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

Al-Azhar, one of the most prominent public institutions in Egypt, overseeing a huge educational system, has called on Palestinians to “remain steadfast” and not leave their land. 

In a series of posts published on the online platform X, Al-Azhar said that “the killing, sabotage and terrorism practised by the Zionist entity is a disgrace”.

It saluted Palestinians’ steadfastness and called on them to “hold onto their precious land and soils, regardless of the cost and sacrifice”.

“The land is motherland, honour… it is better to die on your land as knights, heroes and martyrs than to leave it for colonialists to take. Leaving your land is the death of your cause and will cause the disappearance of your land forever,” the statement added.

The institution also called out western media coverage of recent events, saying that it is “fanatical and biased against Palestine and its people”.

Al Azhar has also called on Arab and Muslim governments around the world to “take a serious and unified stance” in response to the aggression against Gaza. 

The posts come amid talks over a humanitarian corridor being formed to Egypt. 

Earlier today, commentators and civilians in Palestine said that the corridor is not the solution, and that instead Israel should stop bombing Gaza.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition MP Benny Gantz have agreed to form an emergency government, according to Israeli media.

A source in Netanyahu's Likud party says that an agreement has been reached between Netanyahu and the leader of the National Unity party. 

The source states that it was agreed in the security cabinet that Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Gantz will be part of the emergency government. 
 

Egypt and the US are discussing plans to provide humanitarian aid through Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip under a limited ceasefire, two Egyptian security sources said today. 

The aid would pass through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
 

Women in Gaza have been using social media platforms to shed light on the impact on women of Israel’s bombardment.

According to one social media user, five pregnant women suffered from severe colic, later causing them to miscarry their babies. 

The miscarriages have been attributed to the extreme fear felt by the women while Israel pummelled the besieged enclave throughout last night.

Hospitals in the Strip are not equipped to deal with the large swathes of wounded people, particularly as Israel cuts essential supplies, including water and electricity, to Gaza.

Translation: "My friend works in a private maternity hospital. She told me that during her work day yesterday, she received five pregnant women suffering from severe colic due to fear, which led to the miscarriage of their foetuses. This barbaric occupation kills everything in us, even the incomplete soul [foetus]"  

Palestinians have been struggling to deal with the extent of the damage to residential neighbourhoods in Gaza as well as the loss of life. 

The Palestinian death toll has reached 1,055, with over 5,000 people wounded. 

With no electricity, water or fuel, hospitals and emergency teams have been unable to respond to the number of people wounded. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that Israel's blockade and bombing of Gaza in retaliation to Hamas' attack on Israel on Saturday was a disproportionate response, amounting to a "massacre".

Addressing his party in parliament, Erdogan said that even war had a "morality" but the tensions since the weekend have "very severely" violated that.
 
"Preventing people meeting their most fundamental needs and bombing housing where civilians live - in short, conducting a conflict using every sort of shameful method - is not a war, it's a massacre," he said, referring to Israel cutting off electricity and water, and blocking aid into Gaza, as well as destroying civilian infrastructure.
 

Video footage captured around Gaza shows the immense magnitude and scale of the destruction caused by Israeli air strikes. 

A former Israeli general, Giora Eiland, has said that Israel “must create an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza”, saying that the "ultimate tool" is damage to the water system.

“Only the mobilisation of tens of thousands and the cry of the international community will create the leverage for Gaza to be either without Hamas or without people. We are in an existential war,” he added.

People in Gaza have been without water for days now, with a growing risk of disease spreading and people living without their basic needs.
 

The manager of the al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza told Al Jazeera Arabic that hospitals in the besieged enclave are completely overwhelmed. 

“I have been working for years and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. People have been here for five days and we can’t cope with the numbers,” he said. 

“Every minute we are losing people and we are seeing wounded patients and are unable to help them… the hospitals can’t be called hospitals any more, they have been transformed to public cemeteries,” he added.

With Gaza’s only power plant now out of service, doctors have raised concerns over the humanitarian impact this could have, from the spread of disease to doctors being unable to treat patients. 
 

An opinion piece published in Haaretz states that "bringing back Israelis doesn’t tip Israel’s priorities" and that “the government seems to have decided to apply the so-called Hannibal Protocol, which allows risking abductees’ lives, to the 150 captive and missing Israelis”.

The opinion piece lists how Israeli officials and ambassadors said that the hostages’ situation was not going to stop them from doing what they need to do “to secure the future of Israel”.

“The government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must not try to save Israel’s battered national honour, and that of the army, on the backs of helpless babies, children, teenagers, elderly people and parents, or on the backs of their families here in Israel, who are going crazy with worry and pain,” the article reads. 

“No government, and certainly not the most reckless government in Israel’s history, has the right to traffic in the lives of innocent civilians and decide to sacrifice them on the altar of national pride. We must pay whatever is demanded, with no delays, no fancy manoeuvring and no tricks,” the article added.

Gaza’s sole power plant is now out of service, after Israel cut supplies, according to the Energy Authority.

According to local Palestinian media, the besieged enclave now has no electricity.

Health officials have raised concerns over the spread of scabies in hospitals and overcrowded schools where Palestinians are seeking shelter. 

Earlier today, MEE journalist Maha Hussaini said she lost connection as her phone and laptop ran out of charge, which is rendering Palestinians “silent” during the ongoing bombardment. 

British foreign minister James Cleverly travelled to Israel today to show solidarity with Israelis.

"He will be meeting survivors of the attacks and senior Israeli leaders to outline UK support for Israel’s right to defend itself,” a foreign office spokesperson said.
 

Hundreds of people in Gaza have crammed into overcrowded schools to seek shelter from Israeli bombing. 

Those who have been displaced after their homes were demolished in air strikes have fled to nearby schools.

In interviews with Al Jazeera Arabic, residents describe going five days without water and very little food shared between them.

“The children are starting to get sick, there’s no running water for people to drink or wash, it’s unbearable,” one resident said. 

“Even the girls, they don’t have access to toilets,” one woman commented, highlighting the specific needs of women. 

The schools also offer no privacy, as people continue to pile in and wait in the hallways and courtyards for the bombardment to stop, and to hear information about their loved ones. 

Displaced Palestinians have also raised concerns over the spread of disease in the schools as Israel cuts essential supplies, including food and water, to the besieged enclave. 

A UNRWA spokesperson said that supplies are expected to run out in 10 days or less. 

Palestinians have been stocking up on water to last them the coming days as Israel cuts off supplies.
 

Israeli bombardment has targeted ambulances and medical teams in Gaza, which has had a catastrophic impact on the already struggling and overwhelmed healthcare system in the besieged enclave. 

Palestine’s Ministry of Health says that bombardment of Gaza is still ongoing, and hospitals are unable to deal with the high volume of wounded patients, particularly as Israel has cut the power to the Strip. 

The Israeli cabinet is expected to approve emergency regulations to put an end to Al Jazeera’s coverage of the ongoing attacks, according to Israeli media. 

Communications minister Shlomo Karai said that they are deliberating closing the television network “until the end of the war”.