A day after Israel blasted the Palestinian enclave of Gaza in retribution for one of the bloodiest terrorist strikes in its history, Hamas’ attack on Israel caused oil prices to rise on Monday as markets priced in worries of a wider confrontation in the Middle East.
On Saturday, Hamas terrorists assaulted Israeli cities, killing 700 Israelis and kidnapping hundreds more. This was the worst attack on Israel since Egypt and Syria struck during the Yom Kippur War fifty years ago.
Following the threat of “mighty vengeance” made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli air raids on Gaza on Sunday killed more than 400 people, including 20 children, by hitting apartment complexes, tunnels, a mosque, and the houses of senior Hamas figures.
“The price the Gaza Strip will pay will be a very heavy one that will change reality for generations,” said Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in the town of Ofakim, which suffered casualties and had hostages taken.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israeli military, about 100,000 soldiers had been requested.
“Our job is to make sure that at the end of this war, Hamas will no longer have any military capabilities to threaten Israeli civilians with, and in addition to that we also need to make sure Hamas will not govern the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Concerns over potential disruptions in Iranian supply helped send Brent crude up $4.18, or 4.94%, to $88.76 a barrel at 0120 GMT in Asian trade as the unrest fueled volatility on the world markets on Monday.
Despite congratulating Hamas on the attack, Iran, a Hamas ally, denied any involvement in the attacks through its UN delegation.
Any extended increase in oil prices would function as a tax on consumers and heighten inflationary pressures around the world, which would be negative for stocks. S&P 500 futures fell by 0.7%, and Nasdaq futures fell by 0.6%.
Given the Hamas attack, a number of international airlines have halted service to Tel Aviv and stated they will resume service once the situation has improved.
On Sunday, Israeli soldiers and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, which is backed by Iran, exchanged artillery and rocket fire outside of blockaded Gaza, while two Israeli tourists and a tour guide were shot dead in Egypt.
Worldwide calls for caution were made, however Western countries mostly supported Israel. Meanwhile, Hezbollah and demonstrators in several Middle Eastern countries praised Hamas, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called the leader of Hamas to congratulate him on the “victory”.
On Sunday, more than 24 hours after their surprise, multi-pronged attack of missile barrages and gangs of gunmen who overran army bases and raided border towns, Hamas gunmen were still battling Israeli security forces in southern Israel.
At a press conference, Uri David stated that he spoke to his daughters, Tair and Odaya, over the phone for 30 minutes during an attack until they stopped responding to him and that he was unaware of their whereabouts.
“I heard shooting, shouting in Arabic, I told them to lie on the ground and hold hands,” he said, breaking down in tears.
The Israeli military, which is under scrutiny for failing to stop the attack, claimed to have retaken control of most points of entry along security barriers, killed hundreds of terrorists, and captured dozens more.
In addition to homes and other structures, Hamas offices and training facilities were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Since Saturday, 413 Palestinians, including 78 children, have died and 2,300 have been injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
“As an occupying power, Israel has no right or justification to target the defenceless civilian population in Gaza or elsewhere in Palestine,” the Palestinian foreign ministry said, denouncing a “barbarous campaign of death and destruction”.
On Sunday, Hamas launched additional missile attacks against Israel.
The 2.3 million Palestinians who live in Gaza, a small area, are housed there. The Israeli military claimed it had stationed tens of thousands of soldiers surrounding Gaza and was beginning to evacuate Israelis along the border.
“This is my fifth war. The war should stop. I don’t want to keep feeling this,” said Qassab al-Attar, a Palestinian wheelchair user in Gaza whose brothers carried him to shelter.
Although Israel has not given an official death toll, state media said that at least 700 people, including children, were killed in the attacks on Saturday. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, referred to incident as “the worst massacre of innocent civilians in Israel’s history.”
Several Americans were killed by Hamas assailants, a representative for the White House National Security Council acknowledged, adding that the United States would keep a careful eye on the situation.
According to Israeli media, over 30 Israelis who were missing after a shooting at a dance party have come forward. This brings the total number of fatalities at the outdoor gathering to 260.
Numerous captives, including children and the elderly, soldiers and civilians, were taken by Palestinian fighters and sent to Gaza. Islamic Jihad, a second Palestinian militant group, claimed to be holding more than 30 of the captives.
After previous incidents where hostages were traded for a large number of Palestinian captives, Netanyahu is left perplexed by the abduction of so many Israelis, some of whom were driven through security checkpoints or transported into Gaza while bleeding.
