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Hundreds of people are killed and thousands injured in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Artillery exchanges and missile attacks against Israel were also carried out from the Lebanese territory. This is the tragic news of the second day of the bloody armed conflict between Hamas, Hezbollah, and Israel, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately called “war.” As part of Israel’s Iron Swords military operation, tens of thousands of reservists were called up to respond “to war with a speed and scale never before known to the enemy.”
On October 7, the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas launched an offensive, the likes of which had not been seen in Israel for several decades. According to Israeli sources, “at least 2,200 missiles were launched from Gaza” (5,000 missiles, according to Hamas). This was complemented by a number of incursions into the territory. The number of casualties in Israel was 600 people and 2,000 injured, 300 of them seriously. In addition, 750 people are missing, who could be hostages in the territories. Among Palestinians, the death toll from Israeli raids is estimated at 400.
Hamas’ statement motivates the invasion as a response to repeated attacks Israel has allegedly carried out against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Hamas’s military wing commander Mohammed Deif, under circumstances, called on all Palestinians in the world to take up arms: “This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”
The first reaction of Europe and the USA can be summed up in the position of the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell: “It is with pain that we learn the news coming from Israel. We unequivocally condemn Hamas attacks. This horrific violence must stop immediately. Terrorism and violence solve nothing.” Diametrically opposed was the position of Iran, which, according to Rahim Safavi, adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is “proud” of Hamas and emphasizes Tehran’s closeness “to Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”
The October 8 conflict has already crossed Israel’s borders. On Sunday in Alexandria, Egypt, an Egyptian police officer opened fire indiscriminately on a bus full of Israeli tourists arriving to visit the Temple of the Serapeum museum. According to preliminary information, the crazy attack cost the lives of at least two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian escort, while several other people were injured. The policeman was immediately arrested by other law enforcement officers.
The Lebanese Hezbollah movement also entered the battlefield, saying it has carried out “artillery fire and missile launches” at Israel from Lebanese territory. The Israeli army’s response was immediate: it fired warning shots at “a group of suspects located in the Shab’a Farms area,” which had previously been fired upon near the border with Lebanon. Tel Aviv military spokesman Daniel Hagari clarified that “since the start of Iron Swords operation, the Israeli army has carried out 500 attacks on the Gaza Strip and killed at least 400 Hamas militants.”
The Jerusalem Post cited an “unofficial report” stating that “about 750 Israelis were missing on Saturday October 8,” and the Gaza Ministry of Health said that “the death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war stands at 256,” of which 20 were identified as minors, and about 1,800 people were wounded.”
Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad said in an interview with BBC radio that “the resistance received support from Iran when attacking Israel.” Iran previously condemned the peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which Tehran called a “betrayal of the Palestinians.” Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi recently warned at UN General Assembly in New York that “any normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would constitute a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.”
After the Hamas attack, the peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel is “virtually dead.” President of Eurasia Group Ian Bremmer stated this in an interview with American television company CNN, although, according to him, this agreement “was close, parties had a lot of trust.”
“At this point, I believe the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israeli is dead, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be renewed at another time,” Bremmer said.
“I am following with alarm and pain what is happening in Israel, where violence is escalating even more furiously, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries,” Pope Francis said on Sunday in the Angel of the Lord prayer. “Please stop the attacks with weapons,” he added, “and understand that terrorism and war do not lead to any solution, but only to the death of many innocent people.” “War is a conflict, and it is always a defeat,” the Pontiff emphasized. “Let us pray for peace in Israel and Palestine.”
