What’s happening on the 2nd day of major conflict between Israel and Hamas militants

Israel formally declared war as its soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel and launched airstrikes on Gaza, the day after an unprecedented surprise attack by Hamas fighters.

READ MORE: Israel approves ‘significant’ steps to retaliate against Hamas as casualties continue to rise

At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 400 people have been killed in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pounded the territory.

Here are the latest updates on Sunday.

UN Security Council meets, takes no action on U.S. demand

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors Sunday but took no immediate action on a demand from the United States that all 15 members strongly condemn “these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters as he headed into Sunday’s meeting that the United States has always condemned violence against innocent civilians, whether Israeli or Palestinian. But he said “there should be no false equivalency” about what Hamas is doing and what Israel needs to do to ensure its security, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the Hamas attack’s “Israel’s 9/11,” referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people. He said he didn’t want to imagine what is happening now to the hostages being held captive in Gaza, but “Israel will do everything to bring our sons and daughters back home.”

WATCH: ‘Our 9/11’: Israeli ambassador to the U.S. discusses reaction to Hamas attack

After the meeting, Wood said that “a good number of countries,” but not all, denounced the unprecedented incursion by Hamas into Israel on Saturday morning.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told The Associated Press as he left the meeting that the U.S. was trying to say at the meeting that Russia isn’t condemning the attacks, but “that’s untrue.”

“It was in my comments,” Nebenzia said. “We condemn all the attacks on civilians.”

He said Russia’s message is: “It’s important to stop the fighting immediately, to go to a cease-fire, and to meaningful negotiations which were stalled for decades.”

China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, expressed a similar position as he headed into the meeting.

But Wood said the international community must strongly condemn “this unprovoked invasion and the terrorist attacks” until Hamas ends its “violent terrorist activity against the Israeli people.”

Bipartisan unity in Congress to help Israel, Pelosi says

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there is bipartisan unity in Congress “in support of what we need to do” to support Israel.

Speaking at an event in San Francisco on Sunday organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, Pelosi condemned the attacks on Israel as “acts of cowardice.”

“I want you to know that in the Congress of the United States … there is unity, bipartisan unity in support of what we need to do, whether it’s militarily, whether it’s diplomatically, whether it’s financially to help our friends, the Israelis,” Pelosi said, according to a recording of her remarks provided by her office.

Pelosi said the surprise attack from the Gaza Strip was “outside the circle of civilized human behavior.”

“This assault on these children, on these grandmas, on these families, is something that takes us to a different threshold of how we deal with this subject,” she said.

Hamas official says more than 100 Israelis held captive in Gaza

A senior Hamas official said the militant group is holding more than 100 people captive after its unprecedented assault on Israel.

Mousa Abu Marzouk made the remarks to Arabic language news outlet al-Ghad on Sunday. The figure is in addition to more than 30 people said to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.

During their rampage through southern Israel, militants dragged back into Gaza dozens of captives, among them women, children and the elderly. Their precise number hadn’t been clear until the two militant groups made their announcements.

British prime minister says he’s offered help to Israel

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sunak has spoken with Israeli Prim Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered any support Israel needs.

The spokesperson said Sunday that Sunak reaffirmed that the U.K. will stand with Israel “unequivocally against these acts of terror.”

Carter Center strongly condemns targeting of civilians

The Carter Center issued a statement saying it strongly condemns the targeting of Israeli and Palestinian civilians and is calling for dialogue and action from the international community to halt hostilities in the region.

The statement says fundamental human rights of all residents in the region must be protected, land claims and security concerns addressed, and the sanctity of Muslim and Christian holy sites preserved.

The statement added that “the urgency for a robust and renewed peace process has never been greater” and that “there is not a military solution to the crisis – only a political one.”

The Atlanta-based Carter Center is a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli factions clash at rally in New York City

Pro-Palestinian students waved flags, chanted and held signs calling for an end to U.S. support for Israel during a rally held a block from the United Nations on Sunday that erupted into a skirmish with supporters of Israel.

As the students left, a small group of men waving Israeli flags crossed over metal barricades erected to keep the protesters confined to the sidewalks. The action prompted students to rush back, with one grabbing an Israeli flag and throwing it to the sidewalk and stomping on it. He was joined by other pro-Palestinian protesters.

Police stepped in to push the crowds apart and pulled the Israeli faction away.

A separate pro-Palestinian rally was held Sunday in New York City’s Time Square. That protest was condemned before it began by New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

“The people of Israel are facing violent terrorist attacks and civilian kidnappings,” she said in a statement Saturday. “The planned rally is abhorrent and morally repugnant.”

U.S. representative says he and family were in Israel during attack

The office of U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman said he and his family were in Tel Aviv when Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday and were forced to shelter in a hotel stairwell until Sunday morning.

The New York Democrat’s office released a short statement on Sunday saying Goldman, his wife and their three youngest children were in Israel for a Bar Mitzvah at the time of the attack.

The statement adds that the congressman was grateful for the assistance of Israeli and U.S. State Department officials “and he hopes all Americans can come together to support Israel’s right to defend herself from terrorism and war crimes.”

Firefighters stand below a building that was hit by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo by Itai Ron/REUTERS

U.S. House of Representatives to vote on resolution of support for Israel

The U.S. House is preparing a bipartisan resolution that it “stands with Israel” and condemns “Hamas’ brutal war.”

The resolution from the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to be among the first items considered for voting once the House elects a new speaker.

“Now is the time to show the world the United States firmly stands with our friend and ally Israel in our condemnation of this heinous attack by Iran-backed terrorists,” said the committee chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

“I expect this bipartisan resolution to be one of the first, if not the first, items considered on the floor once we elect a new speaker. And I expect it to receive overwhelming bipartisan support.”

House business is currently at a standstill after the historic ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The resolution says the House of Representatives “stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”

At least 260 bodies recovered from music festival, Israeli rescue service says

The Israeli rescue service Zaka said its paramedics removed about 260 bodies from a music festival attended by thousands that came under attack by Hamas militants.

The total figure is expected to be higher as other paramedic teams were working in the area.

Video aired on social media and by Israeli news outlets showed dozens of festival goers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. Many hid in nearby fruit orchards or were gunned down as they fled.

French-Israeli woman missing after Hamas assault on festival

The husband of a French-Israeli woman who vanished while at a desert music festival pleaded tearfully on French television for authorities to do all they could to learn if his wife was dead or one of the captives Hamas says it is holding.

Idor Nagar’s desperation to know the fate of Celine Ben David Nagar, 26, reflected the torment of Israelis whose loved ones disappeared amid the surprise attack Saturday morning by Hamas militants and the ensuing violence. Dozens of people are being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

The couple’s six-month-old daughter sat on Nagar’s lap during the video interview with France’s BFM-TV. She is still being breast-fed, he said tearfully.

At 7:11 a.m. Saturday, shortly after the start of the Hamas attack, Nagar’s wife messaged that “All is well,” he recounted. At 7:15 a.m., she messaged that “Soldiers are coming.”

However, he said through a translator, he now believes the soldiers were not Israeli but assailants. “Was she taken hostage? Killed?” he asked.

Nagar geo-localized the car his wife had travelled in. He went to the area near the Gaza border and found it full of bullet holes but with no signs of blood — a reason to hope she is alive.

France has said it is looking into several reports of missing French nationals. One French woman has died, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday, without elaborating.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called on Sunday for the “immediate liberation and without conditions” of Israeli captives. “The odious hostage takings by Hamas of men, women and children recalls … the terrorist character of this movement,” a ministry statement said.

Two Mexicans believed to be captives in Gaza

Two Mexicans, a man and a woman, are believed to be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena said Sunday.

She did not name them and gave no details about whether they are resident in Israel or were visiting the area.

On a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bárcena said that the Mexican government is in contact with their relatives and the Israeli authorities.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has condemned the attacks against the Israeli people.

Pentagon puts U.S. aircraft carrier on alert as Biden promises help for Israeli military

The Pentagon has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to be ready to assist Israel, two U.S. officials said. The carrier was already in the Mediterranean conducting naval exercises with Italy.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the United States’ newest and most advanced aircraft carrier.

FILE PHOTO: The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford on its way into the Oslo Fjord, at Jeloya, Moss, Norway, May 24, 2023. Photo by Terje Pedersen/NTB/via REUTERS

The vessel and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.

The large deployment, which also includes a host of ships and warplanes, underscores the concern that the United States has in trying to deter the conflict from growing.

President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday morning, the White House said, and told the Israeli prime minister that “additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces” is now on the way to Israel.

There will be more assistance in the coming days, Biden told Netanyahu, according to the White House. It was their second call since the surprise Hamas attack.

Biden and Netanyahu plan to remain in touch, and the two leaders also discussed “ongoing efforts to ensure that no enemies of Israel believe they can or should seek advantage from the current situation.”

Palestinian ministry publishes new casualty figures

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Sunday that 378 people had died in the violence that followed the surprise Hamas attack on Israel. The vast majority, 370, were in the Gaza Strip, where 2,200 were also wounded, the ministry said.

Eight people were killed in parts of the West Bank including two each in Ramallah, Jericho and Hebron. A child was killed in Qalqilya, and another person died in Nablus.

The number of wounded in the West Bank governorates stood at more than 60 on Sunday, the ministry said.

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinian twin babies Ossayd and Mohammad Abu Hmaid, their mother and their three sisters, who health officials said were killed in Israeli strikes, during their funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/REUTERS

Israel confirms Americans are among Hamas captives

Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, said American citizens are among those who were taken captive but gave no details about them, nor about Americans who might have been killed.

“Unfortunately I can’t. We have a lot of dual citizens in Israel. I suspect there are several, but we’re still trying to sort through all of all this information after this horrific surprise attack and we’ll make sure to put that information out so that the loved ones of these people who were killed and who are held hostage, they know as quickly as possible,” Dermer told CNN’s ‘’State of the Union.’’

Some Europeans also reported to be dead, captive or missing

Three British men were said to either be dead or missing after the Hamas attack on Israel.

Nathanel Young, 20, was killed while serving in the Israel Defense Forces, his sister, Gaby Shalev, said on Facebook. His death was later confirmed by the Israeli Embassy in London.

British photographer Danny Darlington, who lived in Berlin, and his German girlfriend, Carolin Bohl, had not been heard from after hiding out in a bunker at kibbutz Nir Oz, according to Sam Pasquesi, who is Bohl’s brother-in-law. Pasquesi said his family learned later Sunday from a man working at the kibbutz that the bodies of the two had been identified.

Jake Marlow, 26, had been providing security at a music festival near kibbutz Re’im when he called his mother, Lisa, before dawn to say rockets were flying overhead. He texted her an hour later but that was the last she heard from him, she told Jewish News. The Israeli Embassy in London did not know if Marlowe “is taken hostage or dead or in a hospital,” a spokesperson said.

The U.K. Foreign Office did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the three.

A French woman in Israel died “in the context of the terrorist attacks,” France’s foreign ministry said Sunday, without providing details. French teams in Israel and Paris are trying to clarify the situations of several citizens who have not been located, the statement said.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said it has to assume that German citizens are among those kidnapped by Hamas on Saturday. It didn’t say how many people that might be, but said they are all believed also to be Israeli citizens.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said two Ukrainian women had been killed. Both had lived in Israel for a long time, he said without elaborating on the circumstances of their death.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said two Belarusians were injured during the shelling of the city of Ashkelon, and one of them was in serious condition.

People work to put out a fire engulfing a van, as rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, October 7, 2023. Photo by Ammar Awad/REUTERS

More than 70,000 in Gaza take shelter in schools, UN agency says

The U.N. agency for Palestinians refugees said 74,000 people in Gaza Strip have taken shelter in dozens of its schools following calls from Israel for residents of border areas to evacuate. The number of displaced increased by nearly 50,000 overnight, when about 20,000 first moved into U.N.-operated schools.

UNRWA said Sunday the number is likely to increase amid heavy shelling and airstrikes in different parts of the overpopulated besieged territory of 2 million people.

The agency confirmed that one of its schools was directly hit earlier Sunday and said it suffered severe damage but there were no casualties. Associated Press video shot Sunday showed a large crater in the middle of the Gaza school that sheltered 225 people.

“Schools and other civilian infrastructure, including those sheltering displaced families, must never come under attack,” UNRWA said in a statement.

The agency said three of its schools suffered “collateral” damage from Israeli airstrikes. The agency also said its operations of nine water wells around the Gaza Strip were stopped early Saturday. Operations in three wells resumed Sunday, said Hamdan. The agency’s food distribution centers, which provide for over 540,000 of Gaza residents, have been closed since Saturday.

Palestinians who fled their homes amid Israeli strikes arrive with their belongings to shelter in a United Nations-run school, in Gaza City, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Mohammed Salem/REUTERS

In an UNRWA school in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood northwest of Gaza city center, residents described overnight Israeli strikes that hit the school’s courtyard causing panic and light injuries among those sheltering there.

At another school serving as a shelter in central Gaza city, people were piling blankets and food stuff in the three-story building. New arrivals brought in mattresses, packing their children into small and crowded classrooms.

“We didn’t know where to go,” said Umm Mohammad, or mother of Mohammad, a resident of a district on the eastern borders of Gaza. She described waking up in the middle of the night to screams, strikes and calls for evacuation. “We arrived at the schools miraculously because there was no transport.”

Germany to review aid for Palestinian areas

Germany’s development minister said her country will review its aid for the Palestinian areas following the attack by Hamas on Israel.

The development ministry said Germany does not finance the Palestinian Authority directly, but a total of 250 million euros ($265 million) is currently pledged in German aid – half of that for bilateral projects via Germany’s overseas aid agency and development bank, and the other half for the U.N. agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA.

Development Minister Svenja Schulze said in a statement Sunday that Germany already took great care that its aid for Palestinians “serves peace and not the terrorists.”

“But these attacks on Israel are a terrible watershed, so we will review our whole commitment to the Palestinian areas,” she added.

Schulze noted that Israel also has an interest in Palestinians being able to live in long-term stability, and said Germany will also coordinate with its international partners.

U.S. is looking at possibly sending more assistance to Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is looking at additional requests for assistance that the Israelis have made, and there could be developments on that front later Sunday.

He told CNN that Biden’s “direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas.’’

WATCH: Biden delivers remarks after condemning ‘appalling’ Hamas incursion in Israel

Blinken, who gave interviews to multiple U.S. television news shows Sunday, also talked about how the Hamas attack could have been motivated in part to derailed an emerging diplomatic deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“It’s no surprise that those who are opposed to the talks, those who are opposed to Israel normalizing relations with its neighbors and the countries beyond the region are Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. And so it’s entirely possible that one of the motivations for this attack was to try to derail these efforts to advance normalization,” Blinken said.

He said Washington had seen reports that Americans were missing or had been killed and “we’re working overtime to verify that.”

German leader warns of danger of regional escalation

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz is stressing the need to avoid a wider “conflagration” in the Middle East after Hamas attacked Israel.

Scholz said he spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and assured him that Israel’s security is a cornerstone of German policy. He pledged that “we will act accordingly.” He said he plans to speak to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and will support Egypt in efforts to mediate and de-escalate.

WATCH: What the escalating Palestinian-Israeli crisis means for Middle East relations

Scholz said he also will talk by phone with the leader of the U.S., France and the U.K. to evaluate the situation.

He added: “It is clear that we condemn the actions of Hamas in the strongest terms, but above all we are doing everything so that this attack doesn’t turn into a conflagration with incalculable consequences for the whole region — and we warn everyone in this situation against fueling terrorism.”

The Israeli flag was raised Sunday at the chancellery, the German parliament’s Reichstag building and the German president’s office. Germany has increased protection for Jewish and Israeli facilities.

Israel security cabinet declares the country is at war

Netanyahu’s office said his Security Cabinet has declared the country at war following a deadly Hamas assault in southern Israel.

The decision, announced on Sunday, formally authorizes “the taking of significant military steps,” it said it a statement.

WATCH: War grips Israel, Gaza after surprise Hamas attack and Israeli retaliation

“The war that was forced on the State of Israel in a murderous terrorist assault from the Gaza Strip began at 06:00 yesterday,” it said.

It gave no further details. But Netanyahu had previous declared the country at war, and the military has promised a harsh response in Gaza.

An artillery unit fires near the Israeli side of the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Amir Cohen/REUTERS

Iranian official praises Hamas’ actions

Ali Shamkhani, the political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in a post on X that the Hamas attack was “a decisive, unique and effective” operation that was a legitimate defense against the Israeli government.

“The Palestinian resistance is a mature and independent movement whose power comes from widespread public support,” he added.

Japan and South Korea condemn Hamas attack

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday condemned Hamas and other Palestinian militants over their incursion into Israel, urging all parties to use restraint.

“Japan strongly condemns the attacks which severely harmed innocent civilians,” Kishida said in his message posted on X, formerly known as Twitte.

Kishida also condemned the militants over the reported abduction of a number of people, urging their immediate release.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry also said it strongly condemns “the indiscriminate attacks on Israel from Gaza.” and calls for an immediate halt of these attacks.

The Japanese government said it was working to ensure the safety of its citizens in Israel and Gaza, while the South Korean foreign ministry urged its nationals to leave.

Reported death toll over 900 in Israel and Gaza

The death toll in Israel following a surprise attack by the militant group Hamas stands at 600, according to several Israeli media outlets.

The Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12, as well as the Haaretz and Times of Israel newspapers, reported the toll Sunday.

There has been no official confirmation of the number of deaths on the Israeli side since the fighting erupted early Saturday.

Palestinian officials say more than 300 people have been killed in Gaza, without differentiating between fighters and civilians.

Hamas gunmen used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.

The dead bodies of two people are laid on stretchers in a residential area following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by onen Zvulun/REUTERS

Leaders of Egypt, Jordan discuss crisis

The leaders of Israel’s neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, discussed the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.

According to a statement by the Egyptian president, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi received a phone call from King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Both leaders agreed on working to avoid further deterioration of the situation, the statement said.

Both Egypt and Jordan are close allies with the U.S. and are the first Arab nations to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.

The latest round of violence began with an unprecedented surprise attack in which Hamas militants raced into Israel, killing hundreds of people and taking captives back to Gaza.

Israel responded by rushing troops to the border area and launching airstrikes across the blockaded territory. Palestinian officials say more than 300 Gazans have been killed.

Explosions and airstrikes in Rafah

In the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday, residents heard a loud explosion, apparently from an Israeli airstrike that hit a target close to the borders with Egypt. It was not immediately clear what was targeted. Residents said a house in the area had been evacuated.

Israel carried out dozens of airstrikes in Rafah overnight. One of the strikes hit three homes in one of the most crowded refugee camps, Shaboura, killing 19 members of the same family, according to a family member who posted their names on his social media. Surviving family members and neighbors filled al-Farouk mosque, holding funeral prayers as the bodies of those killed wrapped in white shrouds lined the floor. The crowd then marched to the nearby cemetery for burial, some carrying the bodies.

Also on Sunday, loudspeakers from mosques and moving cars in Rafah blared with condolences and praise for fighters from Hamas, believed to be natives of Rafah, who were killed during the assault on Israel.

A view of debris after Israeli fighter jets destroyed a building in Rafah, Gaza, on Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The pope calls for the violence to stop

Pope Francis on Sunday expressed “apprehension and pain at what is happening in Israel, where violence is again exploding even faster, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries.”

Speaking to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, the pope offered prayers for the victims and their families “and for all those who are experiencing hours of terror and anguish.”

The pontiff called on the attacks by both sides to stop. “Terrorism and war don’t bring solutions, only death. War is a defeat. Every war is a defeat.”

Islamic bloc condemns ‘Israeli military aggression’

The world’s largest bloc of Muslim countries has condemned what it refers to as “Israeli military aggression” amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation said Sunday that it is “greatly concerned about the developments on the ground and the dangerous Israeli escalation in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

The 57-member bloc went on to condemn “the Israeli military aggression that led to the fall of hundreds of martyrs and wounded among the Palestinian people.”

The latest round of violence began with an unprecedented surprise attack in which Hamas militants raced into Israel, killing hundreds of people and taking captives back to Gaza.

Israel responded by rushing troops to the border area and launching airstrikes across the blockaded territory. Palestinian officials say more than 300 Gazans have been killed.

Hezbollah replace destroyed tent that had led to tensions

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says Hezbollah fighters have set up a tent in a disputed area along the country’s tense southern border hours after an Israeli drone destroyed another one in the same place.

Hezbollah initially erected the tent over the summer in a disputed area along Lebanon’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that Lebanon claims is Lebanese territory.

That has led to tensions with Israel over the past months and the U.N. has been working to persuade Hezbollah to remove the tent.

Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells at three Israeli positions in the disputed area of Chebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills and Israel’s military fired back using armed drones.

United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) stand near their vehicles in Kfar Kila village near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo by Aziz Taher/REUTERS

Romania repatriates hundreds of citizens and other foreigners

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that 346 Romanian citizens and other foreigners were repatriated from Israel overnight on two separate flights.

The ministry said Sunday that a mobile consular team was sent to Ben Gurion Airport from the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv and Romania’s representative office in Ramallah to provide consular assistance.

On Saturday, the ministry “strongly condemned” Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israel, “including against the civilian population, terrorist infiltrations and hostage-taking.” It said Israel has a sovereign right to defend itself.

Media reports: Egyptian policeman opens fire on Israeli tourists

An Egyptian policeman opened fire on Israeli tourists Sunday in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least two Israelis and one Egyptian, local media reported.

Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies, quoted an unidentified security official as saying that another person was injured in the attack which took place in the Pompey’s Pillar tourist site in Alexandria. The suspected assailant was detained, it reported.

Israel’s Zaka rescue service reported two people killed in Alexandria.

China calls for the creation of a Palestinian state

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country is “deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.”

“The recurrence of the conflict shows once again that the protracted standstill of the peace process cannot go on,” the statement said. “The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine.”

The Chinese foreign ministry said China would continue to work with the international community to find a way to bring about peace, and urged the community to act with greater urgency and help “facilitate early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel.”