Richard Engel on MSNBC says that some negioations ARE going on about Israeli hostages, but are not expected to be of consequence with the fluid situation…
As he reports…..
There are explosions in the background images….
It’s Day 3 and the the fight continues…
It HAS been pointed out here that the US helping Israel and the Saudi’s forge a peace agreement like Israel has with Jordan and Egypt could be the goal of the hostilities (Iran?)…
Nine American’s have reportily be killed….
900 Israeli’s….
560 Palestinians ….3,000 injured
Unknown number of outher countries nationals also….
Israel has called up 300,000 more military reservists ….
Israeli attacks have leveled buildings in Gaza resulting in more injuries ….
Update….
Hamas annouces that further Israeli attack’s will result in the death of hostages CNN reports….
Israeli’s 9-11 moment….
“Israel made a huge mistake believing that a terror organization can change its DNA,” said Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu. “We will not make it again.”
Three days after the deadliest attack in Israeli history, with at least 900 dead, the country is on the cusp of a long and bloody war in Gaza. More than 300,000 reservists have been called up to serve. But the capacity of Israel’s military, long revered here as a source of stability, suddenly feels like a question mark. Equally unclear is the end game for Netanyahu — with his Gaza containment strategy in ruins, some are calling for a full reoccupation of the territory.
Security experts say the war is the result of severe intelligence and military failures. Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants had been training for weeks near the Israeli border — drilling in rocket launches, kidnapping soldiers and “storming settlements,” Gazan media reported. Yet the assessment from the Israeli military was that Hamas had no appetite for another conflict, a line repeated by trusted media figures….
The Iran angle….
Iranian backing, logistics and funding have been critical to both Hamas and Islamic Jihad for years, analysts said.
Hamas has publicly acknowledged receiving support from Iran. On Sunday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with both the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah and the Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Top Iranian officials — like Esmail Qaani, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps leader — have occasionally met with senior officials of the three organizations. Senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials regularly travel to Tehran to consult with the leadership.
Islamic Jihad is a relatively small organization with limited capabilities in Gaza, and some analysts say the group is almost entirely dependent on Tehran’s backing. Hezbollah is a Lebanese political movement, but also an Iranian-backed militant group.
Hamas is also a popular Palestinian movement and the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip. But there are sharp divisions within the Hamas leadership over how closely to dive into Iran’s orbit, with other factions in the movement backing closer ties with the Sunni Gulf states.
U.S. officials have said they have yet to see clear evidence of direct Iranian coordination. In an interview with CNN, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken noted the “long relationship between Iran and Hamas.”
“In this specific instance, we have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack,” Mr. Blinken said.
For Iran, its alliance with Hamas is a key point of leverage. Tehran, according to current and former officials, wants to derail the emerging peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Any war between Israel and Hamas that causes significant civilian casualties on both sides would make any such public truce incredibly difficult….
Hamas says it has 150 hostages ….
Other countries casualties and hostiages taken….
Nations worldwide were scrambling on Sunday to find citizens who may have been killed or taken hostage when militants from Gaza surged across the Israeli border on Saturday. Lists of missing people have flooded social media.
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The White House on Monday said it had confirmed the deaths of nine Americans in the attack by Hamas, and that other Americans remain unaccounted for.
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France’s foreign ministry said a French woman had died in Israel following Hamas’ assault, but it did not elaborate on the circumstances. There were still French citizens unaccounted for on Sunday, the ministry said, but it did not provide further information.
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Two Thai nationals were killed, Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, said on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry of Thailand said that Hamas took 11 Thai citizens hostage.
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Two citizens of Ukraine were among those killed in Israel, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Sunday.
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Two Mexican nationals were believed to be among the hostages taken by Hamas, Mexico’s foreign minister, Alicia Bárcena, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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At least four Nepali students who were studying in southern Israel, near Gaza, were injured, Nepal’s foreign minister, Narayan Prakash Saud, said on X. The status of 11 additional students was unclear.
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The Israeli Embassy in London confirmed that two British citizens — Dan Darlington and Jake Marlowe — were missing. The embassy also confirmed that Nathanael Young, a British man serving in the Israeli military, was killed on the Gaza border on Saturday.
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The German-Israeli citizen Shani Louk was abducted by Hamas militants while attending an open-air music festival, German officials said…..
Biden Coordinates Allies in Defense of Israel
The United States, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement saying they are committed to defending Israel.
“We make clear that the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned. There is never any justification for terrorism.”