Israel Palestine conflict news LIVE: Downing Street is lit up with Israel flag after Hamas attacks as death toll surpasses 1,000 – with 700 Israelis and 400 Palestinians now dead

Palestinians have said that 19 members of the same family were killed by an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip.

Nasser Abu Quta said the Israeli military fired an evacuation warning shot a short distance from his home, a precautionary measure meant to allow people to evacuate before airstrikes.

Abu Quta, 57, thought he and his extended family would be safe some hundred meters away from the house that was alerted to the pending strike.

He huddled with his relatives on the ground floor of his four-story building, bracing for an impact in the area.

But the house of Abu Quta’s neighbor was never hit, the report says. In an instant, an explosion ripped through his own home, wiping out 19 members of his family, including his wife and cousins, he says.

The airstrike also killed five of his neighbors who were standing outside in the jam-packed refugee camp, a jumble of buildings and alleyways.

Almost 48 hours into the fighting, the Israeli Defense Forces have said there are still Hamas fighters inside Israel.

A building in the city of Ashkelon suffered a direct hit from a missile, Israeli media reports.

The strike reportedly left an eight-year-old boy injured.

Rockets struck a parking lot next to a residential building in the city, torching cars and sending up thick black plumes.

Israeli security forces used a table like a stretcher to rescue a woman who lay in tattered, bloody clothes.

Explosions across central Israel and suburbs of Tel Aviv have been heard, according to CNN reporters on the ground.

It comes as Hamas said it was targeting the Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s international hub, outside the city.

A US National Security Council spokesperson confirmed the deaths of ‘several US citizens’ in the ongoing violence in Israel.

‘We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery,’ they said in a statement.

Rocket sirens have sounded out across communities in central Israel, The Times of Israel reports.

A senior Hamas official says the militant group is holding more than 100 people captive after the assault on Israel.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said Sunday that the United States’ plan to provide increased military aid to Israel amounts to ‘aggression’ against Palestinians, after Washington ordered navy ships and warplanes closer to Israel.

‘The announcement of the US that it will provide an aircraft carrier to support the occupation (Israel) is actual participation in the aggression against our people,’ Hamas, which on Saturday launched the deadliest attack ever against Israel, said in a statement.

At least three Americans have been killed following Hamas fighters’ attack on Israel on Saturday, CNN has reported citing a US memo.

‘These are war crimes, blatant documented war crimes,’ said Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan ahead of a closed-door meeting of the 15-member U.N. Security Council meeting.

‘The era of reasoning with these savages is over,’ he told reporters. ‘Now is the time to obliterate Hamas terror infrastructure, to completely erase it, so that such horrors are never committed again.’

The Israeli rescue service Zaka says at least 260 bodies have been removed from the music festival that came under Hamas attack.

The total figure is expected to be higher as other paramedic teams were working in the area.

UEFA has decided to postpone all matches scheduled in Israel in the next two weeks with new dates to be confirmed later, the governing body said tonight.

UEFA said it was waiting a few days to assess whether the European Championship qualifier between Kosovo and Israel can be played on the scheduled date of October 15 or will need to be postponed.

The UK government has asked that all of its buildings fly the Israeli flag to show solidarity with the country.

At least 413 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including dozens of children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement on their official Facebook page.

The United States will provide munitions and equipment to Israel and boost American forces in the Middle East in response to the attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Pentagon has said.

‘The United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions,’ US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

The US defense chief also said he had directed the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier, and its accompanying warships to the eastern Mediterranean, and that Washington was augmenting fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

US President Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces was on its way to Israel and that more would follow in the coming days, the White House said.

The US Navy is moving ships and aircraft closer to Israel in a show of support, NBC reports.

Movements could begin immediately but assets will not be in place for several days, it is said.

At least 700 Israelis have been killed in Hamas’ attacks, Israel’s N12 News reports.

Rishi Sunak said that the Government is in ‘close contact’ with its Israeli counterpart to establish the status of UK nationals on the ground.

Asked what assistance is being provided to British citizens caught up in the conflict, he told reporters: ‘This is a dangerous and fast-moving situation on the ground. And I know that there will be families who are anxious about their loved ones.

‘I want to reassure them that the Foreign Office and the Government here is in close contact with our Israeli counterpart to establish the status of any British nationals on the ground.

‘In the meantime, people should follow all the Foreign Office advice and indeed the advice from the Israelis on the ground and contact the Foreign Office if you have any concerns or need any assistance.’

‘The Prime Minister spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon, following deadly attacks by Hamas against Israel.

‘He reaffirmed that the UK will stand with Israel unequivocally against these acts of terror. The Prime Minister offered Prime Minister Netanyahu any support Israel needs.

‘The Prime Minister outlined the diplomatic work the UK is doing to ensure the world speaks with one voice in opposition to these appalling attacks. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the Prime Minister for the UK’s support.

‘The Prime Minister also stressed his commitment to ensuring the Jewish community in the UK feels safe and secure at this time.

‘The leaders agreed to stay in close contact as the situation develops.’

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to bring food into Gaza as Israeli air strikes pound the Palestinian enclave following deadly Hamas attacks.

‘As the conflict intensifies, civilians, including vulnerable children and families, face mounting challenges in accessing essential food supplies,’ the Rome-based WFP said.

‘WFP urges safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas, calling on all parties to uphold the principles of humanitarian law… including ensuring access to food.’

An American man sent a chilling text message to his parents while he attended a desert party in Israel – moments before Hamas terrorists launched their brutal surprise attack.

Hersh Golberg-Polin, 23, texted his mother and father ‘I love you, I’m sorry’ at 8.11am on Saturday – as Palestinian militants declared war on Israel, took dozens of people as hostage and killed hundreds during the Jewish high holiday.

Born in Berkeley, California, Hersh and his family decided to move to Jerusalem when he was just seven-years-old.

An Israeli man has begged for the safe return of his wife and two children after they were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in yesterday’s sneak attack.

Yoni Asher has pleaded with the Palestinian militia ‘don’t hurt them’ and even offered to exchange himself for his family after they were snatched while visiting his mother-in-law in Nir Oz, near the border with Gaza.

The terrified father revealed his wife Doron fearfully told him there were ‘terrorists inside the house’ on the phone, before seeing her on the back of a pick-up truck with other hostages on a social media video.

The German government said on Sunday it was reviewing its hundreds of millions of euros of aid for Palestinians following the biggest attack on Israel in years by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Development Minister Svenja Schulze said the government had always been careful to check that the money was only used for peaceful ends.

‘But these attacks on Israel mark a terrible fracture,’ she said. ‘We will now review our entire engagement for the Palestinian territories.’

Leaders of Germany, Ukraine, Italy and Britain, have all expressed support of Israel’s right to defend itself ‘as much as it takes’.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke with the leaders of the four countries in light of the surprise attack from Hamas, his office said in a statement.

Hamas terrorists who murdered hundreds of innocent civilians in an attack on Israel were applauded in the sidelines of the Labour conference today.

The clapping for the bloody violence broke out among the audience at a meeting to mark 75 years since the Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ – which led to the creation of the Jewish state.

It came as one of the speakers at the event said she was ‘honoured’ to be speaking at such a ‘historic moment’.

Poland will send military planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, a day after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Writing on X, Polish President Andrzej Duda said: ‘We are sending air force transport planes to carry out the evacuation of Poles currently staying in Israel. Soldiers from our special forces will ensure loading protection and safety on board.’.

Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland was sending two C-130 Hercules planes to evacuate some 200 Poles from Ben Gurion Airport.

It would add more planes if necessary or liaise with Greece to ferry Polish citizens to the Mediterranean country before bringing them home on Casa transport planes.

‘We are in talks on establishing an evacuation bridge… with Greece,’ Blaszczak said at a press conference.

A missing British man who last texted his mother about ‘rockets flying over’ a music festival near the Gaza Strip left the UK to live in Israel because of his worries about the rise of anti-Semitism, his best friend has revealed.

Jake Marlowe, 26, has not been heard from since Saturday morning after he was working as part of a security team at the festival near Re’im, a village close to the border with Gaza in the south of Israel.

The Israeli Embassy in London said that Jake, who is Jewish and has lived in the Israeli city of Ma’alot for the past two years, is currently ‘missing near Gaza’ following the attack on the festival by Hamas militants on Saturday.

Israel is officially ‘at war’ after the security cabinet voted to make it the country’s position last night.

This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war following an attack by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.

But Israel cannot officially go to war until a government decision has been made, so following the vote by the high-level security cabinet, the declaration now has legal standing.

The UN Security Council has said it will hold an emergency meeting this evening to discuss the escalation in violence in the Middle East.

The group of nations, which is currently chaired by Brazil, will gather at 7pm tonight to talk about ‘the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question’, it said in a statement.

Israel has continued to launch air strikes in the Gaza Strip this afternoon after yesterday’s surprise attack by Hamas.

Pillars of smoke have been seen rising hundreds of metres into the air as missiles from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) continue to land in the territory.

The death toll in Israel following a surprise attack by the militant group Hamas stands at 600, according to several Israeli media outlets.

The Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12, as well as the Haaretz and Times of Israel newspapers, reported the toll Sunday.

There has been no official confirmation of the number of deaths on the Israeli side since the fighting erupted early Saturday.

Palestinian officials say more than 300 people have been killed in Gaza, without differentiating between fighters and civilians.

Video has been released showing Israeli tanks moving on the border with Lebanon amid raised tensions in the region.

The two countries exchanged artillery and rocket fire in the disputed Mount Azon region.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in either Lebanon or Israel from Sunday’s exchanges of fire.

Do you know anyone who is affected by the ongoing violence in Israel following Hamas’ surprise attack?

Do you have relatives caught up in the conflict or friends forced out of their homes?

If it is safe to do so, contact matthew.lodge@mailonline.co.uk

While it is unknown how mnay British nationals are in area of the conflict, the government is urging people in need of help to get in touch.

British nationals in the area in need of assistance are advised to call the following numbers:

• +972 (0)3 725 1222
• +972 (2) 5414100.

If you experience technical difficulties with those numbers or if you are in the UK, you can call +44 20 7008 5000.

A British soldier who was serving in the Israeli army has been killed in Hamas’ sneak attack from the Gaza strip.

Nathanel Young, from London, was serving in the 13th Battalion of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) when he was killed yesterday, according to the IDF.

In a statement posted on social media, his family said: ‘We’re heartbroken to share that our little brother Nathanel Young was tragically killed on the Gaza Border yesterday.’

He is the first confirmed British casualty of the worst violence in the region for decades, after Palestinian militants launched cross-border raids early on Saturday morning.

Israel has blasted Hamas’ attack on Saturday and the subsequent taking of hostages as a ‘war crime’.

Speaking at briefing this morning, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said: ‘Hamas’ brutal attack is a war crime.

‘Taking women and children captive violates international law and goes against Islam. Whoever took part will pay the price.

‘The war is diffcult and challenging days lie ahead. The IDF is strong and will use every bit of its strength and power.’

In a video released today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine voices its support for Israel, saying it should be ‘expected to gie leniency to the terrorists who come from foreign lands and destroy cities and people’.

Soldiers fighting against Russia in the eastern European nation spoke to the camera, calling the attack a ‘crime against the civilised world’.

It said: ‘Every life matters both in Israel and in Ukraine and this is because Israel and Ukraine, unlike no other countries in modern history, understands what it means to live next to bloodthirsty terrorist states.

‘We also know that even the most insidious enemy can be defeated and driven from your land when you have the truth and reliable allies on your side.

‘The Armed Forces of Ukraine stands with the Israel Defense Forces and are confident that justice will be had, order will be restored and the enemy, whoever and wherever it is, will be defeated.’

In his weekly address to the faithful in St Peter’s Square in tehe Vatican today, Pope Francis urged for an end to the violence.

‘I follow with apprehension and sorrow what is happening in Israel where violence has exploded even more quickly causing hundreds of deaths and injuries,’ he said.

‘I express my solidarity with the relatives of the victims, and I pray for all those who are experiencing hours of terror and anguish.

‘Let the attacks and weapons cease, please, because it must be understood that terrorism and war bring no solutions, but only to the death and suffering of many innocent lives.

‘War is a defeat, every war is a defeat. Let us pray for peace in Israel and Palestine.’

Security has been stepped up around synagogues and Jewish schools in France in light of this weekend’s attacks on Israel by the Islamist group Hamas, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday.

‘We have stepped up security at places of worship and at the schools,’ Borne told BFM TV.

‘There is no specific threat at this stage, but we will remain extremely vigilant,’ she added.

Air France has suspended flights to Tel Aviv today after the surprise attack by Hamas.

French prime minister Élisabeth Borne told BFM TV today: ‘Air France has suspended its flights for the time being’.

Hamas had launched some rockets towards Tel Aviv as it started its campaign of violence yesterday, despite it being 50 miles from the border with Gaza.

Last night other carriers also suspended it flights to the city, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Lufthansa, Emirates and Ryanair.

Pope Francis called for end to attacks and violence in Israel on Sunday, saying terrorism and war would not solve any problems, but only bring further suffering and death to innocent people.

‘War is a defeat, only a defeat. Let’s pray for peace in Israel and Palestine,’ the pope said in his weekly address to faithful in St. Peter’s Square.

On Saturday, a multi-pronged attack by Palestinian gunmen on Israeli towns left at least 250 Israelis dead, with more than 300 Palestinians killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombardment.

A British citizen is missing believed to be in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel.

Jake Marlowe has not been seen since the invasion early on Saturday morning when he was providing security for a music event in the desert near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza border.

The Israeli embassy in London confirmed that the 26-year-old London-born man who is reported to have moved to Israel two years ago was missing, but it had not been confirmed that he had been kidnapped.

A spokesperson told the PA news agency: ‘He is missing, we don’t know for sure that he is taken hostage or dead or in a hospital.’

An Israeli festivalgoer has described the horrifying moment Hamas gunmen stormed a dance festival and started opening fire on anybody they saw as people fled for their lives.

A terrified Gili Yoskovich hid under a tree shaking for three hours as bullets whizzed around her as terrorists opened fire on Saturday morning at defenceless revellers at an all-night trance music rave near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza Strip.

The mother described how young people – whose night celebrating the end of the Sukkot religious holiday had turned to terror – were dying all around her and on the road as Hamas militants went ‘tree to tree’ shooting.

As the callous gunmen opened fire, Gili sprinted for her life and hid beneath a fruit tree in the middle of the field where she stayed until she heard people speaking in Hebrew and was rescued by Israeli soldiers.

Israel has fired artillery at the border with Lebanon after being struck with rocket fire by Hezbollah from its northern neighbour.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in either Lebanon or Israel from Sunday’s exchanges of fire.

Hezbollah, an armed party backed by Iran, said on Sunday it had launched guided rockets and artillery (pictured below) onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms ‘in solidarity’ with the Palestinian people.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it fired artillery into an area of Lebanon where cross-border fire was launched. ‘IDF (Israel Defense Forces) artillery is currently striking the area in Lebanon from where a shooting was carried out,’ it said.

Israel’s military said one its drones struck a Hezbollah post in the area of Har Dov, an area in Shebaa.

Israel’s army has said it aims to evacuate all Israeli’s living close to Gaza within 24 hours as it deploys tens of thousands of soldiers to fight Palestinian militants.

‘Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza,’ military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that fighting was still on to ‘rescue hostages’ held by militants in Israel.

He said the evacuation had to be done after a proper ‘scan of the territory’ to ensure that no militants were present.

‘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,’ Hagari said.

An Egyptian policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least two Israelis and one Egyptian, according to Egypt’s Interior Ministry.

Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies, quoted an unidentified security official as saying that another person was wounded in the attack, which took place at the Pompey’s Pillar site in Alexandria.

It said the suspected assailant was detained.

Egypt made peace with Israel decades ago and has long served as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in the country, especially during bouts of violence.

A British citizen citizen who was near Gaza hasn’t been heard from since yesterday morning, the Israeli embassy has said.

It is not clear whether the person in question has been taken hostage, but Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely said they were dong everyting they can to make sure people taken by Hamas are returned.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I know there is one British citizen that is in Gaza at the moment and I know that Israel is doing everything to make sure all the people being kept hostage at the moment in the hands of Hamas will be released.

‘But it’s a long and complicated war and this is where we need your support in order to make sure that every single civilian that is being taken will be brought back to Israel, where they belong.’

The Palestinian Authority submitted a memorandum on Sunday calling for an emergency Arab League meeting at the foreign ministerial level, according to WAFA, the Palestinian news agency.

The request for the meeting comes in light of the ‘brutal and ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, including the escalation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by thousands of settlers,’ WAFA quoted Arab League Ambassador Muhannad Al Aklouk as saying.

Israeli festivalgoers could be seen dancing in the desert at dawn on Saturday, completely unaware that within minutes members of the Hamas militant group were about to descend from the skies and inflict terror.

The revelers had gathered for an all-night trance music rave near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza Strip, to celebrate the end of the Sukkot religious holiday.

They appeared to be oblivious to the impending terror floating hundreds of feet above their heads in the distance in footage posted to Tiktok TikTok.

The footage, shot soon after sunrise, sees the eagle-eyed cameraperson suddenly zoom in on grey dots in the air, which turn out to be Palestinian militants.

Moments later, the dancing stops and out terror ensues as festival goers are forced to run for their lives as armed Hamas fighters began shooting and kidnapping whoever lay in their path.

Donald Trump said Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel is an ‘act of savagery that must be crushed’ and blamed Joe Biden for being a weak and ineffective leader.

The former president, speaking at his presidential rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday, condemned the attacks and used it as an opportunity to once again whack his political rival.

‘The terror invasion of Israeli territory and the murder of Israeli soldiers and citizens is an act of savagery that must be, and will be, crushed and avenged,’ he said.

‘As president, I will once again stand with Israel and we will cut off the money to Palestinian terrorists on day one, he told the cheering crowds.’

An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians were abducted into Gaza as hostages amid yesterday’s surprise attack, sparking dismay in Israel and massively complicating its military retaliation campaign.

According to the Israeli news website Ynet, ‘dozens of Israeli captives, including numerous women, children and elders, are believed to have been taken into the Gaza Strip’.

The army said tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed to fight militants in southern desert regions near the coastal enclave, to rescue Israeli hostages and then evacuate the entire region within 24 hours.

Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, says it has been contacted by Israel to help ensure the safety of the hostages, and said Palestine claimed to have had taken ‘a big number – several dozens’.

Israel’s air force says it has struck several Hamas compounds, including one belonging to the head of intelligence, across the Gaza Strip as its retaliatory strikes against the militant group are well underway.

It comes as the air force said it hit 150 targets so far, including banks, weapons factories and the homes and compounds of key Hamas leaders.

The military branch announced in a post to X, formerly Twitter, early on Sunday morning that it had ordered a missile strike on a compound belonging to Hamas’ head of intelligence, along with a video of a purported attack.

It said: ‘A short while ago, IAF fighter jets struck a compound belonging to the head of the intelligence department in the Hamas terrorist organization.

‘The IAF is currently continuing to strike terror targets in the Gaza Strip.’

Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns has placed the blame for the Hamas attack on Israeli on Iran.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘Hamas is a terrorist organisation. What they have done is not in the interests of the Palestinian people.

‘It is solely in the interests of those who control them, and that is the Iranian state.

‘Iran is an international sponsor of terrorism, and that is the only logical conclusion that I can come to, as to what has happened.’

Palestinians were seen this morning wading through mountains of debris after the Watan Tower in the Gaza strip was destroyed by an Israeli strike in the early hours.

The tower had been home to a number of media outlets including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, sparking concern about press freedom.

Israel has said the building was being used by Hamas for military purposes, but this has been met with scepticism by media organisations and human rights groups.

Suella Braverman oday warned that the ‘full force of the law’ will be used against those who support Hamas or ‘intimidate’ Jews in Britain.

The Home Secretary delivered the stark message as the Met Police stepped up ‘reassurance’ patrols in London following the horrific attacks on civilians in Israel.

Images of people waving Palestine flags and celebrating the bloody assault in the city have been shared on social media, including by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley.

Ms Braverman posted on X this morning to say the government was doing ‘everything necessary’ to protect Jewish communities.

MP Bob Seely, who is on the House of Commons Freign Affairs Committee, has warnred that yesterday’s surprise attack has the fingerprints of Iran on it.

Writing in today’s Daily Mail, Mr Seely said the assault has been ‘driven by Hamas’s overlord Iran, a theocratic Shia Muslim state that is engaged in a struggle for power and influence across the Middle East’.

You can read the full article on MailOnline below:

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said there is ‘no justification’ for the attack on Israel and that Hamas has deliberately pushed back the prospect of a peace deal.

He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘This is an appalling attack on Israel, a terrorist attack, for which there is no justification.

‘The perpetrators of this have deliberately pushed back the prospect of peace agreements.”

He said he spoke to the leader of the Israeli Labour party, Merav Michaeli, last night.

‘As we were on the phone the siren went off and she had to go down into her shelter, taking her papers with her,’ he said.

‘So it’s an appalling act of terrorism, it needs to be called out across the world.’

A student who attended a desert rave and a mother and her two young girls were among the innocent victims snatched by Hamas terrorists last night.

Noa Argamani, 25, was kidnapped yesterday as a video showed her sitting on the back of a militant’s motorcycle, with her outstretched arms pointing towards her helpless boyfriend, pleading for her life.

She screams ‘Don’t kill me! No, no, no’ – but the gunman speeds off. Noa hasn’t been seen since.

Her boyfriend, Avi Nathan, distraught and helpless, is left behind in the desert. He too is missing.

The office for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) has said the Government will tighten its blockade of the Palestinian territory.

It said his security cabinet had approved steps to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant group, ‘for many years’, including cutting electricity, fuel supplies and the entry of goods into Gaza.

More than 24 hours after the assault first began gunfights are still taking place between Israeli Defence Forces and Hamas gunmen in parts of the country.

Jet strikes have also resumed in Gaza, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed ‘mighty vengeance on this wicked day’ for the surprise attack.

The violence shows no sign of slowing either, with an Israeli military spokesman telling a briefing with reporters: ‘We’re going to be attacking Hamas severely and this is going to be a long, long haul.’

Photos have shown the moment Israel’s Iron Dome defence system sprang into action overnight after Hamas launched missiles from the Gaza strip.

The Jewish nations anti-missile air defence system fired ‘David’s Sling’ to intercept rockets fired from the Palestinian territory.

The system has been in operation since 2011 and has shot down thousands of missiles since then.

It is unclear how effective it has been during the most recent outbreak of violence.

A woman whose lifeless and semi-naked body was paraded in the back of a Hamas pick-up truck as militants sat on top of her and jeered following their violent incursion was last night identified as a German tattoo artist.

Shani Louk, 30, was at a music festival for peace when she was seized by terrorists as they launched their surprise attack on Israel.

Her body was filmed splayed in the back of a truck, with one leg at an unnatural angle, terrorists sitting around it and supporters of the group cheering, running alongside and spitting on her.

Hamas had claimed the body was a female Israeli soldier – but it was last night confirmed to be Shani by her cousin Tomasina Weintraub-Louk, who told MailOnline that the family recognized her distinctive leg tattoos and dreadlocked hair.

The Israeli ambassador to the UK has said the country’s reality has ‘become a nightmare’ and said its military needs to defend its people.

Tzipi Hotovely told BBC Breakfast: ‘Israel is in a war that Hamas started yesterday. Calculated. Planned. Targeting Israelis, targeting civilians, targeting innocent children.

‘We saw Prime Minister Sunak, we saw President Biden yesterday, they’re supporting Israel’s right for self-defence, because we are in a reality that has become a nightmare.

‘We can’t do anything else… we need to protect our people.

‘This is a necessity war. (Israel) wasn’t expecting this to happen (but) we need to make sure the infrastructure of terrorism is 100 per cent destroyed.’

Hamas terrorists blitzed into Israel on motorised paragliders during a lightning offensive yesterday morning while thousands of rockets rained down across the south of the country.

Footage showed squads of Palestinians on suicide missions swooping over the border on the aircraft, spreading fear and chaos among cowering families below before landing and opening fire on Israeli civilians and soldiers alike.

The attack also saw the terrorists fire some 2,500 missiles into Israel at 7am UK time, with the explosives raining down on major towns and even as far away as Tel Aviv, nearly 50 miles away.

Convoys of motorcycles and pick-up trucks then sped into Israel while other terrorists reportedly jumped into heavily armed speedboats to storm naval defences.

Israeli has pounded Lebanon with artillery strikes today after claiming there had been ‘shooting’ directed towards it from its northern neighbour

Columns of heavy weaponry including tanks and armored personnel carriers were also spotted moving north toward Israel’s border with Lebanon and Syria, amid fears Iran-backed Hezbollah militants are preparing to open a second front.

Photos have been released showing Israeli soldiers (below)

in position close to the border with Lebanon amid fears the conflict could escalate.

Video has revealed the moment Israeli retaliatory strikes flattened two tower blocks in the Gaza strip overnight and in the early hours of this morning.

A missile strike on the Palestine Tower in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood saw one of the tallest buildings in the territory reduced to rubble.

Israel has launched retaliatory strikes in the Gaza strip this morning following an unprecedented sneak attack that has left at least 300 Israelis dead.

As the sun rose on Sunday following the deadliest day of violence in Israel in 50 years, the Jewish nation’s warplanes strafed densely populated Gaza City with bombs in retaliatory strikes.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza had intensified after nightfall, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces issued a warning just before.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early today that Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has started the ‘offensive phase’ of their response to the yesterday’s surprise assault.