Swords of Iron: Here is what happened on days 3, 4 and 5

Since Saturday’s surprise Hamas attack, US President Joe Biden has voiced unequivocal support for Israel and its right to protect its citizens.

The Pentagon even diverted a carrier strike group, including the state-of-the-art USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, to the eastern Mediterranean as a show of support for Israel. The dispatch of the carrier strike group to the region sends a strong message to Iran and Hezbollah not to take advantage of the current chaos to open up a second and even third front against Israel because America will support the Jewish state.

“As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691 [million],” European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi posted on X.

He was among a growing number in the international community who have recoiled in the face of reports that Hamas terrorists killed entire families in their homes and hundreds of young adults at an outdoor music festival in an assault that began at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that he was "deeply distressed" by an announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip following an attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas over the weekend.

The US Army on Monday said it would need Congress to approve additional funding to ensure the Pentagon's munitions production and acquisition plans can potentially meet the needs of both Israel and Ukraine simultaneously.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth made the comments as the US House of Representatives is effectively paralyzed as Republicans work to select a new speaker. She said the Army was still reviewing Israeli requests for support.

"One thing that is really important in terms of the munitions in particular and our ability to support both potentially the Israelis and the Ukrainians simultaneously is additional funding from Congress to be able to increase our capacity, in terms of our capacity to expand production and then to also pay for the munitions themselves," Wormuth told reporters at an Army event.

"We need additional support from Congress. So I hope we'll see that soon."

Opposition Yair Lapid appeared on CNN, where he spoke of the emotionally devastating impact that Hamas’ attacks on Israel has had.

Lapid told CNN that “[t]his is, you know, the worst day in our history. Since the Holocaust, there was never such a number of Jews killed in one day.”

“I am the son of a Holocaust survivor so it touches you in places you usually don’t think about

“We will do everything necessary in order to make sure that Israel is safe and sound and we are taking away from Hamas its capabilities. Whether it is from the government or from the opposition – The Israelis stand united.”

The IDF will eliminate Hamas’ military capabilities over the course of the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza in a way that will prevent a recurrence of the invasion from Gaza for another 50 years, a senior diplomatic source said on Monday.

Yet, despite being pressed several times, the source stridently avoided being pinned down about the end game for Gaza, including multiple refusals to commit to permanently toppling Hamas as the ruler of the Strip.

The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, claimed responsibility for an attack at the Lebanon-Israel border earlier on Monday, saying it was part of the wider Al-Aqsa Storm operation.

It said seven "zionist soldiers" had been injured in the operation.

The report that a warning came from Egypt prior to the outbreak of the war is not true, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Monday.

לשכת ראש הממשלה: הדיווח על אזהרה שהגיעה ממצרים לפני פרוץ המלחמה אינו נכון ושקרי

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) October 9, 2023

This is a developing story.

British foreign minister James Cleverly said on Monday that regional governments did not want the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to spill out into other parts of the region after the Islamist group Hamas assaulted Israel from Gaza on Saturday.

"I have spoken with representatives of governments around the region, and we all agreed that nobody wants this to spill out into other parts of the region," Cleverly told reporters.

"Israel are very focused on dealing with a specific terrorist threat from Hamas emanating from Gaza."

The Mexican army is carrying out a humanitarian flight aimed at bringing home nationals from Israel amid the attack on the country by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the defense ministry said on Monday.

An unknown number of hostages were taken by Hamas after it launched a surprise attack in Israel on Saturday. Two Mexicans are believed to have been among those taken by the group, Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said on Sunday.

Mexico said on Monday some 5,000 nationals are in Israel.