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

The Deputy Commander of Israel’s 300th Brigade was killed Monday in a battle with fighters breaching the border with Lebanon.

Lt. Col. Alim Abdullah, 40, was a resident of the Druze city of Yanuh-Jat in northern Israel, near Acre, Israel’s military said.

Abdullah was critically injured during fighting in the late afternoon, along with another five. The Israeli military said it killed two fighters who entered Israeli territory from Lebanon in the afternoon.

Russia accused the US of ‘a destructive approach’ to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as it warned about the potential for fighting to spread regionally.

“I cannot but fail to mention the destructive policy of the United States which thwarts collective efforts within the framework of the Quartet of international mediators,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after meeting in Moscow with Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

He said the US wanted to “monopolise” dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis with the aim of moving away from the creation of a Palestinian state, and instead focusing on the socio-economic problems of Palestinians

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to travel to Moscow, Russian news media reported late Monday.

"We are awaiting an official statement from the Kremlin, from the Russian side, about when the visit will take place," Russian media reported, citing Palestine’s ambassador to Russia, Abdel Hafiz Nofal as saying.

"An agreement has been reached that Mr. Abbas will come here to Moscow.”

So far, Russia has taken a neutral stance to the fighting, and has accused the US of ignoring the Palestinians’ demand for an independent state.

Separately, Chechen warlord and close Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov threw his support behind Palestine.

"We support Palestine," he said in a Telegram post. "And we are against this war, which, unlike other conflicts, can develop into something more.”

He offered to send Chechen peacekeeping forces to the region to “restore order and counter any troublemakers."

The surprise attack on Israel by Hamas has not paused US-led normalisation talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the White House said Monday.

Speaking to reporters, White House spokesperson John Kirby added that US doesn’t plan to put its military on the ground following the attack that left at least 11 US citizens dead and resulted in other Americans potentially being held captive by Hamas.

The White House added that if additional funding is needed for Israel, they will go back to Congress to secure it.

In a joint statement on Monday, the US, UK, Italy, France, and Germany expressed “steadfast and united support” for Israel and said they would coordinate to ensure Israel is able to defend itself.

The countries also expressed “unequivocal condemnations of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism”.

They said they “recognized the legitimate aspirations of Palestinian people and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike”.

But added that “Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed”.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers.

The third night of fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters has concluded, with the death toll continuing to rise significantly on both sides.

For hours in the afternoon, the Israeli air force launched an intense onslaught in Gaza, described by residents as an "unimaginable massacre".

Their targets included hospitals, universities, mosques, a UN school sheltering displaced people, banks, telecommunication companies, and residential towers, among other civilian infrastructure.

The bombs rained down as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called Palestinians "human animals" that must be dealt with "accordingly".

Gallant also announced a "complete siege" of the already blockaded Palestinian enclave, cutting its access to food, water, electricity, and fuel supply. Human Rights Watch said his "abhorrent" orders were a "call to commit a war crime".

Here's a recap of the latest updates you need to know:

• At least 900 Israelis and 700 Palestinians have been killed, with over 2,500 wounded on each side. The numbers are likely to rise

• Fighting is ongoing in several locations inside Israeli territory 60 hours after the start of the assault, despite the Israeli army saying they regained control. More Palestinian fighters continue to cross the boundary into Israel

• Israel has amassed around 300,000 reserve troops around Gaza with assessments saying they are possibly preparing for the ground invasion of the besieged Strip

• Hamas said it's preparing for a long battle and threatened to kill captives if Israeli shelling of civilian infrastructure without warning didn't stop

• The Israel military said it would carry out strikes even if Israeli captives were hurt, and instructed people to stock up on food and water as the "campaign may be long"

• Meanwhile in Lebanon, at least four Hezbollah members were killed in Israeli shelling after tensions along the Israel-Lebanon boundary flared up

• Several fighters who did not belong to Hezbollah crossed the boundary from Lebanon earlier on Monday and clashed with troops inside Israeli territory. Rocket and artillery fire have also been exchanged along the boundary, involving Israel, Hezbollah and possibly other Palestinian groups

For more updates, keep an eye on Middle East Eye "Live" throughout the day and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, has said that over 137,000 people in Gaza are taking shelter, with their own emergency bunkers at 90 percent capacity.

At least one of these shelters has been hit by Israeli bombing, according to UNWRA.

Israeli air strikes have hit two more mosques in the Khan Younis and al-Maghazi refugee camps in the Gaza Strip on Monday night, according to Palestinian media reports.

US President Joe Biden released a statement on Monday saying that at least 11 Americans have been killed since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.

He added that they are still gathering information, but believe further Americans are being held by Hamas.

The statement said that commercial flights and ground transportation options are still available for US citizens who wish to leave Israel.

The Israeli military has begun cutting off the water supply into Gaza, after the country’s defence minister ordered a full siege on the already blockaded enclave.

Footage posted on X by the Israeli broadcaster Kann showed soldiers turning off the water supply.

Gaza has only one source of renewable freshwater: the Coastal Aquifer that stretches from northern Israel to the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

The aquifer is under complete Israeli control and has also become contaminated over time with sewage and seawater.

About 97 percent of that groundwater is unfit to drink, according to the Israeli rights group Btselem.

Palestinians in Beit Hanoun woke up on Sunday to clear instructions from the Israeli army: leave your homes and head to the city centre.

The warning, which usually precedes Israeli air strikes, was unsurprising, given that Israeli bombs had rained down on the besieged Gaza Strip for a third successive day.

'It's a massacre that no one imagined could happen'

- Muhammed Lubbad, resident

Many in Beit Hanoun, a densely packed area in northeast Gaza, heeded the call.

They went westwards, some two kilometres away, to the Jabalia refugee camp, in the hope of finding relative safety.

But instead, they were greeted with death.

Read more: They were told to leave their homes. They did. They were still bombed

The reason why Hamas launched the Saturday attack is due to Israel's crimes, long ignored by the world "despite the cries of the oppressed [Palestinian] people", a Hamas' Izzideen al-Qassam Brigades' spokesperson, has said.

In a recorded statement, Abu Ubaida said battles are still ongoing in many locations inside Israel 60 hours after the assault was launched, and that the group is still replacing forces in combat sites, sending reinforcements - with weapons, equipment, and fighters - and taking prisoners.

"We heard [Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant] calling us "human animals", perhaps [he] was referring to lions who stepped over their pig soldiers’ necks," he said.

Israel's allusion to launch a ground invasion is "laughable", he added, saying that nine-tenths of al-Qassam forces are on standby and are ready for a prolonged fight.

He also said the group has taken a large number of prisoners and will not negotiate over their fate while "under fire". 

"We affirm that we will not deliberate or negotiate on the issue of prisoners under fire, in light of aggression, or in light of battle. The issue of prisoners is a strategic file with its clear and known path and the prices that the occupation will pay."

Human Rights Watch condemned Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's announcement ordering a full siege on Gaza, as the rights group said it was akin to calling to "commit a war crime".

"Defense Minister Gallant's statements are abhorrent. Depriving the population in an occupied territory of food and electricity is collective punishment, which is a war crime, as is using starvation as a weapon of war," Omar Shakir, the Israel-Palestine director for HRW, said in a statement published on X.

"The International Criminal Court should take note of this call to commit a war crime."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that Riyadh will continue to stand by the Palestinians, and the kingdom will spare no effort to restore calm and stability to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Earlier on Monday, Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi spoke, and the two leaders said that the “voice of reason” should prevail in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, according to a spokesman for the Egyptian presidency.

Prior to the breakout of the conflict, the US was working to broker a deal to normalise ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

A White House spokesperson on Monday said that while it has no intelligence or evidence on Iran’s involvement in Hamas’ attacks on Israel, it believes Iran is ‘complicit’.

“Iran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist networks throughout the region with resources capabilities training,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on the US news network, MSNBC.

“And so in that regard, clearly, Iran is complicit here, but in terms of specific evidence on this, these sorts of attacks, no, we don’t have anything,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said the US is working with regional partners to warn anyone who might try to take advantage of the ongoing war in Israel.