Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts

Update Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts
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Update Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts
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Update Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts
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Updated 23 October 2023
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Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts

Israel strikes Gaza, Syria, West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to open other fronts
  • More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza
  • Hospitals are running low on medical supplies

Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank, as the two-week-old war with Hamas threatened to spiral into a broader conflict.
Israel has traded fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
For days, Israel has seemed to be on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza as part of its response to Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 rampage. Tanks and tens of thousands of troops have massed at the border, and Israeli leaders have spoken of an undefined next stage in operations.
But the military acknowledges there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite a sweeping evacuation order, which would complicate any ground attack. And the risk of triggering a broader war with Hamas' allies in Lebanon and Syria might also give them pause.

Spiraling humanitarian crisis

On Sunday, Egyptian media report a convoy of 17 trucks bringing aid to Palestinians crosses into Gaza. This followed the 20 aid trucks that were allowed to enter on Saturday through the Rafah crossing, the first time anything has gone into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago.
Aid workers said it was far too little to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes. Hospitals packed with patients and displaced people are running low on medical supplies and fuel for generators, forcing doctors to perform surgeries with sewing needles, using kitchen vinegar as disinfectant, and without anesthesia.
Palestinians sheltering in UN-run schools and tent camps are running low on food and drinking dirty water. The territory's sole power plant shut down over a week ago, causing a territory-wide blackout and crippling water and sanitation systems. The UN humanitarian agency said cases of chicken pox, scabies and diarrhea are on the rise because of the lack of clean water.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry reported heavy Israeli airstrikes across the territory overnight into Sunday, including southern areas where Israel had told Palestinians to seek refuge.
Late Saturday, an airstrike hit a cafe in the southern town of Khan Younis where displaced people had gathered to charge their phones. The nearby Nasser Hospital said 12 people were killed and 75 wounded.
Israel’s military has said it is striking Hamas members and installations, but does not target civilians. Palestinian militants have continued daily rocket attacks, with Hamas saying it targeted Tel Aviv early Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet late Saturday to discuss the expected ground invasion, Israeli media reported. A military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israel planned to step up airstrikes starting Saturday as preparation for the “next stages of the war.”
An Israeli ground assault would likely lead to a dramatic escalation in casualties on both sides. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed in the war — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. At least 210 people were captured and dragged back to Gaza, including men, women, children and older adults. Two Americans were released on Friday in what Hamas said was a humanitarian gesture.
More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. That includes the disputed toll from a hospital explosion.




A man reacts as he carries the shrouded body of his child, in front of the morgue of the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Balah in the central Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike on October 22, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli airstrikes on Damascus

Syrian state media meanwhile reported that Israeli airstrikes have targeted the international airports in the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo. It said the strikes killed one person and damaged the runways, putting them out of service.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria, including on the airports, since the war began. Israel rarely acknowledges individual strikes, but says it acts to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from their patron, Iran, which also supports Hamas.




Syria's Prime Minister Hussein Arnous inspects damage at the runway of Damascus International Airport on the outskirts of the Syrian capital on October 13, 2023 after an Israeli air strike. (AFP)

Israel struck Hezbollah targets
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the group’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel struck Hezbollah targets early Sunday in response to rocket fire, the military said.
Israel also announced evacuation plans for another 14 communities near the border with Lebanon. Kiryat Shmona, with a population of more than 20,000 people, was told to evacuate last week.




Supporters of the Lebanese movements Hezbollah and Amal gather in the southern suburb of Beirut on October 20, 2023, to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. (AFP)

Occupied West Bank
In the occupied West Bank, dozens of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, arrest raids and attacks by Jewish settlers. Israeli forces have closed crossings into the territory and checkpoints between cities, measures they say are aimed at preventing attacks. Israel has arrested hundreds of Palestinians since Oct. 7, mainly suspected Hamas members.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security, but it is deeply unpopular and has been the target of violent Palestinian protests.
Israeli forces killed at least five people early Sunday in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Two were killed in an airstrike on a mosque in the town of Jenin, which has seen heavy gunbattles between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops over the past year.

The Israeli military said the mosque compound belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who had carried out several attacks in recent months and were planning another one.
Sunday’s fatalities brought the death toll in the West Bank to 90 Palestinians since the war broke out on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry. Most appear have been killed during fighting with Israeli forces or violent protests.
Thirteen Palestinians, including five minors, and a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police were killed last week in a battle in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in which Israel also launched an airstrike.




A man carries a Palestinian national back on a motorcycle as he faces Israeli troops during clashes with them at the northern entrance of the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 20, 2023. (AFP)

Gaza 

Inside Gaza, shellshocked residents said they were unsure where to go or how to protect their families.
“Even in my worst nightmares, I never thought this could be possible,” said Rami Abu Wazna, staring at the destruction in central Gaza’s Al-Zahra neighborhood.
The scale of the bombing has left basic systems unable to function, with the UN reporting around 40 unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave in Gaza City on Saturday because cold storage ran out before they could be identified.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was “under control” as aid workers called for the opening of a round-the-clock aid corridor.
The UN humanitarian agency, known as OCHA, said the convey that entered Saturday carried about 4% of an average day's imports before the war and “a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.” It is calling for 100 trucks a day to enter. Huge quantities of aid have been gathered near the Egyptian side of the crossing, but there has been no word on when more might enter.
President Joe Biden said the US, which has worked with other mediators to reach an agreement on Rafah, “remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.”
In a statement, he said the US would work to keep Rafah open and let US citizens leave Gaza. But hundreds of foreign passport holders who had gathered at the crossing on Saturday were unable to depart after the aid convoy entered.
American citizen Dina al- Khatib said she and her family were desperate to get out. “It’s not like previous wars,” she said. “There is no electricity, no water, no internet, nothing.”




AFP infographic based on data released on Oct. 18. Recent figures show the damage to housing at 40 percent.

At a peace summit organized by Egypt, UN chief Antonio Guterres again pleaded for a humanitarian cease-fire “to end this godawful nightmare.”
In a sign of international divisions however, the meeting was unable to agree any joint call, with Western officials demanding a clear condemnation of Hamas, and Arab attendees opting to issue their own statement criticizing world leaders.


 


Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya

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Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya

Six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank’s Qabatiya
The governor, Kamal Abu Al-Rub, said four of the injured are in critical condition

RAMALLAH: Six Palestinians were killed and 18 others injured by Israeli forces during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Qabatiya, the governor of Jenin told Reuters on Thursday.
The governor, Kamal Abu Al-Rub, said four of the injured are in critical condition, and that Israeli forces withdrew from Qabatiya after destroying infrastructure in the area.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, with almost daily sweeps by Israeli forces that have involved thousands of arrests and regular gunbattles between security forces and Palestinian fighters.

Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
Updated 17 min 26 sec ago
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Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery.
  • The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and hand-held radios, were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices

UNITED NATIONS: A preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities into the communications devices that blew up in Lebanon this week found that they were implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, according to a letter sent to the UN Security Council by Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations.
The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and hand-held radios, were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices, says the letter, seen by Reuters on Thursday. Israel was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks, Lebanon’s UN mission said.
The 15-member Security Council is due to meet on Friday over the blasts.
The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil.


US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon
Updated 16 min 51 sec ago
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US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon
  • “I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said
  • “We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict“

WASHINGTON: There are no changes to US military posture in the Middle East, the Pentagon told reporters on Thursday when asked about recent deadly Israeli attacks in Lebanon that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers.
Lebanon and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment that killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
“I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing.
The Pentagon said that any attack that escalates tensions in the Middle East will not be helpful.
“In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell,” Singh said when asked about Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin’s call on Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart. “We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict.”
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency.
The Pentagon was pressed on the potential for a Gaza ceasefire deal amid escalating regional tensions and said Washington did not believe a deal was falling apart. The spokesperson added that the US felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza.
President Joe Biden laid out a three phase Gaza ceasefire proposal on May 31. The deal has run into obstacles since.
Critics have urged Washington to use its leverage by conditioning military support to Israel but the US has maintained its support for its ally.
The attacks in Lebanon have raised concerns about the widening of Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies. Israel’s assault on Gaza followed a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.


Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 

Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 
Updated 42 min 34 sec ago
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Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 

Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 
  • All five are senior members of the General People’s Congress, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh
  • UN envoy urges militia to release detained colleagues to restore hope and trust

AL-MUKALLA: Armed Houthis abducted five tribal leaders, academics and officials after raiding a house in Sanaa, the latest seizures following accusations of criticism and incitement of revolution celebrations.

The group stormed a house in Assafi’yah and arrested Amen Rajeh, a tribal leader and deputy minister of youth, along with Ali Jarmal, Saeed Al-Ghoules, Ahmed Al-Ashari and Nayef Al-Najjar.

All five are senior members of the General People’s Congress, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. An anonymous source said they were captured for inciting the public to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the Sept. 26 revolution and for online criticism of the Houthis. The Yemeni revolution of September 1962 ended centuries of Zaidi Imamate rule in northern Yemen and laid the groundwork for establishing the Yemen Arab Republic.

The source, a GPC journalist, said: “The September 26 revolution ended the backward Imamate rule, and the Houthis supported that reactionary regime.”

In recent days, the Houthis have raided the homes of people in Sanaa, Ibb, and other areas under their control who have called for revolution celebrations. Residents and local media have reported the abductions of several people, including online activists.

The seizures come as Houthi leaders are asking Yemenis in areas under their control to take to the streets on Saturday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the military takeover which triggered the current war.

At the same time, Yemen’s human rights minister, Ahmed Arman, told Arab News the Houthis had distributed leaflets in the streets of Sanaa, Amran and other areas in northern Yemen, urging the public to assist in identifying spies for Western countries.

One leaflet, shared on X, read: “It is our responsibility as free and honorable Yemenis to report spies for America, Israel, Britain, Holland, and Germany to security authorities and intelligence agencies because they pose the greatest threat to the state, religion, and Islamic nation.”

Following raids on homes and workplaces, the Houthis abducted dozens of people working for UN agencies, international rights and aid organizations, and diplomatic missions, accusing them of using their humanitarian work to spy for US and Israeli intelligence services.

The UN and other organizations have vehemently denied the allegations and called for their employees’ immediate release.

On Wednesday, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced the end of a trip to Iran after “frank and constructive” talks with Iranian officials about peace efforts to end the war in Yemen and the abduction of UN workers.

In a statement, Grundberg said: “Throughout all my engagements, I prioritized lending my voice to the secretary-general’s urgent call to release all detained colleagues. Their release must happen without delay to restore the hope and trust needed for moving forward.”


UN to add nutrients to second round of Gaza polio vaccinations

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 19 September 2024
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UN to add nutrients to second round of Gaza polio vaccinations

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
  • The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90 percent of children under 10 years of age

UNITED NATIONS: The second round of a vaccination campaign to protect 640,000 children in Gaza against polio will also deliver micronutrients — essential vitamins and minerals — and conduct nutritional screening, a senior UN Children’s Fund official said.
Discussions are also underway about the feasibility of adding further vaccinations to the campaign, including a measles immunization, said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations.
“There are over 44,000 children born in the last year and who haven’t received their basic immunization,” he said on Thursday.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90 percent of children under 10 years of age, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Monday.
It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas. A second round of the polio vaccinations has to be carried out within four weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
A high risk of famine persists across Gaza as long as the war continues and humanitarian access is restricted, according to an assessment by a global hunger monitor published in June.
“In the same way that we’ve been able to reach all children with polio vaccines, we need to move and use the same modality to reach children with their basic vaccines, with some of the nutrition and hygiene interventions that are essential to save their lives,” Chaiban told reporters after visiting Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.
“Those are lifesaving interventions and the parties have shown that they can line up when necessary. It needs to happen again,” he said.