Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023

[Inthedetails]

9:56 pm

ZAKA says more than 250 bodies collected from site of music festival attacked by Hamas​

Hundreds flee gunmen at a music festival near Kibbutz Re'im, October 7, 2023. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A spokesperson for ZAKA, a volunteer group that handles human remains after terror attacks and other disasters, tells Hebrew media outlets that it has so far collected more than 250 bodies from the site of a music festival in the south, which was attacked by Hamas terrorists.

Many parents of youth who were attending the rave near Kibbutz Re’im have been desperately searching for news of their missing children since yesterday.

OMG, this took my breath away.

In no way does this further anyone's cause. In no way is this justified.

jmo

 

[Sundog]

By sabotaging imminent peace, Hamas sadly derails the transformation of the region which had started with the Abraham Accords shepherded by Jared Kushner.

Exactly 50 years ago, two authors of this commentary raced out of Yom Kippur prayer services to cover the last surprise attack on Israel for news radio. Now we see Israel taken by surprise once again. The radical Palestinians of Hamas, governing the Gaza Strip since Israel’s withdrawal in 2005, managed to carry out an unprecedented and unprovoked attack by land, sea, and air—and the results that prompted Israel to declare all-out war included massacres of hundreds of innocent civilians of all ages in their homes, at children’s parties, and at concerts. Scores more were taken hostage. President Biden and leading U.S. Republican voices alike are vowing to stand strongly behind Israel.

History again echoes, as the predicate for Hamas’ attack had less to do with anything that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have done—now is not the moment to blame the victim. Rather, the trigger to the attack was likely that the prospect of a wider Mideast peace was almost at hand through an impending deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Hamas’ sabotage parallels the disruption of the prospective Israeli-Palestinian peace plan in 2000 on the heels of a Camp David Summit when the devastation of the Second Intifada ruined any dreams of normalization and resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Why Hamas Tried to Sabotage Peace Prospects With an Attack

By sabotaging imminent peace, Hamas sadly derails the transformation of the region which had started with the Abraham Accords.

time.com

Agree, Saudi Arabia was moving closer to the normalization of relations with Israel. Iran and the terrorists that Iran sponsors want to stop this from happening, they see it as an existential threat rather than a move toward peace in the middle east and they will do anything to stop it from happening, as we have just seen with their savage attack on Isaeili civilians and the nation of Israel.

 

[JennieM]

Briton, 20, serving in Israeli army killed in Hamas attack​

Family of Nathanel Young say they are ‘heartbroken’, as fellow Briton Jake Marlowe is reported missing

A 20-year-old British man serving in the Israeli army has been killed in an attack by Hamas militants, while another British citizen is missing.

The family of Nathanel Young, who was serving with the Israel Defence Forces when he was killed on Saturday, said: “We’re heartbroken to share that our little brother Nathanel Young was tragically killed on the Gaza border yesterday.”

Young joined the IDF in August 2022, according to his Facebook page. He was a keen DJ and had attended the Jewish Free School in London. His sister, Gaby Shalev, said she was “in absolute shock”.

His death came as 26-year-old Jake Marlowe, who went to the same school, was reported missing following the surprise attacks by Hamas launched on Saturday.

Marlowe, originally from London, was providing security at a party in the desert near Kibbutz Re’im when the attack was launched in the early hours of Saturday, his mother, Lisa, told Jewish News, a British newspaper.

A spokesperson at the Israeli embassy in London confirmed to the Guardian they understood from his mother that Marlowe was missing but they had no further information on his whereabouts. They said: “We don’t know where he is. He has been missing since Saturday, his mother says.”

[…]

Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, told Sky News on Sunday morning: “There is one British citizen that is in Gaza at the moment and I know that Israel is doing everything to make sure all the people being kept hostage at the moment in the hands of Hamas will be released.”

[…]

Marlowe’s mother told Jewish News: “He was doing security at this rave yesterday and called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over. Then, at about 5.30am, he texted to say: ‘Signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you,’ and that he loves me.”

She has been unable to contact him since. “I’ve left him lots of WhatsApp messages but I’ve not been able to leave him a [voice] message,” she added. “I can’t bear to listen to the phone just ringing and not being answered.”

Marlowe attended the Jewish Free School in London and in 2013 went on a tour of Israel with BBYO, a Jewish teen movement, where he visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and remembrance centre.

[…]

Briton, 20, serving in Israeli army killed in Hamas attack

Family of Nathanel Young say they are ‘heartbroken’, as fellow Briton Jake Marlowe is reported missing

www.theguardian.com

 

[bmacmillan1]

OMG, this took my breath away.

In no way does this further anyone's cause. In no way is this justified.

jmo

Have been dreading hearing the total figure - far worse than I thought.

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel Gaza live updates: Families search for missing as Israel attack toll reaches 600 - BBC News
Posted at 12:0612:06

Rocket fire continues 36 hours later​

It's been just over 36 hours since Hamas's audacious assault began, but rockets continue to be launched from Gaza into Israel.

I'm standing less than 10km (6.2 miles) from the border and a continuous stream of them is being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.

The golden points of light arc through the sky, lighting up the darkness, and booms ring out as the Iron Dome missiles explode next to their targets.

Police are stopping cars from going any further. Israel is continuing to strike Gaza from the air in retaliation.

• How Israel's Iron Dome missile shield works

 

[ilovewings]

Pro-Palestinian rally met by Israel supporters in Midtown as Hochul slams ‘abhorrent’ demonstration after Hamas attack

New York City Democratic Socialists of America are holding a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square following an attack on Israel by Islamist extremists — with Gov. Kathy Hochul calling it &#8…

nypost.com

This is what sociopaths do, what barbarians do---- and right here in the United States-- we allow this as "free speech" I need a barf bucket

 

[Sundog]

Statement From Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on U.S. Force Posture Changes in the Middle E

In response to the Hamas attack on Israel, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has directed several steps to strengthen DOD posture in the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts.

www.defense.gov

Statement From Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on U.S. Force Posture Changes in the Middle E

In response to the Hamas attack on Israel, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has directed several steps to strengthen DOD posture in the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts.

www.defense.gov

Glad to see that there is IRONCLAD SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL by the U.S. I hope we are in it for the long haul.

 

[Herat]

Israel Gaza live updates: Families search for missing as Israel attack toll reaches 600 - BBC News
Posted at 12:0612:06

Rocket fire continues 36 hours later​

It's been just over 36 hours since Hamas's audacious assault began, but rockets continue to be launched from Gaza into Israel.

I'm standing less than 10km (6.2 miles) from the border and a continuous stream of them is being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.

The golden points of light arc through the sky, lighting up the darkness, and booms ring out as the Iron Dome missiles explode next to their targets.

Police are stopping cars from going any further. Israel is continuing to strike Gaza from the air in retaliation.

• How Israel's Iron Dome missile shield works

How does all this munition get into Gaza without notice? Hamas has already launched a phenomenal number of missiles.

Surely there must be much more coming in through tunnels from Egypt or from ships on the coast through the port of Gaza. Hamas is clearly getting massive outside support, not just massive amounts of weapons from Iran, but also willful ignorance from adjacent nations like Egypt.

 

[PommyMommy]

10:16 pm

Palestinians report 11 killed across West Bank in clashes with Israeli forces​

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says 11 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops across the West Bank since yesterday morning.

The clashes come amid Hamas’s attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces has not commented on the various incidents in the West Bank.

West Bank

As its name implies, the West Bank is a territory situated on the western bank of the Jordan River. Many countries recognize it as part of Palestine.

www.worldatlas.com

 

[JennieM]

Ten Nepalis among foreigners killed in Israel​

Ten Nepalese citizens are believed to have been killed in the fighting in Israel, Nepal's embassy in the country has told the BBC.

Another nine are in hiding amid the ongoing clashes. Most of the Nepalis caught in the fighting are believed to be students, about 4,500 of whom study in Israeli universities.
Citizens of a several other countries, including France, Cambodia, Thailand, Ukraine and the UK have been confirmed killed since the current conflict began on Saturday.

Thailand also says 11 of its citizens are believed to have been abducted by Hamas fighters, and Mexico says at least two of its own citizens are thought to have been captured.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895

 

[Gardenista]

https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1
Amichai Stein
https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1
@AmichaiStein1


גורמים אמריקנים מעריכים: המבצע הקרקעי ברצועת עזה יחל
ב-24-48 שעות הקרובות

Translated from Hebrew by
American officials estimate: the ground operation in the Gaza Strip will begin in the next 24-48 hours

 

[JennieM]

UN

• The United States defence secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford to head its “strike group” of forces as it sails to the eastern Mediterranean to be closer to Israel following Hamas’s “heinous” attacks.
• The United Nations World Food Programme has called on the establishment of humanitarian corridors to deliver food supplies into Gaza following Israeli air strikes in response to Hamas’s attacks.
• The UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said thousands of people were sheltering in its 44 schools around Gaza and food distribution for more than 112,000 families had had to be put on hold.
• The UN security council is expecting to meet at some point after the secretary general, António Guterres, urged “all diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration”.

Hundreds of bodies recovered from Israel music festival – as it happened

This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

10:32 pm

Two Mexican citizens believed to be held captive in Gaza​

By AP

Two Mexicans, a man and a woman, are believed to be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena says.

She does not name them and gives no details about whether they are residents in Israel or were visiting the area.

On a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bárcena says the Mexican government is in contact with their relatives and the Israeli authorities.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has condemned the attacks against the Israeli people.

 

[JennieM]

Palestinian ambassador speaks at UN HQ​

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York City

After a similar appearance by his Israeli counterpart, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations has spoken to reporters at the UN.

Riyad Mansour expressed his concern that messages about “Israel’s right to defend itself” could be interpreted by the Israeli government as “a licence to kill.” He has requested an emergency meeting of the League of Arab States (LAS) in Cairo in the next few days.

Mansour then spoke about the root causes of the conflict, which he said needed to be addressed to advance peace.

He said Israel's blockade on Gaza did not destroy Hamas’s military capabilities, and only inflicted terrible suffering on an entire civilian population.

Palestinians, he said, were not “sub-humans” and would never accept a rhetoric that “denigrates their humanity, reneges their rights… ignores the occupation of their land and oppression of their people.”


Getty Images

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67037895

 

[Herat]

Looking at Gaza, the coastline has really only one port, Gaza City. It really does not look very sophisticated and on Google earth does not show the infrastructure and equipment to unload cargo vessels with heavy loads of munitions or war-like vehicles. It seems to be mostly wooden fishing vessels, with smaller numbers of motorized fishing boats. No obvious large ferries or other higher-capacity vessels. There is a huge mosque complex that dominates the harbor, and I would be highly suspicious that weapons secretly were warehoused there. Careful satellite surveillance should have been able to pick up some increase in activity from larger ships offshore, but perhaps that was not considered a priority. Large vessels from Iran could also have been accessing areas on the Egyptian Sinai peninsula and perhaps lots was coming in in the tunnels.

Egypt needs to cooperate more on finding and destroying the tunnel complexes.

 

[Arkay]

Agree, Saudi Arabia was moving closer to the normalization of relations with Israel. Iran and the terrorists that Iran sponsors want to stop this from happening, they see it as an existential threat rather than a move toward peace in the middle east and they will do anything to stop it from happening, as we have just seen with their savage attack on Isaeili civilians and the nation of Israel.

IMO this is undoubtedly true.

It was monumental that Saudi Arabia and Israel were well on their way to acceptance and normalization.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are enemies. The last thing Iran wanted was for Israel and Arab countries to live in peace.

This massacre had to have been planned well in advance, but I still hope America re-freezes the $6 billion dollars we just allowed Iran to have.

This is where their money goes.

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live: 800 Gaza targets hit and ‘hundreds of fighters’ killed, says Israel, as death toll from Hamas attacks climbs (theguardian.com)
2m ago20.40 BST
Here are some images from Gaza coming through the newswires:

Rubble of destroyed buildings after an Israeli air stike in Gaza City, on October 8, 2023. Photograph: Sameh Rahmi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses after an Israeli air stike in Gaza City, on October 8, 2023. Photograph: Sameh Rahmi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

People stand by a destroyed mosque following an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Oct. 8, 2023. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Palestinians fleeing Israeli air strikes take refuge in a school run by the United Nations in Gaza city, on October 8, 2023. Photograph: APAImages/Shutterstock

Women mourn during the funeral of members of the Abu Quta family who were killed in Israeli strikes on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 8, 2023. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A fire burning after a rocket attack on Saturday in Ashkelon, Israel.Amir Cohen/Reuters
Israel battled on Saturday to repel one of the broadest invasions of its territory in 50 years after Palestinian militants from Gaza launched an early-morning assault on southern Israel, infiltrating 22 Israeli towns and army bases, kidnapping Israeli civilians and soldiers and firing thousands of rockets toward cities as far away as Jerusalem.

By early evening, the Israeli military said fighting continued in at least five places in southern Israel; multiple Israelis had been abducted and taken to Gaza, including an elderly grandmother; and at least 250 Israelis had been reported dead by officials and more than 1,400 wounded. Israel retaliated with huge strikes on Gazan cities, and the Gaza Health Ministry said at least 234 Palestinians had been killed in either gun battles or airstrikes

Palestinian citizens inspect a destroyed building after Israel bombed Gaza City.

Nearly 50 years to the day after the Yom Kippur war of 1973, Israel has again been taken by surprise by a sudden attack, a startling reminder that stability in the Middle East remains a bloody mirage

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/07/world/israel-gaza-attack

 

[Gardenista]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711104710340390934

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The United States military is sending the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group as well as additional assets to the eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel, as fighting between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip continues. The move comes on the second day of the violence, with hundreds of civilian casualties in Israel and the Gaza Strip reported.

“My thoughts continue to be with the people of Israel and the many families who have lost loved ones as a result of the abhorrent terrorist attack by Hamas,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “Today, in response to this Hamas attack on Israel, and following detailed discussions with President Biden, I have directed several steps to strengthen Department of Defense posture in the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts.”

The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, led by the titular aircraft carrier, is on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean near Israel. The group had previously been near Italy. In addition to the aircraft carrier, the group includes four guided missile destroyers (the Arleigh-Burke-class USS Thomas Hudner, the USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt) plus a guided missile cruiser (the Ticonderoga-class USS Normandy).

Austin also said that the Pentagon has “taken steps to augment” military aircraft in the Middle East, including F-15, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets as well as A-10 Warthogs, but did not go into detail on what that entails.

US moves carrier group to Middle East as Israel-Gaza fighting continues

The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is on its way to the Middle East for "deterrence" as Israel declares war on the Gaza Strip.

taskandpurpose.com