For Palestinians in Gaza, Israel's eyes are never very far away. Surveillance drones buzz constantly from the skies. The highly-secured border is awash with security cameras and soldiers on guard. Intelligence agencies work sources and cyber capabilities to draw out a bevy of information.

But Israel's eyes appeared to have been closed in the lead-up to an unprecedented onslaught by the militant Hamas group, which broke down Israeli border barriers and sent hundreds of militants into Israel to carry out a brazen attack that has killed hundreds and pushed the region toward conflict.

There will be only one winner in the war that has broken out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. And it is neither Israel nor Hamas.

In an operation coined "the Al-Aqsa Storm," Hamas, whose formal name is the Islamic Resistance Movement, fired thousands of rockets into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters infiltrated Israel by land, sea and air. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed, more than 2,000 injured, and many taken hostage.

The evacuation warning came shortly after dark. The Israeli military fired the shot just a short distance from Nasser Abu Quta's home in the southern Gaza Strip, a precautionary measure meant to allow people to evacuate before airstrikes.

Abu Quta, 57, thought he and his extended family would be safe some hundred meters (yards) away from the house that was alerted to the pending strike. He huddled with his relatives on the ground floor of his four-story building, bracing for an impact in the area.

Crude oil prices surged and world share prices were mostly lower on Monday after the Israeli government declared war following deadly attacks by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

U.S. futures declined. The bond market in the U.S. will be closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday, but the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will be open.

Iran on Monday rejected as unfounded allegations it had a role in the massive assault on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

"The accusations linked to an Iranian role... are based on political reasons," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters, adding that Palestinians had "the necessary capacity and will to defend their nation and recover their rights" without any help from Tehran.

Israel's defense minister ordered Monday a "complete siege" on the Gaza Strip following an unprecedented incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters.

Israel formally declared war on Sunday and gave the green light for "significant military steps" to retaliate against Hamas for Saturday's surprise attack. More than 1,100 people have been killed and thousands wounded on both sides.

Supporters of Israel and backers of the Palestinian cause held competing rallies in several American cities Sunday over the conflict that has killed hundreds and wounded thousands in the Middle East.

In New York City, a skirmish broke out between opposing demonstrators near the United Nations compound after a large group of Palestinian supporters rallied in Times Square. Palestinian Americans protested outside the Israeli consulates in Atlanta and Chicago. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a Jewish community gathering to support Israel at a synagogue in San Francisco.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those killed and missing.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.

The U.N. Security Council has held an emergency meeting behind closed doors, with the United States demanding all 15 members strongly condemn "these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas," but they took no immediate action.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said afterward that "a good number of countries" did condemn the Hamas attack but not all council members. He told reporters they could probably figure out one of them.

Israel's military scoured the country's south for Hamas fighters and guarded breaches in its border fence with tanks on Monday, as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and mustered for a campaign its prime minister said would destroy "the military and governing capabilities" of the militant group.

More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion from Gaza, the military said the fighting had largely died down for now. The attack caught Israel's vaunted military and intelligence apparatus completely off guard, bringing heavy battles to its streets for the first time in decades.