October
23, 2023
Casualties
Gaza:
4,651 killed; 14,245 wounded
Occupied
West Bank: 95 killed; 1,650 wounded
Israel:
1,405 killed; 5,431 wounded
Key
Developments
· Four
hundred Palestinians killed in the last 24 hours, according to Palestinian
health officials.
· At
least 120 newborn babies sustained by incubators at risk of death under
relentless Israeli bombardment of Gaza, as hospitals run low on fuel, says UN.
· The
Israeli military threatens to bomb Al-Quds Hospital, says the Palestinian Red
Crescent, urging intervention by the international community.
· At
least 18 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza since October 7.
· At
least 30 bodies recovered by emergency workers in Jabalia refugee camp, most of
them women and children, following Israel’s most recent attacks on the camp.
Gaza’s civil defense says several people still trapped under the rubble.
· Hamas
leader Ismail Haniyeh and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
discuss stopping Israel’s “brutal crimes” in besieged Gaza in a phone call
overnight on Sunday.
· At
least 406,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 91 UNRWA
installations across Gaza — an increase of 22,000 people over the past 24
hours, says the organization. Since October 7, at least 12 internally displaced
people seeking shelter at UNRWA schools have been killed and almost 180
injured, they included.
· At
least 29 UNRWA staff have been killed since October 7, half of whom were
teachers.
In
the last 24 hours, Israel’s army hit the Gaza Strip with the deadliest round of
relentless bombardment since it began 17 days ago, killing at least 400
Palestinians. Wafa reported at least 25 Israeli air attacks on residential
areas, many of them hitting civilian homes with no warnings.
According
to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 70 of those killed happened overnight on Sunday
as Israel carpet bombed the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp near two
hospitals in Gaza City, Al-Shifa and Al-Quds.
Israeli
airstrikes were recorded near Al-Quds Hospital by the Palestinian Red Crescent
Society, causing fear and panic among internally displaced civilians and
medical staff. Al Jazeera also reports that Israeli airstrikes were fired for
hours in the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza’s northern city of
Beit Lahia, causing what the hospital’s director described as “serious damage
and injuries.”
Five
residential towers were leveled in Rafah, killing at least 50 people, a number
likely to rise as many have yet to be rescued from under the rubble, reported
Al Jazeera on Monday morning.
Overnight
on Sunday and early Monday, Wafa reported that Israeli airstrikes killed 23
people in Khan Younis, while killing 17 people in Al-Fallujah and injuing
dozens of others in an Israeli attack on a residential apartment in the
northern Gaza Strip.
The
Israeli army said it attacked over 320 military targets overnight in the Gaza
Strip.
Civilians
call for a ceasefire as collapsing hospitals demand fuel
Hospital
staff are pleading with the international community to support them as they
slowly collapse under the pressure of 17 days of siege and constant
bombardment. Palestinians in Gaza say that humanitarian aid is insufficient and
are demanding a ceasefire.
Since
Israel cut off electricity, hospitals across the Gaza Strip are dependent on
generators that are powered by fuel, which is quickly running out. Thirty-four
trucks with humanitarian aid have arrived in Gaza through the Rafah crossing,
none of which have included fuel and are nowhere near enough to meet the needs
of the 2 million people living there.
On
Sunday, the Indonesian Hospital hospital’s Director, Atef al-Kahlout, told Al
Jazeera they were struggling and may have to halt surgeries if Israel doesn’t
allow fuel into the Strip.
“We
will face a catastrophe if we don’t get more fuel,” he said.
“Medical
personnel are exhausted. They have been on duty 24 hours a day since the
Israeli attack began to attend to patients who continue to arrive every minute,”
al-Kahlout added.
Similarly,
at Al-Shifa Hospital, where the highest number of wounded patients and medical
staff are currently based, the director, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, says they
are now on the brink of a “real disaster” as their fuel sources dwindle and may
only last for another 48 hours.
The
aid has been taken to a UNRWA-designated warehouse in Deir el-Balah. It is
still unclear how they will be distributed, considering Israel’s preconditions
on how and where they should be delivered.
In
a statement from Biden on Sunday, he announced that Netanyahu has agreed to
allow a “continued flow” of humanitarian assistance to Gaza under the condition
that none of it reaches Hamas.
As
Israeli aggression continues, fighting escalates in the region
Despite
the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s pressure on Israel to delay their
ground invasion to allow time for more U.S. military assets to arrive in the
region, as well as to allow diplomatic efforts to try and release captives
inside Gaza, the military continues to launch smaller-scale raids on the area.
Israel’s
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says that the attack on Hamas could last
“months.”
“It
will take one month, two months, three months, and at the end there will be no
more Hamas,” he declared.
On
Sunday, the Israeli army raided the Gaza Strip to “thwart terrorist
infrastructure” and locate Hamas captives in Khan Younis. During the raid, the
Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers was killed by an anti-tank
missile reportedly shot by Hamas.
Three
Hamas fighters were also injured as they pushed Israeli forces out of the Gaza
Strip, the Qassam Brigades announced on Telegram.
“Fighters
engaged an armored Israeli force in a well-prepared ambush to the east of Khan
Yunis, just moments after it crossed the border by a few meters,” they said.
“The
fighters bravely engaged with the infiltrating force…and they returned to their
bases safely,” the statement further noted.
Israel
has also escalated its attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to Al Jazeera,
Israel’s newly introduced use of airstrikes targeting and killing Hezbollah
cells may lead to Hezbollah’s escalation of tactics as rules of engagement
continue to develop.
Early
on Monday, the Israeli military said it hit two Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,
claiming they were planning on launching anti-tank missiles and rockets toward
Israel.
Hezbollah
said one of their fighters was killed the same day, and Lebanese media reported
an Israeli air attack in southern Lebanon; however, Reuters news agency says it
is unclear if the two sides were referring to the same set of incidents.
On
Sunday, Hezbollah announced that they have been attacking several Israeli posts
along the border between Lebanon and Israel, adding that 12 of their fighters
had been killed over 24 hours, bringing their death toll up to 25 since October
7.
On
the same day, the Egyptian military reported shell fragments from an Israeli
tank hitting the Egyptian border and injuring at least seven people, including
Egyptian border guards. The Israeli military confirmed the report, saying it
“accidentally” hit the Egyptian position near their border with Gaza.
Israel’s
mass arrest campaign continues
Israeli
forces continue to storm the West Bank, where they are arresting Palestinians
at an alarming rate.
Wafa
reports that Israeli forces arrested over 120 Palestinians on Monday alone, the
majority of whom were detained after Israeli forces raided their homes.
Since
October 7, Israel has detained approximately 1,300 Palestinians in the occupied
West Bank, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society and Detainees
Commission. On top of that, Israeli forces have arrested 4,000 laborers from
Gaza, effectively doubling the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails
from just over 5,000 to more than 10,000 in just two weeks.
The
rights groups say that around 300 detainees are being held in administrative
detention, allowing Israel to hold Palestinians indefinitely under “secret
evidence” without charge or trial.
International
community leaning toward de-escalation tactics
As
Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip, the situation in the region
intensifies, causing many international leaders to call for a
de-escalation.
China’s
state media has reported that Beijing is willing to do “whatever is conducive”
to promote dialogue and achieve a ceasefire. Zhai Jun, a Chinese diplomat who
described the situation as “very serious,” says China will continue their close
communication with all international parties.
Zhai
Jun has recently been in contact with various foreign ministers, including
those from Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
and Norway, as well as representatives from the UN and EU.
Meanwhile,
leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the U.S. underscored
their support for Israel in a joint statement in which they also called on
Israel to follow international law and protect civilians.
In
the statement, the leaders claim they want to “prevent the conflict from
spreading” and find a “political solution and durable peace” in the region
using diplomatic efforts that include “key partners in the region.”
Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also discussed the captives taken by Hamas “and
the need for their immediate release” with the president of Israel, Isaac
Herzog.
“I
also expressed my concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza and my support
for the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security,”
Trudeau added.
According
to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will travel to Israel this week to meet with the
Israeli prime minister.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, announced plans late on Sunday that
the U.S. would increase military resources in the region to enhance the U.S.
presence in the region and bolster its support for Israel in response to
“recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces.”
“If
any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage
of this very unfortunate situation…our advice is, don’t,” Austin warned on
ABC’s This Week program.
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