Netanyahu claims Israel will ‘resign Hamas to the dustbin of history’
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Egypt is set to open the Rafah border crossing for a number of Palestinians injured in Gaza, according to reports.
The country will take in 81 seriously wounded people from the besieged Gaza Strip and treat them in its hospitals, reported the New York Times citing Gaza’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders.
The Israeli military admitted to launching a wide-scale airstrike on the densely inhabited Jabalia refugee camp where potentially “dozens” of civilians have been killed.
The Israel Defence Forces said it targeted Hamas infrastructure in the area “that had taken over civilian buildings” and that tunnels under the buildings had collapsed in the strike.
During a briefing attended by The Independent, Israeli officials defended the attack as proportionate, saying the operation led to the killing of Ibrahim Biari, the commander of Hamas’s Central Jabalia Battalion.
The “military objective was of high importance”, lieutenant colonel Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesperson, said at the briefing. “Multiple Hamas operatives were killed,” he added. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem denied any senior commander was in the Jabalia camp at the time of the Israeli strike.
At least 11 Israeli soldiers died in Gaza fighting yesterday, the biggest one-day loss for the IDF since the Hamas attack on 7 October.
Biden and Jordan’s King Abdullah discuss ‘shared commitment’ to increase Gaza aid
Mr Biden “reiterated the importance of protecting civilian lives and respecting international humanitarian law, as Israel defends its citizens and combats terrorism”, it said.
My colleague Alisha Rahaman Sarkar has more:
Pakistan urges action after Israel’s attack on refugee camp
Pakistan’s interim prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar today denounced the latest Israeli airstrikes on a refugee camp near Gaza City, urging the international community to play its role in ending such strikes.
“Yesterday’s air raid on Jabalia camp, where hundreds of lives were lost, including women and children, was a stark reminder of ongoing Israeli brutalities and war crimes in Gaza,” Mr Kakar said in a statement.
This picture taken from a position near Sderot along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on 31 October 2023
He said that “such reprehensible acts can never be condoned or forgotten. The world must act now to end this carnage.”
Three Arab states denounce Israel’s airstrikes on refugee camp
Three Arab states have strongly criticized Israel’s airstrikes on a refugee camp near Gaza City as its war on Hamas rages.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each issued statements denouncing the strikes on the Jabaliya camp. The exact number of casualties was not immediately clear in the strikes, though one doctor said hundreds were killed and wounded.
Qatar, which as been mediating talks with Hamas over the more than 200 hostages it holds from its 7 October attack on Israel, described the strike as “a new massacre against the defenseless Palestinian people, especially women and children”.
The country warned that “the expansion of Israeli attacks in (the) Gaza Strip is a dangerous escalation in the course of confrontations, which would undermine mediation and de-escalation efforts.”
Gaza plunges into communication blackout
Communication has again been cut in Gaza, two providers said early today. Paltel and Jawwal reported a “complete disruption” of communications and internet services in Gaza, the second major cut in five days. Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.
A deluge of Israeli airstrikes yesterday on a refugee camp near Gaza City demolished apartment buildings, leaving gaping holes where they once stood, while ground troops battled Hamas militants across northern Gaza. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire. Though more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, several hundred thousand remain in the north, where Israeli troops and tanks have reportedly advanced on multiple sides of Gaza City.
A soldier works on a tank on 31 October 2023 in Southern Israel
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,525, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 122 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
Hamas denies militant group's commander was at Jabalia refugee camp
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem denied any senior commander was in the Jabalia camp at the time of an Israeli strike. Palestinian health officials said at least 50 Palestinians were killed and 150 wounded in the air attacks.
A Hamas statement said there were 400 dead and injured in Jabalia, which houses families of refugees from wars with Israel dating back to 1948. Reuters could not independently verify the reported casualty figures.
The blast left large craters surrounded by wrecked buildings. Israel repeatedly warned Gaza residents to evacuate northern areas and while many have gone south, many have stayed.
Israel besieged Gaza after the Hamas attack, and the UN and other aid officials said civilians in the enclave were living in a public health catastrophe, with hospitals struggling to treat casualties as electricity supplies petered out.
Israeli military jets strike Gaza camp, says Hamas commander killed
Israeli airstrikes hit a densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 50 Palestinians and a Hamas commander, and medics struggled to treat the casualties in the enclave where food, fuel and basic supplies are running scarce.
Israeli tanks have been active in Gaza for at least four days following weeks of air bombardments in retaliation for an attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on southern Israeli towns on 7 October and the taking of more than 200 hostages.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said the strike by fighter jets on Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee camp, had killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander it said was “pivotal” in the planning and execution of the attack.
Dozens of Hamas combatants were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari and were also killed when it collapsed in the attack, IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said, adding: “I understand that is also the reason why there are many reports of collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. We’re looking into those as well.”
Egypt to open Rafah crossing for injured Gazans
The Rafah border crossing will be opened today for a number of Palestinians who were injured in Gaza to complete their treatment in Egyptian hospitals, Egyptian medical and security sources as well as a Palestinian border official said on Tuesday.
The country will take 81 seriously wounded people from Gaza and treat them in Egyptian hospital, reported the New York Times citing Gaza’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders.
‘Hamas stranding 1,000 Americans and family members in Gaza’
During testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee in support of the White House’s request for $14bn in additional military aid to Israel, Mr Blinken said nearly 1,000 people with ties to the US, comprising American citizens and their family members, are still trapped in the bombarded Palestinian territory.
“We are working on every single day,” he testified on Tuesday, saying the State Department has sent 5500 communications including phone calls and WhatsApp messages to Americans stuck behind the siege line.
“I’m focused on this intensely,” he added. “My entire department is as well, both in the region and here, we are working with various parties to try to facilitate their departure from Gaza.”
Josh Marcus has more:
Just in: ‘Nine soldiers killed in Gaza fighting’
Nine soldiers have been killed in Gaza fighting, Israeli mislitary has said in a statement today. There are more than 20,000 IDF troops in Gaza.
Protesters interrupt Blinken as he lays out US plan for Gaza after Hamas
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as he told a US Senate hearing that the Palestinian Authority should retake control of the enclave from Hamas. The president has said that the militant group should be eliminated and that he supports a two-state solution in the region.
Mr Blinken and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin testified about the White House’s $106bn funding request for national security, including $14.3bn for Israel.
My colleague Graeme Massie has more:
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3Mvd29ybGQvbWlkZGxlLWVhc3QvaXNyYWVsLWdhemEtcGFsZXN0aW5lLWhhbWFzLXdhci1qYWJhbGlhLWxhdGVzdC1iMjQzOTQ5Ny5odG1s0gEA?oc=5
2023-11-01 05:32:38Z
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