Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in Gaza City,October 11, 2023.
Gaza campaign to be directed by 3-man cabinet; rockets target Tel Aviv, south; IDF clashes with Hezbollah on Lebanese border as hospitals in north ready for possible second front.
For the duration of the war, five members of the National Unity party will be added to the broader security cabinet which operates under every government — Gantz, Eisenkot, MK Gideon Sa’ar and two others yet to be determined.
JERUSALEM/GAZA/WASHINGTON, Oct 11. 2023.
Israel formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday as it pounded Gaza to root out Hamas and deployed forces north of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, where the militants said they were still fighting after their cross-border assault.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a war cabinet with former defence minister and centrist opposition party leader Benny Gantz and focus entirely on the conflict, a joint statement from Gantz’s National Unity party said.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the surprise weekend attack on populated areas of southern Israel by hundreds of Hamas gunmen as “sheer evil”, and he issued a warning seemingly aimed at its Iranian supporters.
Israel’s death toll rose to 1,200 with over 2,700 wounded, its military said, from the militants’ hours-long rampage after breaching the border fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday.
The group’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said it was still fighting inside Israel on Wednesday. Israel deployed tanks and armoured vehicles just north of Gaza where the clashes were reported, but had no immediate comment on the Hamas claim.
IDF strikes Hezbollah position in Lebanon after missiles fired at border post.
A Lebanese security source said the powerful armed group Hezbollah fired two precision missiles into Israel, which the group considers its sworn enemy.
Israelis throughout the country were ordered to shelter in place amid a large-scale attack involving drones coming from the direction of the northern border on Wednesday evening.
The IDF launched retaliatory strikes on a Hezbollah observation post in southern Lebanon on Wednesday after anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanese territory at an Israeli military position on the border, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said. Hezbollah took responsibility for the anti-tank missile fire shortly after the incident.
The attack took place near the Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe, opposite the Lebanese village of Dhayra. The IDF did not immediately provide details on casualties.
A Lebanese security source said the powerful armed group Hezbollah fired two precision missiles into Israel, which the group considers its sworn enemy.
IDF retaliatory strikes hit a Hezbollah observation post near the border, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Residents of the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish said Israeli shelling was hitting around their town, and a security source told Reuters that Israeli artillery shells were hitting the rocket launch point around Dhayra.
Hezbollah says it sees US as ‘full partner’ with Israel in war
The Hezbollah terrorist movement warned on Wednesday that it considers the US a “full partner” with Israel in the ongoing war launched by Hamas this week, saying it was “not frightened” by the entry of a US aircraft carrier to the area.
“We consider the United States a full partner in the Zionist aggression and hold it fully responsible for the killing, criminality, siege, destruction of homes, and horrific massacres against defenseless civilians, including children, women, and the elderly,” said Hezbollah.
Egypt discussing plans to provide aid to Gaza under limited ceasefire.
The attack took place near the Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe, opposite the Lebanese village of Dhayra. The IDF did not immediately provide details on casualties.
A Lebanese security source said the powerful armed group Hezbollah fired two precision missiles into Israel, which the group considers its sworn enemy.
IDF retaliatory strikes hit a Hezbollah observation post near the border, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Residents of the southern Lebanese town of Rmeish said Israeli shelling was hitting around their town, and a security source told Reuters that Israeli artillery shells were hitting the rocket launch point around Dhayra.
Hezbollah says it sees US as ‘full partner’ with Israel in war.
The Hezbollah terrorist movement warned on Wednesday that it considers the US a “full partner” with Israel in the ongoing war launched by Hamas this week, saying it was “not frightened” by the entry of a US aircraft carrier to the area.
“We consider the United States a full partner in the Zionist aggression and hold it fully responsible for the killing, criminality, siege, destruction of homes, and horrific massacres against defenseless civilians, including children, women, and the elderly,” said Hezbollah.
“We call on the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation, which knows the ugly truth of America and its aggression against the peoples of our nation in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, to condemn the American intervention and its international and regional partners and to expose this intervention at all political, popular, media, and legal levels and in various regional and international forums and gatherings.”
Israeli soldiers take positions near Kibbutz Kfar Azza on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.
A plane carrying advanced armaments “designed to facilitate significant military operations” landed Tuesday evening at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“We are grateful for the US backing and assistance to the IDF, and to the State of Israel in general, during this challenging period. Our common enemies know that the cooperation between our militaries is stronger than ever, and is a key part in ensuring regional security and stability,” the IDF said in a statement.
The first supply of US weapons since Israel faced a devastating attack by Hamas arrived in Israel late Tuesday evening, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
“This evening a plane carrying advanced armaments landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel this evening,” the IDF said. “The armaments are designed to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios.”
“We are grateful for the US backing and assistance to the IDF, and to the State of Israel in general, during this challenging period. Our common enemies know that the cooperation between our militaries is stronger than ever, and is a key part in ensuring regional security and stability,” the statement said.
Earlier Tuesday, President Joe Biden pledged that the US would make sure Israel has the tools it needs to defend itself and that it was surging military assistance to Israel.
The first plane carrying U.S. weaponry arrived at Israel’s Nevatim Airbase on Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
