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

The Israeli army has claimed its troops killed a group of people who crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon. 

Gunfights and explosions were heard in the area earlier in the day, where the army said a combat helicopter also struck, according to the Times of Israel. 
 

A new wave of Palestinian fighters have arrived at an Israeli beach after a naval incursion, Israeli media has said. 

There are reports of gunfights in the location. The Israeli army has asked residents to remain indoors. 

“More than 10” British citizens are feared to be dead or missing in Israel, the BBC has reported, citing information from an official UK source. 

Nine US citizens are also confirmed to have died, the US government has confirmed. 
 

Gunfire and explosions were heard at the Lebanon-Israel border, according to Al Jazeera and Israeli media. 

The Israeli army confirmed earlier that a number of people crossed into Israel from Lebanon. 

Further details were not immediately available. 

Israel has renewed its bombardment of Gaza, targeting the Islamic University of Gaza. 

Reports from local media in Palestine say that war planes have launched a series of raids in the area.
 

The Israeli military has said a number of people have crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon, urging residents of several towns to remain indoors.

Israeli officials have told the Times of Israel that “there is no negotiation” over the release of prisoners after reports emerged that Qatar was working on mediating an exchange deal.

Earlier, a source told Reuters that Qatari mediators held urgent calls with Hamas to negotiate the release of Israeli women and children in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.

The source said Qatar had been working in tandem with the United States since Saturday night to make the deal happen.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says that the Palestinian death toll has now climbed to 560, following Israel’s overnight bombardment of Gaza which continued throughout Monday.

More than 2,900 Palestinians have been reported as wounded due to the ongoing attacks. 
 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has drawn a comparison between Hamas and Russia, saying that the attack on Israel was “the same evil” and that “the only difference is that there is a terrorist organisation that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine”.

The comments were made in a video address today to a Nato parliamentary assembly in Copenhagen.

He also called for unity and “to stop the evil”, in his speech.
 

An Egyptian intelligence official says that Egypt spoke with Israelis and warned that “something big” was about to happen, without elaborating, AP has reported.

“We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to the official, Israeli officials were focused on the occupied West Bank and downplayed any threats from Gaza.
 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued a statement on Monday afternoon stating that Israeli forces have been “deliberately bombing hospitals and ambulances and killing and injuring the medical staff.”

Discussions about forming an emergency unity government have been ongoing since yesterday, with the National Unity Party now stating that they would like to exclude far right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Representatives from former Defense Minister Benny Gantz's National Unity Party suggested a proposal to establish a streamlined war cabinet, with the members being Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz, and Gantz's party colleague, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. 
 

Footage shared online showed chaos and panic among travellers at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

The airport had come under rocket fire several times in this round of fighting, with at least one projectile hitting  land near the airport on Monday. 

Several international airlines have cancelled flights until further notice. 

An Israeli woman said Hamas fighters hid instead of killing them after she stalled them for five hours by serving them food and joking with them.

Speaking to Walla News, Rahel Edri, who lives in Ofakim, said five Palestinian fighters ran into her home and forced her upstairs with her husband.

“They pointed a gun at me and held a grenade over my head,” Edri told Walla.

“I told him I had to inject insulin, trying to distract them from the fact I have children who are police officers... I offered them drinks: Coke Zero, water.”

Edri said she joked with the attackers to buy time for Israeli forces to arrive. “I said, ‘I’ll teach you Hebrew, and you’ll teach me Arabic,’” she said. “I understood that it was a matter of life and death.”

She added: “Instead of killing us, they ran to various locations and hid until they were shot at."

Palestinians in Gaza have been mourning the loss of their loved ones following Israel's heavy overnight bombardment. 

Rescue teams have reported that they have faced numerous challenges in reaching those affected, due to constant air strikes and the targeting of civilian and medical facilities.