| | | | | | | Hello. It has been more than 48 hours since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza strip. As you receive this newsletter, more than 700 people have been killed in Israel, and almost 500 people have died in Gaza under retaliatory strikes. Our correspondents will help you understand this developing story, with reports from Yolande Knell, in Israel, and Rushdi Abu Alouf, in Gaza City. And if you feel like you're missing the essential context to follow the news, I highly recommend reading this piece answering the basic questions you might have. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Israel still fighting gunmen after Hamas attacks | | | | Israeli soldiers take cover from a missile strike in Southern Israel. Source: Reuters |
| | After a weekend that saw the bloodiest attack on Israel in decades, there are continuing reports of rocket fire this morning.More than 700 people are confirmed to have been killed as Hamas launched a surprise attack on Saturday. A "significant number" of Israeli civilians and soldiers are being held hostage by the Palestinian group. Israel responded with retaliatory strikes that killed almost 500 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities. Israel says it is still trying to get the situation under control, as active Palestinian gunmen are still present in Israel. Moments before you received this newsletter, Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he had ordered a total blockade on the Gaza Strip: "No electricity, no food, no fuel," he said. | | | | |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Ashkelon, Israel | | 'No-one could help' | | The Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, just 10 km (six miles) north of the Gaza strip, has treated at least 400 patients because of the surprise attack by Hamas. Many Israelis are complaining of a lack of help from the authorities. | | | | Yolande Knell, BBC Middle East Correspondent |
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| | One 30-year-old man having a cigarette in front of the Barzilai Medical Center looks badly shaken. He tells me he is a medical worker from Tel Aviv but is here as a patient, after joining an overnight dance party in the fields near Gaza which ended catastrophically on Saturday morning. He has been shot in the hand, losing a finger, and has wounds on his head. "In the morning, the rocket fire started. Everyone got scared and started running towards the road to drive home. As we got on the road, the gunfire began," the man says. "I called the police. Nobody could help us. For an hour and a half, we sat inside a battle, helpless." |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Gaza City | | 'Unable to cope' | | The Gaza strip has been under non-stop retaliatory shelling from Israel, which says it has hit more than 1,000 targets. Palestinian health officials say nearly 500 people have been killed, while food, water and power supplies have been cut. | | | | Rushdi Abu Alouf, BBC News |
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| | I saw rubble blocking roads. Shops were closed, except for a few bakeries where long queues had formed. The escalation has made Gaza's dreadful humanitarian situation even worse. Mahmoud Shalabi, Gaza director of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, described the city's main hospital as a "slaughterhouse". Many people were lying on the ground in the emergency department, he said. "Many medical staff were unable to cope with the huge influx of casualties," Mr Shalabi added. Ordinary Gazans have expressed mixed feelings about this unprecedented conflict. Although some saw Hamas' rocket attacks as a cause for celebrations, many are worried the violence will continue for a very long time. |
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| | | | World headlines | | • | Oil prices: The price of crude has jumped over concerns the situation in Israel and Gaza could affect output from the Middle East. Analysts say there are fears of disruption to major producers, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.. | | • | Rescue efforts: Emergency teams in Afghanistan are racing to free people from the rubble left by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in western Herat Province on Saturday. The UN says more than 1,000 people are feared dead, with another 500 missing. | | • | German elections: Conservatives and right-wing populists are celebrating major gains in the wealthy states of Bavaria and Hesse. The results are a blow to the national coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the ramifications will be felt across Germany, writes Damien McGuinness, from Berlin. | | • | 'So moving': Greta Gerwig, director of the summer's smash-hit film, Barbie, has been speaking of her thrill at its success. She told fans at London Film Festival how she lurked in New York City cinemas to ensure audiences had the best experience. | | • | Marathon feat: Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum shattered the men's marathon world record, in Chicago, as he beat compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's previous mark by more than 30 seconds. Read his reaction to finishing just 35 seconds outside the two-hour mark. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | The 'white gold' rush dividing communities | | | | Native American people say Thacker Pass was the site of an atrocity, in 1865. Credit: BBC |
| | In the Nevadan desert lies an enormous deposit of lithium - a metal essential to electric car batteries. US President Joe Biden believes it can help the US lead the world in development of the vehicles. But with mining under way, environmentalists and native people are split over the new rush for this "white gold". | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Swedish mirror | | What reality TV made in Sweden can teach us. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | Last week, Sarah Sunny made history after she became India's first deaf lawyer to argue in the country's Supreme Court. The court also appointed its own interpreter for Ms Sunny, the first in the court's history. Read her story.
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| | | | | | Future Planet | | Explore the wonders of our amazing planet. | | |
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– Jules |
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