Israel-Hamas war Day 6 Top Developments: Israeli military targets elite Hamas unit behind weekend attack; Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv

Israel’s death toll rose to at least 1,300 since Hamas’ attack on Saturday, according to a Reuters report.

Here’s what you need to know about the Israel-Hamas war:

1. 01

   'Preparing for ground operation in Gaza,' warns Israeli military

   The Israeli military on Thursday said it is preparing for ground operation into Gaza but the political leadership has not decided yet, news agency Reuters reported.

   The military further said that Gaza strikes, overnight, focused on Hamas’ elite ‘Nukhba force’. Securing the Gaza fence, the Israeli military warned that anyone who approaches would be “shot.”

   Targeting the force, it claimed that Nukhba spearheaded Saturday’s incursion, and that ‘every single’ member will be hit.

   Earlier in the day, the military had said that it was conducting a "large-scale strike" on targets belonging to Hamas in Gaza, but gave no details.

2. 02

   Israeli PM forms war Cabinet

   As Israel continued its strikes in Gaza in response to the weekend assault by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier in the day, joined the Opposition leader Benny Gantz to form an emergency unity government and a war Cabinet to oversee the fight against Hamas militants. He said that the people of Israel and its leadership were united. "We have put aside all differences because the fate of our state is on the line," Netanyahu said.

   The Cabinet is said to have consisted of Netanyahu, Gantz, current Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and two other top officials serving as “observer” members.

   Netanyahu also warned that Israel would “crush and destroy” all Hamas members. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” Netanyahu said in a televised address, according to news agency AP.

3. 03

   Lives lost, and those at risk

   The death toll in Gaza rose to 1,200, with around 5,600 wounded, according to the Palestinian media, which cited Gaza's health ministry. Among these 1,200, at least 220 of them were soldiers, including the military spokesperson.

   Around 340,000 of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been displaced because of the war, and around 65 per cent of them have sought safety at shelters or schools, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the enclave.

   On Wednesday, the Hamas-affiliated media said that seven people were killed by Israeli air strikes on homes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

4. 04

   What has happened so far between Israel and Hamas?

   The Israeli government is facing intense pressure to resist Hamas militant attacks which stormed the border fence on Saturday, killing hundreds of Israeli residents, including those attending a music festival.

   The militants in Gaza have also held an estimated 150 people hostage from Israel and have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past five days. Hamas said that it launched its attack because Palestinians’ suffering had become intolerable under unending Israeli military occupation and increasing settlements in the West Bank and a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza.

   Residents, in the Gaza Strip, on the other hand, continue to face ever-growing uncertainty after the territory's only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down on Wednesday, leaving 2.3 million of them with no electricity.

   Israel has also stopped the entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into the territory — a 40-kilometre-long strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

5. 05

   United States responds to the Israel-Hamas war

   Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas on Israel, the United States began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide the latter with support, according to news agency AP.

   Multiple aircrafts are also headed to the US military bases around Middle East, while special operations forces assist Israel's military in intelligence.

   According to AP, the primary mission of such a support system is to establish a force presence that deters Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation.

   Meanwhile, United States’ Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel and is due to meet senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, to discuss further boosting military support.

   Moreover, citing escalation, the United States State Department upgraded its warning for citizens travelling to Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday to Level 3, “reconsider travel," and kept its travel advisory for Gaza at the department’s highest warning level, Level 4, meaning “do not travel.”

6. 06

   India's Operation Ajay to the rescue

   India has launched Operation Ajay to repatriate its citizens from Israel and Palestine beginning Thursday.

   The Indian government will charter special flights to bring back the citizens, and the Indian Navy will also be pressed into service should the need arise.

   "There are around 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, including 1,000 students whom we love very much. The Indian business community, whom we love and respect very much, contribute to our economy in a big way. The Israeli government is doing the utmost to assist the Indian Embassy in Operation Ajay," said Kobbi Shoshani, Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, on India launching Operation Ajay to facilitate return of Indians from Israel.

7. 07

   Other countries react

   • British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly arrived in Israel Wednesday to express “unwavering solidarity” with the country following the attacks by Hamas.
   • Britain's King Charles III, moreover, condemned the “barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel," news agency AP quoted a palace official.
   • The government in Germany also held a minute of silence in the Parliament for Israeli victims of the Hamas attacks.
   • Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, however, slammed Israel’s “outrageous acts of cruelty” in cutting off food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip and said Malaysia will provide an emergency fund to help Palestinians.
   • Turkey is holding negotiations for the release of civilian hostages held by Hamas, the report quoted Turkish officials.
   • The Egyptian government has rejected any proposal to establish corridors out of Gaza for Palestinians fleeing Israel’s bombardment in Gaza, a senior Egyptian official said early Thursday. The official said they were talking with Israel and the United States about establishing safe corridors inside Gaza and the allowance of humanitarian aid to besieged Palestinians.
8. 08

   Rescuing hostages a "daunting task": Report

   Rescuing — or even locating — more than 150 hostages hustled in Hamas' Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants who attacked Israel’s southern border on Saturday will be a daunting task, an analysis by news agency AP stated.

   “The situation is unprecedented,” said Gershon Baskin, who helped negotiate the 2011 release of Staff Sgt. Gilad Schalit after more than five years of Hamas captivity. “I think Hamas was surprised at the ease it was able to take hostages. Israel was completely bewildered by everything that’s happened," he said.

9. 09

   What are Hamas' demands?

   Hamas has demanded freedom for all 5,200 prisoners who have been held in Israeli jails, according to Palestinians, in exchange for the captives.

   It has warned that it will kill a hostage every time Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in Gaza without warning.

   The group is also holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, as well as two Israeli civilians who entered its territory years ago.

10. 10

    What happened in Lebanon?

    The Israeli military Wednesday night had claimed that hostile aircraft had entered the country from Lebanon, setting sirens blaring across northern Israel as it urged citizens there to shelter.

    The military did not specify the kind of aircraft. But Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Palestinian militants are known to have drones and gliders.

    Soon after, according to news agency Reuters, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said that the spillover of the conflict in Israel must be stopped and that he was concerned about the reported attacks from southern Lebanon.

    It was clarified later by the Israeli military that no impacts were found from Lebanon in Northern Israel after aerial infiltration alerts, the agency reported.

With inputs from Reuters and Associated Press