(Reuters) – Israel says it has regained control of the Gaza border, pounding the enclave with the worst air strikes in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians despite a threat by Hamas Islamist militants to execute captives.
CONFLICT
* Israel’s embassy in the U.S. said its death toll from Hamas’s attack on Saturday had risen to more than 1,000.
* At least 770 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, said Gaza’s Health Ministry.
* Israel called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists. “I think I’m ready for war,” said one, as Israeli airlines added flights to bring reservists back to the country.
* A gruesome scene as bodies lie in the grounds of a ravaged Israeli kibbutz.
* A UN human rights chief condemned “horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups,” and Israel’s “imposition of sieges that endanger the lives of civilians.” Volker Turk said sieges and abduction of hostages were both against international law.
* Hamas said it would execute an Israeli captive for every civilian house bombed without warning and will not negotiate over hostages “under fire”.
* Israel has frozen crypto accounts seeking Hamas donations, police said. Hamas had endorsed crypto for years but said in April that it would stop receiving funds via bitcoin, citing an increase in what it called “hostile” activity against donors.
* Palestinians in Gaza say the Israeli bombardment feels like a new 1948 “Nakba”.
INTERNATIONAL REACTION
* President Joe Biden said at least 11 U.S. citizens were killed in the Hamas attack.
* The distraught parents of a Thai seized in Israel sent a plea: “Help the hostages as soon as possible.”
* Egypt is moving to prevent a mass exodus south from the Gaza Strip, as Israeli bombardments halted crossings.
* European Union foreign ministers met to try to resolve divisions over whether to continue aid payments to Palestinians.
* Britain’s opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said Hamas “does nothing for Palestinians” and “Israel must always have the right to defend her people.”
* Iran’s top authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran was not involved in Hamas’ attack, though he “kissed the hands” of those doing damage to Israel.
* Harvard University alumni denounced a pro-Palestinian statement from students blaming Israel’s “apartheid regime” and “decades of occupation” for the explosion of violence. Australian police were investigating apparent anti-Semitic chants at a protest.
INSIGHTS/EXPLAINERS
* Hamas waged a campaign of deception to pull off its stunning attack.
* Biden and Netanyahu, uncomfortable allies at the best of times, will put their relationship to the test.
* Palestinian statehood, Jerusalem and refugees lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
MARKETS AND BUSINESS
* Investors are on guard for an oil price spike amid Middle East turmoil.
* Global stocks rose, but violence in Israel made for nervy trading.
* FACTBOX: What are the global firms with a presence in Israel doing after the Hamas attack?
* World Bank chief Ajay Banga said the Gaza conflict is an economic shock ‘we don’t need’.
* Drugmaker Teva does not see a big impact on business from Israel-Hamas war
(Editing by Stephen Farrell, Gerry Doyle, Andrew Cawthorne and Lisa Shumaker)
