Summary
- At least 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the enclave’s health ministry said on Monday.
- More than 1,000 Palestinians missing under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli air attacks on Gaza, rescuers say.
- “The lives of thousands of patients” will be “at risk” if fuel reserves at all of Gaza’s hospitals run out in the next 24 hours as is expected, the UN is warning.
- Conditions for people in Gaza are worsening, with water, food, power and medicines in scarce supply
- Israeli troops continue to amass near Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive targeting Hamas militants
- Israel has told 1.1m Palestinians living in the north of Gaza to move south
- Hundreds of thousands have done so – doubling the population of the southern city of Khan Younis overnight
- The UN says the Middle East “is on the verge of the abyss” and asks Israel to let humanitarian aid in
- More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel last weekend when Hamas fighters crossed the border to attack civilians and soldiers
Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to speak with several international leaders today, including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Kremlin spokesperson says.
This is going to be the first time the Russian and Israeli leaders are holding a phone conversation since war broke out on 7 October, reports Al Jazeera.
Putin has voiced concern at the “catastrophic increase” in the number of civilians killed in Israel and the Gaza Strip, taking aim at Washington’s policy in the Middle East for having failed to take the needs of Palestinians into account.
Hamas says Gaza water still cut off; Israel says some provided in south
Hamas said on Monday that Israel had not resumed water supplies for the Gaza Strip despite pledging to do so, while an Israeli official responded that some water was being provided to an area in the south of the enclave.
Israel stopped piping water to Gazans as part of a siege imposed after Hamas gunmen rampaged in its southern towns and village on Oct 7. On Sunday, Israel said that as part of an agreement with Washington it was resuming some supplies.
Hamas interior ministry spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom said on Monday there had been no resumption of water supplies: “The residents drink unhealthy water, posing a serious health crisis threatens the lives of the citizens.”
An aide to Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said water was being supplied in the community of Bnei Sahila, near southern Khan Younis. The aide declined to elaborate on the amount of water being supplied.
Katz said on Sunday that resupplying water in southern Gaza would encourage Palestinian civilians to congregate there as Israel pummels Hamas targets in Gaza City to the north. Israel has told residents of the northern half of Gaza, including Gaza City, to leave for the south.
Arab League chief demands end to Gaza military operations
The Arab League chief demanded Monday an end to military operations in the Gaza Strip and charged that the siege of the enclave is “depriving the Palestinians of their humanity”, reports AFP
“We demand the immediate end of military operations and the opening of safe corridors to bring aid to the population,” Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said during an Arab justice ministers meeting in Baghdad.
Israel declared war on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas a day after waves of its militants broke through Gaza’s heavily fortified border on 7 October, shooting, stabbing and burning to death more than 1,400 people.
UN humanitarian chief heading to Mideast for Gaza aid negotiations
The UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said he would be heading to the Middle East on Tuesday to try to help negotiate aid access to the Gaza Strip, reports AFP.
In a video statement, Griffiths said he was hoping to hear some “good news” later Monday on aid access into the blockaded and besieged Palestinian enclave via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
We need access for aid. We are in deep discussions with the Israelis, with the Egyptians and with others,” Griffiths said, a process which had been “hugely helped” by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his visit to countries in the region.
“I’m hoping to hear some good news this morning about getting aid through Rafah, one of the crossing points but an important one, into Gaza to help those million people who have moved south as well as those who live there already.”
Israel denies plan for ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow aid in
Israel said on Monday (16 October) no ceasefire had been implemented in southern Gaza even though security sources in Egypt said a deal had been reached to allow foreigners out of the besieged Palestinian enclave and aid to be brought in.
The bombardment of Hamas-ruled Gaza continued overnight, with residents saying it was the heaviest pounding yet in nine days of conflict.
As a humanitarian crisis gripped Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said Israel had agreed to a halt its bombardment of southern Gaza. The Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing was expected to reopen to allow foreign passport holders to leave, they said.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement: “There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out.”
To Read More on Israel-Hamas War
In Pictures: A Week of Protests as Israel-Hamas Conflict Rages in Gaza
Scenes of carnage on both sides are outraging civilians in the region and beyond. This week, competing demonstrations were held in countries around the world.
Here’s a look at some of them.
Israel killed 11 Palestinian journalists in Gaza: Palestinian Journalists Syndicate
Israel has killed 11 Palestinian journalists in air strikes in Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said on Monday.
Egyptian sources say ceasefire agreed to allow Rafah re-opening
Egypt, Israel and the US agreed to a ceasefire in southern Gaza beginning at 0600 GMT coinciding with the re-opening of the Rafah border crossing, two Egyptian security sources said on Monday, to allow in aid and evacuations of foreigners.
However, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to deny an agreement.
“There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out,” a statement from his office said.
Israel moves to evacuate villages abutting Lebanon border
Israel has activated a plan to evacuate residents of 28 villages within 2 km (1 mile) of the Lebanese border, the military said on Monday following hostilities with Hezbollah in parallel to the spiralling war in Gaza.
One of the villages, Shtula, came under a Hezbollah missile attack on Sunday. Israeli media said a civilian was killed.
At least 1,000 people under the rubble in Gaza
More than 1,000 people are missing under the rubble of buildings in Gaza that were destroyed by Israeli air strikes, the Palestinian civil defence team said.
There were injured and dead among them, the team said in a statement, adding that many others were pulled alive out of the rubble, 24 hours after buildings were struck.
‘Gaza is running out of life’ – UN agency chief
The largest UN agency in the Gaza Strip is on the verge of collapse, its chief commissioner said.
The Gaza-based staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, have relocated to Rafah near the border with Egypt, and are working out of the same building as “thousands of desperate displaced people”, said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity,” he said in a stark speech from the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem on Sunday.
“If we look at the issue of water – we all know water is life – Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life. Soon, I believe, with this there will be no food or medicine either,” Lazzarini said, calling the siege in Gaza as “nothing else than collective punishment”.
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Malaysia will not bow to Western pressure to condemn Hamas: PM
Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim says he does not agree with Western pressure to condemn Palestinian armed group Hamas.
Anwar told parliament that Malaysia, as a policy, has a relationship with Hamas and this will continue.
Travellers ‘may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing’: US
Travellers “may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing”, the US Embassy in Israel said in a security alert early Monday.
Citing media reports, which are yet to be confirmed, which say the crossing at the Egypt-Gaza will open at 9am local time on Monday, the embassy said: “If you assess it to be safe, you may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing – there may be very little notice if the crossing opens and it may only open for a limited time.”
“We anticipate that the situation at the Rafah crossing will remain fluid and unpredictable and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing,” it added.
Biden: Israeli occupation of Gaza would be ‘a big mistake’
US President Joe Biden has warned any Israeli occupation of Gaza would be “a big mistake”, as Netanyahu’s government prepares for a possible ground invasion of the Palestinian territory.
In a video clip posted by CBS News’s 60 Minutes, Biden said he supported a humanitarian corridor that would allow people to get out of Gaza as well as allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid, including food and water, into Gaza.
“I am confident that Israel is going to act under the rules of war,” Biden said.
‘There is no safe space left in Gaza’ – Save the Children
Gabriella Waaijman, Humanitarian Director at Save the Children has described how difficult the situation is in Gaza for her staff.
Many of the organisation’s staff have left their homes and she says there is very little she can do to help them while they remain inside Gaza.
“One of my colleagues told me today that he is losing hope and that his dream is just to wake up with his children still in his arms,” she told the BBC.
Rafah crossing to open only for ‘a few hours’: Report
The Rafah crossing in southern Gaza will only be opened for “a few hours” on Monday and then be shut off again in the late afternoon, the US television channel ABC is reporting.
Earlier, it was reported that the Rafah border gate would open to allow foreign nationals, including an estimated 600 US citizens, to cross into Egypt.
The exact times of the opening and closing were not specified.
The geography of Gaza
The Gaza Strip is roughly 41km (25 miles) long and 10km (6 miles) wide.
The population is 2.2m, and this map illustrates the evacuation area.
The area that’s shaded red is home to around 1m people – all of whom have been told to move south.
Biden considering Israel trip: Associated Press
The Associated Press news agency says Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the news agency that nothing had been finalised and that they could not publicly discuss internal deliberations about potential presidential travel.
A presidential trip would send the strongest message yet of US support for Israel, although Biden has also been urging restraint. He told CBS News earlier that any Israeli occupation of Gaza would be a “big mistake”.
Israeli forces reportedly carry out multiple raids in occupied West Bank
Operations are reportedly under way in occupied East Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem, Hebron and the Aqabat Jabr camp in Jericho.
Dozens of Palestinians have also been reportedly arrested.
Pope calls for humanitarian corridors for people in Gaza
Pope Francis has called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza.
“I forcefully ask that children, the sick, the elderly and women and all civilians do not become the victims of the conflict,” he said at his weekly address to thousands of people in St Peter’s Square.
“May humanitarian rights be respected, above all in Gaza, where it is urgent and necessary to guarantee humanitarian corridors to help the entire population,” he said.
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Former Israeli minister calls for Gaza residents to relocate to ‘tent cities’
Former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon in a controversial statement has suggested that residents in Gaza should evacuate their homes and move to the Sinai Desert in Egypt, where temporary tent cities could be set up for them amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Ayalon’s comments, made during an interview with Al Jazeera, have ignited a storm of criticism on social media, with many condemning the remarks as a veiled endorsement of “ethnic cleansing.”
Speaking on an episode of UpFront that aired on Friday (13 October), Ayalon said, “We told the Gazan people to clear the area temporarily, so we can go and take Hamas out, and then, of course, they can come back.”
US appoints Satterfield as special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues
The US has named veteran diplomat David Satterfield, a former ambassador to Turkey, as its Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues.
Satterfield joined the US foreign service in 1980, speaks Arabic and French, and was involved in discussions on the Arab-Israeli peace process in the mid-1990s.
Facing ‘total collapse’, Gaza doctors fight to remain a lifeline
Gaza’s hospitals are under immense stress as patients and doctors grapple with the unprecedented Israeli order for 1.1 million people to leave Northern Gaza – all during enormous bombardment.
The scale of carnage would put any health system in the world under stress but the situation is more dire for Gaza’s hospitals, which have been deprived for more than a decade of basic supplies, staff and maintenance due to an Israeli blockade.
Now, with the electricity grid shut down and fuel and water supplies dwindling, hospitals are on the verge of total collapse.
Israel vows to demolish Hamas
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to “demolish Hamas” as his troops prepared to move into the Gaza Strip in pursuit of Hamas fighters whose deadly rampage through Israeli border towns shocked the world.
Inside Gaza’s narrow and crowded streets, conditions were deteriorating as deaths from Israeli air strikes rose. Bodies were stored in ice cream freezer trucks because moving them to hospitals was too risky and cemeteries were full.
Disclaimer: The news reported in the thread were sourced from Reuters, AL Jazeera, BBC and other news sites.
