1:22pm: UN calls for immediate halt to violence in Gaza
The United Nation‘s High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an immediate halt to violence in Gaza after the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel in years.
Volker Tuerk said he was shocked by reports that hundreds of rockets had been fired towards Israel on Saturday and reports that Israeli civilians have been taken hostage.
At least 22 Israelis have been killed in the attack and more than 250 wounded, Israel’s ambulance service said, with the figures expected to rise.
“This attack is having a horrific impact on Israeli civilians,” Tuerk said in a statement. “Civilians must never be the target of attack.”
He called on Israel to take precautions to avoid civilian casualties as it responded to the attacks with air strikes into Gaza.
“I call for an immediate stop to the violence, and appeal to all sides and key countries in the region to de-escalate to avoid further bloodshed,” Tuerk said.
1:15pm: Saudi Arabia calls for halt to violence between Israel and Palestinians
Saudi Arabia‘s foreign ministry on Saturday called for an “immediate cessation of violence between Israeli and the Palestinians”, the state news agency reported.
It quoted a ministry statement which read: “We are following the unprecedented developments between a number of Palestinian factions and Israel occupation forces which has led to a high level of violence on a number of fronts.”
1:10pm: EU says civilians being taken hostage in Israel ‘against international law’
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday condemned the taking of civilian hostages as a violation of international law after attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
“News of civilians taken as hostages in their homes or to Gaza are appalling. This is against international law. Hostages must be released immediately,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
12:52pm: In pictures: Scenes of war and chaos after Hamas launch surprise attack on Israel
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years on Saturday in a surprise multi-pronged assault that saw armed fighters crossing into several Israeli towns by air, land and sea while thousands of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip. FRANCE 24’s Lara Bullens rounds up some of the pictures from the unprecedented assault. Click on the picture below for the full report.
12:38pm: Hamas releases video showing three men captured by its fighters
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, released a video Saturday showing its fighters had captured three men who were dressed in civilian clothes.
“Scenes of Al-Qassam Brigades capturing a number of enemy soldiers in the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood,” said a sentence appearing on a black background at the start of the video.
Signs in Hebrew in the background suggested the footage was filmed on the Israeli side of the Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
12:22pm: Adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader expresses support for Palestinian attacks
An adviser to Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday congratulated Palestinian fighters for launching the biggest attack on Israel in years, the semi-official ISNA news site reported.
“We congratulate the Palestinian fighters,” it quoted Rahim Safavi as saying. “We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”
In a surprise assault, Palestinian group Hamas crossed into several Israeli towns on Saturday with a heavy barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
11:53am: ‘They’ve never gone in in these numbers – it’s a coordinated attack’
FRANCE 24’s Irris Makler, reporting from Jerusalem on Hamas’s unprecedented surprise attack on Israel, says she believes the “primary aim” of this operation was the taking of “Israeli hostages back into the Gaza Strip”.
“I think the taking of Israeli hostages, the keeping of the rest of Israel quiet while they get hostages in this very sophisticated land, sea and air move – so they get people from the south of Israel, they hold them hostage and then they can do a hostage swap for Palestinian prisoners,” says Makler.
“I don’t think they think they’re going to win ultimately – but they do want a big action and they want a big success in terms of hostage-taking.”
Click on the video below to watch the report in full.
11:51am: Turkey’s Erdogan calls on Israelis, Palestinians to act with restraint
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with restraint and refrain from hostile acts that could exacerbate the situation.
“We call for restraint from all parties,” Erdogan said at a congress for his ruling AK Party in Ankara. “They must refrain from aggressive acts,” he said.
11:45am: Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves, says President Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops”, the official news agency WAFA quoted him as saying.
He spoke at an emergency meeting held in Ramallah with a number of top officials from the Palestinian Authority.
11:43am: Macron condemns ‘terrorist attacks’ against Israel
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that he strongly condemned the terrorist attacks against Israel.
“I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks which are currently hitting Israel. I express my full solidarity with the victims, and their families and those close to them,” Macron wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
11:42am: At least 22 Israelis killed in Hamas attack, reports Israel’s N12 News
At least 22 Israelis have been killed in the surprise attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday, Israel’s N12 News reported, citing the Israeli ambulance service.
11:19am: Israel at ‘war’ against Hamas after unprecedented attack, says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was at “war” with Palestinian militant group Hamas after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday.
“We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds, but at war,” the Israeli leader said in a statement, adding Hamas had launched a “murderous surprise attack” on Israel and its people.
“I have ordered an extensive mobilisation of reserves and that we return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he said.
11:11am: Russia urges ‘restraint’ after attacks on Israel
Russia on Saturday urged restraint from all sides after Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets on Israel, which then launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
“We are now in contact with everyone. With the Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs,” Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian private news agency Interfax, adding: “Of course, we always call for restraint.”
10:58am: European leaders condemn Hamas attacks on Israel
European leaders from several countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, Ukraine and the UK issued statements condemning the surprise attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel on Saturday, saying they supported Israel’s “right to defend itself”.
10:55am: Egypt warns of grave consequences from escalation in Israel
Egypt warned of “grave consequences” from an escalation in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency on Saturday.
It called for “exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri also held a call with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to discuss developments between Israel and the Palestinians since Friday evening, stating that both sides should exercise restraint to avoid serious risks.
10:40: Attack from Gaza a message against normalisation with Israel, says Hezbollah
Hezbollah issued a statement on Saturday saying they were closely following the situation in Gaza and are in “direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance”.
Following events involving Gaza militants who fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, the statement added that it was a “decisive response to Israel’s continued occupation and a message to those seeking normalisation with Israel”.
10:40: Fighting ongoing in ‘certain locations’ in Israel near Gaza, army
Israeli forces were fighting Palestinian militants on the ground in several locations around the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the army said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the enclave into Israeli territory.
“It was a combined ground raid which happened through paragliders, through the sea and through the ground,” army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters.
“Right now we’re fighting. We’re fighting in certain locations around the Gaza Strip … our forces are now fighting on the ground.”
10:27am: Israeli local official killed in firefight with attackers from Gaza
The head of a regional council for Israeli border areas northeast of the Gaza Strip was killed Saturday in a firefight with militants from the Palestinian territory, the council said.
“The president of the regional council, Ofir Liebstein, was killed during an exchange of fire with terrorists,” the Shaar Negev regional council said in a statement.
10:20am: EU’s top diplomat says bloc ‘unequivocally’ condemns Hamas attacks
The European Union on Saturday “unequivocally” condemned attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel and called for an immediate stop to the violence.
“We follow with anguish the news coming from #Israel. We unequivocally condemn the attacks by Hamas. This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing. The EU expresses its solidarity with Israel in these difficult moments,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
9:50am: Israel army launches air strikes on Gaza
Israel’s army carried out at least two air strikes on the Gaza Strip Saturday, an AFP journalist reported, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Palestinian territory into Israel.
More than 5,000 rockets had been fired so far from the Gaza Strip, the armed wing of Hamas which controls the blockaded coastal enclave said. Medics said the rocket fire killed at least one Israeli, a woman in her 60s.
9:36am: French Embassy in Israel condemns Hamas attack
The French Embassy in Israel on Saturday condemned attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israel, describing them as “inadmissible terrorist attacks”.
“Horrified by the developments coming from the south of the country. These terrorist attacks are inadmissible and must be condemned by everyone. We stand side by side alongside Israel and Israelis,” the French Embassy wrote on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.
9:20am: Hamas launched ‘war against Israel’, says defence minister
Palestinian militant group Hamas has launched a “war” against Israel, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on Saturday.
“Hamas has made a grave mistake this morning and launched a war against the State of Israel,” Gallant said in a statement.
“IDF troops (Israeli army) are fighting against the enemy at every location.”
Palestinians react as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border on October 7, 2023. © Reuters