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Live: US-Israel discussions on military aid ‘very much underway’, says White House official
Talks with Israel on providing US military assistance are “very much underway,” a White House senior official said Saturday, following the surprise large-scale attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The conflict threatened to escalate to an even deadlier stage with Israel’s vows of greater retaliation. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the unfolding situation. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

Issued on: 08/10/2023 – 00:59

4 min
Fire and smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. 01:47
Fire and smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on October 8, 2023. © AFP
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01:24am: International reaction to Hamas’ attack on Israel
01:46
01:08am: The Republican field is blaming Joe Biden for dealing with Iran after Hamas’ attack on Israel
Former President Donald Trump and other GOP contenders tried to lay blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades, citing a $6 billion transfer to Iran that administration officials insisted Saturday had yet to be spent.

“The Hamas terrorist invasion of Israeli territory and the murder of Israeli soldiers today and the brutal murder of citizens is an act of savagery that must and will be crushed,” Trump said at an appearance in Waterloo, Iowa.

Trump, like others, directly blamed the $6 billion — “American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks,” he said in an earlier statement — and argued that, under Biden, the US is perceived as being “weak and ineffective” on the global stage, opening the door to hostility.

“They didn’t have that level of aggression with me. They didn’t have it. This would have never happened with me either,” Trump claimed, adding later in Cedar Rapids that Biden had “betrayed Israel” with the deal.

00:40am: US says ‘too early’ to tell if Iran directly involved in Hamas attack on Israel
A senior White House official said Saturday it was “too early to say” whether Israel’s arch foe Iran was “directly involved” in the large-scale attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

However, there was “no doubt Hamas is funded, equipped and armed by Iran and others,” he added, as the conflict between the two sides escalated to its bloodiest point in decades.

00:35am: US-Israel discussions on military aid ‘very much underway’, says White House official
Talks with Israel on providing US military assistance are “very much underway,” a White House senior official said Saturday, following the surprise large-scale attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The official indicated an announcement by Washington was possible as early as Sunday, but noted that the situation in Congress — where the lower chamber currently lacks a leader — will complicate the matter.

There is “probably is a role for Congress here and without speaker of the House, that is a unique situation we’re going to have to work through,” he said.

FRANCE 24’s Fraser Jackson reports from Washington DC

01:46
00:30am: Saudi FM speaks with Blinken to urge halt to violence in and around Gaza.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has spoken to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge a halt to the violence in and around Gaza.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement released late Saturday says the two discussed “the necessity of working toward an immediate halt to the escalation.”

Prince Faisal emphasized “the kingdom’s rejection of the targeting of civilians and the need for all sides to respect international humanitarian law.”

The Saudis have been in talks with the White House over potentially forging diplomatic relations with Israel. Those efforts have been thrown into question by the unprecedented incursion into Israel launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday.

00:22am: Blinken speaks with Egypt to seek ‘immediate halt’ to Hamas assault
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Egypt, a key intermediary between Israel and Hamas, to seek an immediate end to the offensive by the militants, the State Department said.

In a telephone call with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Blinken raised “the urgency in achieving an immediate halt to the appalling assault by Hamas terrorists against Israel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

00:12am: US says it is working with others to prevent Gaza conflict from spreading
The United States is working with other governments to make sure the crisis does not spread and is contained to Gaza following a deadly Hamas attack in Israel, a senior Biden administration official said on Saturday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said the US did not have any information at the moment to determine that Iran was involved in the “specific” assault in Israel, even though Tehran’s long-standing support for Hamas was well known.

The official said the US was looking closely at the issue.

Key developments from Saturday, October 8
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More than 200 Israelis were killed on Saturday as Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land and sea and catching the country off guard on a major holiday.

At least 232 people have been killed and 1,610 wounded in Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was at “war” with Palestinian militant group Hamas after barrages of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday.

The total number of Israelis captured by Hamas in a surprise attack on Israeli towns on Saturday was “several times greater” than dozens, a spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas said in a recording aired shortly after midnight on Sunday. The spokesman said those taken captive were spread throughout all areas of the Gaza strip.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)