Hamas resumes rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel

An anti-tank missile was fired at the northern Israeli moshav Shtula, near the Lebanese border, the IDF said.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the launch. IDF said artillery forces targeted the source of the fire.

The IDF was also striking targets in southern Lebanon after another anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military position in the North, it said.

At least four civilians were reportedly wounded in the incident, with one man in his 40s murdered following failed resuscitation attempts, Magen David Adom said. MDA added it rushed the other wounded civilians to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for further treatment.

Two more men in their 40s are considered in moderate condition, MDA added.

Israel to evacuate northern border towns

The IDF announced the evacuation of towns four kilometers or less away from the northern border on Sunday morning, saying that entry to this area is strictly forbidden.

Residents of the northern moshav were told to seek shelter immediately. Later, the Kiryat Shmona municipality also told the border city's residents to seek shelter following exchanges of fire on the border

Residents of the nearby kibbutzim of Yiftach, Menara, Maayan Baruch, Misgav Am, Yeron, Bar'am, Tzivon, Dan, Daphna, Snir and Kfar HaGiladi were all told to seek shelter later on Sunday morning. 

This is a developing story.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen urges patience on Gaza entry; calls for stronger evidence of Hamas atrocities Yossi Cohen, former head of the Mossad, said to N12 news that the IDF shouldn't enter Gaza at all costs: "We need patience and not to rush to gather intelligence before a ground entry," he said. "As someone who has overseen operations in Gaza, I say this. It requires a lot of intelligence capabilities.

"We are capable of this mission," he said about entering Gaza. "But it should be understood that there are two organizations there under siege. True, there are civilians there. But they have nowhere to go.

He also said, "I show world leaders intelligence about what happened. There's unity about the opinion that we should publish more brutal photos of the results of the Hamas attack. They told me - it's not strong enough," they said, according to Cohen, about the photos published by the IDF. "We need to show the world all the horrors of Hamas. We need to allow ourselves the capabilities to achieve the necessary accomplishment - which is to address the threat towards Israel and to remove the threat permanently, not temporarily."

The death of a fourth Canadian, a 22-year-old woman, in last week's attack by Hamas on Israel was reported by CBC on Saturday.

The family said Shir Georgy went missing after Hamas militants attacked a music festival near Kibbutz Re'im last Saturday, the news outlet reported.

"It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we announce the murder of our beloved Shir," Georgy's aunt, Michal Bouganim said on Instagram.

The European Commission said on Saturday that it was tripling its current humanitarian assistance for Gaza to 75 million euros ($78.8 million) and would work with United Nations agencies to ensure the aid reaches those in need.

"The Commission supports Israel's right to defend itself against the Hamas terrorists, in full respect of international humanitarian law," the EU executive said in a statement.

Why is the EU increasing aid?

"We are working hard to ensure that innocent civilians in Gaza are provided support in this context."

The European Union decided earlier this week to maintain aid to Palestinians, backtracking after a commissioner said the European Commission was putting all its development aid for Palestinians, worth 691 million euros, under review.

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on October 13, 2023 (credit: ATIA MOHAMMED/FLASH90)

The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) appealed on Friday for nearly $294 million to help some 1.3 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, nearly half for food aid as supplies run out. ($1 = 0.9516 euros)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser said on Saturday that Israel received no concrete warning, including from Egypt, of the Oct 7 onslaught by Hamas from Gaza.

The chief of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security service was summoned for an unusual 4 a.m. briefing that day - 2.5 hours before the attack began - on new intelligence information but this did not warrant mobilization, Tzachi Hanegbi told reporters.

The IDF has conducted strikes in the north of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, N12 reported on Saturday.

 Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, said in a televised speech that Palestinians will not leave Gaza or the West Bank and migrate to Egypt.

"Our decision is to remain in our land," Haniyeh added, while addressing Egypt in that part of the speech.

The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to execute a wide-ranging offensive against the Hamas terrorist organization, including coordinated attacks from the air, sea, and land, the IDF said Saturday evening. 

"IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed throughout the country and are ready to elevate their readiness for the upcoming stages of the war, with a strong emphasis on significant ground operations," the IDF said. 

IDF soldiers have conducted recent battles against terrorists in settlements and various outposts throughout the Gaza Strip, acting "with determination and resolve to regain control of the settlements and outposts, capturing many weapons that were in the possession of the terrorists, while also evacuating injured individuals."

Reservists bolster IDF ranks

The IDF is now backed by a robust team of reservists and extensive logistical support to move to the next stage.

The Ground Forces and the Technology and Logistics Directorate are working to prepare the IDF for an expanded conflict. The IDF said this includes establishing advanced logistics centers to tailor the combat units' equipment to their needs rapidly. 

IDF soldiers gearing up for the expanded offensive against Hamas. October 14, 2023. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The necessary equipment for the battle has been delivered to the forces, and all that is left is for the various units of the Technology and Logistics Directorate to complete the preparation of the equipment and supply it to the soldiers, the army said.

The IDF announcement came only hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited southern Israel, where he toured Kibbutz Be'eri and Kfar Aza.

"Are you ready for the next stage?" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked soldiers during his visit. "The next stage is coming."

The humanitarian situation in Gaza, already critical, is now "fast becoming untenable," UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement on Saturday.

There is no power, water or fuel in Gaza, and food is running dangerously low, Griffiths said, urging all countries with influence to use it to ensure respect for the rules of war, and avoid further escalation.

The IDF and the Shin Bet eliminated Ali Qadi, the commander of the "Nakba Force" who led the Hamas massacre last week that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, the IDF announced Saturday afternoon.

IDF aircraft, with the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet and AMAN (Military Intelligence Directorate), targeted the terrorist. In 2005, Qadi was arrested following the kidnapping and murder of Israelis and was later released as part of the Gilad Shalit exchange deal.

Ali Qadi led the inhumane, barbaric October 7 massacre of civilians in Israel.

We just eliminated him.
All Hamas terrorists will meet the same fate.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 14, 2023

The announcement came shortly after a briefing by IDF Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, who told the press that the IDF has struck down 1,000 strategic Hamas locations in Gaza since Operation Swords of Iron started.

It also eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists, including many from Qadi's Nakba Force.

In addition, the IDF assassinated Merad Abu Merad, who was the head of the Hamas aerial system, it said Saturday morning. He was primarily responsible for directing terrorists during the massacre. 

IDF to step up air strikes

Hagari stressed that some 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza should relocate to the enclave's south.

"The IDF calls on all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes, move south for their protection, and settle in the area south of the Gaza River," an IDF statement read Thursday. "This evacuation is for your safety. Returning to Gaza City after a notification confirming [safety] will be possible. Do not approach the border fence with the State of Israel."

Hagari reiterated that call and stressed that the IDF needed the residents to leave because it planned to target strategic Hamas targets in the area. Hamas uses the residents as human shields, putting tunnels and bunkers under houses in Gaza City and inside civilian buildings. 

"We didn't put those civilians there," IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said in an English briefing on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday morning. "They are not our enemy. We are not trying to kill or injure any civilians. We are fighting against Hamas. That needs to be abundantly clear. We are targeting their infrastructure - wherever it is."

Smoke is seen behind Ashkelon near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 13, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Listen in as an IDF Spokesperson @jconricus provides a situational update as the war against Hamas continues. https://t.co/UeIUKgRJGu

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 14, 2023

"We appreciate the tens of thousands who have left in the last hours," Hagari said. "Anyone who chooses not to leave puts their family in danger."

"We didn't put those civilians there. They are not our enemy. We are not trying to kill or injure any civilians. We are fighting against Hamas. That needs to be abundantly clear. We are targeting their infrastructure - wherever it is."

Jonathan Conricus

However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement in New York on Thursday that "this amounts to approximately 1.1 million people," or nearly half of Gaza's 2.3 million population, a task that the UN "considers impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences."

Hagari stressed that any movement of Gazans out of the enclave, even through Egypt, would be coordinated with Israel.

Multi-front escalation

At the same time as Israel is attacking Gaza, the army will also protect Israel on other fronts, Hagari added.

He stressed that the army was strong and would be able to manage Hezbollah in the north and terrorism emanating from the West Bank.

On Saturday morning, Hezbollah fighters fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli troops. It also sent drones into Israel and fired surface-to-air missiles at an Israeli aircraft, which the IDF quickly intercepted. Later, the organization launched 30 mortar shells toward Israeli territory, with some crossing into Israel. The IDF responded in that incident, too, targeting the source of the firing and by late afternoon, the army was continuing to operate within Lebanese territory. 

During the later attack, a group of militants was detected, suspected of intending to launch an anti-tank missile towards Israel, the IDF said. An aircraft targeted the group.

The IDF also foiled a cell of Palestinian terrorists that operated under Hezbollah's direction and tried to infiltrate Israel via Lebanon, an army spokesperson said.

מצורף תיעוד מחיסול חוליית המחבלים שניסתה לחדור לשטח ישראל מלבנון הבוקר pic.twitter.com/bNtE0khDxT

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 14, 2023

Conricus stressed that as of Saturday morning, the situation at Israel's northern border remains extremely tense, and Hezbollah's activities are being monitored.

In the West Bank, the IDF has arrested more than 230 Hamas operatives since Operation Swords of Iron started, the military updated on Saturday morning.

The focus of the arrests has been on Hamas operatives, as well as instigators of terrorism. 

Reuters contributed to this report.