Hamas resumes rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel

An anti-tank missile was fired at the northern Israeli moshav Shtula, near the Lebanese border, the IDF said.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the launch. IDF said artillery forces targeted the source of the fire.

The IDF was also striking targets in southern Lebanon after another anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military position in the North, it said.

At least four civilians were reportedly wounded in the incident, with one man in his 40s murdered following failed resuscitation attempts, Magen David Adom said. MDA added it rushed the other wounded civilians to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for further treatment.

Two more men in their 40s are considered in moderate condition, MDA added.

Israel to evacuate northern border towns

The IDF announced the evacuation of towns four kilometers or less away from the northern border on Sunday morning, saying that entry to this area is strictly forbidden.

Residents of the northern moshav were told to seek shelter immediately. Later, the Kiryat Shmona municipality also told the border city's residents to seek shelter following exchanges of fire on the border

Residents of the nearby kibbutzim of Yiftach, Menara, Maayan Baruch, Misgav Am, Yeron, Bar'am, Tzivon, Dan, Daphna, Snir and Kfar HaGiladi were all told to seek shelter later on Sunday morning. 

This is a developing story.

"Are you ready for the next stage?" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked soldiers on Saturday. "The next stage is coming."

'Next stage is coming,' Netanyahu tells IDF on visit to southern Israel https://t.co/VZMgMrEGOz | @MaayanJaffe pic.twitter.com/X51NJgZcFq

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) October 14, 2023

The prime minister toured Kibbutz Be'eri and Kfar Aza in southern Israel on Saturday - two sites that experienced high rates of murder and trauma. Netanyahu met with soldiers and walked through the ruins of the houses in the communities that suffered in the terrible attack last week, his office shared.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with soldiers in southern Israel on October 14, 2023 (credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO)

'We will destroy Hamas'

On Friday night, Netanyahu interrupted people's Shabbat dinners to address the nation with a similar message. He told the country at 9:30 p.m. on Friday on live TV that Israel will destroy Hamas, no matter how long it takes.

"This is just the beginning," he said. "Our enemies have only begun paying the price, and I will not say more. This is just the beginning."

Israel has already struck more than 1,000 Hamas targets in Gaza, the IDF confirmed Saturday morning. It has also assassinated some of its top terrorists responsible for Friday's attack that murdered 1,300 Israelis. 

Russia and China have been particularly critical of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack and massacre on October 7. This is part of a wider global trend by Russia and China to challenge the West and Israel may be affected by Beijing and Moscow’s next moves. 

Israel sought for many years to achieve results with a foreign policy that was oriented toward western democracies, but also sought to make inroads in other regions and with other powers. For the last two decades it appears that this policy might payoff in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. However the recent Hamas massacre and attack has showed that attempts to have amicable ties with Russia, China and some countries have not paid off.  

There has been controversy over the last decade regarding Israel’s China and Russia policy. This is because China and Russia are seen as near-peer rivals with the US now, even if in the past the US also thought it could have more positive ties with both countries back in the early 2000s. Israel’s rapidly growing economy had interests in ties to Asia and China was an inevitable choice for business opportunities. Russia was also important to Israel for numerous reasons and it became more important after it intervened in Syria in 2015.  

China's recent critical stance on Israel

In recent years, China has become more critical of Israel’s policies. Beijing has also become closer to Iran via a 25-year deal. But that’s not the only thing happening. China has been watching Russia’s war in Ukraine closely. Beijing wonders whether the West will be able to defeat Russia in Ukraine and whether a new world order may be emerging. Towards that end China and Russia have been happy to see Middle East countries moving toward the SCO, BRICS and other organizations that bring Russia and China together. Israel’s peace partners in the Gulf, for instance, want more ties to China and also potentially want to hedge western ties with ties with Russia and other states. China was involved in brokering Iran-Saudi reconciliation, for instance. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before an extended-format meeting of heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit (SCO) member states in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022. (credit: Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/Pool via REUTERS)

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that “the root of this problem lies in the long delay in the realization of Palestine’s aspiration to establish an independent state, and in the fact that the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people has not been corrected.”

Russia has also slammed Israel and accused it of an airstrike in Syria. This is not the first time Russia has done this, but it is rare. Furthermore Russia’s state media has highlighted Hamas thanking Russia for its stance. Russia believes the Middle East is on the verge of a wider conflict. Russia’s TASS state media also has put out a report claiming that the US had warned about escalation in the region.   

Israel sought for years to be cautious on issues involving Russia. For instance when it came to backing Ukraine Israel backed Ukraine but did not want to get more involved in the conflict after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Israel has also been under pressure by the US in the last years to reduce China’s role in Israel. The pandemic and other developments generally have meant that China’s ties with Israel have been reduced. The new conflict looks to affect relations even more.  

 
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli infantrymen outside the Gaza Strip on Saturday, his office said in a statement, and an accompanying video showed him telling them: "You ready for the next stage? The next stage is coming."

He did not elaborate in the video, which showed the infantrymen nodding in response to his question.

Turkey stands with Egypt in rejecting the exile of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in the face of Israel's war with the Hamas militant group, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said alongside his counterpart in Cairo on Saturday.

Fidan, on his first trip as minister to Egypt, said the world must act to stop the conflict from spreading and to re-start peace talks centered on achieving a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

Energy Minister Israel Katz on Saturday reaffirmed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that, despite facing opposition, Israel will maintain its stance of not supplying Gaza with the conventional water and electricity resources it typically offers.

Israel supplies about 10% of Gaza’s water and around 50% of its electricity. 

“We will not surrender, and we will not cease,” Katz tweeted. “Hamas is responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip. On the water, on electricity, on everything.”

He said he asked the Gaza population to leave their homes and travel away from Hamas because Hamas uses the people as human shields. He said their moving would “save lives and eliminate the threats of the Nazis. What was, will not be.”

Twenty-three American firefighters have arrived in Israel to aid local firefighting stations, Israel Fire and Rescue announced on Saturday.

Firefighting authorities worldwide, including countries such as Greece, Germany, Singapore, and the United States have expressed support and solidarity with Israel since the start of the war with Hamas last Saturday.

Support offered from other countries has been sent in the form of both resources and skilled, professional personnel.

Israel Fire and Rescue noted that since the beginning of the war, firefighters have dealt with 278 incidents as a result of rocket impacts.

This figure includes operations to rescue trapped individuals from sites of destroyed infrastructure as well as efforts to extinguish fires, both in open and in urban areas. The vast majority of the incidents (199) occurred in Israel's south.

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the US is working with the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and with the UN "to surge support to ease the humanitarian consequences of Hamas' attack, create conditions needed to resume the flow of assistance, and advocate for the upholding of the law of war."

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the US is working with the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and with the U.N. "to surge support to ease the humanitarian consequences of Hamas' attack, create conditions needed to resume the flow of assistance, and advocate for the upholding of the law of war."

Tel Aviv on Friday would usually be a bustling city, with people crowding the beaches, and enjoying food at the plethora of restaurants that line boulevards such as Bograshov and Dizengoff. However these days it feels quiet and empty. Many shops and restaurants are closed. I drove to Tel Aviv on Friday to attend the joint press conference by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. The drive from Jerusalem was along the usually busy Route 1, which snakes down from Jerusalem through forested hills into the coastal plains of Israel.  

Tel Aviv is not the only city that feels this way. Jerusalem also feels like a ghost town, as I noted earlier this week. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have usually felt like world’s apart. Jerusalem is more diverse and divided, with a large Arab and ultra-Orthodox population. Beyond being more religious, Jerusalem is also the capital of Israel, with government ministries and politicians. It tends to be more on edge than Tel Aviv, with more police and more security. It sits on an invisible fault line that runs between Israel and the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. East Jerusalem may be part of the Jerusalem, but it is oriented towards Ramallah and Hebron.  

Tel Aviv is the hi-tech and business capital of Israel. It is also where most foreign embassies are located. It has a vibrant beach community and on most days people can be seen walking dogs, playing volleyball or surfing along the shore. However, the brutal war and rocket fire from Gaza, which has now reached more than 5,000 rockets fired, has affected Tel Aviv.

The whole of Israel feels quiet like this, in mourning for the 1,300 massacred on October 7, as well as waiting for news of more of the victims being identified. Many people may know more than one person killed or kidnapped. The lack of knowledge about the identities of those kidnapped and missing also leads to uncertainty. This uncertainty hangs over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. 

A cat is seen walking across the Jaffa Street light rail tracks in Jerusalem amid the tightened coronavirus lockdown. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Unprecedented quiet in Israel 

The drive to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem served as a prelude to what Tel Aviv would be like. With the roads to the city mostly empty of cars, it was clear that there wouldn’t be many people around. At DIzengoff Center, the shopping mall was also mostly deserted. This was not just preparation for closing for Shabbat, it was also a more general theme. Some stores that were open lacked a full staff.  A week into the war Israel has been plunged into an unprecedented quiet. With kids off school, most families are staying home. Many playgrounds are empty. In all conflicts there is an initial shock with people glued to their televisions. However, the size of the massacre on October 7 has brought unprecedented trauma. This is clear in Israel’s largest cities.  

 
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