Hezbollah claims responsibility for targeting Israeli sites
From CNN's Mostafa Salem
Smoke rises from the Shebaa farms area as seen from the Lebanese village of Rashaya al-Foukhar, in southern Lebanon, on October 8, 2023. Karamallah Daher/Reuters
The Lebanese group Hezbollah issued a statement Sunday claiming responsibility for targeting three Israeli sites in an area known as Shebaa Farms using missiles and artillery.
Shebaa Farms is considered by Lebanon as Israeli-occupied.
The three sites include the Radar site, the Zabdin site, and the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site, the statement by Hezbollah said.
Israel responded to the attacks by firing artillery at the area in Lebanon where the strike originated, the IDF said earlier.
Some context: Lebanon and Israel are considered enemy states, but a truce between the two has largely held since a conflict between them in 2006. There have been several small-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon in recent years that have prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel.
1:35 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
China “deeply concerned” over escalation of tensions and violence, calls for two-state solution
From CNN’s Manveena Suri and Wayne Chang
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that it is “deeply concerned” over the current escalation of tensions and violence.
“We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation,” the MOFA spokesperson said.
“The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent state of Palestine,” the ministry’s spokesperson said.
The ministry urged the international community “to act with greater urgency, step up input into the Palestine question, facilitate the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and find a way to bring about enduring peace.”
The spokesperson added that China will “continue to work relentlessly with the international community towards that end.”
1:27 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
IDF names 26 soldiers killed in Hamas attack
From CNN’s Abeer Salman, Richard Allen Greene and Mossi Moshe in Jerusalem
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Sunday published the names of 26 soldiers killed in the attack Hamas launched at dawn the day before.
“Israel is waking up this morning to a terrible morning. There are a lot of people killed. People have been kidnapped into Gaza, not only soldiers but civilians, children, grandmothers,” the IDF’s International spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a briefing Sunday.
“We have lost soldiers, we have lost commanders, we have lost a lot of civilians,” he added.
Hecht said there are plans to activate a hotline for those with questions regarding missing or injured people.
“In the case of missing or injured persons, a hotline will be activated to clarify questions, and for the families who are disturbed," Hecht said. "We know how to deal with difficult situations and difficult challenges and we will meet the targets we are required to achieve. We ask the public to continue to show responsibility.”
1:53 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
IDF vows to control all of Gaza as conflict enters its second day
From CNN's Richard Allen Greene and Mossi Moshe in Jerusalem
A man carries a crying child as he walks in front of a building destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 7, 2023. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say their focus is taking control of the Gaza Strip as the conflict enters a second day.
“The significant thing that preoccupies us right now is the stabilization of control in the Gaza Strip," IDF International Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, told a briefing Sunday.
“We have targets for the next 12 hours: to end the Gaza enclave. To control the entire enclave and kill all the terrorists in our territory,” Hecht said.
“We are probably going to try to evict certain communities in areas of Gaza. As the day goes on, we might evict people from certain areas of Gaza.”
The IDF said there are still eight “points of engagement” with Hamas militants in the south of the country.
Hecht told the briefing the IDF would "exact a very heavy price" by "attacking military infrastructure targets and all Hamas targets.”
Hecht added: “We are prepared with many forces with an emphasis on Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] and the northern arena – to stop any event if there is an attack against us. We are prepared for disturbances or attempted attacks if there are any."
Hecht said the IDF had neutralized most of the significant battles that took place in the settlement of Otef, but there were still operations ongoing in Sderot, Kfar Gaza, Be’eri, Kissufim and Sufa, among other places.
The IDF was engaged in searches and trying to clean the area, to make sure there were no Hamas militants still inside the communities, Hecht said. Those living in communities around the Gaza Strip were slowly being evacuated, he said.
“We are going to respond severely against Hamas. It's going to take some time,” Hecht said.
Asked by a journalist about the intelligence failure that had allowed such a large scale attack to occur, Hecht said: "This is not a question for now.... I am sure that will be a big discussion down the road."
1:18 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
Israeli mother tells CNN she heard her kids being kidnapped by militants
From CNN’s Sophie Jeong
An Israeli mother told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that she was on the phone with her two children when Hamas militants broke into their home and kidnapped them.
The mother and her children are not being identified for safety reasons.
The mother said her children, ages 16 and 12, were alone in the security room because she was away.
“About 8:30, they heard the door break. They said someone is breaking the door,” the mother told Tapper. “They were scared to death. I can’t even imagine what they felt. And I wasn’t there to help.”
The mother said that she told her children to stay quiet, stay in the security room and lock the door, but she told Tapper the doors don’t lock as they were not prepared for such a situation.
“About quarter to 9, I heard on [the] line, on the phone, the door break. I heard terrorists speaking in Arabic to my teenagers. And the youngest saying to them ‘I’m too young to go,’” the mother said.
“And the phone went off, the line went off. That was the last time I heard from them. It was a very, very hard day,” the mother told Tapper, adding that no one from the military or the government came by to say anything.
Some context: Hamas claims it has captured dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, and videos authenticated by CNN show some of the dramatic seizures. Israel's military has said hostages were taken.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Saturday that the number of civilians captured by Hamas is “unfortunately, a significant number.”
1:16 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
Video shows moment couple were kidnapped after attending festival in southern Israel
From CNN's Sharif Paget
Video on social media shows the moment an Israeli woman and her boyfriend were kidnapped after attending a festival in southern Israel near the Gaza border.
Amir Moadi, who is a roommate of the woman seen in the video, told CNN's Erin Burnett that Noa Argamani's family asked him to share the video with CNN in the hope that it will help secure her safe release.
Moshe Or, the brother of the man seen in the video, told CNN affiliate Channel 12 in Israel that he approves of the media showing the video. He has indicated on his Facebook page that he wants to get the word out so his brother, Avinatan Or and Argamani, his brother's girlfriend, can be returned to Israel as soon as possible.
In the video, Argamani can be seen on the back of a motorcycle being driven away as she pleads for help. Or is apprehended by several men and is walking with his hands held behind his back. A dark plume of smoke can be seen in the background of the video. CNN cannot independently verify the video.
"It's very difficult when you see someone that is so close to you and you know so much being treated like this," Moadi told CNN. He added that he knows about five or six people who were at the festival that have also gone missing.
"But still, we have people missing. We have friends and families, young and old, everyone that got to Gaza Strip, and we need to do everything, and now to get them back," he added.
Moshe Or told CNN affiliate Channel 12 that it did not take him long to find the video.
"I saw his girlfriend Noa in the video, scared and frightened, I can't imagine what's going through her at all – screaming in panic on a motorcycle, when some scumbags are holding her and they don't let her go," he said.
"My brother, who is a big guy, two meters tall, trains four times a week, a really strong guy. They held him maybe four or five people and just led them towards the strip, I guess," he added.
1:02 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
Israel artillery currently striking an area in Lebanon, IDF says
From CNN’s Hadas Gold in Jerusalem
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) artillery is currently striking an area in Lebanon in response to a “shooting” from Lebanon into Israel, the IDF said in a statement.
“The IDF has been taking preparational measures for this type of possibility and will continue to operate in all regions and at any time necessary to ensure the safety of the Israeli civilians,” a statement said.
It is unclear what was fired from Lebanon towards Israel.
Some context: Lebanon and Israel are considered enemy states, but a truce between them has largely held since a conflict between them in 2006. There have been several small-scale rocket attacks from Lebanon in recent years that have prompted retaliatory strikes from Israel.
12:52 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
More than 1,800 people injured in Hamas attacks, Israel says
From CNN's Mossi Moshe
An ambulance in Tel Aviv, Israel, takes away a person injured by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Moti Milrod/AP
The surprise attacks by Hamas have injured more than 1,800 people, according to Israeli officials.
As of Sunday at 6:30 a.m. local time 1,864 injured people had been evacuated to hospitals, Israel’s Ministry of Health said. Of those, 19 are in critical condition and 326 have serious injuries.
12:49 a.m. ET, October 8, 2023
Israeli forces have struck 426 targets in Gaza, according to IDF
From CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman and Abeer Salman
Fire and smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli warplanes continued striking Gaza on Sunday morning as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) evacuated Israeli residents around the Gaza Strip overnight.
Israeli forces struck 426 targets in Gaza, including 10 towers used by Hamas, the IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are operating on the ground around the Gaza Strip, Hagari added.
A CNN journalist in Gaza said Al Watan building and Al Aklouk building in the center of Gaza City were struck.
Internet connectivity continues being partially disrupted and most of the electricity has been cut off since Saturday.
The sound of warplanes and explosions continued throughout the night and the smell of gunpowder filled the air, the CNN journalist in Gaza said.
The IDF shared footage showing a strike on a multi-story building in the city.
The strike hit “Hamas military targets located in multi-story buildings in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said.
