IDF battles to drive out militants, masses forces near Gaza

Israeli troops work to secure Sderot

SDEROT, Israel — As Israel continues to launch retaliatory missile attacks on Hamas targets, troops on the ground here said they are waiting to clear out the bodies of Hamas fighters in the rubble of a bombed police station.

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Hamas fighters had penetrated the town and took over a police station, witnesses and officials told NBC News. They had ridden up to the city in pick-up trucks with machine guns mounted to the backs of the vehicles. Witnesses said the militants were firing at people.

Israeli forces collapsed the station with a bomb, brought the building on top of them and are now slowly waiting to clear out what they believe are about 10 bodies of Hamas fighters, which they said are booby trapped.

Israeli troops told NBC News they believe the area is now secure, but that some Hamas members may have escaped and could be hiding in Sderot or other towns.

Israel’s El Al airline will launch flights to take reservists to fight

Israel’s El Al Airlines announced Monday that it will launch flights to take reservists back to the area to fight Hamas after Saturday’s unprecedented attack, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson for the airline told Reuters that several of El Al’s planes in and out of Israel were full, and no flights had been canceled.

Father says wife, two young daughters and mother-in-law were taken to Gaza as hostages

Yoni Asher says his wife, Doron, and two young daughters, Raz and Aviv, ages 3 and 5, and his mother-in-law were taken hostage by Hamas militants into Gaza on Saturday. 

Asher said on NBC’s “TODAY” show Monday that his family members had been staying at his mother-in-law’s house near the Gaza Strip since Thursday, when they were taken Saturday morning.

That morning, he received a terrifying phone call from his wife saying there were terrorists inside the house. He said he recognized his wife and kids in video circulating online showing Hamas taking hostages.

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“They’re just little babies,” he said pleading for their safe return. “Babies, women, families are off limits. You can’t just taken them and hold them in captivity … That’s what I want to tell [Hamas]. To not hurt them and show some decency. Show some respect.”

He said in the past 48 hours he’s been unable to sleep or eat and has been talking to local media and social media to raise awareness about the crisis at hand so “people can see that they should be home, they shouldn’t be kept as prisoners by Hamas.”

At least 700 dead in Israel, 560 dead in Gaza

At least 700 people have been killed in Israel, including 73 soldiers, according to Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari, and some 560 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

More than 2,000 people have been injured in Israel and roughly 2,900 have been injured in Gaza.

Nine Americans killed in Israel conflict, State Department says

Nine Americans have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict and more may be missing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on “Morning Joe” this morning. 

“There are reports of Americans who are unaccounted for. We continue to work to confirm that number and try to locate those who are missing,” he added. “We don’t have solid information about either the number or where they might be and we’ll continue to work through that with the government of Israel.”

Nations across the globe have been scrambling to assess the safety of their citizens caught in the Israel-Hamas crossfire that erupted Saturday.

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N.Y. congressman recalls ‘traumatic’ escape from ‘unfathomable’ Hamas attack

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., described his terrifying experience waking up to sirens wailing and sheltering in a stairwell with his family Saturday during a family trip to Tel Aviv. 

“I had never heard [the sirens] before. My kids had no idea what was going on. We woke up and sort of scrambled and ran to the stairwell on the Saturday morning. That happened several more times as rocket fire was coming towards Tel Aviv. It happened again in the evening,” he recalled on NBC’s “TODAY” show this morning.

His family was able to get a flight out of Israel yesterday. 

“It was unfathomable. Our experience was traumatic, but of course it is nothing compared to so many Israelis down in the south just massacred with barbarism that we have not seen.”

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He called for the U.S. to provide support to Israel and denounced Hamas’ actions of “indiscriminately massacring people.”

Russia says it’s ‘very concerned’ by situation in Israel

The Kremlin said today it was “extremely concerned” by the violence in Israel and Gaza, calling it a “great danger for the region” amid its own invasion of Ukraine.

“We believe that it’s necessary to bring this situation into a peaceful direction as soon as possible, because the continuation of such a round of violence, of course, is fraught with further escalation and expansion of this conflict,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily news call.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Hamas’ invasion and expressed solidarity with Israel, saying Monday that Kyiv’s position is that anyone who brings terror and death must be held accountable. He has regularly referred to Russia as a terrorist state.

Hamas breaks new ground in recent attack, former senior CIA official says

Jeremy Bash, who served as chief of staff at both Department of Defense and the CIA, said on NBC’s “TODAY” show Monday morning that Israel has never faced a ground invasion like Hamas’ attack on Saturday.

“The terrorists came in by boat, they came in by paraglider, they’ve done both of those things before, but never before have they been able to blow 15 holes in a fortified border fence and enter Israel on vehicles and go on a killing spree throughout all of those villages and towns there along the Gaza Strip,” Bash said. 

Hamas’ offensive came 50 years almost to the day after the start of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, when Arab neighbors launched a surprise attack during Yom Kippur and crossed into Israeli-held territory.

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While sirens, and entering bomb shelters are nothing new, Israelis are used to the Iron Dome intercepting assault rockets. 

“But never before had they have to contend with a ground invasion and military assault from terrorists in their homes, in their community centers, in their villages,” he said.

He said that the capture of hostages poses a major complication for the Israeli Defense Force, and that if Israel goes after Hezbollah in northern Israel, which is sponsored by Iran, it could signal “a wider regional war between Israel and Iran.”

Israeli kidnapping victim’s cousin frustrated by lack of official information

Yifat Zailer feels like she has been forced to become an amateur investigator in the almost 48 hours since Hamas militants kidnapped six of her relatives.

Zailer has not heard anything from Israeli government, military or law enforcement officials — “no one from the army, no one from the police, no one from mental health [services],” she said in an interview with NBC News late yesterday. She has been scouring for information.

Hamas gunmen captured Zailer’s cousin Shiri Silberman-Bibas; Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, 37; their 9-month-old and 3-year-old boys; and Shiri’s parents, Yosi and Margit Silberman, who are in their late 60s. The kidnapping of Shiri Silberman-Bibas and her children was recorded and the clip has circulated online.

Zailer, who lives in Tel Aviv, said she understands that Israeli authorities are likely consumed by the “magnitude of the event” and are struggling to keep civilians informed. But she remains desperate for news.

“Families are crying for help,” Zailer said, breaking down in sobs. “Families are looking for their loved ones.”

Several European countries evacuating citizens from Israel

Several European countries were evacuating their citizens from Israel today. 

The Polish government said today that 120 of its citizens arrived in Warsaw on evacuation flights from Israel.

Romania has evacuated some 245 citizens, including two groups of pilgrims, from Israel aboard four planes, the Foreign Ministry wrote.

Hungary evacuated 215 people from Israel overnight, the country’s foreign minister said in a Facebook post this morning, adding that the group had safely landed in Budapest.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian diplomats were working to learn about the status of Russian nationals in Israel, including whether any Russians were injured or endangered. Peskov added that Russian envoys were in contact with Palestinian officials.

‘Like watching a horror movie’: Returning travelers describe unfolding conflict

A traveler returning from Israel to Los Angeles International Airport described scenes unfolding on the ground, saying it’s “like watching a horror movie.”

He shared his experience of seeing both soldiers and civilians killed, adding that he has close friends who are missing.

“It’s a very complicated situation, but I’m sure we’re going to handle it,” he said. “Israel is a very strong country.”

Another traveler described hearing sirens and “thousands and thousands of missiles.”

He said the conflict forced him and his family to cut their trip short. “My kids are not used to it. My wife was used to it. I’ve been through a few of these, but I didn’t want my kids to go through this,” he said.

Hamas fighters still trying to infiltrate Israel, IDF says

Although Israel says it has regained control over all of its communities, there is still active fighting with Hamas militants “constantly trying to cross over” from Gaza, IDF spokesman Doron Spielman told NBC News.

“They keep stringing to the border and we expect this to continue because there’s a massive number of jihadis that have been trained to do this,” he said.

The fighters who have crossed over have “embedded themselves” Spielman said, and “there are potentially serious numbers of terrorists that are in hiding.” Today, “one of those terrorist cells came out of hiding and began shooting on one of the southern communities.”

Spielman said Israel was faced with an “entirely new paradigm” compared with conflicts of recent years. “We are battling an enemy that is more similar to ISIS than any other type of enemy that the world has encountered in many, many years.”

Asked whether Israel was preparing a ground offensive, he said, “I can tell you that we’re weighing the situation very carefully” and that “we’re going to need to take a deep breath, because this is going to take a significant period of time.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry releases ‘horrific’ images of dead bodies

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a series of disturbing pictures on its Facebook page this morning, showing a room full of dead bodies and a kidnapping in progress.

The victims’ faces were blurred but still convey the shocking scenes of the last 48 hours.

“We debated whether or not to share these horrific images, but the world needs to know what we are up against,” the ministry said in its post, comparing Hamas to the Islamist group ISIS.

British prime minister’s residence emblazoned with Israeli flag

Hamas claims 4 Israeli captives killed by Israeli bombing of Gaza

The the military wing of Hamas, said that four Israeli citizens taken captive by the militants were killed as the result of Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza.

There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli officials to the claim and NBC News has not verified this claim.

IDF spokesman Doron Spielman told NBC News the force does not have any information on the claim at this time. “Nor would I trust reports from Hamas,” Spielman said.

The Hamas militants are believed to have taken dozens of people, both Israeli civilians and military, hostage during the unprecedented incursion over the weekend.

Iran denies involvement in Hamas attack

In a briefing today, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry denied that the country was involved in the Hamas attack on Israel. The spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, dismissed such accusations as “politicized.”

In a separate statement, Iran’s mission to the United Nations nonetheless celebrated Hamas’ incursion.

The denial comes after The Wall Street Journal reported that Iranian security officials helped Hamas plan the surprise assault and approved it during a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Two U.S. officials told NBC News that they did not have information to corroborate the Journal account. However, the scale and complex tactics Hamas used indicate Iran most likely played a significant role in the assault, former U.S. intelligence and military officers say.

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Israeli defense minister orders ‘full siege’ of the Gaza Strip

Israel has begun what Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called a “full siege” of the Gaza Strip in the wake of the unprecedented attacks by Hamas.

“I ordered a full siege on the Gaza Strip. No power, no food, no gas, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly,” said Gallant, a former IDF commander who now serves in Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline nationalist government.

Gallant was speaking after conducting a situation assessment with the IDF Southern Command.

Gaza is a tiny coastal enclave that is home to more than 2 million residents and has been blockaded for years since Hamas took power there.

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‘Most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust’: U.S. antisemitism envoy

The special U.S. envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism said the Hamas attacks on Israel over the weekend were the most lethal assault against Jews “since the Holocaust.”

“There is no justification whatsoever for this mass murder. None,” she said in a post on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

“No one has the right to tell Israel how to defend itself and prevent and deter future attacks,” she said.

Israel resident watched his family was apparently kidnapped online

Israeli resident Yoni Asher said he watched on social media as a disturbing video emerged appearing to show his wife, two young daughters and mother-in-law being taken by Hamas and crammed onto the back of a vehicle.

He had last spoken with his wife when she called to say terrorists had descended on a home where she and her relatives were hiding, Asher told NBC News.

The last thing he remembers her saying is that the militants were armed and that she feared talking too loudly on the phone. “It was a very terrifying moment,” Asher said, adding that he believed his father-in-law had also been abducted. “The worst has happened — they discovered them and took them.”

Read the full story here.

Israeli and Palestinian supporters stage rival protests in Times Square, New York

300,000 reservists mobilized in Israel, IDF says

The Israel Defense Forces has called up at least 300,000 reservists since the Hamas incursion, it said this morning, amid speculation that Israel is on the verge of launching a ground operation in Gaza.

“We have managed to mobilize 300,000 reservists — everybody has come to join,” IDF spokesperson Richard Hecht told Sky News Monday morning.

Hecht would not comment on any plans for a ground invasion, but said the military will bring “disruptive solutions” to resolve the situation.

Israeli forces regain control following clashes with Hamas, IDF says

The Israeli army has regained control of multiple areas from Hamas fighters, a spokesman for the IDF said, after reports that fighting was ongoing at up to eight locations inside Israel.

“I think we have actually managed to gain control right now,” Richard Hecht told Sky News, adding that there has been a shift in the recent hours in southern Israel.

“We can’t deny that there are terrorists still inside Israel,” Hecht added. “There are still small pockets of exchange, but in general right now, we have more or less gained control of the communities.”

Another IDF spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said at a news conference that Israeli troops have regained control of all towns on the Gaza border, according to the Times of Israel.

Smoke rises above Gaza city this morning

More than 123,000 people in Gaza internally displaced, United Nations says

More than 123,000 people have been internally displaced in Gaza since Israeli forces retaliated for an unprecedented incursion by Hamas over the weekend, the United Nations humanitarian agency said.

That includes more than 17,500 families, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which has been displaced “mostly due to fear, protection concerns and the destruction of their homes.”

The U.N. estimates more than 73,000 people are sheltering in 64 schools, some of which are designated emergency shelters.

Schumer ‘disappointed’ by China’s lack of sympathy for Israel

HONG KONG — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D.-N.Y., criticized the Chinese government’s response to the Hamas attack on Monday during a visit to Beijing by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators.

On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged “relevant parties” to immediately cease hostilities to protect civilians.

“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine,” the ministry said in a statement that did not mention Hamas.

In remarks Monday before a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Schumer described the events in Israel as “horrific.”

“I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn these cowardly and vicious attacks,” he told Wang.

“I was very disappointed, to be honest, by the foreign ministry’s statement that showed no sympathy or support for Israel during these troubled times,” Schumer added.

Israel pounds more than 500 targets in Gaza overnight

Israeli Defense Forces said more than 500 enemy targets were struck overnight following Hamas’ surprise attack.

These included seven command centers used by Hamas and one used by Islamic Jihad, a paramilitary group in Gaza, the IDF said in a statement in Hebrew translated by NBC News.

One of the command centers was a multistory building that also included the residence of Ruhi Mashtaa, secretary of the Hamas, the IDF said. In one case, an “asset” inside a mosque was targeted, it added.

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Fighting ongoing inside Israel as Hamas incursions continue

Battles were ongoing between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters inside Israel this morning, more than 48 hours after the militants launched a huge surprise attack.

Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli military, told reporters there were still multiple breaches in the country’s border, meaning it was taking longer than expected to stop the attacks. The IDF said there was fighting ongoing at seven or eight locations.

“We thought this morning we’d be in a better place,” Hecht said, according to the Associated Press.

Gaza death toll jumps to 493

The number of people killed in Gaza since the surprise Hamas attack and retaliatory Israeli air strikes on the enclave has risen to 493, the Palestinian health ministry said Monday morning.

Another 2,751 people have been injured, it said.