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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, telling him that harming the people of Gaza “collectively and indiscriminately” would “further increase the suffering and spiral of violence in the region”.

Erdogan added that “establishing tranquility in the region as soon as possible is of great importance for the well-being of the entire region”.

The Israeli army has said they will carry out extended attacks in Gaza, even if Israeli captives will get hurt as a result, according to Israel’s Army Radio, a nationwide radio network operated by the Israeli army.

The military also said 1,000 targets have been hit. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, echoed these sentiments in an earlier statement in a cabinet meeting.

“We have to be cruel now and not consider the captives overmuch,” Smotrich said.

Residents in the besieged Gaza Strip have been calling for help on social media. 

One resident of the Strip said that there is a “genocide” taking place.

“Everywhere is being targeted. Homes, schools, hospitals, residential towers and companies are being destroyed,” one person wrote in a Facebook post. 

Residents in south Lebanon have told Middle East Eye that some people have left their villages out of fear the situation would escalate. There are also long queues forming at petrol stations.

“There is a widespread feeling of anxiety,” said Gulnar, speaking to Middle East Eye from the Bint Jbeil, a town some 13 kilometres from Aita al-Shaab, one of the villages bombed by Israel.

“The sound of Israeli bombing could be very clearly heard today. People were afraid that the situation will escalate, and many decided to stay indoors in case the attacks intensified.”

A member of Hezbollah has been killed in Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to Reuters and Lebenese media.

The office of Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has announced that he has called for an “increase of the intensity of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip”.

According to Israeli media, he was also informed that all air force pilots and reserve personnel reported for duty.
 

Palestine's Ministry of Health has announced that the children’s section of the Shifa Medical Complex Hospital has been damaged in Israel’s bombing of the besieged enclave. 

The shelling has caused parts of the ceiling to collapse and fall, almost hitting a premature baby.
 

The Nablus-based Lions' Den armed groups called upon all fighters in the occupied West Bank to attack Israeli military targets at exactly 7 pm local time, in less than an hour from now. 

In a statement made on Telegram, the group said: "At 7 pm, we will all come out in a massive human flood.

"We call upon all armed groups in the West Bank - in Nablus, Jerusalem, Jenin, Tubas, Jericho, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Salfit, Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem - to move together at the same time and attack Israeli military targets where we find them," the group added. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office released a statement saying that reports that Egyptian intelligence officials warned Israel about a potential attack are “incorrect and false.”
 

The Palestine Tower, a 14-storey residential building in the middle of Gaza City with panoramic views, has been fully demolished, just one year after it was bombed by Israeli airstrikes. 

Survivors of the August 2022 bombing say they paid over $18,600 to repair their homes, some of the money they had to borrow, only to now see it fully destroyed again. 

“I never thought the building would be bombed again. I told my neighbours it’s impossible. Why would they bomb it?” one resident, Abu Nada, told Middle East Eye. 

Many survivors have been struggling to grapple with their new reality and having nowhere to go. 

“My 20-year-old sister’s leg is broken. So I had to carry her quickly from the 14th floor, as the lift had been broken since the last attack,” Abu Nada added. 

Abu Nada, who was crying and in a state of shock, said angrily: “We need the world to treat us as human beings. We are just civilians. We are sick of this life under Israeli attacks. What happened is prohibited in all religions and laws.”

For the full story, click on the link below. 

Read more: Israeli air strikes raze Gaza's Palestine Tower to the ground - a year after it was last bombed

North Sinai is preparing for a huge humanitarian fallout as Israel escalates its bombardment of Gaza, according to Mada Masr.

Hospitals, schools, food suppliers and gas stations have already started taking steps to deal with the fallout of the ongoing violence. 

“Egypt fears a humanitarian catastrophe that we would not know how to deal with,” said a government source working on Palestinian affairs who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. Egypt is preparing tons of aid to be sent to the Gaza Strip in case the humanitarian situation worsens, the source said.
 

Leading Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem said Israel cannot claim the upper moral hand, in the group's first statement since Palestinians launched a shock attack against Israel.

"Israeli government ministers now calling to kill, destroy, crush and even starve the residents of Gaza forget that this is already Israeli policy," the group said on X.

"The military is currently bombarding Gaza even though it is clear, once again, that many of the victims are civilians – including women, children and the elderly."

The group also accused Hamas of committing a "shocking crime" by allegedly shooting people "indiscriminately" and "burning down homes" and "kidnapping" civilians.

Middle East Eye has not been able to independently verify these claims.

Israel has renewed its heavy bombing of Gaza’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood.

Video footage shows plumes of black smoke rising above crumbling buildings. 

The neighbourhood is home to residential buildings, humanitarian organisations and markets. 

The same neighbourhood was heavily bombed in May 2021 following Israeli bombing. 
 

Hamas says they fired rockets towards an Israeli settlement in Jerusalem this afternoon after Israel bombarded civilian homes, mosques, universities and hospitals today.

Live video footage online showed panic in the area, as people scrambled for safety.

Nine people have been wounded in the rocket fire, according to Haaretz.

Sirens sounded as the rocket barrage targeted the settlement.