Analysis: Deep and wide political shockwaves will result from Israel's war with Hamas
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
Cataclysmic events like the Hamas onslaught on Israel trigger profound political shocks and strategic transformations that no one could predict at the time.
The rocket attacks, hostage takings and mass killings inside Israel came as the global order was already at a pivot point, with the post-Cold War era swept away by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s superpower ascent.
The raw shock over what just happened — the scenes of gunned down civilians at an Israeli music festival, the wrenching accounts of families torn apart and the fierce first burst of Israeli reprisal attacks on Gaza — are transfixing the world.
But politics is never still for long. The sudden and bloody shattering of a rare interregnum of calm and hope for diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East is already shifting calculations in Israel, the United States, the Arab world and across the globe.
The Hamas assault has been compared to the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 — as a comparatively low-tech assault on civilians that breached the homeland of a more powerful and sophisticated adversary, partly by defying the imagination of threat assessors in a complacent national security and political establishment.
The lesson of that historic trauma was that the political and military steps taken by American and other leaders when normal politics roared back to life did not just change the world through military action. They unleashed extraordinary political forces inside nations like the United States and Britain, creating conditions that are still influencing society and elections.
This may be where Israel finds itself now. The Jewish state is no stranger to rocket attacks from Gaza or Lebanon or bus and suicide bombings. But the Hamas invaders just shattered Israelis’ illusions of their own security more deeply than at any time since the Yom Kippur war in 1973 when Egyptian and Syrian forces attacked. This sense of emotional violation will condition Israel’s response in the days ahead and will influence how the rest of the world reacts to its fight-back.
Netanyahu says Israel will respond "like never before" after Hamas assault. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address on Monday. GPO
The Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force "like never before," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, as the conflict enters a fourth day following the Islamist militants' devastating surprise attack in Israeli territory.
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, I tell you frankly, difficult days are still ahead of us," he said in a televised address Monday.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
Hours later, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing said it would begin killing civilian hostages and broadcasting the act if Israel targets Gaza without warning.
These are the key details you need to know:
Stunning attack: Hamas launched a surprise assault early Saturday, firing thousands of rockets and sending armed fighters into Israel. At least 900 people died — including more than 260 attending a music festival near the Gaza border. Thousands were wounded and dozens were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Americans killed: At least 11 US citizens have been confirmed killed in the Hamas attack, President Joe Biden said Monday, and White House officials are bracing for that number to grow. Twelve Thai citizens, 10 Nepalis, two Ukrainians, two French nationals and one British citizen are also among the dead, according to officials.
War declaration: Israel on Sunday formally declared war on Hamas in response to the attack and Israeli jets bombarded Gaza with airstrikes. Gaza's health ministry said Monday the death toll has reached 687 people, including 140 children.
Hostages in Gaza: Israeli authorities believe up to 150 hostages are being held in Gaza as it lays siege to the enclave in an effort to "obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," Israel's ambassador to the UN said late Monday. Hamas said Sunday more than 100 hostages are being held in Gaza, including high-ranking Israeli army officers. Videos on social media appeared to show militants capturing multiple civilians, including children. A White House official said the US believes Americans may be among those in captivity. On Monday, Hamas warned civilian hostages would be executed if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning.
Gaza under siege: More than 137,000 people are taking cover from Israeli strikes at UN emergency shelters in Gaza. The shelters are at 90% capacity, the UN relief agency said.
Security lapse? Questions remain over how the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus appeared to be caught off guard in one of the country’s worst security failures. Fighting between the two sides has surged in the past two years. The violence has been driven by frequent Israeli military raids in Palestinian towns and cities, which Israel has said are a necessary response to a rising number of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis.
29 min ago
Israeli officer dies in militant attack near Lebanon border
From CNN's Amir Tal
An Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer has died after being injured in an "encounter" with militants near the northern border with Lebanon, Israeli hospital officials said.
The 40-year-old officer from the northern Yanoach-Jat district was brought to the hospital in critical condition, the Galilee Medical Center said in a statement.
"He was rushed into the operating room and the doctors fought for his life, but unfortunately they had to pronounce him dead," the statement said.
The IDF said the officer died after militants had infiltrated from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The IDF later said there were "a number of launches from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory."
44 min ago
Up to 150 hostages in Gaza as Israel aims to "obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," UN envoy says
From CNN's Alex Stambaugh
Israeli authorities believe up to 150 hostages are being held in Gaza as it lays siege to the enclave in an effort to "obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said late Monday.
Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said while authorities hoped those held captive would return home safely, their situation would not "prevent us from doing what we need to do in order to secure the future of Israel."
"We have an unprecedented number of hostages," Erdan said, estimating the number was between 100 and 150. "We expect the Red Cross, we expect all international organizations to focus on these hostages and how they are treated and that they receive treatment according to international law, but it's not going to stop us, prevent us from doing what we need to do in order to secure the future of Israel."
Hamas has said civilian hostages would be executed and the killings broadcast if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning. The group claims to be holding more than 100 hostages, including Israeli army officers.
Erdan, the Israeli ambassador, told CNN Monday "we cannot restore security for the citizens of Israel if Hamas continues with its military buildup."
"Of course, we want to see all of our boys, girls, grandmothers, everyone who was abducted we want to see them back home, but right now, our focus is looking at our national strategy is to obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," he said.
22 min ago
More than 137,000 people are taking cover at UN shelters in Gaza, relief agency says
From CNN's Hilary Whiteman
Palestinians fleeing Israeli airstrikes take refuge in a school run by the United Nations in Gaza City on Sunday. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said late Monday its emergency shelters in Gaza are at 90% capacity with more than 137,000 people taking cover from Israeli strikes.
The agency said 83 UNRWA schools have been turned into shelters.
It said that one UN school housing displaced families was "directly hit," without giving further details. It's unknown how many people were in the shelter at the time of the attack.
UNRWA also said they had been forced to close all 14 food distribution centers, writing in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "as a result half a million people have stopped receiving vital food aid."
Israel has launched retaliatory strikes in Gaza after Hamas' surprise attack over the weekend, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordering a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Governed by Hamas since 2007, the enclave is under strict siege by Egypt and Israel, which also maintains an air and naval blockade. It has been described by Human Rights Watch as the “world’s largest open-air prison.”
Gazans have seen Israeli strikes ravage the strip on several occasions since Israeli forces withdrew from the territory in 2005. Fighting regularly takes place between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
3 hr 41 min ago
CNN teams in southern Israel report hearing heavy explosions from Gaza
From CNN's Nic Robertson in Sderot, Israel and Clarissa Ward in Ashkelon, Israel
CNN teams on the ground in Israel have heard explosions in Gaza and heavy rumbles in the past hour, appearing to indicate further strikes.
Fighter jets were also heard flying above close to the border, according to CNN's Nic Robertson in Sderot and Clarissa Ward in Ashkelon.
Robertson saw "big flashes in the sky" and "heard the sound of very, very heavy impact" coming from Gaza.
CNN teams could also hear drone activity and a helicopter flying near the border with Gaza.
33 min ago
"Massacre" in Gaza as Israeli defense minister orders "complete siege" of enclave
From CNN's Hadas Gold, Eyad Kourdi, Jonny Hallam, Ibrahim Dahman, Helen Regan and Tara John
A ball of fire is seen over a buildings after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday. Sameh Rahmi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force “like never before,” as the militant group threatened to kill civilian hostages if airstrikes target Gaza without warning.
Following Hamas’ devastating surprise attack in Israeli territory over the weekend, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Monday also ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza strikes: Airstrikes have beenIsrael’s primary retaliation measure within Gaza itself, with jets repeatedly pounding the heavily populated 140 square mile coastal strip, turning multiple buildings to rubble, displacing tens of thousands of people and sending waves of injured Palestinians to overwhelmed hospitals.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said it had been hitting Hamas, destroying around 800 targets and killing “hundreds” of fighters, wounding thousands and capturing scores of others.
Most of those arriving at hospitals in Gaza have sustained second- and third-degree burns and amputations, a spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza told Palestinian news outlet Shihab Agency on Monday. Many have also sustained shrapnel injuries, Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Those seeking hospital care are mainly women and children, al-Qidra said, adding that this is a “result of Israelis directly targeting residential houses and buildings.”
Access to medical care has been complicated by Israel cutting power to the territory, threatening the “lives of hundreds”of those injured, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said.
The ministry said later that all services at the only functioning hospital in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun neighborhood were suspended due to continuous Israeli airstrikes, blocking medical teams’ ability to enter or exit the building. Nine ambulances have been targeted since Saturday, the ministry added.
"Massacre" in refugee camps: Israeli airstrikes targeted the Shati and Jabalia refugee camps in Gaza on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said, describing the assault as a “massacre against the entire neighborhood.”
The ministry said bodies were still being recovered after the strikes killed a “large number” of people. No death toll has been provided.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila urged the international community to stop “the aggression” against medical facilities and teams in Gaza.
Palestinian president urges UN to intervene against "Israeli aggression" in Gaza
From CNN’s Kareem Khadder
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the United Nations General Assembly on September 21. Kena Betancur/Getty Images/FILE
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations to take immediate action against the continued “Israeli aggression” toward Palestinians.
Abbas made the remarks on a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to state news agency WAFA.
Abbas called on the UN to "immediately intervene to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” WAFA reported on Monday.
The Palestinian president emphasized the urgent need for medical and relief aid in Gaza, drawing attention to the looming humanitarian crisis. He urged the UN to "uphold its responsibilities as recognized by international legitimacy and ensure protection for the Palestinian people."
In response to Abbas's concerns, Guterres acknowledged the UN's continued efforts to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza residents. He also said the UN is working with international stakeholders to curb the current escalation, WAFA reported.
The PA was established in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 1993 through the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It stipulated the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
3 hr 45 min ago
"Difficult days" are still ahead for Israel, Netanyahu says
From CNN's Radina Gigova
Israel will overcome the sorrow unleashed by Hamas but "difficult days are still ahead of us," the country's leader said Monday.
"We lost entire families, sons and daughters, young and old," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech. "Together we will overcome and together we will win — only together."
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, I tell you frankly, difficult days are still ahead of us," Netanyahu added.
The Israeli military is going on the offense against Hamas with a force "like never before" and the images of destruction of Hamas strongholds in Gaza are "just the beginning," he said.
"We grieve for our brothers and sisters whose blood was shed, and we are determined to win this war, to bring life, blessing and light to our people and our country," he added.
More than 137,000 people are taking cover from Israeli strikes at UN emergency shelters in Gaza. The shelters are at 90% capacity, the UN relief agency said.
Hamas said civilian hostages would be executed and the killings broadcast if Israel targets Gaza without warning. The group claims to be holding more than 100 hostages, including Israeli army officers.
Cataclysmic events like the Hamas onslaught on Israel trigger profound political shocks and strategic transformations that no one could predict at the time.
The rocket attacks, hostage takings and mass killings inside Israel came as the global order was already at a pivot point, with the post-Cold War era swept away by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s superpower ascent.
The raw shock over what just happened — the scenes of gunned down civilians at an Israeli music festival, the wrenching accounts of families torn apart and the fierce first burst of Israeli reprisal attacks on Gaza — are transfixing the world.
But politics is never still for long. The sudden and bloody shattering of a rare interregnum of calm and hope for diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East is already shifting calculations in Israel, the United States, the Arab world and across the globe.
The Hamas assault has been compared to the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 — as a comparatively low-tech assault on civilians that breached the homeland of a more powerful and sophisticated adversary, partly by defying the imagination of threat assessors in a complacent national security and political establishment.
The lesson of that historic trauma was that the political and military steps taken by American and other leaders when normal politics roared back to life did not just change the world through military action. They unleashed extraordinary political forces inside nations like the United States and Britain, creating conditions that are still influencing society and elections.
This may be where Israel finds itself now. The Jewish state is no stranger to rocket attacks from Gaza or Lebanon or bus and suicide bombings. But the Hamas invaders just shattered Israelis’ illusions of their own security more deeply than at any time since the Yom Kippur war in 1973 when Egyptian and Syrian forces attacked. This sense of emotional violation will condition Israel’s response in the days ahead and will influence how the rest of the world reacts to its fight-back.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address on Monday. GPO
The Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force "like never before," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, as the conflict enters a fourth day following the Islamist militants' devastating surprise attack in Israeli territory.
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, I tell you frankly, difficult days are still ahead of us," he said in a televised address Monday.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
Hours later, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing said it would begin killing civilian hostages and broadcasting the act if Israel targets Gaza without warning.
These are the key details you need to know:
Stunning attack: Hamas launched a surprise assault early Saturday, firing thousands of rockets and sending armed fighters into Israel. At least 900 people died — including more than 260 attending a music festival near the Gaza border. Thousands were wounded and dozens were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Americans killed: At least 11 US citizens have been confirmed killed in the Hamas attack, President Joe Biden said Monday, and White House officials are bracing for that number to grow. Twelve Thai citizens, 10 Nepalis, two Ukrainians, two French nationals and one British citizen are also among the dead, according to officials.
War declaration: Israel on Sunday formally declared war on Hamas in response to the attack and Israeli jets bombarded Gaza with airstrikes. Gaza's health ministry said Monday the death toll has reached 687 people, including 140 children.
Hostages in Gaza: Israeli authorities believe up to 150 hostages are being held in Gaza as it lays siege to the enclave in an effort to "obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," Israel's ambassador to the UN said late Monday. Hamas said Sunday more than 100 hostages are being held in Gaza, including high-ranking Israeli army officers. Videos on social media appeared to show militants capturing multiple civilians, including children. A White House official said the US believes Americans may be among those in captivity. On Monday, Hamas warned civilian hostages would be executed if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning.
Gaza under siege: More than 137,000 people are taking cover from Israeli strikes at UN emergency shelters in Gaza. The shelters are at 90% capacity, the UN relief agency said.
Security lapse? Questions remain over how the Israeli military and intelligence apparatus appeared to be caught off guard in one of the country’s worst security failures. Fighting between the two sides has surged in the past two years. The violence has been driven by frequent Israeli military raids in Palestinian towns and cities, which Israel has said are a necessary response to a rising number of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis.
An Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer has died after being injured in an "encounter" with militants near the northern border with Lebanon, Israeli hospital officials said.
The 40-year-old officer from the northern Yanoach-Jat district was brought to the hospital in critical condition, the Galilee Medical Center said in a statement.
"He was rushed into the operating room and the doctors fought for his life, but unfortunately they had to pronounce him dead," the statement said.
The IDF said the officer died after militants had infiltrated from Lebanon into Israeli territory.
The IDF later said there were "a number of launches from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory."
Israeli authorities believe up to 150 hostages are being held in Gaza as it lays siege to the enclave in an effort to "obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said late Monday.
Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said while authorities hoped those held captive would return home safely, their situation would not "prevent us from doing what we need to do in order to secure the future of Israel."
"We have an unprecedented number of hostages," Erdan said, estimating the number was between 100 and 150. "We expect the Red Cross, we expect all international organizations to focus on these hostages and how they are treated and that they receive treatment according to international law, but it's not going to stop us, prevent us from doing what we need to do in order to secure the future of Israel."
Hamas has said civilian hostages would be executed and the killings broadcast if Israel targets people in Gaza without warning. The group claims to be holding more than 100 hostages, including Israeli army officers.
Erdan, the Israeli ambassador, told CNN Monday "we cannot restore security for the citizens of Israel if Hamas continues with its military buildup."
"Of course, we want to see all of our boys, girls, grandmothers, everyone who was abducted we want to see them back home, but right now, our focus is looking at our national strategy is to obliterate Hamas terrorist capabilities," he said.
Palestinians fleeing Israeli airstrikes take refuge in a school run by the United Nations in Gaza City on Sunday. Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said late Monday its emergency shelters in Gaza are at 90% capacity with more than 137,000 people taking cover from Israeli strikes.
The agency said 83 UNRWA schools have been turned into shelters.
It said that one UN school housing displaced families was "directly hit," without giving further details. It's unknown how many people were in the shelter at the time of the attack.
UNRWA also said they had been forced to close all 14 food distribution centers, writing in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "as a result half a million people have stopped receiving vital food aid."
Israel has launched retaliatory strikes in Gaza after Hamas' surprise attack over the weekend, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordering a “complete siege” of Gaza.
Governed by Hamas since 2007, the enclave is under strict siege by Egypt and Israel, which also maintains an air and naval blockade. It has been described by Human Rights Watch as the “world’s largest open-air prison.”
Gazans have seen Israeli strikes ravage the strip on several occasions since Israeli forces withdrew from the territory in 2005. Fighting regularly takes place between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
CNN teams on the ground in Israel have heard explosions in Gaza and heavy rumbles in the past hour, appearing to indicate further strikes.
Fighter jets were also heard flying above close to the border, according to CNN's Nic Robertson in Sderot and Clarissa Ward in Ashkelon.
Robertson saw "big flashes in the sky" and "heard the sound of very, very heavy impact" coming from Gaza.
CNN teams could also hear drone activity and a helicopter flying near the border with Gaza.
A ball of fire is seen over a buildings after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday. Sameh Rahmi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force “like never before,” as the militant group threatened to kill civilian hostages if airstrikes target Gaza without warning.
Following Hamas’ devastating surprise attack in Israeli territory over the weekend, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Monday also ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, and said he would halt the supply of electricity, food, water and fuel to the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza strikes: Airstrikes have beenIsrael’s primary retaliation measure within Gaza itself, with jets repeatedly pounding the heavily populated 140 square mile coastal strip, turning multiple buildings to rubble, displacing tens of thousands of people and sending waves of injured Palestinians to overwhelmed hospitals.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said it had been hitting Hamas, destroying around 800 targets and killing “hundreds” of fighters, wounding thousands and capturing scores of others.
Most of those arriving at hospitals in Gaza have sustained second- and third-degree burns and amputations, a spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza told Palestinian news outlet Shihab Agency on Monday. Many have also sustained shrapnel injuries, Ashraf al-Qidra said.
Those seeking hospital care are mainly women and children, al-Qidra said, adding that this is a “result of Israelis directly targeting residential houses and buildings.”
Access to medical care has been complicated by Israel cutting power to the territory, threatening the “lives of hundreds”of those injured, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said.
The ministry said later that all services at the only functioning hospital in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun neighborhood were suspended due to continuous Israeli airstrikes, blocking medical teams’ ability to enter or exit the building. Nine ambulances have been targeted since Saturday, the ministry added.
"Massacre" in refugee camps: Israeli airstrikes targeted the Shati and Jabalia refugee camps in Gaza on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said, describing the assault as a “massacre against the entire neighborhood.”
The ministry said bodies were still being recovered after the strikes killed a “large number” of people. No death toll has been provided.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila urged the international community to stop “the aggression” against medical facilities and teams in Gaza.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the United Nations General Assembly on September 21. Kena Betancur/Getty Images/FILE
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations to take immediate action against the continued “Israeli aggression” toward Palestinians.
Abbas made the remarks on a phone call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to state news agency WAFA.
Abbas called on the UN to "immediately intervene to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip,” WAFA reported on Monday.
The Palestinian president emphasized the urgent need for medical and relief aid in Gaza, drawing attention to the looming humanitarian crisis. He urged the UN to "uphold its responsibilities as recognized by international legitimacy and ensure protection for the Palestinian people."
In response to Abbas's concerns, Guterres acknowledged the UN's continued efforts to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza residents. He also said the UN is working with international stakeholders to curb the current escalation, WAFA reported.
The PA was established in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 1993 through the Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It stipulated the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Israel will overcome the sorrow unleashed by Hamas but "difficult days are still ahead of us," the country's leader said Monday.
"We lost entire families, sons and daughters, young and old," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech. "Together we will overcome and together we will win — only together."
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, I tell you frankly, difficult days are still ahead of us," Netanyahu added.
The Israeli military is going on the offense against Hamas with a force "like never before" and the images of destruction of Hamas strongholds in Gaza are "just the beginning," he said.
"We grieve for our brothers and sisters whose blood was shed, and we are determined to win this war, to bring life, blessing and light to our people and our country," he added.
