Israel-Hamas war live updates: Hamas military unit attacks Israeli city of Ashkelon; Combined death toll exceeds 1,800

A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed to NBC News that the death toll in Israel do the conflict with Hamas has passed 1,000 people.

The conflict was triggered by a surprise air, land and sea attack by Hamas militants in Israel on Saturday.

— Amanda Macias

Israeli lawmakers said they would debate later this week state guarantees for war risk insurance for the country’s airlines, Reuters reported.

In order to continue flying, at a time when many carriers have pulled out of the country, the government asked the parliamentary finance committee for a $5 billion guarantee to cover war risk policies.

Reuters also reported that Turkish Airlines became the latest foreign carrier to suspend service to and from Israel.

— Leslie Josephs

Nearly 400 members of the House of Representatives have backed a resolution expressing U.S. solidarity with Israel and promising to provide emergency security assistance if needed.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-New York, introduced the bipartisan legislation on Tuesday.

McCaul said he expects the House to pass the resolution as one of its first items of business once Republicans have selected a new speaker.

The resolution condemns Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel as “barbaric” and “brutal,” calling on the militant organization to immediately cease all violence and release the hostages it has kidnapped.

The legislation also condemns Iran’s support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad and urges the full enforcement of U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

— Spencer Kimball

A White House official confirmed to NBC News that President Joe Biden is expected to strongly condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks over the weekend.

The surprise attacks have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, including at least 11 American citizens, as well as stunning reports of widespread kidnapping, rape and torture.

The U.S. leader is expected to convey steps his administration is taking in concert with allies to bolster Israeli security.

Biden will speak from the White House at 1 pm ET.

— Amanda Macias

President Joe Biden has held nearly 30 internal meetings and calls in the wake of the unprecedented terror attacks carried out by Hamas militants in Israel, according to a list obtained by NBC News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday in a televised speech that the Biden administration has been in constant contact since the attacks launched on Israeli civilians over the weekend.

Biden spoke to Netanyahu again on Tuesday morning.

Saturday, October 7

• Initial briefing from staff early morning
• Secure call with national security team
• Secure call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• Secure call with national security team
• Secure call with Vice President Kamala Harris
• Meeting with national security team
• Reconvene with national security team
• Secure call with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
• Secure call with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
• Call with King Abdullah II of Jordan
• Secure call with CIA Director Bill Burns
• Call with Sen. Cory Booker
• Call with Rep. Dan Goldman
• Remarks review for statement on Israel
• Statement to press on Israel
• Reconvene national security team and senior advisors  
• Call with Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer
• Call with national security team

Sunday, October 8

• Secure call with national security team
• Secure call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• Secure call with national security team
• National security update from staff
• National security update from staff 

Monday, October 9

• Meeting with national security team
• Meeting with national security team
• Call with Sen. Cory Booker
• Reconvene national security team
• Joint call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 
• Meeting with national security team

— Amanda Macias

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, warned of the rapidly deteriorating situation stemming from the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Yet less than 72 hours after the outbreak of horrific violence in Israel, reports indicate that grave rights violations against children are rampant. Many children have been killed or injured, while countless others have been exposed to the violence,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell wrote in a statement.

“I remind all parties that in this war, as in all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most,” she added.

Russell called for the immediate and safe release of any children held hostage in Gaza.

— Amanda Macias

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at this point the Biden administration cannot confirm if any U.S. citizens are being held hostage by Hamas militants.

“We have to prepare for the grim possibility, the likelihood that they could,” Kirby told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“There is a number of unaccounted for Americans. We’re hearing from lots of families, as you might expect, who are trying to get information about loved ones they haven’t heard from,” Kirby said.

“Some of these folks could be lost, some of them could be hurt in hospitals, some of them could be missing, but we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility, the likelihood, that some of them are being held hostage,” he added.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Monday that at least 11 U.S. citizens were among those killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

— Amanda Macias

The latest official figures indicate that at least 830 Palestinians and over 900 Israelis have been killed amid the ongoing violence.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said in a Facebook post that at least 830 citizens had been killed, with 4,250 injured.

Israel’s Defense Forces, meanwhile, said that more than 900 had been killed during the conflict, with 2,741 injured.

— Sam Meredith

The root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be addressed in order to end the cycle of violence and reach a just solution, Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to UK, told CNBC.

“Instead of wasting this precious time talking about the consequences, we should talk about the root causes. And I am here to talk about the root causes. Do not underestimate people’s desire for freedom,” Zomlot said. “This isn’t about the last 48 hours. This is about 100 years of complete neglect, dehumanization of the Palestinian people. And this is an opportunity … for all of us to wake up to be brave, and to really call a spade a spade,” he said.

The United Nations classifies Israel as an occupier state over the Palestinian territories, whose occupations and annexations following the 1967 Six-Day War remain in violation of international law. Since that time, Israel has been accused by the U.N. and rights organizations of numerous human rights abuses against Palestinians including the denial of basic services, killing of civilians, and restriction of movement. Israel says its policies are designed to keep its population safe and are the result of Palestinians’ actions.

“We have failed to gather, all of us, the international community primarily to give people hope and aspiration,” Zomlot said. “And this is a wake up call for all of us that we need to do actually provide such an alternative path. Palestinian people have been subjected to oppression and brutality for 100 years.”

— Natasha Turak

The military wing of Hamas says it launched a volley of rockets toward Ashkelon Tuesday afternoon “in response to the displacement of civilians.”

Al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas, had earlier set a deadline of 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) for Ashkelon citizens to leave.

“Al-Qassam Brigades renewed the bombing of occupied Ashkelon in response to the displacement of civilians,” al-Qassam said via Telegram, according to a Google translation.

— Sam Meredith

Commodities analysts at Goldman Sachs outlined two potential outcomes of the rapidly escalating Israel-Hamas war that it said could impact oil production and prices in the medium to longer term.

One is that Saudi Arabia scraps plans for a potential U.S.-brokered normalization deal with Israel, which reportedly could have resulted in — among other things — increased Saudi oil production as a means to gain Congress’ support for defense benefits from Washington that would come along with a normalization deal.

“This weekend’s developments reduce the probability of an early unwind of the Saudi production cuts,” the bank’s analysts wrote, adding that Saudi production staying at its currently planned volume of 9 million barrels per day in 2024 “would raise our December 2024 Brent price forecast to $104/bbl, or $4/bbl above our $100/bbl baseline.”

The second potential outcome Goldman highlighted is a decrease in Iranian oil production. “With the possibility of broader regional tensions re-escalating as a result of the conflict in Gaza, we think the risks to our Iranian production projections are now tilted to the downside,” it wrote.

The bank noted “that there has been no impact to current global oil production” from the conflict, and that it “sees as unlikely any immediate large effect on the near-term supply-demand balance and near-term oil inventories.”

— Natasha Turak

Israel’s Defense Forces said via X, formerly known as Twitter, that sirens are sounding in the city of Be’er Sheva and the south of the country.

— Sam Meredith

Hamas’ devastating surprise attack on Israel over the weekend thrusts an obscure militant Palestinian group firmly into the global spotlight.

The ongoing violence raises questions about the history, motivations and future of Hamas — a group that has been recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Japan, Australia, Israel, the European Union and many other countries.

Founded in 1987, Hamas is one of two major political forces in the Palestinian territories and has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. The military wing of Hamas is known as the al Qassem Brigades, the largest and best-equipped military group operating within Gaza.

Here’s the full story.

— Sam Meredith

Editors Note – Graphic Content: The following post contains graphic content depicting death in Gaza.

A funeral ceremony held for Palestinian journalists Saeed Al-Taweel and Mohammad Sobh, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 10, 2023. The journalists were killed while filming the targeting of a residential building by Israeli warplanes in Rimal district in western Gaza. 

— Getty Images

Palestinian militant group Hamas has issued a widespread call for the “free people of the world” to mobilize on Friday.

“We call on the Arab and Muslim world and the free peoples of the world to attend the Al-Aqsa Flood event on Friday in order to voice solidarity with the Palestinian people and resistance, expose the Israeli occupation’s crimes and foil its aggressive schemes, and defend the Al-Asqa Mosque,” the group said in a statement on its site Tuesday.

It also urged the Palestinian people to launch mass protests against Israel and called on the “free peoples of the world to express solidarity with the Palestinian peoples.”

The group’s weekend “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” involved an unprecedented surprise attack targeting Israeli civilians which has been widely condemned by the international community. It triggered a conflict that has claimed nearly 1,700 lives at the time of writing.

The name of Hamas’ operation deploys religious symbolism by referencing the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, one of three holy Muslim sites, which Hamas accuses Israel of seeking to desecrate.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Air raid alert sirens are sounding across Tel Aviv and Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces wrote on the X social media platform, previously known as Twitter.

The attack warnings come as Israel carries out airstrikes over Gaza and as death counts in both Israel and the blockaded Palestinian territory mount.

Israel is mobilizing 300,000 military reservists — its highest figure ever — to go on the offensive against the Palestinian militant organization Hamas.

— Natasha Turak

The al-Qassam brigades, an armed wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas, posted a warning on social media for citizens of the Israeli city Ashkelon.

“In response to the enemy’s crime of displacing our people and forcing them to flee their homes in several areas of the Gaza Strip, we give the residents of the occupied city of Ashkelon a deadline to leave it before five o’clock this evening, and those who warned are excused,” spokesperson Abu Ubaida said on Telegram, according to a Google translation.

Al-Qassam did not elaborate on why it was issuing this warning.

The deadline of 5 p.m. in Israel translates to 10 a.m. ET, and 3 p.m. London time.

Ashkelon is located just north of Gaza, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.

— Katrina Bishop

All members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have approved a proposal to include opposition politicians in an emergency government, Reuters reports.

Netanyahu raised the possibility of the measure at a weekend meeting with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz following an unprecedented lethal attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. A unity government could further Israel’s efforts to reach stability in the wake of the tragedy.

“National emergency government. now!” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a post on the X social media platform, previously known as Twitter.

Political unity has been difficult to achieve in Israel, with the stability of Netanyahu’s own government in question for most of the year following the prime minister’s controversial and repeatedly protested proposal for a widespread judiciary reform. Netanyahu survived a no-confidence vote in March.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. President Joe Biden will address the unprecedented terror attacks carried out over the weekend by Palestinian militant group Hamas, as violence soars in the Middle East.

Biden’s remarks, slated for 1 p.m. ET from the White House, come on the heels of what the Pentagon has dubbed as “ISIS-level savagery” in Israel.

The Israel-Hamas conflict, which has so far claimed the lives of nearly 1,700 people, has triggered the movement of U.S. firepower to the region, in an effort to bolster Israeli security.

In a statement on Monday evening, Biden confirmed the deaths of at least 11 Americans in Israel and acknowledged that some U.S. citizens may have been kidnapped by Hamas. He said he directed a team to work with Israeli counterparts “on every aspect of the hostage crisis.”

The Pentagon on Monday said it is coordinating with the U.S. defense industry to expedite the shipping of pending Israeli weapon orders.

Read the full story here.

— Amanda Macias

Research Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS, Hasan Alhasan, discusses how the international community could impact the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Israeli soldiers are pictured surveying the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival after Saturday’s deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Around 260 people died, and more than 100 were taken hostage in the incident, according to the ZAKA rescue agency.

– Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance via Getty Images

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned attacks on civilians in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian military group Hamas in a statement out Tuesday.

Israeli forces have engaged in a series of retaliatory strikes following a Saturday offensive by Hamas, which openly targeted civilians and opened fire at the site of a musical festival.

Türk criticized the bloodshed triggered by Hamas, saying he was “deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians, and, in some instances, horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups.”

“It is horrific and deeply distressing to see images of those captured by Palestinian armed groups being ill-treated, as well as reports of killings and the desecration of their bodies,” he said. “Civilians must never be used as bargaining chips.”

He said that Israeli air strikes have also hit residential areas in the Gaza Strip, schools and the local premises of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

“International humanitarian law is clear: the obligation to take constant care to spare the civilian population and civilian objects remains applicable throughout the attacks,” he said.

Türk further condemned a decision by Israel to impose a siege on the Gaza Strip, depriving the already vulnerable region of fuel, food, electricity and water supplies.

“This risks seriously compounding the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the capacity of medical facilities to operate, especially in light of increasing numbers of injured,” he said. “The imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians by depriving them of goods essential for their survival is prohibited under international humanitarian law.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had previously expressed on Monday that he was “deeply distressed” by the siege announcement.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said he has invited both Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Ryiad al-Maliki to an emergency meeting of the European Foreign Affairs ministers later on Tuesday.

Borrell made the announcement in a social media post on X, previously known as Twitter.

The meeting will cover developments in Israel following a lethal and unprecedented strike by Palestinian militant group Hamas over the weekend. The conflict has so far claimed over 1,600 lives. EU ministers will convene in Muscat, Oman, where Borrell was already scheduled to co-chair a meeting of the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council.

The international community has largely condemned the attack by Hamas. The U.N. has acknowledged Israel’s security concerns while also urging an obligation to spare civilian populations amid the hostilities.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Iran’s top official Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said Israel suffered an “irreparable failure, both militarily and in terms of intelligence” amid the weekend attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

U.S.-sanctioned Iran, historically a supporter of Hamas and a long-standing rival of Israel, claims it was not involved in the offensive, which has resulted in at least 1,587 deaths at the time of writing.

“We kiss the foreheads and arms of resourceful and intelligent designers and Palestinian youth, but those who say that the recent saga is the work of non-Palestinians have miscalculated,” he said in Google-translated comments carried by the Iranian state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency.

Since the weekend hostilities, Israel has carried out an intense retaliatory offensive which includes a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip and has resulted in droves of displaced Palestinians.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Displacements across the Gaza Strip have “escalated” over the past 24 hours, affecting 187,518 people, according to the latest figures from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency out on Tuesday.

The agency expects these numbers to increase further and notes that around 3,000 Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced, following previous escalations.

Israel has declared a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, banning fuel, water and electricity supplies to the region in retaliation for the surprise multi-pronged attack of Palestinian militant group Hamas over the weekend.

“While I recognize Israel’s legitimate security concerns, I also remind Israel that military operations must be conducted in strict accordance with international humanitarian law,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday, noting reports of Israeli missiles striking health facilities in Gaza, multi-story residential towers and a mosque.

“I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. Nothing allowed in, no electricity, food or fuel. The humanitarian situation was extremely dire before these hostilities. Now, it will only deteriorate exponentially,” he added.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israeli Air Force sent transport planes to bring back “hundreds” of soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force who were abroad.

The soldiers will “take part in the fighting in the ‘Iron Swords’ war, as part of the IDF’s efforts to mobilize additional forces to continue fighting,” the IAF said Tuesday in a Google-translated post on the X social media platform, previously known as Twitter.

Israel launched operation “Iron Swords” in retaliation for the unexpected and bloody Saturday attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has said it has drafted 300,000 reservists as part of its response.

Military service is compulsory for most Israeli citizens over the age of 18, with enlisted men and women expected to serve a minimum of 32 and 24 months, respectively. Israeli Arabs are exempt.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Israel’s military said it had regained control of the Gaza-Israel border, four days after the surprise attack from Hamas militants inflicted the highest casualty toll on Israel in fifty years.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Richard Hecht said that about 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in Israel territory as the country’s forces “restored full control” over the border. Hecht said that no Hamas fighters have entered into Israel since last night, but infiltration is still possible.

— Natasha Turak

Israel’s economy can withstand an extended conflict of more than eight weeks, Bob Savage, head of Markets Strategy and Insights at BNY Mellon, said in a note on Tuesday.

“The ability for Israel to handle an extended war – over eight weeks – is very different now than back in 1973,” Savage said, referencing the Arab-Israel conflict that kicked off nearly fifty years to the day of the multi-pronged Saturday offensive of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“There are some notable economic strengths along with political shifts in play. Israel has links to Egypt and to UAE, along with some significant natural gas reserves now. When you look at Israel’s budget situation, it appears to have plenty of room for war spending,” the note added, pointing to the prospect of higher defense spending and “more unification around preventing this from happening again.”

Over the course of the year, Israel’s civil unity was fissured by widespread protests in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad judicial reforms, which opponents questioned could propel the nation toward autocracy.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The death toll from the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas has passed 1,500, with over 900 killed and 2,600 injured in Israel and at least 687 people killed and 3,700 injured in Gaza, according to Palestinian and Israeli health services.

The conflict, declared a war on Saturday by Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, is now in its fourth day as Israel bombards the Gaza Strip with airstrikes in retaliation for the terrorist attack carried out by Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Israel.

Some 150 Israeli hostages remain captive by Hamas in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday. The U.S. and other governments are working to determine how many foreign nationals are among the hostages.

— Natasha Turak

A North Korean state media outlet pinned fault on Israel for the recent violence with Palestinian militant group Hamas, in a rare opinion on the conflict from Pyongyang.

“The international community called this clash a bloody conflict, saying it was the result of Israel’s constant criminal acts against the Palestinian people. They claim that the fundamental way to end it is to build an independent Palestinian state,” a brief article carried by Rodong Sinmun said Tuesday, according to a Google translation.

The publication serves the North Korea’s ruling Worker’s Party.

U.N.-sanctioned Pyongyang has frequently taken foreign policy positions that oppose those of the West, particularly the views of the United States. The international community has largely expressed support for the losses of Israel and called for a cease-fire.

— Ruxandra Iordache

— Scott Mlyn and Adam Jeffery

Saudi Arabia announced its support for the Palestinian people in a call with President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

“President Abbas expressed appreciation for the firm position and efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia in support of the Palestinian people and their just cause,” the report stated.

“The Saudi Crown Prince affirmed that his country will continue to stand by the Palestinian people and that it is exerting great efforts to ensure the return of calm and stability.”

Abbas is the head of the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized government of the Palestinian people. He is also the head of Fatah, the other major Palestinian party that’s a key rival to Hamas. The Palestinian Authority currently administers part of the West Bank.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia stated it does not support the attacks, and has joined global calls for a de-escalation.

— Lee Ying Shan

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States reiterated their support for Israel and “for a peaceful and integrated Middle East region” during a call earlier today.

“We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned. There is never any justification for terrorism,” the leaders wrote in a joint statement.  

“Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and American President Joe Biden.

— Amanda Macias

President Joe Biden confirmed at least 11 Americans were killed in Israel. “Sadly, we now know that at least 11 American citizens were among those killed—many of whom made a second home in Israel,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Commenting on hostages, Biden said: “I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts.”

Read the full statement from the president:

— Riya Bhattacharjee