Israel-Hamas conflict: Angry mob storms major airport ‘hunting for Jews’

It comes as Israel intensified air strikes on Gaza overnight, including in an area close to a hospital filled with hundreds of wounded Palestinians.

The humanitarian crisis in the region worsening, although telephone and internet connections were partially restored overnight.

Follow along for live updates of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Pro-Palestine mob ‘hunting for Jews’

An angry mob took control of a large airport and surrounded a plane they believed had just arrived from Israel, searching for Jewish people.

The terrifying security breach took place at Makhachkala Airport in Russia’s Dagestan Republic on Sunday local time.

Videos posted to social media show a large group of men, many draped in or holding Palestinian flags, storming the airport after word spread that a flight from Israel had landed.

A photograph who shared one clip wrote alongside it: “The hunt for Jews at the airport in Dagestan continues, to the soundtrack of ‘Allahu Akbar’ screams.

“They even look into the plane’s engines, maybe someone is hiding there. Pogroms, a proud Russian tradition, now carried out by Muslim mobs running free with zero police presence.”

According to a report in the Moscow Times, some of the men blocked cars outside the airport and demanded identification documents from drivers and passengers, as they “searched for Israeli citizens among the motorists”.

Officials insisted security measures were working and order was eventually restored at the airport.

“The government of the Republic of Dagestan is reporting that the situation is under control, law enforcement is working at the scene,” the majority-Muslim republic’s government said in a message shared on Telegram.

Security officials shut down the airport for a period of time, AFP reported.

It appears the plane that landed had not arrived from Israel, however the rumours that circulated in town were correct – a flight from Tel Aviv was scheduled to land.

However, the flight was diverted after pilots were warned of the security breach on the ground.

The government called on the mob to “stop illegal acts” and resist the urge to respond to “provocations” resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“We recommend that all persons who have violated the operating procedures of the (airport) facility not to continue illegal acts and not to interfere with the work of airport employees,” a message from the government on Telegram read.

“It is not easy for each of us to stand in one place while watching the inhumane massacre of a civilian population – the Palestinian people.

“At the same time, we urge residents of the republic not to succumb to provocations of destructive groups and not to create panic in society.”

The government added that “federal authorities and international organisations are taking all possible measures for a ceasefire against peaceful citizens in Gaza”.

“We call on people of the republic to treat the current situation in the world with understanding.”

Iran’s chilling warning to the US

Iran has warned that Israel has “crossed the red lines” in Gaza and its ground offensive “may force everyone to take action”.

The stark statement from Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, marks an escalation of rhetoric from the Islamic Republic.

“The crimes of the Zionist regime have crossed the red lines, and this may force everyone to take action,” Raisi wrote. “Washington asks us to not do anything, but they keep giving widespread support to Israel.”

He said the US has “sent messages to the Axis of Resistance” and received “a clear response on the battlefield”.

The term ‘Axis of Resistance’ refers to Iranian allies across the region, including Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite militants in Iraq and Syria, and Yemen group Houthis.

It’s unclear what Raisi meant with the reference to “a clear response on the battlefield” however there have been a string of alarming encounters between the US and rebels.

In the past few days, a US navy ship intercepted missiles launched by rebels in Yemen and two American bases in Syria briefly came under attack.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, US troops came under fire from rockets and weaponised drones.

Tensions are running high across the Middle East and the US has dispatched two carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean, hoping to send a message to Iran and its allies to stay out of the conflict.

Some 2000 American troops are also on standby for ground deployment if needed.

Ben Wedeman is CNN’s senior international correspondent based in Beirut in Lebanon and wrote in an analysis piece that “across the Middle East the warning lights of more trouble to come are blinking red”.

A combination of devastating factors are threatening to collide, Wedeman wrote.

“It all amounts to this: the United States is careening closer to the very real possibility of direct involvement in a regional Middle Eastern war.

“Now, at best, the US is scrambling to respond to events largely out of its control.

“And in this dangerous terrain, suddenly the vulnerabilities of the sprawling American military presence across the Middle East are glaringly obvious.”

In the past few days, a US navy ship intercepted missiles launched by rebels in Yemen and two American bases in Syria briefly came under attack.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, US troops came under fire from rockets and weaponised drones.

‘We gotta go, f***’: Seven news crew flee

An Australian news crew reporting from the Israel-Palestine border was forced to run for cover as a Hamas rocket exploded above them.

Channel 7 journalist David Woiwod was crossing live to the network’s Early News program just after 6am when he and his cameraman had “a very close call”.

“I don’t know if you can hear those blasts in the background,” Woiwod said as exploding rockets could be seen in the distance.

“We have a flare going up there,” he added, pointing out Israel’s air defence system intercepting strikes.

As the sound of firing rockets grew closer, Woiwod – who was near Sderot on the Israeli border – could be seen gazing upwards in panic.

“In fact, I think we might have to go now,” he said. “We gotta go, f***.”

As he ran out of shot, an explosion could be heard and the feed was cut. Back in a studio in Sydney, Channel 7 anchor Jodie Speers quickly moved on to other stories.

Woiwod returned to screens about an hour later, where he told Sunrise about the chilling moment he had to run for his life.

A clip of the live cross was replayed, albeit with the F bomb bleeped.

“An incredibly close call there, showing that Israel doesn’t have a full grip of the situation – a fluid situation,” he said.

“Hamas had fired off a rocket. They are doing it every few hours, showing no sign of decreasing these rocket attacks.

“Israel is on the ground in northern Gaza, advancing. We understand they are 4km into the northern Gaza border. We have pushed right back, the IDF have detected what they believe to be an antitank missile in the area as well.”

Israel launches air strikes in Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force has carried out a series of strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in response to rocket and missile fire from the militant group.

Targets included “infrastructure for directing terror and military infrastructure” controlled by the group, a defence spokesperson said in a statement.

Aerial footage of the strikes has been distributed to media.

Desperate scenes in Gaza

The “fabric of society” in Gaza is deteriorating, an official from the United Nationals Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has declared.

In an interview with CNN, UNRWA director of Affairs for Gaza Thomas White said desperate civilians have looted aid stockpiles in the war-torn region.

“We have been warning for a couple days now that if essential public services and humanitarian aid would not be provided to the population in a sustained way we would see a breakdown in civil order,” Mr White told the cable news network.

“What we are seeing right now is the first stages of that, and that some of our logistic bases were looted by hundreds of young men.

“It’s a very worrying sign that the fabric of society is starting to break down.”

UNRWA has called for a “humanitarian ceasefire” so aid organisations can “get the assistance that people need and stabilise society in Gaza”.

Israel vows ‘independence war’ as air strikes intensify

A defiant Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel is fighting “its second War of Independence” as the country kicked off its ground offensive in Gaza.

While the much-anticipated move is so far more subdued than the Israeli prime minister had been hinting at, relentless air strikes continue in the disputed territory.

Mr Netanyahu stopped short of describing the operation as an invasion, but insisted Israel would not waver.

The Israeli Defence Force confirmed 450 attacks had been carried out on Hamas targets throughout Palestine in the past 24 hours, including on the terrorist group’s headquarters and antitank positions.

Palestine officials say the IDF has ordered the evacuation of multiple hospitals in Gaza, with air strikes occurring close to major health facilities.

Hamas leaders killed in air strikes

Two senior Hamas leaders have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, including the mastermind of an attack on a music festival by a group of paragliders.

Israeli Defence Force officials reported Asem Abu Rakaba and Rateb Abu Tshaiban had been eliminated, alongside a number of other high-ranking members of the terrorist organisation.

“IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, The head of Hamas’ Aerial Array,” it said.

Abu Rakaba orchestrated the massacre on the Supernova festival in Israel on 7 October, where hundreds of people were killed when terrorists parachuted in.

Abu Tshaiban was the commander of Hamas’ naval forces and had planned an infiltration of Israel by sea – a plot that was ultimately foiled.

Biden demands flow of aid

US President Joe Biden has called for Israel to “immediately and significantly increase” the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Mr Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke via telephone about the ongoing conflict, a statement from the White House revealed.

Access to clean water and fuel remains limited throughout Gaza, as does food and medical equipment.

Hospitals are at risk of losing power, which would endanger thousands of patients, the World Health Organisation reports.

“[The president] reiterated that Israel has every right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritises the protection of civilians,” the White House said.

Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu also “discussed ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release of hostages, including American citizens who remain unaccounted for and may be held by Hamas”.

The pair have committed to “remain in regular consultation both directly and through their respective national security teams”.