LIVE | Israel-Hamas war: Death toll nears 1,200; Israel to cut off electricity, food, fuel to Gaza

Iran behind Hamas, alleges Israel

Iran is funding Hamas, says Israel

Israel's envoy to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said Iran is behind Hamas's latest onslaught. 

Israel needs India's support, says envoy

As Israel reels under the massive attacks by Hamas militants, Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon to India has said his country will need very strong support from India as it is an influential country and knows the challenge of terrorism.

Describing the attacks by Hamas militants as totally unprovoked and unacceptable, Gilon said Israel will deal with the challenge on its own and punish the perpetrators. The attacks by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday killed more than 600 Israelis and injured over 2,000. Palestinian officials said retaliatory attacks by Israel left around 200 people dead in the Gaza Strip.

Talking to reporters, the Israeli envoy alleged that Iran has a hand in the attacks and suggested that the country supplied weapons to Hamas. "It's clear to us that Iran is involved with it. We know for sure about supplying of weapons and training," he alleged. Gilon said his country will need the very strong support of "our Indian friends" and that "India is a very influential country in the world, as a country that knows terrorism and understands the crisis." "It will be very important for us, to give us the ability to do what we need to do in order to make sure that Hamas will not be able to continue doing atrocities," he said.

Gilon said India's support to Israel at this time is based on a deep understanding of terrorism rather than ignorance.

US rushes ships, warplanes

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.

The USS Gerald R. Ford and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.

The large deployment, which also includes a host of ships and warplanes, underscores the concern that the United States has in trying to deter the conflict from growing. The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas.

Preliminary reports indicate that at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks and an additional seven were missing and unaccounted for, according to a US official.

US sends ships, warplanes

The Pentagon has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel, two US officials said on Sunday.

The USS Gerald R. Ford and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.

The Norfolk, Virginia-based carrier was already in the Mediterranean. Last week it was conducting naval exercises with Italy in the Ionian Sea. It's the United States newest and most advanced aircraft carrier and this is its first full deployment.

The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before the Defense Department's announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity, an Associated Press (AP) report said.

Indian nationals in Israel and Gaza safe

There have been no untoward incidents involving Indians living and working in Israel so far amid escalating tensions in the region, even as the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv received requests from its citizens, including tourists, stranded in the country to facilitate their safe exit.

There are about 18,000 Indian nationals living and working in Israel and so far there have been no untoward incidents reported involving them, PTI reported, citing sources.

The Indian embassy has received requests from Indian tourists stranded in the country to facilitate their exit. Most of the tourists are travelling in groups.

There are also some businessmen visiting Israel who have gotten caught up in the escalation and are looking to be evacuated.

Intense fighting in Gaza area: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said there is intense fighting going on in the Gaza area and the focus right now is on helping Israel recover the territory that has been taken by Hamas militant group, noting that the issue of intelligence failure would be probed into a bit later.

Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack – by air, land and sea – by the Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning.

More than 600 people, including soldiers, have been killed so far and more than 2,000 injured in Israel – the deadliest day for the country in at least 50 years. In the Gaza Strip, there are more than 300 deaths and about 1,500 wounded in Israel's counterattack, media reports said on Sunday.

“The challenge for Israel and the challenge for all who support Israel and oppose horrific acts of terrorism is again to take measures that provide for accountability for that's happened and also to do our best to ensure that this doesn't happen again. That is likely to take some time. It’s fraught with very difficult decisions for the Israelis to make,” Blinken told ABC News in an interview.

This is the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, 50 years ago, he told CNN in another interview.

“I don't want to speculate, get into hypotheticals, …this is our 24-hour or so into this. As I said, there remains intense fighting in the Gaza area. And the focus has to be on helping Israel recover the territory that has been taken briefly by Hamas, protecting its citizens and taking whatever measures are necessary to avoid this repeating itself,” Blinken said, a day after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.

Biden speaks to Israeli PM

US President Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli officials. In remarks at the White House on Saturday, Biden called the attacks “unconscionable” and pledged his administration would ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself”.

“Let me say this as clearly as I can: This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage,” Biden said.

Israeli army's 24-hour evacuation target

Israel says Hamas akin to ISIS

Israel has posted on X: "We debated whether or not to share these horrific images, but the world needs to know what we are up against. These aren’t 'freedom fighters'. They are Hamas terrorists, but no different than ISIS terrorists. Same tactics, different names. Butchering families, kidnapping grandmothers. Desecrating bodies. Help us get this message out.'"

Ukraine expresses solidarity