Tonight, the European Union canceled its decision announced a few hours ago by European Commissioner Olivera Varhelji - that the Union will "immediately" suspend aid to the Palestinian Authority, and in a new announcement it stated that, in view of the Hamas attack on Israel, it will urgently revise this aid.
"There will be no suspension of payments at this time," the European Commission said in a brief statement, shortly after Varhelji said all development program payments to the Palestinians would be "immediately suspended," that "all projects will be reviewed" and "all new budget proposals...postponed until further notice".
No immediate explanation was given for the reversal.
Full statements from the European Commission, such as this latest one, always carry more legal force than those issued by European commissioners, but the reversal of €691 million in aid to the Palestinians is the culmination of what the Associated Press writes is an embarrassing day for the European Union's top executive in a time of extreme geopolitical events that are very sensitive.
Spain's left-wing government today expressed its disagreement with the European Commission's decision to suspend aid to the Palestinians because of the extremist Hamas attack on Israel. The Secretary General of the UN also expressed disagreement with that decision.
US President Joseph Biden said that at least 11 American citizens were killed in Israel after an attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing said the group would not negotiate for Israeli prisoners "under fire."
Spokesman Abu Ubaid also said in a video speech broadcast on the group's TV channel that Israel should be ready to "pay the price" in exchange for the prisoners' freedom.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the kingdom will continue to stand by the Palestinians and will make every effort to restore peace and stability in the Palestinian territories, Reuters reports.
Iran is complicit even though the United States has no intelligence or evidence indicating direct Iranian involvement in attacks by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Israel, a White House spokesman said.
"Iran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist networks throughout the region with training and resources," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC.
"And in that respect, it's clear that Iran is complicit here, but in terms of concrete evidence about this, these kinds of attacks, no, we don't have anything," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the crimes committed by Hamas during the attack on Israel mirrored those committed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
Netanyahu, as reported by the Reuters agency, stated in a television show that some Israelis were killed during the Hamas incursion, saying that the bound children were executed.
This, he said, was on par with the brutal killings carried out by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.
"The atrocities committed by Hamas have not been seen since the crimes of ISIS. Bound children executed together with their families. Young men and women shot in the back, executed. I will not describe the other horrors here," Netanyahu said.
"We have always known who Hamas is. Now the whole world knows. Hamas is ISIS. And we will defeat it just as the enlightened world defeated ISIS. This vile enemy wanted war and war will be won," he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations (UN) to intervene urgently to prevent the emergence of a humanitarian disaster due to the "current Israeli aggression, especially in Gaza", the official VAFA news agency reported.
Spain's left-wing government today expressed its disagreement with the European Commission's decision to suspend aid to the Palestinians because of the extremist Hamas attack on Israel.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain announced that the head of Spanish diplomacy, the socialist Jose Manuel Albares, spoke by phone with the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Oliver Vargelly, "to express his opposition" to the decision, according to Agence France-Presse.
The suspension of European development aid to the Palestinians "caused discomfort in the Spanish government," Albares said.
Albares asked the head of European diplomacy, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, that the decision on the suspension of aid be put on the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the EU member states, scheduled on the occasion of the conflict between the forces of Israel and Hamas.
Varhelji said earlier today that the European Union will "immediately suspend all payments" to the Palestinians due to the "scale of terror and brutality" during the Hamas attack on Israel, which began on Saturday.
The European Union, which is one of the biggest providers of financial support to the Palestinians, planned to spend around 1,2 billion euros between 2021 and 2024 to finance projects in the Palestinian territories, especially in education and health.
The far-left Podemos party, which is part of Pedro Sanchez's government, strongly condemned the suspension of aid to the Palestinians, calling the decision "shameful". Podemos has refused to unequivocally condemn Hamas's attack on Israel in the last three days, as long as the clashes have been going on.
As a result, Sanchez's government has come under accusations from the right-wing opposition that it is divided over the "barbarism" of Hamas.
(BETA)
A senior Hamas official said the group is open to talks on a possible truce with Israel, as it has "achieved its goals", Reuters reports.
Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera in a phone interview that Hamas was open to "something of that kind" and "all political dialogues" when asked if the Islamist group was ready to discuss a possible ceasefire.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 687 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Health stated that 140 children and 105 women were among the victims.
He added, reports Reuters, that 3.726 people were earlier.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that two French citizens were killed during the attack on Israel since Saturday, and that 14 other people are missing.
It added that some of those missing were believed to have been kidnapped, including a 12-year-old child.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel on Monday over the "indiscriminate" attack on civilians in Gaza in its war against Hamas.
Erdogan warned his Israeli counterpart Isak Herzog in a telephone conversation that "collective and indiscriminate strikes on the residents of Gaza would only increase suffering and intensify the spiral of violence in the region," the Turkish presidency said in a press release.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today that he was "deeply troubled" by Israel's announcement of a total siege of the Gaza Strip.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely difficult before these hostilities. Now it will only get worse," Guterres said today at a press conference.
He warned about it after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant ordered the interruption of electricity supply, delivery of food, fuel and other necessities to the Palestinian territory.
Guterres called for the UN to be granted access to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza's 2,3 million residents.
He also appealed to the international community to provide urgent support to humanitarian efforts.
(BETA)
The Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid organization, Jan Egeland warned today that the Israeli government's decision to besiege and block the Gaza Strip will cause a "complete disaster" for more than two million Palestinians living in the small territory.
Egeland made the comments after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant ordered a "total siege" of Gaza following an unprecedented attack by Hamas fighters on Israel early Saturday.
Israel formally declared a state of war on Sunday and has since blamed Hamas for the attack.
"There is no question that collective punishment is a violation of international law. That much is clear," Egeland told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"If and when this leads to wounded children dying in hospitals due to lack of energy, electricity and supplies, it will constitute a war crime," Egeland said, also criticizing donor countries for suspending humanitarian aid to Gaza after the Hamas attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the authorities in the south of Israel near the border with Gaza today that he "begs them to remain firm".
"We will change the Middle East. I know you have experienced terrible and difficult things. What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible, we have only just begun," announced the Israeli leader.
(BETA)
The armed wing of Hamas has said it will begin executing Israeli civilian prisoners in return for any new Israeli bombings of civilian homes without prior warning.
A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, Abu Obaid, said they were acting in accordance with Islamic instructions by keeping Israeli prisoners safe and sound, blaming the intended move on Israel's increased bombing and the killing of civilians in their homes in airstrikes without warning.
The Reuters agency, citing Israeli media reports, announced that at least 900 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said a report warning Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel of an "unusual, horrific operation" ten days before the Hamas attack was "totally fake news."
As stated, the prime minister "has not spoken or met (with Kamela) since the establishment of the government - neither secretly nor directly".
"It is completely fake news," the statement said.
Earlier today, it was reported that an unnamed Egyptian intelligence official stated that his country, which has often mediated between Israel and Hamas, repeatedly warned of threats from Gaza, that is, of "something big", and that Israeli officials downplayed those threats.
They, the unnamed official claimed, focused on another Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is made up of supporters of Jewish settlers in the West Bank who have demanded a crackdown on Palestinian extremists over rising violence over the past 18 months.
"We warned them that an explosion of the situation was coming soon and that it would be big, but they underestimated such warnings," said that official.
Islamic extremist Hamas, ruling the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel early Saturday morning. The attacks that followed were unprecedented.
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Lebanese families from several settlements in the south of Lebanon began to flee to the north of the country because the Israeli shelling of the area does not stop.
Associated Press reporters saw several vehicles loaded with belongings and people preparing to leave, although they were told to stay where they lived, according to a Lebanese man trying to escape with his family.
Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon has intensified since earlier today four extremists crossed the border and clashed with Israeli soldiers.
Several rockets were fired near the Lebanese border, and a spokesman for the extremist Hezbollah denied involvement in the incident.
(BETA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the Turkish Presidency announced.
Erdogan and Abbas discussed the latest developments and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as tensions in the region, according to a post on the X network.
The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced today that soon there will be no possibility to accommodate displaced people in the Gaza Strip.
The agency's director of communications, Tamara Alrifai, said that almost 137.000 people have so far been accommodated in more than 70 UN schools across Gaza.
She added that the agency can accommodate up to 150.000 people in 79 schools in the Gaza Strip and that there is fuel in that Palestinian territory for another ten days.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant today ordered a "total siege" of the Gaza Strip after Hamas fighters attacked Israel over the weekend.
Israel officially declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for "significant military" steps to avenge the surprise attack by Hamas on Saturday.
More than 1.300 people were killed and thousands wounded on both sides.
(BETA)
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