Israel shells southern Lebanon after Hezbollah rocket fire

The Israeli military said one of its northern positions was attacked with anti-tank fire from Lebanon on Wednesday and that "in response to the anti-tank missiles that were launched at... soldiers a short while ago, the IDF (army) is currently striking in Lebanese territory." The military did not provide details on casualties or who might have been responsible.

The Islamist militant organization Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for firing on the Israeli position.

The attack took place near the Israeli town of Arab al-Aramshe, opposite the Lebanese village of Dahaira, the Israeli military statement said.

The state-run Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Israeli artillery later shelled Dahaira.

Jordan's king says two-state solution only chance for peace

Jordan's King Abdullah II said no peace would be possible in the Middle East without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The comments were delivered in a speech to deputies at the start of a new parliamentary session.

The monarch said a two-state solution was the only way forward. The escalating violence showed the region would not "enjoy stability, security or peace" without a Palestinian state on territory Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israel war, he said.

Palestinian militant group Hamas rejects the two-state solution and seeks to destroy Israel.

Abdullah also called for medical and humanitarian aid to be sent to the blockaded Gaza Strip through Egypt.

UN refugee agency loses 9 staff in airstrikes

The United Nations relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) said on Wednesday that it had lost nine staff members since airstrikes began on Gaza.

"UNRWA is very sad to confirm that nine of its staffers in the Gaza Strip have been killed since 7 October. Our deep condolences to their families," UNRWA director of communications, Juliette Touma, told German press agency DPA.

UNRWA said that 30 students had been killed, while eight others had been injured.

Israel began launching strikes on targets in Gaza following large-scale attacks launched by the Islamist militant group Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU, the US, and other countries.

The terror attacks launched by Hamas have killed at least 1,200 people in Israel and shaken Israelis' sense of security.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, caught Israel by surprise on Saturday when its fighters overran communities in Israel's south. They gunned down civilians and soldiers and took some 150 people hostage. DW has compiled this selection of images of how the population is reeling.

Israel responded to Hamas terror attacks with a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza, a densely populated coastal territory with a population of 2.3 million. Hundreds of buildings have been leveled and at least 1,055 people there have been killed, according to health officials.

The UN estimates that around 260,000 people have been displaced. Aid organizations have warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe, with a siege imposed by Israel cutting off water, food, and fuel.

Germany's Baerbock condemns Hamas atrocities against women and girls in Gaza

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has spoken out against the abuse of girls and women in Gaza, by Islamist militant group Hamas.

With Wednesday marking International Day of the Girl, Baerbock condemned the "terrible crimes of Hamas" and the use of girls and women in Gaza as "human shields."

Baerbock went on to say that girls and women should be able to reach for their dreams and that "no man, no legal status, no religion," should stop that from happening.

The Day of the Girl was launched by the United Nations in 2011 to elevate the concerns of girls and to advocate for their opportunities and rights. 

Death tolls mount in Gaza and Israel

Health authorities in Gaza said the death toll had risen to 1,055 with over 5,000 people injured, amid Israeli bombardments of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

"We have at least 1,055 martyrs and 5,184 people suffering from different injuries," the Gaza Health Ministry said in an update on casualties.

Israel began hitting targets in Gaza after the Islamist group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU, the US, and other countries, launched a large-scale terror attack on Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 169 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting with Hamas since Saturday's terror attack.

"As of this morning, we've informed the families of 169 fallen IDF (army) soldiers," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that the families of 60 people abducted and taken to Gaza have also been contacted.

Israeli officials had earlier on Wednesday said Hamas' terror attacks have killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.

Humanitarian support of Palestinians 'not in question' — Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that EU humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people was not in question, however, financial assistance needed to be reviewed.

"Our humanitarian support to the Palestinian people is not in question," von der Leyen said in a statement.

"Yet it is important that we carefully review our financial assistance for Palestine. EU funding has never and will never go to Hamas or any terrorist entity. So we will now again review the entire portfolio in light of an evolving situation on the ground," von der Leyen said.

The EU chief described Saturday’s terror attack by Hamas as "an act of war," and said "we fully support Israel's right to defend itself."

Gaza may run out of power by the afternoon — report

AP news agency on Wednesday reported that Gaza's power authority said its sole power plant would run out of fuel within hours, which would result in power being cut to the Palestinian territory.

Israel ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza, with measures cutting electricity and a ban on admitting food and fuel to the territory.

Zelenskyy calls for support of people 'under terrorist attacks'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday called on world leaders to come out in support of the people of Israel.

Zelenskyy said at a time like this, it was important "not to be alone."

"My recommendation to the leaders to go to Israel and I think to support people, just people I'm not speaking about any institutions, just to support people who have been under terrorist attacks," he said, adding that there was strength in unity.

Israeli jets hit over 300 targets overnight as ground forces prepare

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday said that fighter jets had struck more than 300 targets in Gaza in overnight strikes.

The IAF said that 80 targets were hit in Beit Hanoun, near the north-eastern border of the Gaza Strip, "including two bank branches used by Hamas to fund terrorism."

The home of a Hamas faction leader was among the targets, as was a Hamas aircraft detection system, the commander of the anti-tank missile cell, weapons storage facilities and other targets, the IAF said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, in a morning briefing, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said 300,000 reservists in various infantry, armor and artillery brigades were close to the Gaza strip and preparing "to make sure that Hamas at the end of this war, won't have any military capabilities by which they can threaten or kill Israeli civilians."

EU asks Elon Musk to curb disinformation on X after Hamas attack

The European Union has urged Elon Musk to curb the spread of disinformation on X, formerly Twitter, about Hamas' surprise attacks on Israel and follow its revised policy on online content.

EU's industry chief Thierry Breton said X is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation. 

"Following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU," he wrote in a letter published on X on Tuesday evening.

Breton reminded Musk of the new EU rules regulating content on social media and asked him to delete illegal content.

As per the revised rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA), social media platforms are required to delete illegal content and to take steps to deal with the issues that threaten public security and civic discourse.

If X fails to comply with the DSA, the EU can levy fines as much as 6% of its global turnover.

"I urge you to ensure a prompt, accurate and complete response to this request within the next 24 hours," Breton wrote.

Hamas didn't need 'approval of Iran' for attack

Danny Citrinowicz, formerly Iranian research head for Israel's military intelligence and now a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told DW he did not believe Iran had advanced knowledge of or any play any role in authorizing Hamas' attack on Israel. 

He said that although there was no question that Iran sent money and weapons to Hamas, and helped train its operatives, "Hamas is a Palestinian terrorist movement that is independent, especially in the Gaza Strip." 

"So there is of course the support of Iran to Hamas activity. But, tactically speaking, what we saw today, what we saw in the last couple of days, is an attack carried out by Hamas, operated by Hamas. And Hamas doesn't need the approval of Iran to launch this attack," Citrinowicz said. 

He also said that comments both from the US and from Gaza officials seemed to support this idea, namely that the attack caught Iran off guard just as it seemed to everybody else. 

However, that situation could still change, according to Citrinowicz.

"I'm not saying Iran won't support Hamas actively in days to come," he said.

"We are still in the beginning stages of the campaign of Israel against Hamas. And if Hamas will find itself in a dire situation, we cannot rule out that Iran will actively support Hamas, not only by trying to send arms or other elements, but also maybe threatening Israel to stop its activity in Gaza Strip."

German analyst anticipates 'extremely bloody and messy' ground offensive

Carlo Masala, a security expert and professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, spoke to DW about what a potential ground operation by Israel in a densely populated urban area like the Gaza Strip might involve. 

Masala said he expected a "massive ground invasion" in the next hours or days to come, "because the declared, political goal is the destruction of the military wing of the political party of Hamas." 

"And this can only be done by ground forces," he said. 

"This is going to be urban warfare. This is a three-dimensional war. What I mean by this is, you have to expect that the enemy is attacking you from above, from below, from the front and from behind," Masala said. "You can't enter with mechanized vehicles. It's going to be a long war. It's going to be extremely bloody and messy." 

However, Masala did say that a ground operation using infantry might cause less civilian collateral damage than a prolonged aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip. 

"We know from previous campaigns that Hamas is using civilians as a kind of human shield, so therefore the ground invasion is the alternative to bombing Gaza. Which means the chances for civilians to survive is much higher than if Israel would rely on a purely air campaign. But definitely we have to expect that also civilians are getting killed in this ground invasion."