Leaders of the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy voiced "steadfast and united support" for Israel. Attacks continue in Gaza and Lebanon. Around 900 people have died in Israel and around 680 in Gaza. Israel says its south is now largely secure. DW has more.
Israel says secures Gaza fence, no new incursions since Monday
Israel's military said it has retaken control of the Gaza border fence after a mass incursion by Hamas on the weekend.
In comments aired by Israel's Army Radio and cited by the Reuters news agency, the chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were planting mines in places where the barrier was breached.
He added that there had been no new infiltrations from Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, since Monday. He also said the military had found no evidence that gunmen used cross-border tunnels to enter Israel's territory when they staged their attack.
On Saturday, Hamas militants broke through Israel's barriers with explosives before carrying out a rampage, taking people hostage and gunning down civilians.
Pro-Palestinian rallies spark criticism in New York and Munich
Demonstrations from supporters of Palestinians in major cities around the world have prompted questions and criticism in some quarters.
In New York City, demonstrators walked past the Israeli consulate with signs bearing messages including "NYC stands with Gaza" and "Israel go to hell."
A heavy police presence sought to separate them from another large group of pro-Israel demonstrators angered by the attacks.
Police in Sydney, Australia, said they are investigating a pro-Palestinian rally outside the city's Opera House after footage was seen of a small group of people chanting antisemitic slogans.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both joined and spoke at a solidarity gathering for Israel late on Monday and also condemned demonstrations supporting Hamas' attacks.
"The glorification of violence is never acceptable in Canada — by any group or in any situation," Trudeau wrote on social media. "I strongly condemn the demonstrations that have taken place, and are taking place, across the country in support of Hamas' attacks on Israel. Let's stand united against acts of terror."
A similar contrast had been visible in Munich on Monday night. As the Israeli flag was beamed onto the city hall in Bavaria's state capital, pro-Palestinian protesters were marching past with signs and candles.
London's Metropolitan Police said they were responding to "suspected criminal damage in Kensington High Street" on Monday, following reports of protesters gathering outside Israel's Embassy and consulate, located on that street.
In Buenos Aires, too, pro-Palestinian demonstrators chose to march near Israel's diplomatic facilities.
Father of missing girl tells DW of ordeal
A man in Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, has told DW of how he last spoke to his missing daughter on Saturday and how he is desperately hoping for word from her or authorities on her whereabouts and well-being.
The last time Tomer Shallom spoke with his daughter, she had gone to a music festival with a friend near the border to Gaza that came under attack.
"The last time we heard from [my daughter] and [her friend], who is a German citizen also, they were in a party, like a peace festival," Shallom said, referring to the Nova Festival that came under attack by Hamas.
"And then... We heard from her at about 8:30 in the morning. We got a phone call. She was frightened, crying. And you could hear gunshots around. And she was saying that they were hiding in a kind of a shelter," he said.
Shallom explained how he told her to stay low and to stay calm, that hopefully it should be over soon. Because her battery on her phone was low, they agreed to hang up and stay in touch, he said.
"And that was the last time we heard something from her."
Shallom said his daughter had spoken to a friend of hers later on, and that at that point she had been helping another girl with a gunshot wound to the leg. This made sense, he said, given that his daughter is a paramedic.
Shallom said he had heard nothing more about his daughter and her friend's whereabouts and that "nobody is having information to give us." He said they were still in "darkness" about whether she had potentially been taken hostage by Hamas.
Asked what message he'd like to send his daughter, should she be watching, Shallom said: "I want to tell you that you should be strong. I love you. Everybody here loves you," he said. "We're waiting for you. We really, really want to see you and [your friend] and all the other prisoners. You're not supposed to be a war prisoner. You're not supposed to be here. I hope for you that you're gonna see your family soon."
Palestinians say two journalists killed, Israel reports death of commander on Lebanese border
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported early on Tuesday that an overnight airstrike had killed two Palestinian journalists.
Wafa identified the journalists as an editor and a photographer, following a strike near several media offices.
Tracer fire and explosions could be seen for much of Monday over Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country's response to the surprise weekend attack had "only started."
"We have only started striking Hamas," he said in a televised address. "What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations."
Meanwhile, to the north, tensions were also high on the border to Lebanon.
Early on Tuesday, Israel's military said a deputy Israeli commander was killed in clashes on that border. They did not specify the exact circumstances of his death, after several reported exchanges of fire on Monday.
Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad group slipped from Lebanon into Israel on Monday. Israel responded by shelling border areas in Lebanon. And the Iran-backed Hezbollah group later said it had retaliated by firing rockets and mortars at two Israeli military facilities near the border.
German politicians wary of Palestinian aid being abused
Two German politicians, Ralf Stegner of the Social Democrats and Marcus Faber of the Free Democrats, have defended the government's decision to suspend aid payments to Palestinian groups pending a review in interviews with DW.
"I think that's the important thing to do after this cruel, terrorist attack, to really make sure that no money can be abused to support terrorist structures or antisemitism or anti-Israel sentiments," Stegner said.
He said that even though Germany did have measures designed to prevent this, the weekend's attack had made it clear "it's very important to take a very close look on all of that."
Stegner sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs committee in the Bundestag and is a senior SPD voice on foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Marcus Faber, from another member of the ruling coalition in Berlin, the FDP, said it was necessary to have "proof" that no aid was indirectly landing in the coffers of groups like Hamas.
"Germany has helped the Palestinian Authorities to support their own people. And we have now the question where does this money go," he said. "Is this really used to support the people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? Or is it also used to finance such terrorist acts as we have just seen? So we will have talks about that. Where's our money actually going? We have to have proof. That it is not misused for such terrorist acts. And until this proof happens, I think, these assets will be frozen."
The EU took a similar step on Monday.
Faber also said he supported Israel's move to blockade Gaza, saying that it appeared to him that Israel was looking to break Hamas' grip on power in the territory.
"So, I think to enable that operation, to get Hamas out of the Gaza Strip, this is the first move right now. And others will follow in the coming days and weeks," Faber said.
Challenged on whether this punished the whole population of Gaza for Hamas' actions, Faber said, "it's very hard to hit Hamas without also hitting the civilian populations in the Gaza Strip" and that he thought casualties would be a "side-effect."
But he also said the Israeli army usually tried very hard not to hit the civilian population, "and I think the Israeli military will act in this way again."
US, UK, France, Germany, Italy issue solidarity statement
Germany, the US, Britain, France and Italy jointly pledged solidarity with Israel late on Monday following Hamas' attack over the weekend.
The five countries' leaders expressed "steadfast and united support" for Israel and "unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on social media that the five countries would "ensure that Israel can defend itself and its citizens against the heinous attacks."
Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke by phone while Macron was already in Hamburg for bilateral talks with Scholz.
The five countries' joint statement read:
"All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed."
The statement also seemed to include a warning to other regional powers such as Iran not to try to spark further unrest or conflict.
"We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek an advantage," the five countries said.
The leaders also said that "the terrorist actions of Hamas have no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned."
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said late on Monday that US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown Jr spoke with the Chief of the Israeli General Staff Herzi Halevi, discussing Hamas's attack and possible steps to strengthen the US military posture in the region.
