Status: 08.10.2023, 23:18 p.m.
By: Bettina Menzel
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Israel attacks several targets in the Gaza Strip following Hamas attacks. The U.S. is also reacting to the conflict. The news ticker.
- War in Israel Claims Victims: Death Toll in Israel Continues to Rise
- Responseto Hamas attack: US deploys warships to eastern Mediterranean
- The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from Israel. At present, it is not yet possible to fully assess the situation. As a result, not all information can be verified directly and independently.
Tel Aviv – On Saturday morning, the radical Islamic group Hamas made a surprise attack on Israel by land, air and sea. The counter-attacks followed promptly, and in the meantime the fighting claimed almost a thousand lives. The Israeli security cabinet declared a state of war on Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced "powerful revenge for this evil day" and prepared the population for a "long and difficult war." The suffering of the civilian population is immense and the death toll is growing. Apparently, aid organizations recovered 250 bodies at a music festival alone.
Israel war: Nearly a thousand people die in clashes with Hamas
The actions of the attackers were brutal: while the Palestinian organization fired thousands of rockets at Israel as part of its "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," Hamas fighters made their way across the sea on the ground and by speedboats and advanced into Israeli territory. The members of the group killed civilians and took more than a hundred people hostage. Apparently, the Israeli intelligence services were not prepared for this, which is why they are now under criticism. The EU, the US and Israel classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Fire and smoke over Gaza City. The Israeli Air Force has attacked other targets in the Gaza Strip following the surprise large-scale attacks by Palestinian militants on the night of October 8. © Fatima Shbair/AP/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++
According to government figures, at least 600 people have died on the Israeli side so far. Israeli media spoke of more than 700 deaths, but the actual numbers are likely to be much higher. According to the spokeswoman for the volunteer organization ZAKA, 250 bodies were recovered at the music festival attacked by Hamas alone, the Times of Israel reported. On the Palestinian side, there was talk of at least 370 dead. The number of injured is over 2000 for each of the warring parties. According to its own statements, the Israeli army wants to free the Israeli hostages and evacuate the entire Israeli border region within 24 hours.
War between Israel and Hamas: US deploys warships to the eastern Mediterranean
Tens of thousands of Israeli troops are deployed in southern Israel around the Gaza Strip, and Israel has also carried out numerous airstrikes against Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks. The U.S. has already reacted: The military superpower moved the aircraft carrier "USS Gerald R. Ford", the air force cruiser "USS Normandy" and four destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class to the eastern Mediterranean, as the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Sunday. In addition, preparations have been made to transfer Air Force squadrons with their fighter jets to the region, it added.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also announced that additional equipment and ammunition would be provided to the Israel Defense Forces. The first delivery will be set in motion on Sunday. Austin said the U.S. was emphasizing its support for the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli people. Meanwhile, fighting and shelling continued in Israel on Sunday. Hamas' hideouts in the Gaza Strip would be reduced to "rubble," the Israeli government announced.