President Joe Biden speaks on the terrorist attacks in Israel alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken from the State Dining Room at the White House on October 7, 2023 in Washington, DC.Samuel Corum/Getty Images
The latest
- The conflict continued to spread on Sunday in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years. Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns in an unprecedented surprise attack during a major Jewish holiday on Saturday. Israel said it is now at war with Hamas.
- Hamas fighters killed at least 300 Israelis in clashes, and and Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza. Palestinian health officials said at least 313 civilians killed. Nearly 2,000 people were wounded, they said.
- The conflict threatens to escalate to an even deadlier stage with Israel’s vows of greater retaliation. A stunned Israel launched air strikes in Gaza, vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”
- Canada and the United States condemn Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel, reiterating its support for Israel’s right to defend itself.
U.S. President Joe Biden is condemning Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel and promising to support the country as the violence threatens to upend his bid to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Canada, meanwhile, is also denouncing the attacks and reiterating its support for Israel’s right to defend itself.
Mr. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the hours after the attacks to affirm U.S. backing for his country.
“We’ll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves,” the President said in a televised statement from the White House.
Dozens dead in fighting and retaliation after Hamas’ unprecedented attack into Israel
“My administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
Mr. Biden said he has directed his national security team to engage with Israel to make sure it has what it needs in the midst of attacks that have left many dead and wounded, and led to the capture of members of the Israeli military as well as civilians.
The president restated a view, made earlier Saturday in a written statement, that this is not the time for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks for its own advantage.
The White House said Mr. Biden has been briefed by national-security officials on the attacks, in which Hamas fired thousands of missiles from the Gaza Strip and gunmen infiltrated Israel in trucks, on motorcycles and via paragliders. The attack left at least 300 Israelis dead and at least 1,500 more wounded. Gaza authorities said Israeli retaliation has killed at least 313 and injured more than 2,000.
Also, Mr. Biden said he has been in touch with leaders throughout the region, including those of the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Biden, who has no public events scheduled this weekend, will continue to be briefed on the situation, his office said. It was not yet clear when or if he would directly address the violence. The President did not take media questions following his remarks.
An aerial view shows vehicles on fire as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023.ILAN ROSENBERG/Reuters
Mr. Biden, accompanied during his remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the attacks are shaping up as a terrible tragedy on a human level.
“It’s hurting innocent people, seeing the lives that have been broken by this, families torn apart. It’s heart-breaking,” said the President.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also put out statements condemning the attacks.
“These acts of violence are completely unacceptable,” Mr. Trudeau said Saturday morning in a posting on X. “We stand with Israel and fully support its right to defend itself. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this.”
Mr. Trudeau added, without elaborating, that civilian life must be protected.
Ms. Joly, also in a posting on X, called the situation a “multi-front terror attack against Israeli civilians by Hamas.” She wrote that Canada firmly stands with Israel and its right to defend itself against terror under international law.
“My heart is with the victims and all those affected by these attacks.”
Ms. Joly later posted links with information for Canadians in Israel to receive federal government updates and access emergency consular assistance.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in a statement, denounced the “sadistic violence” Hamas has carried out against Israeli civilians.
“Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks and respond against the attackers. Canadians pledge their solidarity with all the victims,” Mr. Poilievre said.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called the attacks “horrifying.”
“Civilians should never be targeted and all hostages must be released immediately,“ Mr. Singh said in a posting on X. An unknown number of Israeli soldiers and civilians were seized and taken into Gaza.
“We fear what the coming days will bring,” Mr. Singh said. “Terrorism and violence solve nothing.”
In a statement on Saturday afternoon, Global Affairs said there are no known Canadian casualties or injuries. They also said all Canadian personnel at the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv, as well as Canadian personnel in Ramallah, are safe and accounted for.
In total, 1,419 Canadians are registered in Israel with the Global Affairs registration program for Canadians abroad, and 492 are registered in the Palestinian Territories. Global Affairs noted these numbers do not provide a complete picture of Canadians in the region because registration with the program is voluntary.
Saturday’s attacks in Israel hit close to home for many Canadian Israelis who woke up to alarming reports and worry for their relatives in the Middle East.
“We’ve all been mourning with the country as it goes,” said Ora Bar, a Concordia University student who was born in Be’er Sheva, Israel. She said she woke up at 3 a.m. Saturday to messages of support from a group chat and has been anxiously monitoring news and social media since.
Ms. Bar, 25, said she spent a few months in 2021 in Tel Aviv. Her former roommate sent her a text message saying that “a rocket fell right next to where our house was” before she evacuated.
“This kind of example of proximity is just one among so many,” Ms. Bar said in an interview. Whenever there is an attack in Israel, she thinks of the victims, with whom she might have walked down the street or sat next to on a patio. “It could have been me,” Ms. Bar said.
Jennifer Ouaknine, who lives in Toronto, said she has family all over Israel, several of whom are in areas that were under attack, including her mother in Ashdod. “My mom can’t catch a breath, she’s just been crying the entire day for the State of Israel and for the safety of our soldiers and for the safety of her family,” she said.
“It’s just a horrific scene unfolding in Israel, like nothing like we’ve ever seen before,” Ms. Ouaknine, 43, said.
Nati Pressmann, a 19-year-old student at Queen’s University, said she woke up early and “felt like it was not real,” when she checked her phone and saw the news.
“My generation has never expected something like this to happen,” she said about the infiltrations and the kidnappings. Though her relatives in Israel don’t live in areas that were attacked Saturday, “they’re all worried,” she said.
Hamas launches attack on Israel
As of 12 p.m. ET Oct. 7
Hamas have launched thousands of
rockets at Israel from Gaza as gunmen
infiltrated towns across the south of
the country in a surprise attack they
are calling Operation Al-Aqsa Storm
Ben
Gurion
Airport
Tel Aviv
Hamas gunmen
Rishon
LeTsiyon
ISRAEL
Rocket strikes
Lod
80km
Israeli air strikes
Ramla
Yavne
Kfar Aviv
Ashdod
Mediterranean Sea
Jerusalem
ISRAEL
Ashkelon
GAZA STRIP
Bethlehem
Gaza City
Israel Air Force
hits Hamas
targets
Netiv HaAsara
Sderot
WEST BANK
Kfar Aza
Khan Younis
Clashes
with IDF
Nahal Oz
Be’eri
Re’im
Nir Oz
Ofakim
Magen
Beersheba
Sufa
10km
Militants enter Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad has said its fighters are joining battle
EGYPT
graphic news, Source: Haaretz; BBC; Reuters
Hamas launches attack on Israel
As of 12 p.m. ET Oct. 7
Hamas have launched thousands of
rockets at Israel from Gaza as gunmen
infiltrated towns across the south of
the country in a surprise attack they
are calling Operation Al-Aqsa Storm
Ben
Gurion
Airport
Tel Aviv
Hamas gunmen
Rishon
LeTsiyon
ISRAEL
Rocket strikes
Lod
80km
Israeli air strikes
Ramla
Yavne
Kfar Aviv
Ashdod
Mediterranean Sea
Jerusalem
ISRAEL
Ashkelon
GAZA STRIP
Bethlehem
Gaza City
Israel Air Force
hits Hamas
targets
Netiv HaAsara
Sderot
WEST BANK
Kfar Aza
Khan Younis
Clashes
with IDF
Nahal Oz
Be’eri
Re’im
Nir Oz
Ofakim
Magen
Beersheba
Sufa
10km
Militants enter Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad has said its fighters are joining battle
EGYPT
graphic news, Source: Haaretz; BBC; Reuters
Hamas launches attack on Israel
As of 12 p.m. ET Oct. 7
Hamas have launched thousands of rockets at Israel
from Gaza as gunmen infiltrated towns across the south
of the country in a surprise attack they are calling
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm
Ben
Gurion
Airport
Hamas gunmen
Tel Aviv
Rishon
LeTsiyon
Rocket strikes
ISRAEL
Israeli air strikes
Lod
80km
Ramla
Yavne
Kfar Aviv
Ashdod
Mediterranean Sea
Jerusalem
Ashkelon
ISRAEL
GAZA STRIP
Bethlehem
Gaza City
Israel Air Force
hits Hamas
targets
Netiv HaAsara
Sderot
WEST BANK
Kfar Aza
Khan Younis
Clashes
with IDF
Nahal Oz
Be’eri
Re’im
Nir Oz
Ofakim
Magen
Beersheba
Sufa
Militants enter Israel by land, sea and air using paragliders.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad has said its fighters are joining battle
10km
EGYPT
graphic news, Source: Haaretz; BBC; Reuters
In the U.S., Adrienne Watson, the spokesperson for Mr. Biden’s security council, said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, and that the two governments were in close contact.
“The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. There is never any justification for terrorism,” she said in a statement. “We stand firmly with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would “ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.” He did not specify what support the Pentagon was planning to send.
“Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering, and I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this abhorrent attack on civilians,” he said in a statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed countries in the region to help stop Hamas’s attacks, his office said.
In a conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Mr. Blinken “reiterated Israel’s right to self-defence and called for coordinated efforts to achieve an immediate halt to the violent attacks by Hamas terrorists and other militants,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. He did not say how the Saudi government responded.
Mr. Blinken also spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, whose country shares a border with Gaza, and “expressed appreciation for the Egyptian leadership’s ongoing efforts.” Egypt has had full diplomatic relations with Israel since the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries.
Mr. Biden has been attempting to broker an agreement for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel. Under such a deal, the U.S. would offer Riyadh security guarantees and help building nuclear power infrastructure, while Israel would make concessions to the Palestinians.
Mr. Biden met with Mr. Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. He also warmly greeted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a G20 summit in New Delhi, marking a significant thaw after Mr. Biden had refused to deal with the kingdom’s de facto leader over the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Amid the Hamas attacks, the Saudi government called for restraint on both sides and blamed the violence on “the continued occupation” of Palestinian territories and “the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights.”
Former U.S. president Donald Trump unveiled normalization deals between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – dubbed the Abraham Accords – in 2020.