Israel-Hamas war live: Hamas surprised by extent of ‘gains’ in Israel; Israel retakes control of Gaza border fence

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have razed 790 housing units and severely damaged 5,330, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said early Tuesday.

Damage to three water and sanitation sites have cut off services to 400,000.

The Israeli military suggested on Tuesday that Palestinians fleeing its air strikes in the Gaza Strip head to Egypt, which also borders the blockaded enclave.

“I am aware that the Rafah crossing (on the Gaza-Egypt border) is still open,” Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht, chief military spokesperson to the foreign media, said in a briefing.

“Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out.”

The Israeli Defence Forces have announced that more than 200 targets have been struck overnight in Gaza.

“In recent hours, IDF warplanes and vessels have attacked many targets of the terrorist organisations throughout the Gaza Strip. Dozens of fighter jets attacked over 200 targets throughout the Rimal neighbourhood and Khan Yunis during the night,” it said in a post in X accompanied by a video showing buildings being destroyed.

The Times of Israel reports that officers are preparing to inform 100 families that their loved ones have been taken hostage by Hamas and are being held in Gaza.

Citing the Israeli Army radio, the Times of Israel reports, “The Israel Defence Force is sending out officers today to inform over 100 Israeli families that their relatives are being held in Gaza by Hamas”.

It adds that “UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan tells CNN that Israel estimates ‘that the number is between 100-150 people’.’”

Chuck Schumer criticises China’s response to Israel-Hamas war

Helen Davidson

The US senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has criticised China’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict while in China, calling on the government there to show more support for Israel.

Schumer spoke repeatedly about China’s response, including directly to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Monday, during a rare meeting on a multi-day trip to the country.

“I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks upon them,” he told Xi in Beijing.

Earlier he had accused China’s foreign minister Wang Yi of showing “no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times.”

On Sunday, China’s foreign ministry released a statement calling on “relevant parties” to end to hostilities and protect civilians. It said “the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine”.

Speaking in Shanghai, Schumer said he was “very disappointed” with China’s initial statement. He also said he had asked for China to use its “influence” on Iran to “not allow the conflagration to spread”. On Monday, at the first daily press conference since a week-long holiday break in China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning responded to Schumer’s criticism by reiterating Beijing’s concern over the conflict and calling for peace.

Facing multiple questions on the topic, Mao said China was closely following the “recent escalation of tensions”.

“We are deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict and oppose and condemn acts that harm civilians. China opposes escalating the conflict and destabilising the region.”

In response to comments by Israel’s embassy in China that it had expected to see “stronger condemnation” of Hamas, Mao reiterated calls for a two-state solution, and said China was “a friend to both Israel and Palestine”. “What we hope to see is the two countries living together in peace”.

Three Austrian-Israeli dual citizens could be among those abducted by Hamas in Saturday’s attack, the Austrian foreign ministry said, but it added that there was no “official confirmation”.

Israel has retaken control of the Gaza border fence breached by Palestinian Hamas gunmen who carried out a weekend mass-incursion, and is planting mines in the parts where the barrier was toppled, the chief military spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In remarks aired by Israel’s Army Radio, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza since Monday.

More now on the Thai nationals killed in Israel.

Eighteen Thais have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants, the kingdom’s government said Tuesday, raising the previous toll of 12.

Jakkapong Sangmanee, Thailand’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, gave the updated toll and said the government was working to evacuate thousands of Thais away from the conflict, which erupted on Saturday.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman said separately that nine Thai citizens had been wounded and 11 taken hostage.

Around 30,000 Thais work in Israel, mostly in agriculture.

Jakkapong said about 3,000 Thais had put in requests to be taken back to Thailand.

US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has spoken to Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen, Reuters reports.

In the call Blinken “reaffirmed US efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages”, according to the US State Department.

Blinken also spoke with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, reiterating their condemnation of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, the department said in a separate statement.

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

The US has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, the White House said Monday, as the Pentagon reviews its inventories to see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the three-day-old war with Hamas.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, confirmed Monday evening that the first batch of military aid in the wake of the violent assault by Hamas militants is “making its way” to Israel.

The delivery came as President Joe Biden prepared to give formal remarks on the attacks from the White House on Tuesday afternoon, after he confirmed that at least 11 Americans were killed in the violence over the weekend.

“We fully expect there will be additional requests for security assistance for Israel as they continue to expend munitions in this fight,” Kirby said. “We will stay in lockstep with them, making sure that we’re filling their needs as best we can and as fast as we can.”

Hamas is ready to fight a long war with Israel and will use the dozens of hostages being held in Gaza to secure the release of Palestinians detained in Israel and overseas, a senior member of the militant group has said.

Speaking to the Associated Press news agency, Ali Barakeh, a member of the group’s exiled leadership in Beirut, said that Hamas has an arsenal of rockets that will last a long time.

“We have prepared well for this war and to deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of the long war,” he said, adding that Hamas would use hostages to secure the release of people detained in Israeli jails and even some Palestinians imprisoned in the United States.

Barakeh said that only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about Saturday’s incursion into Israel and that even the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing. He denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack.

However, he added that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

He said even Hamas was shocked by the extent of the operation, saying it had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack. “We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

This is the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, which has now entered its fourth day.

The Associated Press has interviewed a senior Hamas official who said only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about the wide-ranging incursion launched into Israel and that Hamas was shocked by the extent of the ‘gains’ made in the operation.

“We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

Meanwhile US has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, the White House said Monday, as the Pentagon reviews its inventories to see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the three-day-old war with Hamas.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, confirmed Monday evening that the first batch of military aid in the wake of the violent assault by Hamas militants is “making its way” to Israel.

The delivery came as President Joe Biden prepares to give formal remarks on the attacks from the White House on Tuesday afternoon.

Here are the other key recent developments:

• Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a bloody incursion by Hamas militants, as the war’s death toll rose to nearly 1,600 on both sides.

• US top general says Iran ‘not to get involved’. General Charles Q Brown, Junior, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told reporters that his message to Iran is “not to get involved”, Reuters reports. Brown was appointed in September as the US’s highest-ranking military officer.

• Palestine’s health ministry has released a statement claiming Israeli defence forces “targeted” ambulances in southern Gaza. Four ambulances have been “put out of service” the ministry claims:

• Hamas also escalated on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis if attacks targeted civilians without warnings. In the war’s third day, Israel was still finding bodies from Hamas’ stunning weekend attack into southern Israeli towns. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy the militants’ “military and governing capabilities.”

• The Palestinian death toll has risen to more than 680 killed in Israeli counterattack strikes, the Gaza health ministry reported.

• The Israeli death toll stands at more than 900, according to authorities.

• WHO cites 11 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza. The World Health Organisation said that a 16-year-blockade of Gaza had already left its medical system under-resourced, and the increased hostilities are “compounding an already dire situation.” The UN health agency reported Monday a total of 11 attacks on health care — which included medical facilities, ambulances and care providers — in the first 36 hours of the new conflict in Gaza.

• In Gaza, tens of thousands fled their homes as relentless airstrikes leveled buildings. Israeli tanks and drones were deployed to guard breaches in the Gaza border fence to prevent new incursions. Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from more than a dozen towns near Gaza, and the military summoned 300,000 reservists – a massive mobilisation in a short time.

• The Israeli military said it had largely gained control in the south. Hamas and other militants in Gaza say they are holding more than 130 soldiers and civilians snatched from inside Israel.

• US President Joe Biden issued a statement announcing that at least 11 American citizens have been killed in the Hamas attacks on southern Israel and the White House believes “it is likely” that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas in Gaza.

• Biden also released a joint statement with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy on Monday condemning the attacks on Israel by Hamas and expressed their “steadfast and united support” for Israel. The statement said, “Over the coming days, we will remain united and coordinated, together as allies, and as common friends of Israel, to ensure Israel is able to defend itself, and to ultimately set the conditions for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region”.