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

Multiple international airlines have halted all flights to Israel as fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters enters its second day. 

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told BFM TV that "Air France has suspended its flights" to Tel Aviv. 

Multiple American airlines, including United Airlines, Delta Airlines and American Airlines, suspended flights to Israel amid the unrest.  

German airliner Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair and Aegan Airlines have also suspended flights to Israel. 

The Israeli military has named more high-ranking commanders and soldiers who have been killed by Palestinian fighters in the ongoing fighting.

The new list includes the commander of the multidimensional unit, the commander of the Nahal reconnaissance battalion, three majors, including an air force instructor, and several other soldiers. 

Overall, Israel has confrimed the death of 44 members of its armed forces, with the number likely to increase. 

Two Israelis and one Egyptian have been killed after a man opened fire at Israeli tourists in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Sunday, according to the country's interior ministry.

Israeli and Arabic media reported that the shooter, a policeman, had targeted Israeli tourists in Alexandria's Pompey’s Pillar site.

Footage shared on social media showed two people lying motionless on the ground, one person wounded and police officers inspecting the site.

“This morning during a visit of Israeli tourists in Alexandria, Egypt, a local opened fire at them, murdering two Israeli citizens and their Egyptian guide," the Israeli foreign ministry said. 

“In addition, there is a wounded Israeli in moderate condition.”

Palestinians living in Israel are bracing for reprisal attacks from Jewish extremist groups after Palestinian fighters from Gaza stormed into Israel by land, air and sea.

The predominantly Palestinian city of Rahat, some 60km south of Jerusalem, said it had established an emergency committee to deal with potential attacks from Jewish groups.

Hours after Saturday’s assault, Middle East Eye saw messages urging right-wing Jewish communities in Israel to form militias.

Potential recruits were also urged to use Google Forms to register their availability to create a militia.

READ MORE: Palestinian citizens of Israel brace for extremist attacks as incitement spreads

Israeli tourists were shot and wounded in Egypt on Sunday, according to Egyptian and Israeli media.

A video posted online on Sunday showed heavy gunfights on a road in Israel's Ashkelon between army troops and Palestinian fighters. 

Ashkelon is a coastal Israeli city about 13km north of the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the army will evacuate all Israelis living close to the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as thousands of Israeli soldiers are deployed to fight Palestinian fighters in Israel.

“Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza,” Hagari told reporters, adding that fighting was still ongoing to “rescue hostages” held by Palestinians in Israel.

“There are tens of thousands of combat soldiers in the area. We’ll reach each and every community till we kill every terrorist in Israel.”

At least 750 Israelis remain missing since the Palestinian surprise attack, the Jerusalem Post has reported, quoting unofficial estimates. 

Hamas has said it captured a number of Israeli soldiers that is "several times greater" than dozens. 

Israeli authorities have recognised soldiers and civilians have been taken back to Gaza, but did not provide an exact figure. 

Meanwhile, Israelis have been taking to social media to seek help for information about missing family and friends. 

In its latest death toll update, the Palestinian health ministry has said at least 313 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli shelling on Gaza, including 20 children.

Seven more have been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, has claimed Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

Hagari also said dozens more Palestinians have been captured.

The Israeli death toll from the surprise Palestinian attack has risen to 350, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 news.

At least 30 police officers have been killed, including some commanders, in the first day of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians near Gaza, according to the Israeli police. 

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the Unifil, has urged restraint after a fire exchange at the Israel-Lebanon border earlier on Sunday. 

"We are in contact with authorities on both sides of the Blue Line, at all levels, to contain the situation and avoid a more serious escalation," Unifil said in a statement. 

"Our peacekeepers remain in their positions and on task. They continue to work, some from shelters for their safety."

In the dead of night, Israeli fighter jets turned life for Palestinians in Gaza into hell. 

An intense onslaught was launched, targeting central areas in the besieged strip and levelling at least 10 residential towers, which house hundreds of families. 

At around 5:25 am local time, a bomb was dropped without a warning on a house near Khalil Ayyash's home, a resident of central Gaza City. 

He survived and left with his family to what he thought was a safer place near the Watan Tower, a high-rise building in the heart of Gaza housing dozens of families. 

"The bombing displaced us, and we didn't know where to go in the middle of the night," Ayyash told Middle East Eye.

He said they ended up stopping to perform dawn prayer until they could figure out where to go next. That's when they heard another loud explosion as they were praying. 

"We saw panic and chaos. Children crying, elderly women on the ground, young people wounded and ambulance sirens ringing out," he said. "We only realised after the dust settled that the Watan Tower had been levelled.

"This is a civilian area that does not have any armed personnel or defence systems," Ayyash added.

"Israel is asking people to move from the strip's border areas to the centre of the strip, but this is a building in the centre and we're being bombed." 

More than 24 hours after Palestinians seized large parts of southern Israel in a surprise attack, the Israeli military has yet to regain full control of the area, according to Israeli media.

As of Sunday morning, there are at least seven areas where the military is still clashing with Palestinians. 

There have also been reports of more attempts by Palestinians to cross into Israel. 

Palestinian fighters have returned to Gaza after raiding a key Israeli military base on Saturday, Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has claimed. 

The group showed footage of fighters storming the Reim military base, which houses the Israeli army's Gaza Division, and clashing with Israeli soldiers. 

The base was taken over by Palestinians for at least 10 hours before Israeli forces regained control. The Israeli military claimed they "neutralised" the fighters who were at the scene. 

The army also took back another military base near Gaza and other areas seized by Palestinians near the besieged enclave, but fighting is still ongoing to regain full control in some towns.