U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has offered Israel his condolences and says the country will never have to defend itself alone while the U.S. is an ally. But Blinken says steps must be taken to reduce the risk of civilian deaths during retaliatory attacks in Gaza.

Blinken made the comments during a press conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been criticized after the country's security defenses were breached by Hamas fighters during the attack over the weekend, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people.

On Thursday, The Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff admitted that there were security failings after speaking publicly for the first time since the attacks. 

READ MORE

Israel announces emergency government

Ex-Palestinian Minister warns of 'total destruction of Gaza'

Gums and guns: Dentists on the frontline in Ukraine

Trump criticizes Netanyahu

Former U.S. President Donald Trump says Netanyahu was under-prepared for Hamas's attack on the country.

Trump made his comments at a Republican party rally in Florida. He said that Netanyahu had been "hurt very badly" by the attacks, which have killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in 150 people being taken hostage. 

The 75-year-old's comments were labelled "dangerous and unhinged" by U.S. spokesman Andrew Bates. Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said Trump's comments showed he could not be relied on.

France says no evidence of Iran role in Hamas attacks

France has no formal trace implicating Iran in the Hamas attacks on Israel at the weekend, a spokesperson of the French foreign ministry said.

The comments reiterated similar remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, following speculation that Iran helped to plan and orchestrate the attacks.

Iran's foreign minister, meanwhile, has accused Israel of seeking "genocide" by enforcing a siege against Gaza, according to Iranian state TV.

"Today, the continuation of war crimes by Netanyahu and Zionists against the civilians of Gaza, besieging, cutting off water and electricity, and denying entry of medicine and food, has created conditions where the Zionists are seeking a genocide of all people in Gaza," Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

"The war we witness today in the Gaza Strip is not just the Zionists' war against Hamas, it is the Zionists' war against all Palestinians."

Erdogan and Indian spokesman call for sovereign Palestinian state

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a call on Thursday that a sovereign Palestinian state should be established for a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Turkish presidency said. 

Erdogan and Scholz also exchanged views on ways to halt the fighting and humanitarian crises in the conflict, the presidency said on social messaging platform X, adding that Erdogan renewed his offer to mediate the conflict.

India has also joined Türkiye in encouraging negotiations to establish an independent Palestinian state. Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: "India has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side-by-side at peace with Israel."

X removes hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts

The X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, has removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts and taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content since the militant group's attack on Israel, its chief executive Linda Yaccarino said on Thursday.

The move came in response to European Union industry chief Thierry Breton's 24 hour-ultimatum to Elon Musk to tackle the spread of disinformation on his X messaging platform since the Hamas assault to comply with new EU online content rules. The EU has also asked Facebook and TikTok to do the same.

Breton, who said he had indications that X – formerly known as Twitter – was being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU, said his team would analyse Yaccarino's reply and decide on next steps.

The recently implemented Digital Services Act (DSA) requires large online platforms, including X and Meta's Facebook, to do more to remove illegal content and to take measures to tackle the risks to public security and civic discourse.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday