luc, CNBC Indonesia
Tuesday, 10/10/2023 04:59 WIB
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Israel has declared a “total siege” of Gaza, cutting off water, food and electricity supplies, as Hamas militants threatened to start killing civilian hostages if bombardment of the territory continues without prior warning.
Palestinian militants kidnapped more than 100 people in attacks multi-front which shocked and killed more than 700 people, making Saturday (7/10/2023) the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Israeli media said on Monday (9/10/2023) that the death toll had risen to 900 people.
In response to the attacks, Israel has launched air and sea strikes, which medics say have killed 687 Palestinians in Gaza, a territory that is home to 2.3 million people who have nowhere to flee.
Separately, about 120 miles north of Gaza, Israel said its troops had engaged gunmen crossing from Lebanon, an incident that raised the possibility of a second front in the ongoing war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the political opposition to join a national unity government and said the attacks had “only just begun”.
In a televised speech on Monday evening, Netanyahu promised to “eradicate the terrorists” remaining in Israel. “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will impact them for generations,” he said, as reported by The GuardianTuesday (10/10/2023).
Israel officially declared war on Sunday and called up 300,000 reservists to duty, signaling a possible ground attack on Gaza – a move that in the past has always led to further bloodshed.
However, Israeli forces face the unprecedented task of fighting in urban areas, while dozens of hostages are likely hidden in tunnels and underground chambers throughout the Gaza Strip.
Hamas threat
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, claimed on Monday that Israeli bombardment had killed “four enemy captives and their captors”.
Later, he said Hamas would kill an Israeli civilian prisoner in return for new Israeli bombings of civilian homes “without prior warning.”
In an audio statement, Ubaida said there had been heavy attacks by Israel on civilian areas in Gaza in which apartments were destroyed.
“We have decided to end this and start now, and we declare that any targeting of our citizens in their homes without prior warning will result in the execution of any of the civilian hostages we are holding,” he said.
In previous fighting, Israel has sometimes warned civilians in Gaza of possible attacks on residential buildings. This is done via text messages or phone calls to Palestinians.
They have also launched low-explosive warning attacks, which locals call “roof knocks”, against targets before bombing them. This action gave civilians a few minutes to clear the building before it was destroyed, although in practice in built-up areas, many civilians were still killed.
Israeli media reported Monday that in the current fighting, the military does not always warn civilians about attacks. This was not confirmed by the military.
Prisoner Exchange
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said it was holding mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials, including on a possible prisoner exchange, and a state-run newspaper in Egypt reported that the Egyptian government was negotiating the release of female prisoners held by both sides. Neither Israel nor Hamas confirmed they were talking.
The captives were known to include civilians; women, children, and older adults – mostly Israeli citizens but also people from other countries – and soldiers. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said dozens of United States citizens, most of whom were dual citizens, were among those taken hostage.
Hamas attacks, in which attackers rampage through heavily fortified borders and shoot unarmed civilians when they encounter them, have left the Israeli military scrambling to regain control of its territory. On the other hand, Palestinian militants continue to fire hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory.
Just Monday morning, the Israeli army declared that its forces had taken control of towns and villages in its southern region, although a spokesman acknowledged that militants were still holed up in Israeli territory.
“We control the people,” said the military’s chief spokesman, Admiral Daniel Hagari, adding that there may still be “terrorists” in the area.
As Israeli troops massed in the south, Israel said it had thwarted an infiltration attempt by gunmen operating from Lebanon in the north. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, which operates in Gaza and Lebanon, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a sign of how easily the conflict can spiral out of control, Israel responded to the infiltration attempt by carrying out a helicopter attack on Lebanese territory, which reportedly killed a member of the powerful Hezbollah group.
If Hezbollah, which has been at war with Israel to devastating effect, continues to be involved in the war, Israel could be fighting on two fronts.
Gaza is under siege
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had instructed the military to encircle Gaza, a word rarely uttered in public by Israeli officials.
“I have ordered a total siege of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant said. “We are fighting humans and animals and we act accordingly.”
It was not immediately clear whether Egypt, which shares a southern border with Gaza, would keep land routes open. Gaza residents need permits to enter Egypt, which can sometimes take days or even weeks to obtain approval.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, condemned the Hamas attack as an “act of terror” and said he was “deeply distressed” by the Israeli government’s plans for a “total siege”.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza was dire before these hostilities. Now it will only get worse exponentially,” Guterres said.
“This latest violence did not emerge out of thin air. The reality is that it arises from a long-standing conflict, with 56 years of occupation and no political end in sight. While I recognize Israel’s security concerns, I also remind Israel that the military operation must be carried out in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Guterres began his speech by expressing “total condemnation of the despicable attacks carried out by Hamas and other groups against Israeli towns and villages on the outskirts of Gaza”.
“I acknowledge the legitimate complaints of the Palestinian people. But nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and kidnapping of civilians.”
Saturday’s attack caught Israel’s military and intelligence apparatus off guard, sparking gunfire on Israel’s streets for the first time in decades and shaking the country to its core. Once across the border, the militants moved several miles into Israel and are said to have killed civilians indiscriminately.
Evacuation of Bodies
Zaka, an Israeli rescue service, said it had evacuated at least 260 bodies from the site of the Supernova music festival near kibbutz Re’im, near the Israel-Gaza border. Images and videos from the site showed festivalgoers running across an open field as Hamas gunmen targeted them.
On Monday morning, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the situation in Israel was very bad. “This is the worst day in Israel’s history. Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one thing in one day.”
Conricus said a large number of Israeli civilians and military personnel had been taken hostage and moved to Gaza. Later, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen confirmed that more than 100 people had been taken prisoner by Hamas.
Gaza has been closed by a 16-year Israeli blockade following the election of Hamas in 2006, as well as regular closures of the southern border with Egypt.
Conricus said the IDF’s response would ensure that at the end of the war “Hamas will not be able to rule the Gaza Strip”.
Speaking to troops near the border with Gaza, the IDF chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said that after a “difficult start, we established a line of engagement.”
“We will finish clearing the area so there are no terrorists here, and at the same time we are already carrying out attacks. It started badly, and will end very badly on the other side.”
Watch the video below:
World Airlines Cancel Flights to Israel
(luc/luc)
2023-10-09 21:59:22
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