Israel has pledged to escalate its response to an attack launched by the Palestinian group Hamas with a ground assault, while U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed support for Israel and issued a warning to anyone seeking to take advantage of the situation. The Israeli military stated that dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets overnight in a neighborhood of Gaza City that it claimed Hamas used to launch an unprecedented wave of attacks. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that at least 900 people have been killed and 4,600 injured in the densely populated coastal territory.
Hamas gunmen swept into parts of southern Israel on Saturday from the Gaza Strip, marking the most severe Palestinian assault in Israel's history. The Israeli military has stated that the death toll in Israel has reached 1,200, with over 2,700 injured. Israeli army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said in a video posted on what was formerly known as Twitter, "We have suffered extremely heavy losses." Most of the Israeli casualties have been civilians, many of whom were shot in their homes, streets, or at an outdoor dance party. Dozens of Israelis and others from abroad were taken hostage by the gunmen and brought to Gaza, with some appearing on social media while paraded in the streets.
Hamas militants holding Israeli soldiers and civilians hostage threatened on Monday to execute a captive for every house in Gaza bombed without warning; however, by late Tuesday, there were no indications that they had acted on this threat. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, speaking to troops near the Gaza border, stated, "Hamas wants change, and it will get it. What was in Gaza will not exist anymore." He added, "We started the attack from the air, and we will also come later from the ground. We have controlled the area since the second day and are in a state of attack. It will intensify."
Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza in 2005 after occupying it for 38 years, and has maintained a blockade since Hamas took control in 2007. The blockade declared on Monday will prevent food and fuel from entering. Three security sources reported that a barrage of rockets was launched toward Israel's northern border from southern Lebanon, prompting an Israeli counter-strike. The Israeli military stated that more projectiles were fired from Syrian territory, landing in open areas, and it responded to the gunfire, raising fears that the violence could lead to a wider war.
Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Conricus said, "We do not yet know if Syrian armed forces fired these rockets or any of the numerous Iranian militias welcomed by the Syrian regime or Hezbollah or any other faction." He added, "What we do know is that we responded by firing toward the sources of the fire, and the situation there is currently calm." Sirens sounded in Israeli towns near the Gaza border at night, warning of rocket fire.
At the White House, Biden described the Hamas attacks as "acts of absolute evil." He stated that Washington is hastening to provide additional military aid to Israel, including munitions and interceptors for the Iron Dome air defense system, and urged Israel to follow the "laws of war" in its response. He told reporters that the United States "has enhanced its military presence in the region to bolster our deterrent," through measures including moving an aircraft carrier strike group and fighter jets. He added, "We are prepared to move additional assets as needed. Let me say again to any country, organization, or individual thinking of exploiting the situation: one word: don’t."
U.S. officials say they have no evidence that Iran orchestrated the attacks but point to Iran's long-standing support for Hamas. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Biden has also dispatched Secretary Anthony Blinken to Israel. He added that Blinken would depart for the region on Wednesday to meet with Israeli officials to deliver a "message of solidarity and support."
Meanwhile, the right-wing coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leaders is close to forming an emergency unity government. A meeting between Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz was scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed to Wednesday.
# "There is No Safe Place"
The Israeli military stated its forces engaged militants inside Israeli territory late Tuesday, supported by helicopters and drones. They reported that soldiers killed three militants in a clash in Ashkelon, igniting a fire in an industrial area near an oil port about ten kilometers from the Gaza Strip. The port was closed following the attacks. Palestinian media reported that Israeli airstrikes hit homes in Gaza City, Khan Younis in the south, and the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Reports stated that one of the bombed homes belonged to the father of Mohammad Deif, the leader of Hamas's military wing in Gaza. Reports indicated that Deif's brother and other family members were killed.
A medical official stated that an airstrike on a house in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City resulted in five deaths. Residents pleaded for help on social media, stating that many buildings had collapsed, sometimes trapping up to 50 people inside, and rescue workers were unable to reach them. The United Nations reported that over 180,000 residents of Gaza had become homeless, with many gathering in the streets or seeking refuge in schools. In the morgue of Khan Younis Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, bodies were placed on stretchers on the floor while names were written on their stomachs. Medics urged relatives to hurry and collect the bodies as there was no longer room for the deceased.
A municipal building, used as an emergency shelter, was damaged. Survivors there reported numerous casualties. Alaa Abu Tayr (35), who fled with his family from Abasan Al-Kabira near the border, said, "There is no safe place in Gaza. As you can see, they are hitting everywhere." A Hamas official reported that two members of the movement's political bureau, Jawad Abu Shamala and Zakaria Abu Mamar, were killed in an airstrike in Khan Younis. They are the first Hamas leaders to be killed since Israel began bombing the territory. Israel stated that Abu Shamala had led numerous operations targeting Israeli civilians.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry reported that Israeli strikes have destroyed over 22,600 housing units and ten health facilities since Saturday, causing damage to up to 48 schools. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who condemned the Hamas attacks, stated, "International humanitarian law is clear: the obligation to continually take care to spare civilian populations and civilian objects remains applicable throughout the attacks."
Violence has also erupted in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Israeli police reported that they shot two Palestinians who fired fireworks at their officers on Tuesday evening. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry stated that 21 Palestinians have been killed and 130 others injured in confrontations with Israeli forces since Saturday.
