By Kathleen Magramo, Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Ed Upright, Joshua Berlinger, Aditi Sangal, Dakin Andone, Steve Almasy, Tori B. Powell and Elise Hammond, CNN
From CNN's Ibrahim Dahman in Gaza
A Hamas spokesperson on Tuesday issued a warning to the residents of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon to leave the city before 5 p.m. local time.
The warning is in response to the “crime of displacing our people and forcing them to flee their homes” in the Gaza strip, the spokesperson said.
No further details were provided in the statement, which was shared by Hamas on Telegram.
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová in Ashdod, Israel
Air raid sirens warning of a rocket attack have sounded throughout the area north of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, prompting residents and visitors to rush to the shelters.
People here know that time is of essence — while those in Tel Aviv and areas further north have a bit more time to find a shelter, people near the Gaza Strip have mere seconds to run to safety.
Shortly after the sirens sounded, several loud bangs could be heard in Ashdod, as rockets fired from Gaza were being intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
From CNN staff
It's the fourth day of fighting between Israel and Hamas since the Islamist militant group carried out one of the deadliest terror attacks in Israel's history, killing at least 900 people. Israel has responded with an overwhelming number of airstrikes on Gaza, the 140 square-mile densely populated territory controlled by Hamas, leaving at least 765 people dead, wounding 4,000 and displacing more than 137,000.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations told CNN that the country’s priority is "to obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities. Overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched another 200 strikes targeting "terror hubs." Hamas is threatening to kill civilian hostages and broadcast the executions live should the aerial attacks continue without warning. The group claims to be holding more than 100 captives, including Israeli army officers. Israel's UN ambassador said the number of hostages could be as high as 150.
Here are the developments to get you up to speed:
Bloodbath at Be'eri: More than 100 bodies have been found in the Israeli kibbutz Be’eri, a self-sustaining farming community of 1,000 residents near Gaza. Be'eri was one of the first places targeted by militants who breached the border early Saturday morning, and among the hardest hit. Civilians there were killed and taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities and videos obtained and authenticated by CNN.
More foreign victims: More foreign nationals were reported dead on Tuesday, including citizens of France, Russia and Thailand.
Bodies of attackers: The IDF said it has recovered the bodies of about 1,500 Hamas militants since the group's surprise blitz early Saturday.
Control at the border: Hecht, the IDF spokesperson, said Tuesday that the Israeli military had "more or less" restored full control over the border fence with Gaza following the breach over the weekend. A huge buildup of tanks was apparent close to the border with Gaza, while Israel continued its barrage of airstrikes. Hecht said Israeli forces have secured communities around the border and have nearly completed evacuations in the area. He added that there were two small firefights overnight in a pair of communities. The focus is now on airstrikes and the forthcoming offensive in Gaza, Hecht said.
Fearing the worst: Some Israeli parents are being told to remove social media from their children's phones in case Hamas carries through with its threat to broadcast hostage videos.
On the ground: In a new season of CNN's "Tug of War" podcast, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson brings us the latest on the conflict from his position just two miles from the Israeli border with Gaza.
Air raid sirens are going off in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas as well as in the city of Ashdod, CNN teams report.
A CNN team in Tel Aviv has been moved to shelter, according to a field producer.
From CNN's Betsy Klein
The US is still not aware of any American citizens taken hostage by Hamas, but concerns remain “high” as US President Joe Biden's administration offers Israel assistance, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN Tuesday.
“Our concerns were high immediately. You can't take a threat like that lightly. You’ve got to take it seriously, because of the barbarity that Hamas has already shown that they're capable of. So obviously, we're watching it very, very closely. We have talked to the Israelis about offering them additional intelligence information as well as hostage recovery expertise,” Kirby said during an appearance on “CNN This Morning.”
Pressed on what lengths the US is willing to go to bring possible American hostages home, Kirby said the administration will “work with might and main,” but declined to speculate.
“We don’t know if there are Americans in this population, we don’t know where they are, we don’t know how they’re being held, and it’s an active warzone – so that complicates the options. But clearly, we’re going to do everything we can to help with this hostage crisis, with or without Americans being in the population,” he said.
Kirby also declined to say whether the Biden administration has issued any warnings to Israel as it mounts its response.
“We don't want to see any innocent civilians killed anywhere in the world, and that certainly includes in Gaza and in Israel. And sadly, there have been too many innocent civilians that have already been killed in this conflict by Hamas now, almost 1000 Israeli citizens. But we also know that as a vibrant democracy, Israel shares many of our values and interests and certainly. one of those values is that respect for life, and we're always better together when we are observing that respect for life and for the laws of war as well,” he said.
There is still “no direct evidence” that Iran was involved in the sourcing or planning of these attacks, Kirby reiterated, though he said there is a “level of complicity.”
From CNN’s Nic Robertson, Muhammad Darwish and Martin Goillandeau
Just a few hours after Israeli troops secured the Kfar Aza kibbutz from Hamas militants, Major Gen. Itai Veruv reflected on what he saw — although he has “the skills” to prepare for this sort of situation from his many years of experience, he had never imagined anything like this could happen.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my career, never in 40 years of service this something I never imagined,” he told CNN on Tuesday,
Veruv couldn’t confirm how many people were killed in the attack but said his soldiers spent “about 48 hours” fighting “waves and waves of terrorists” on roads and in neighboring communities.
Veruv said he started fighting Hamas militants in the Yakhini moshav (community) on Saturday, moving then “from battle to battle,” on the road to Sderot, before joining the Be’eri kibbutz on Monday evening.
In Be'eri, he said he saw that “some people came out with their children and [Hamas attackers] killed them. They killed babies in front of their parents and then killed the parents. They killed parents and we found babies between the dogs and their families killed before him.”
Thinking about what he saw in Kfar Aza kibbutz, just a few miles from Be'eri, he said, “I have heard during my childhood about the pogroms in Europe, the Holocaust, of course. All my family came from Europe, they are survivors. But I never thought I would see in my eyes pictures and things like that”
Yet, Veruv said it was “not a time for feelings.”
“Now is time for the mission and to be very effective and very strong," he said. "Maybe later, we will take time to think about ourself and our soul. Now, I only want to fight in defense and attack."
From CNN’s Caitlin Danaher in London
The violence in Israel and Gaza has the “potential to escalate dramatically,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in a statement on Tuesday, as the organization's president called for the safe release of hostages.
“Amid the devastating violence – the premeditated killings of civilians, and the bombings in residential neighborhoods – a worrying sign is that few voices of de-escalation have been heard,” the ICRC statement said.
“Heightened war rhetoric, in our experience, leads to greater civilian suffering,” it said, adding that without “immediate restraint, we are heading for a humanitarian disaster.”
ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric was quoted in the statement calling for all hostages to be “immediately released unharmed” in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Additionally, authorities must ensure civilians have access to water, food, and medical care, “irrespective of any military siege," Spoljaric said.
“ICRC teams are working closely with the Magen David Adom (MDA) and the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to assist those who are wounded or sick and in need,” she said, noting her organization had sent medical supplies to a hospital in Gaza.
From CNN's Anna Chernova
At least two Russian citizens have now been confirmed killed in the attack by Hamas on Saturday, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov said on Russian television.
Viktorov added that the embassy has not yet contacted the relatives of the latest victim. He previously told the state-run Channel One television station that the first person reported dead was a "young man" with dual Israeli-Russian citizenship.
Russian state media RIA Novosti has reported that one of the duo is a 47-year-old Russian citizen born in the Kaliningrad region, who moved to Israel in 1992.
Four Russians are listed as missing, but Russia's diplomatic mission in Israel has no information on whether its citizens are being held hostage by Hamas, Viktorov added.
From CNN’s Anna Chernova
After Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov expressed support for the Palestinians, the Kremlin said that Russia maintains diplomatic ties with both sides in the conflict.
“We have long-standing historical ties with the Palestinians, we continue to foster contacts, including at high level. But at the same time, we have relations with the state of Israel, with which we also have much in common, particularly, the large number of our compatriots residing in this state," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. “Therefore, in this case, we maintain relations with both parties.”
When questioned about the nature of Russia's support for Palestinians, Peskov said Moscow is actively engaged in diplomatic efforts and participating in various formats seeking grounds for a settlement. “We intend to continue to make efforts and play a role in terms of assistance in finding a way to a settlement,” he said Tuesday.
Peskov added that the dates for an announced visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Moscow have not been finalized but said the visit had been planned in advance.
In a video posted Monday, Kadyrov expressed “complete support” for the Palestinians and suggested the deployment of his “peacemaking” forces on a mission to settle the conflict in Israel. Kadyrov also called on “Islamic, Muslim and Arabic countries to make a joint statement in protection of their Muslim brothers” and blamed the West and Europe for the conflict in Israel.
Earlier Monday, Peskov voiced significant concern over the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and called for a peaceful resolution.
