STORY: Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalates, causing significant casualties on both sides
DATELINE: Oct. 8, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:38
LOCATION: Gaza
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of blasts and rockets
2. various of injured people
3. various of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacks in Gaza -- courtesy of IDF
4. various of Israeli tanks on the Israeli-Palestinian border

STORYLINE:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been escalating at the weekend, causing significant casualties on both sides.

Israeli sources said that in a surprise attack, almost 3,000 rockets had been fired into Israel by Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) since the early hours of Saturday. 

Israeli officials said Hamas also held some Israeli civilians and soldiers as hostages.
   
In response, the Israeli military conducted tens of airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the day.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday that Israel is "in a state of war" and ordered a full mobilization of reserves.
   
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held an emergency meeting with senior officials, emphasizing the right of the Palestinian people to defend themselves against Israeli forces and settlers.
   
On Saturday, Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit slammed Israel's violent policies against the Palestinians as "a time bomb," calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held phone talks on Saturday, during which they discussed regional and international efforts to contain the ongoing deadly conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian president said that Egypt has extensively contacted the Israeli and Palestinian sides as well as international and regional parties to contain the current escalation.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza.
(XHTV)