Israel-Palestine war: First week ends with over 2,500 Palestinians, 1,400 Israelis killed

The Israeli military attacked Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to Palestinian media.

Videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed Israeli forces moving into the city in armoured vehicles. Heavy gunfire can also be heard.

Middle East Eye couldn’t independently verify the videos.

Jenin has been a flashpoint in regional tensions. Israel launched a deadly offensive on the city in July using bombs and bulldozers, levelling much of the infrastructure. 

Jenin is nominally under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), but is home to Palestinian resistance fighters. 

An Israeli military spokesperson said Israel is targeting Hamas tunnels in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israeli military spokesperson Jonathan Cornicus said Thursday that the next stage of Israel’s assault on Gaza—a widely anticipated ground invasion—will come “when opportune and fit for our purposes”

He added that a US naval battle group will soon be in place along the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel and southern Lebanon, specifically to deter Hezbollah and “Iranian proxies” in the region.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with air strikes since Saturday.

The death toll from the Israeli strikes has risen to 1,200 with about 5,600 people wounded, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Solid human waste is accumulating in the streets of Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, posing a health threat, the UN said. 

Seven significant water and sewage facilities serving over 1,100,000 people have been hit by airstrikes and severely damaged. 

Other civilian infrastructure continues to be hit.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Public Works and Housing, at least 2,540 housing units have been destroyed, or severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable. Another 22,850 have sustained moderate to minor damage.

Israeli airstrikes have displaced 338,000 people in the Gaza Strip, the UN said.

The cumulative number of displaced people has jumped by 30 percent over the past 24 hours alone, as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip with air strikes.

The UN says over two thirds of the displaced  are taking shelter in UNRWA schools.

The besieged enclave, home to 2.1 million people, has been pounded by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel Saturday.

The death toll from the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 1,200, the Palestinian health ministry in besieged enclave said. 

The ministry added that about 5,600 people have also been wounded. 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about fighting spilling over into Lebanon on Wednesday as the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel escalates.

The UN chief said he was alarmed over clashes along the Blue Line, the demarcation between Israel and Lebanon, as well as reported attacks from southern Lebanon.

“I appeal to all parties – and those who have an influence over those parties – to avoid any further escalation and spillover,” he told reporters at the UN Headquarters, in New York.

Fifty-one Palestinians have been killed and 281 have been injured over the past several hours by Israeli overnight airstrikes in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The bombings have struck Sabra, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Nafaq, and Tal Al-Hawa.

The ministry in Gaza added that hospitals are in a state of full capacity, and the wounded and sick are sleeping on the ground with medicines and fuel about to run out.

US President Biden has not seen pictures of children beheaded during the Hamas attack on Israel, despite earlier comments by the president, a White House spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Biden based his claim on unconfirmed reports from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson and Israeli media.

At a conference of Jewish leaders Wednesday Biden said “I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children”.

The US State Department raised its travel alert warning for Israel to 'Reconsider Travel' on Wednesday.

Americans are urged to reconsider travel to Israel and the Occupied West Bank citing the threats of terrorism and civil unrest.

The travel warning is the State Department’s third highest, below ‘Do Not Travel.’

The update puts Israel’s warning level on par with Lebanon and Egypt. Neighbouring Jordan has a level two warning of 'Exercise Increased Caution'

US President Joe Biden said it was “really important” for Israel to adhere to the international laws of war in a call with his Israeli counterpart on Wednesday.

“One thing that I did share is that it is really important that Israel with all the anger, frustration and it just cannot explain it, that exist, is that they operate by the rules of war. The rules of war. And there are rules of war,” Biden said in his call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wednesday marked Biden’s fourth call with Netanyahu since Hamas’ surprise attack.

US President Joe Biden claims he has confirmed pictures of children beheaded in a surprise Hamas attack on Israel.

“I have been doing this a long time - I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children,” Biden said at an event with Jewish community leaders on Wednesday.

Hamas’ political bureau earlier released a statement denying the incident, calling them "baseless allegations".

The war that has broken out in Gaza and Israel on Saturday continues to escalate as the fifth night has come to a conclusion.

Israeli air strikes continue to rain down on the Gaza Strip, while hospitals in the area are turning into cemeteries for those killed.

Here are the key updates from the past several hours:

• So far the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has reached at least 1,100 - a third of those killed are children. A further 5,339 Palestinians have been injured. In the West Bank, at least 28 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
• The Israeli death toll has reached at least 1,200.
• Hamas has released footage that was shared on Al Jazeera Arabic purportedly showing the release of an Israeli woman and her children held captive by the armed group.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the national unity government with opposition parties has been formed, and during his address vowed that "every Hamas member is a dead man".
• The only major western country that has expressed concern for Palestinians so far has been Canada. Meanwhile, in response to a question on Israel's military response, the US has said it won't comment on what red lines to draw.
• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have spoken on the phone, according to Iranian media and a Tehran official, and both leaders discussed the need to address war crimes in Palestine.

Middle East Eye is going to continue providing you with up-to-date information around the clock. Be sure to check out our coverage elsewhere as well, including on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the ongoing war between Israel and armed Palestinian groups on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported, with the two leaders noting the "need to end war crimes against Palestine."

It is the first telephone call between the two leaders since a China-brokered deal between Tehran and Riyadh to resume ties after a nearly decade-long freeze in relations.

There was no comment yet from Riyadh on the call.

Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades has published footage purportedly showing their members releasing an Israeli woman and her children who they said were held in custody during clashes in an Israeli communal settlement. 

The footage was aired by Al Jazeera and showed Qassam members releasing a woman towards a child and then leaving the area. 

The woman and the child are then seen walking the opposite direction, while the woman was carrying a toddler in her arms, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera said the footage was filmed in Kibbutz Holit communal settlement, located roughly 5 km from the boundary separating Gaza and Israel. 

Middle East Eye could not independently verify the accuracy of the video or the claim.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Wednesday the kingdom is making efforts towards a comprehensive peace and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to Palestinians.

In a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he stressed that the attack on the Gaza Strip must stop.

He added that he was working with regional and international actors to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Palestine.