline typically flies to Tel Aviv.

A Hamas flag was on display at at least one Canadian pro-Palestinian Rally, per B'nai B'rith Canada.

Will Hezbollah attempt to take advantage? A Foreign Affairs analysis.

Fox News Corp has announced a US$1M donation to United Jewish Appeal for emergency Israel relief.

Anton Troianovski for the NYT: “Putin Offers Muted Response to Attack on Israel. That Speaks Volumes.”

Vladimir Putin has long projected friendly ties to Israel. But his silence since Saturday’s assault illustrates how the war in Ukraine has strained the relationship between the two countries … [read more (PDF)]

Bruce Hoffman at The Atlantic reads Hamas’s founding documents and reminds us to believe Hamas when they say who they are—genocidal and committed to Israel’s utter destruction.

At George Washington University in Washington DC, nearly all of the 50+ persons attending a pro-Palestine event hid their faces and refused to give their names. "We are here today to honor our martyrs and to honor the struggle for liberation that they made the ultimate sacrifice for," a speaker told the students. "Our resistance fighters are defying Zionist intelligence as we speak, exposing the cracks and its ironclad foundation and dispelling the illusion of its invincibility."

The evening event was dubbed "Vigil for the Martyrs of Palestine," and attendees were asked to bring flowers, placards, and face coverings. At the event, the group handed out masks to disguise attendees' identities. 

7 pm
White House National Security spokesman Adm. John Kirby openly wept on camera while describing the horrors committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel. He told CNN host Jake Tapper: “I, uh, I, I'm sorry. It’s very, excuse me, very difficult to look at these images, Jake. Uh, it and the, the, the human cost, and these are human beings.”

“They're family members, they're friends, they're loved ones, cousins, brothers, sisters. Yeah, it's difficult. And I apologize.”

6 pm
The law firm Winston & Strawn have withdrawn their offer to hire the NYU Law Student Bar Association president after her atrocious statement in support of Hamas. Similarly, the Playboy organization have fired Mia Khalifa and removed her YT channel.

A Columbia professor posted his support of Hamas, cheering their barbaric actions.

5:03 pm
Israeli Defense Minister Gallant says Israel is moving to a “full offense” against the Gaza Strip even as the IDF and police engage in clashes with Hamas along the southern border of the country. “I have released all the restraints, we have [regained] control of the area, and we are moving to a full offense,” Gallant told troops on the Gaza border. “You will have the ability to change the reality here. You have seen the prices [being paid], and you will get to see the change. Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, it will change 180 degrees from what it thought,” Gallant said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli armoured vehicles and Merkava Mark lll and lV tanks are arriving at staging points in the north of the country near the border with Lebanon. According to the Times of Israel, Israel is preparing for months of warfare in Gaza.

President Biden said at the White House today:  "DHS and FBI are working closely with state and local law enforcement...to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection to these horrific attacks..." 

4:45 pm
The IAF is launching an "extensive attack against terror targets" in Gaza. UN human rights chief Volker Türk reminded Israel of “the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects”.

In a briefing, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that 20 American citizens are currently unaccounted for in Israel, in addition to the 14 US citizens killed by Hamas. He said that it is unclear whether the 20 missing are hostages, although the White House confirmed that some Americans are hostages. 

Sullivan said that the US does not have any confirmation whether Iran is directly linked to Hamas' attacks, but added that Iran is “complicit, in a broad sense” because of its historic support for the terrorist group. He said that the US intelligence community did not foresee that "an attack of this type would unfold.” He said that the US is in talks with Israel about creating an evacuation corridor for Gaza's civilians. “We are focused on this question, there are consultations going on,” he said.

New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer bashed two members of his own party who called for an end to US aid to Israel amidst that country's response to Hamas terrorism. According to Fox News, Gottheimer condemned Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri over their comments. Gottheimer, who is Jewish, noted that tthey "called for America to end assistance to Israel, despite the countless images of Israeli children, women, men, and elderly, including Americans, murdered by radical Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists."

"Families were violently pulled from their homes as hostages," Gottheimer said. "This is a deliberate and coordinated terrorist attack, savagely targeting innocent civilians."

"It sickens me that while Israelis clean the blood of their family members shot in their homes, they believe Congress should strip U.S. funding to our democratic ally and allow innocent civilians to suffer," Gottheimer said. Tlaib and Bush are members of the so-called "Squad" of socialists in the Democratic caucus, which includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Greg Casar of Texas, and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.

4:30 pm, 
Over the weekend, Muslims and supporters of Hamas assembled outside the iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia. Video circulated of the assembly waving Palestinian flags and chanting in unison "Gas the Jews", "Fuck the Jews", and "Allahu akbar."

4:28 pm
Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History Joseph Massad of Columbia University described Hamas' terrorists invasion of Israel as "the Palestinian war of liberation." He described on his Electronic Intifada blog the "shocking success" of "the Palestinian resistance." Long accused of anti-Semitism, Massad applauded the "astounding," "striking," "awesome," and "innovative" "victories of the resistance." 

4:11 pm
According to the Times of Israel, Israeli authorities may have identified the majority of Hamas' hostages, and is notifying families. Video is circulating of beaten and bleeding hostages who are visibly terrified and dragged through the streets of Gaza. The scenes were recorded by Hamas and shared on social media and Whatsapp groups.

According to Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan, the hostages number between 100 and 150.

The Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, have threatened to execute one hostage for each new Israeli airstrike on civilian targets without warning.

The IDF claims artillery has blasted shells from Syria that have landed in Israeli territory.

Médecins Sans Frontières teams were unable to reach colleagues in Gaza today, while food, water, electricity, and gas have cut by Israel. Léo Cans of MSF said Gazans are “terrified” and in “terrible mental distress”. “There aren’t words to describe what people are going through,” he added.

An MSF statement read: "The declaration of war must not, under any circumstances, lead to collective punishment of the population of Gaza. Cutting off water, electricity and fuel supplies is unacceptable, as it punishes the entire population and deprives them of their basic needs."

Secretary of State Blinken will visit Israel on Oct. 12 and meet with Israeli leaders. State Dept spokesman Matthew Miller said, “It will be a message of solidarity and support,” in a briefing today. Miller added, "He, of course, wants to hear from the leaders of Israel, hear from them directly about the situation they’re facing ... about what they need and how we can best support them."

The EU warned Elon Musk over disinformation allegedly distributed on Twitter about Hamas' attack. The EU said fake news and “repurposed old images” were being distributed on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. Less than two months ago, the EU passed law regulating content on social media seen in the EU. If Musk, the owner of X, does not comply with the Digital Service Act, he can face a fine of 6% of his revenues from X or a total blackout in the EU.

In the letter, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton told Musk to ensure “a prompt, accurate, and complete response” to the request to contact Europol, the EU police enforcement agency and “relevant law enforcement agencies” within the next 24 hours.

Breton called on Musk to have “proportionate and effective mitigation measures to tackle the risks to public security and civic discourse stemming from disinformation”. He wrote:

"Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU."

Breton added:

"Public media and civil society organisations widely report instances of fake and manipulated images and facts circulating on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or military footage that actually originated from video games. This appears to be manifestly false or misleading information."

4:00 pm
Barack Obama tweeted on Oct. 9: "All Americans should be horrified and outraged by the brazen terrorist attacks on Israel and the slaughter of innocent civilians. We grieve for those who died, pray for the safe return of those who’ve been held hostage, and stand squarely alongside our ally, Israel.

On the same day, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel appeared on Fox News and deemed Hamas' terrorist attacks in Israel a "great opportunity" for Republican candidates.

3:54 pm
Senate Republicans led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote a letter to President Biden demanding that he refreeze the $6 billion in Iranian assets in South Korean banks that are supposedly to be used solely for peaceful purposes.

The money was frozen during the Trump administration after President Trump banned  Iranian oil exports in 2019. 

The Oct. 9 letter stated, “Your administration claims these funds are only available for humanitarian use, but money is fungible, and there is significant risk they could be used to further efforts by Iran or Hamas against Israel.” They wrote, “Moreover, allowing $6 billion to flow into Iran’s economy, even if the purpose is for humanitarian aid, allows the Iranian regime to reallocate even more funds to supporting terrorism,” they argued.

Oversight of the funds  “is not enough” because “the oversight mechanism is crippled by your reported decision to pull the longstanding Treasury attaché from Qatar.”

Signatories include GOP  Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), Steve Daines (Mont.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), John Cornyn (Texas), Bill Cassidy (La.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Pete Ricketts (Neb.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.), Ted Budd (N.C.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Roger Marshall (Kan.). 

Just last week, Biden thanked Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for facilitating the deal with Iran to free American hostages. The deal included the release of five Iranian nationals held in the US.

On October 8, Secretary of State Blinken claimed that the assets may have been used by terrorists, telling ABC that  that “not a single dollar from that account has actually been spent to date.”  Blinken claimed that the assets are  “closely regulated by the Treasury Department to make sure that it’s only used for food, for medicine, for medical equipment.” 

3:35 pm
Photos emerge on social media of the charred corpses of Israeli children possibly burned to death by Hamas

3:00 pm
Per Avi Mayer, an Orthodox Jewish man who preferred to remain anonymous stood quietly near the El Al counter at New York's JFK Airport yesterday. Anyone who showed him an IDF call-up notice got his ticket paid for. He paid for 250 tickets

3:00 pm
Speaking at the White House, President Biden condemned the terror attack by Hamas. "In this moment, we must be crystal clear," Biden said. "We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel." He said “vicious attacks" led to the deaths of 1,000 Israelis and at least 14 Americans.

Biden said  Americans are among Hamas’ hostages in Gaza, but did not say how many. Saying that the US will offer expertise in hostage release, he added, "I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world."

Making a reference to politics in Washington DC, where Congress has no Speaker of the House, he called on Congress to  take "urgent actions to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners." "This is not about party or politics," he said. "It's about the security of our world."

His remarks followed a phone call to Israeli PM Netanyahu.

Today, the IDF said it has regained control of Israeli territory after having ordered a “full siege” of Gaza. No food, water, gas, or electric power from Israel is being allowed into Gaza.

Meanwhile, Hamas has threatened to start executing hostages if Israel bombs civilian targets in Gaza.

 “We are seeing the immense scale and reach of this tragedy,” Biden said. “In this moment of heartbreak, the American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israelis. We remember the pain of being attacked by terrorists at home, and Americans across the country stand united against these evil acts that have once more claimed innocent American lives. It is an outrage.”

Biden said he told Netanyahu that the U.S. would “continue to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself and its people.”

In Tel Aviv, the family members of American hostages called on Biden to bring them home. The son of 66-year-old Adrienne Neta said Biden has a responsibility for U.S. citizens caught up in the war. “They’re responsible to bring the U.S. citizens back home, safe and sound. We expect nothing less from the U.S. administration from President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken,” he said. “I speak in the name of myself and my family and I wish for the quick solution for this terrible, terrible situation that all of us are in.”

The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group is steaming to waters near Israel in a show of force.

2:45 pm
Students for Justice in Palestine at UVa issued an Oct 8 statement, saying Hamas brutality makes them “hopeful for the future of Palestine.”

Over the past two days, many of us have been afraid, worried, and even hopeful for the future of Palestine. Students for Justice in Palestine at UVA unequivocally supports Palestinian liberation and the right of colonized people everywhere to resist the occupation of their land by whatever means they deem necessary. We mourn the loss of human life and hope for long-lasting peace, which cannot be achieved without the firm establishment of equality and justice. In an unprecedented feat for the 21st century, resistance fighters in Gaza broke through the illegitimate border fence, took occupation soldiers hostage, and seized control of several Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.

While the Israeli government publicly declared war today, the war and genocidal campaign against Palestinians began over 75 years ago. The Nakba started in 1948 with the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of Palestinian villages, forcing 2 million Palestinians into the Gaza Strip and expelling over 700,000 from Palestine entirely. Gaza exists as an open air prison for its residents, many of whom have lived under siege and naval blockade for much of their lives. Israel's 17 year siege of Gaza has denied Palestinians basic human rights including access to food, clean water, medical treatment, and humanitarian aid. The people of Gaza are denied freedom of movement, are under calorie restrictions, and are routinely bombed and brutalized by Israeli forces. This history shows that yesterday's rebellion was not "unprovoked," as many have claimed, but is the consequence of years of mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and oppression from Israel. The quotidian violence of Israeli occupation has left many Palestinians feeling like they have no choice but to die quietly or resist loudly.

Some place the impetus on Palestinians to be the "perfect victims" of their own colonial narrative, only resisting through nonviolent protest and appealing to the moral character of the imperialist nations that fund their colonization. We reject the assumption that oppressed people cannot take their liberation into their own hands or that outside onlookers know better than the subjects of colonial occupation what is necessary to gain their freedom.

The events that took place yesterday are a step towards a free Palestine. They reflect the power and resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of 75 years of continued brutal oppression. The occupation is unsustainable, freedom is not a matter of if, but when. We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters and all oppressed people around the world seeking freedom and a better world.

Palestine will be free.

2:40 pm

Israeli National Security minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced his government's purchase of 10,000 rifles to arm “civilian security teams” across Israel and the occupied West Bank.

1 pm
Statement from Harvard President Claudine Gay:

As the events of recent days continue to reverberate, let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.

Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.

We will all be well served in such a difficult moment by rhetoric that aims to illuminate and not inflame. And I appeal to all of us in this community of learning to keep this in mind as our conversations continue.

Claudine Gay
President, Harvard University

12:55 pm
Gallant: “Israel moving to full offense, Gaza will never return to what it was.”

12 pm
IDF says it is responding with artillery fire in Lebanon following the rocket attack on northern Israel (TOI Fabian). Lebanese channels: The IDF attacks Ba-Chhira in southern Lebanon in response to the launching of rockets towards Israel from Lebanese territory.  Reporter from the Lebanese Al Mayadeen channel: 3 rocket barrages were fired from Lebanon towards Israel.  An alarm was triggered at UNIFIL bases in southern Lebanon... they went to take a break in their shelter.

BLM Grassroots issues a "statement of solidarity with the people of Palestine" per DiscloseTV.

The president of the NYU Law Student Bar Association posted:

This week, I want to express, first and foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination. Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life. This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance. Instead...
I condemn the violence of apartheid. I condemn the violence of settler colonialism. I condemn the violence of military occupation. I condemn the violence of dispossession and stolen homes. I condemn the violence of trapping thousands in an open-air prison. I condemn the violence of collective punishment. I condemn the violence of phosphorous bombs. I condemn the violence of the United States military-industrial complex. I condemn the violence of obfuscating genocide as a "complex issue." I condemn the violence in labeling oppressed people as "animals." I condemn the violence in removing historical context. I condemn the violence of silence.
Palestine will be free.
Your SBA President,
Ryna

Photo taken in Dublin, Ireland

11:30 am
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) addresses a message to Gazan residents and Hamas leadership, lambasting Palestinian popular support for the terror group. In a video statement, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of COGAT, says: “Kidnapping, abusing and murdering children, women and elderly people is not human. There is no justification for that. Hamas has turned into ISIS, and the residents of Gaza, instead of being appalled, are celebrating. Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.”

10:43
According to the IDF, approximately 1,500 Palestinian terrorists have been killed in Israeli territory since the invasion began on Oct. 7. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said security forces had “more or less” regained control over the Gaza border.

Hecht added that no Palestinian terrorists have crossed into Israel from Gaza since Monday night, but warned of possible future infiltrations. 

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian lambasted Gazan residents, saying: “Kidnapping, abusing and murdering children, women and elderly people is not human. There is no justification for that. Hamas has turned into ISIS, and the residents of Gaza, instead of being appalled, are celebrating. Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.” 
 

10:15 am
Bodies of Israeli babies, some decapitated, have been found at the southern Israeli kibbutz Kfar Azar near the Gaza border. Arriving IDF troops discovered the tiny bodies amidst torched homes, where Hamas terrorists had destroyed and strewn furnishing and burned cars. According to an i24 Israel journalist on Twitter,  “Talking to some of the soldiers here, they say what they witnessed as they’ve been walking through these communities is bodies of babies with their heads cut off and families gunned down in their beds. We can see some of these soldiers right now, comforting each other.”

Kfar Aza was cruelly struck by Hamas on October 7. IDF soldiers are retrieving civilian corpses in body bags. They had not been able to retrieve them earlier because they were encountering deadly booby-traps. Israeli Major General Itai Veruv said: “You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers, in their bedrooms, in their protection rooms and how the terrorist kills them. It's not a war, it's not a battlefield. It's a massacre, it's a terror activity.

Hamas is attacking the Israeli city of Ashkelon with rocket fire as alarms rang out on Israel's northern border. Earlier, the militant group warned civilians to leave before 5pm local time.

10:11 am
First Minister Humza Yousaf of Scotland called on UK foreign secretary James Cleverley to push for a humanitarian corridor in order to evacuate civilians from Gaza.

On October 9, Yesterday, Yousaf said wife's parents are trapped in Gaza. Wife Nadia El-Nakla is of Palestinian descent and said her parents were struggling to find safe passage.

He told Cleverley that he condemned the “abhorrent terrorist actions of Hamas” and added, “collective punishment of innocent civilians cannot be justified and will do nothing to set the conditions for peace in the region”. “As a close friend and ally of Israel, I therefore ask the UK Government to call on the Government of Israel to ensure innocent civilians are protected and to put in place an immediate ceasefire to allow the safe passage of civilians through the Rafah border. Furthermore, it should open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to allow supplies, including food, fuel, water and medical supplies, for those civilians who are trapped, helpless and cannot leave.”

More Hamas rocket strikes on cities in central Israel, including Tel Aviv, reported.

Jawad Abu Shammala and Zakaria Abu Maamar, Hamas operatives, were killed in an air strike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, Hamas revealed to Reuters. Israel confirmed the overnight strike that killed them. 

The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said that the Gulf States had in a joint statement with the EU agreed on “the importance of sustained financial support for UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees), and to continue humanitarian and development support for the Palestinians in the occupied territories.”

Borrell added that reports are false that Germany was cancelling aid. “The German minister has clearly stated that this was not the case at all, that Germany will continue providing this support,” he said.

Israel has warned Egypt against providing aid to Gaza, saying the IAF would bomb trucks carrying supplies to the area. Shortly thereafter, trucks carrying fuel and other goods bound for Gaza via its southern border with Egypt retreated, The Rafah border crossing is closed indefinitely.

Regarding the alleged threat to Egypt, and IDF spokesman said, “No comment- all we can say is that we are following orders from the political echelons, and the ministry of defence has ordered a siege.” The IDF is subjecting Gaza to a siege, cutting all water, fuel and food supplies. UN secretary general António Guterres previously said he was “deeply distressed” by Israel’s siege of Gaza. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially,” Guterres said in New York City: “Medical equipment, food, fuel and other humanitarian supplies are desperately needed, along with access for humanitarian personnel.”

Guterres said the invasion of Israel “does not come in a vacuum,” and instead “grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year long occupation and no political end in sight.”

The Israeli embassy to the United States said 1,008 Israelis have been killed since Hamas forces crossed into the country. At least 11 Americans have been killed. More than 3,400 Israelis have been injured, it said.

The Israeli government has not released a breakdown of those killed in the violence.

10:05 am
Among the victims of Hamas terror is the Kedem family, consisting of a father, mother, and three young children. In a tweet, the Israeli government noted: “Tamar, Yonatan and their children Shachar, Arbel, Omer,” the caption read. “An entire family wiped out by Hamas terrorists. There are no words. May their memory be a blessing.”

Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett reposted the photo. “An entire family murdered in cold blood,” he wrote. “Look at their happy faces. Their love. All of them murdered by Palestinian terrorists at Nir Oz kibbutz. Just because they’re Jews.”

7:24 am
Isralie PM Netanyahu’s Likud party announced that his coalition has approved the inclusion of opposition politicians. An “emergency national government” is hoped to unify a country with domestic political divisions during a crisis.

There is debate in Germany about the country's aid to Palestinian groups. Development minister Svenja Schulze announced that its “entire engagement in the Palestinian territories on the weighing scales”. Any financial help flowing to the region has been “temporarily suspended.” 

However, Germany's foreign ministry, under Annalena Baerbock, sees no need to alter its programs, which it is “constantly checking that the aid sent is reaching those in need of it” and the goodwill of the Palestinian organizations it funds. In a statement, the ministry says the same standard is applied to other countries, e.g. Syria or Yemen, and claimed no German money is “finding its way to Hamas or other terrorist organizations”. The foreign ministry has committed 72 million Euros to the Palestine via German and international aid agencies, as well as the UN. Germany funds programs ranging from food to social welfare and security. In addition, development aid currently amounts to 250 million Euros.

Germany's Christian Democratic Union party is pressurising the government to review all of its aid to the region. CDU foreign policy spokesman Roderich Kiesewetter called for closer attention to be paid to whether organizations had “connections to the Palestinian Authorities, or to terror organizations like Hamas or Hezbollah”. Kiesewetter said a closer look is need even domestically, e.g. Hamburg’s Islamic Centre, which is accused of having contact with Hezbollah, and is considered to be the German operational hub of Iran’s Islamic regime. Iran stands accused of aiding the Hamas attack on Israel.

Both the CDU and the pro-business FDP, part of the government of Olaf Scholz, have recommended freezing all monies to the region until thorough checks have been carried out.

Calls for changes to other areas of foreign policy, such as Germany’s adherence to a nuclear agreement with Iran, and its acceptance of Hezbollah as the governing party in Lebanon, have also been rife in the light of the attacks. “We can’t wait for an agreement any longer, in which Iran has absolutely no interest,” Kiesewetter said. “It is no longer possible to negotiate with Iran”.

In addition, the FDP’s leadership is urging the EU to place Iran’s revolutionary guard on its list of terrorists. Baerbock has given her support for the move, but there has so far been no universal agreement on the matter amongst EU members.

Summary:

THamas has “nowhere to hide” in Gaza, declared a statement from Israel while the IAF conducted bombing raids at 4 hour intervals. “We will reach them everywhere,” chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing. The Israeli air force has announced on social media that it is “launching an extensive attack against terror targets of the terrorist organisation Hamas in the Gaza Strip”.

The UN human rights chief said on Oct. 9 that the IAF had bombed residential buildings, schools and UN buildings in Gaza, killing and wounding civilians. Gaza’s health ministry claims 770 killed and 4,000 wounded by Israeli airstrikes since Oct. 7. 

Israeli media reports that Hamas fighters killed about 900 people inside Israel over the weekend. However, Israel has taken back control of the Gaza border fence breached by Palestinian Hamas terrorists, while the IDF is planting mines where the barrier was toppled. Hagari said there no new infiltrations from Gaza have been recorded since Oct. 9.

The IDF will inform 100 families that their loved ones are hostages of Hamas held in Gaza. Hamas intends to use the dozens of hostages to secure the release of Palestinians detained in Israel and overseas. Among the hostages are babies and elderly people. A video circulated by Hamas depicted the execution of a toddler.

The IAF has flown in “hundreds of IDF soldiers who were abroad” in order to contribute to “the IDF’s efforts to mobilize additional forces to continue fighting”.

UK foreign secretary James Cleverly said that Israel was focused exclusively on destroying Hamas in Gaza, and not on attacking Palestinians in general or the Arab world.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed Iran was not involved in the Hamas attack on Israel, but hailed what he called Israel’s “irreparable” military and intelligence defeat. “We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime,” Khamenei said in his first televised speech since the attack. “The Zionist regime’s own actions are to blame for this disaster,” he added. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said the comments were unacceptable. However, spokespersons for Hamas have thanked Iran for arming the terrorist group.

Acting Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said Spain opposes the suspension of EU aid to Palestinians. “This cooperation must continue, we cannot confuse Hamas, which is in the list of EU’s terrorist groups, with the Palestinian population, or the Palestinian Authority or the UN organizations on the ground,” Albares said. His views were echoed by France’s foreign ministry, which issued a statement in Paris this morning saying: “We are not in favor of suspending aid that directly benefits the Palestinian people.”

The French foreign ministry has announced that four French nationals have died in the attacks, and 13 are missing. Two Spaniards are missing. The US claims that 11 Americans are confirmed dead. 

Austria is arranging an evacuation of its citizens from Israel by military transport aircraft on Wednesday, chancellor Karl Nehammer said. Cyprus has said it is ready to help with the evacuation of nationals from third countries who might want to leave Israel. Brazil has also airlifted its citizens.

Eighteen Thais have been killed in the conflict, the kingdom’s government said. Nine Thais were wounded and 11 taken hostage. About 30,000 Thais work in Israel.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said Moscow and Washington have not been in contact over the escalation of the conflict.

Approximately 770 Palestinians have been killed and 4,000 wounded in Israeli airstrikes, said Gaza’s health ministry. About 18 people were killed and 100 injured in the West Bank since Oct. 7. 

French president Emmanuel Macron said on Oct. 10: “I have no comment to make about the direct involvement of Iran for which we have no formal proof, but it’s clear that the public comments by Iranian authorities were unacceptable. And that it is likely that Hamas was offered help,” Reuters reported. “But I will remain careful on that point until we have stabilised intelligence.”

UN human rights chief, Volker Türk reminded Israel of “the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects”.

7:12 am
The IAF announced on social media it is “launching an extensive attack against terror targets of the terrorist organisation Hamas in the Gaza Strip”.

Hamas distributed video on social media depicting execution of Israeli civilians in a bomb shelter.

Over 300,000 Israeli reservists have been called to service.

 

October 10, 2023