Israel-Palestine conflict: Over 1,500 dead, Gaza fence in Israeli control again; what you need to know

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Monday that Israel's fierce offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has “only started.” “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations," he said.

Israel formally declared war on Sunday. The hostilities so far have killed around 900 people in Israel and more than 680 people in Gaza. The violence, which has claimed more than 1,500 lives, prompted international declarations of support for Israel, and appeals for an end to the fighting and protection of civilians. Here are some key updates from the conflict:

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The military said its forces had largely reclaimed the embattled south and the border around Gaza and dislodged holdout Hamas fighters from more than a dozen towns and kibbutzim.

Israel's total siege of the Gaza Strip, depriving civilians of goods essential for survival, is banned under international law, the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday.

Israel said it had largely secured the Gaza border and was evacuating nearby towns where the bodies of 1,500 Hamas militants had been recovered by Tuesday after days of gruelling battles outside the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli bombardments hit the area of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Tuesday, Palestinian officials and Egyptian security sources said, imperilling operations at the only formal exit point on Gaza's southern border.

Bombardments had caused work to stop at the crossing, and that Egyptian staff had warned Palestinian counterparts to evacuate.

Israel has retaken control of the Gaza border fence breached by Palestinian Hamas gunmen, and is planting mines in the parts where the barrier was toppled, the chief military spokesperson said on Tuesday. There had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday.

The Hamas movement threatened to execute an Israeli captive every time Israel bombs a Palestinian home without warning, as Israel called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, raising fears it planned a ground assault.

"Every targeting of our people without warning will be met with the execution of one of the civilian hostages," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement.

Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip Monday and cut off the water supply as it kept bombing targets in the Palestinian enclave. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would impose a "complete siege" and stressed what this meant for its 2.3 million people: "No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it's all closed."

Fighting between Israeli forces and Islamist group Hamas was ongoing at seven or eight locations near Gaza two days after Hamas gunmen killed Israelis and abducted dozens. Hamas fighters also continued to cross into Israel from Gaza, said Israeli military.

Israeli fighter jets, helicopters and artillery struck over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza overnight. The Palestinian health ministry said more than 400 people including scores of children had been killed in the attacks since Saturday, which it said also hit housing blocks and a mosque.

Palestinians reported receiving calls and mobile phone audio messages from Israeli security officers telling them to leave areas mainly in the northern and eastern territories of Gaza, and warning that the army would operate there. Dozens of people in Gaza City's Remal neighbourhood fled their homes.

In Israel's south, scene of the Hamas attack, Israel's chief military spokesperson said troops had re-established control of communities inside Israel that had been overrun, but isolated clashes continued as some gunmen remained active.

Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire blared in Israeli communities near the Gaza border overnight.

Seven Argentines were killed during the attacks by Hamas militants, and 15 more are still missing. Around 625 Argentines nationals still in Israel.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed in Israel following the weekend's attacks.

Nepal said on Monday at least 10 of its nationals were killed in Israel after the attack by Palestinian group Hamas. Officials say about 4,500 Nepalis work in Israel, mostly as caregivers, and more than 100 are studying there under an "earn and learn" programme.

Eighteen Thai nationals have been killed in unrest in Israel according to the latest available figures, a Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

On Monday, Hungary was evacuating 110 more people from Israel, bringing the total number of people it has brought out of the country to 325 including 46 children, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Three military planes evacuating Poles from Israel landed in Warsaw on Monday morning, the Polish authorities said.

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in response to at least three of its members being killed in Israeli shelling of Lebanon. Israel said one of its deputy commanders was killed in an earlier cross-border raid from Lebanon. The cross-border violence marked a significant expansion of a conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza to the Israeli-Lebanese border further north.

Hamas carried out a careful campaign of deception to pull of its stunning attack, accounts from Hamas and Israeli sources show. While Israel was led to believe it was containing a war-weary Hamas by providing economic incentives to Gazan workers, the group's fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight, a source close to Hamas told Reuters.

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second straight day on Sunday, offering "my full support for the people of Israel in the face of an unprecedented and appalling assault by Hamas terrorists."

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the U.S. will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel.

An Israeli soldier stands by the bodies of Israelis killed by Palestinian armed militants. Photo: AP

• Global market roiled

Asian shares rose on Tuesday in line with Wall Street's high note and bonds also rallied, boosted by dovish Federal Reserve remarks, while oil prices edged down after Monday's surge with the market remaining focused on the conflict in the Middle East.

Spot gold gained 2% to $1,864.69 per ounce, after scaling a one-week high on Monday as investors sought safe havens.

Oil prices eased after climbing more than 4% on Monday. Brent crude fell 0.4%, to $87.75 a barrel as of 0136 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 16 cents or 0.5% to $85.93 a barrel.

A Palestinian emergency responder directs other after an Israeli airstrike on buildings in the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP

• Airlines suspend flights

Major airlines have suspended flights in and out of Israel after the nation declared war. Scores of arriving and departing flights at Ben Gurion were cancelled or delayed, according to the airport’s online flight board.

American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines suspended service as the U.S. State Department issued travel advisories for the region citing potential for terrorism and civil unrest.

Airlines in Europe and Asia also put flights on hold amid the hostilities, offering refunds and waiving rebooking fees for passengers. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have also cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv.

A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza towards Israel on October 9, 2023. Photo: AFP

• International response

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said some 137,000 people were taking shelter with UNRWA, the U.N. agency that provides essential services to Palestinians.

The British, French, German, Italian and US governments issued a joint statement recognising the "legitimate aspirations" of the Palestinian people, and supporting equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

They also said they would remain "united and coordinated" to ensure Israel can defend itself.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan called on Hamas and Israel to immediately end violence and protect civilians, the Egyptian presidency said.

Qatari mediators held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by Hamas in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.

The prospect that fighting could spread alarmed the region and world.

Fears of a widening conflict meant more volatility for investors. Oil prices jumped more than 4%, gold gained and the U.S. dollar edged up against the euro. Major international air carriers suspended or reined in service to or from Tel Aviv.

The shocking images of the bodies of hundreds of Israelis sprawled across the streets of towns, gunned down at the outdoor dance party and abducted from their homes were like nothing seen before in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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