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Israel strikes Gaza, Syria and West Bank as war against Hamas threatens to ignite other fronts
- Israel’s PM Netanyahu warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah to stay out of the war with Hamas as second aid convoy enters Gaza
- Israeli warplanes on Sunday struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants-Associated Press
With updates from Rushdi Abualouf in Gaza; Lyse Doucet, Lucy Williamson in southern Israel; Jeremy Bowen, Paul Adams, Yolande Knell, Tom Bateman and Joel Gunter in Jerusalem; Anna Foster in northern Israel; and Hugo Bachega in southern Lebanon
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In pictures: Life for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza
As night fell in Gaza earlier, thousands of displaced Palestinians did something that has become a daily occurrence: took shelter on the grounds of a United Nations school.
This one is in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where the Israeli military has told people living in the north to flee for their own safety. Hundreds of thousands have arrived there since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel earlier this month, and Israel retaliated.
Here’s a look at the school in Khan Younis where dozens of people are living as the war enters its third week.
Copyright: EPACopyright: EPACopyright: EPACopyright: EPACopyright: EPA -
Oxfam says a few aid trucks a day ‘is simply not sufficient’
Copyright: EPAImage caption: There’s increasingly less food, water and medicine in Gaza, where groups of Palestinians have been pictured queuing outside bakeries and other places for supplies We have some reaction to those trucks getting into Gaza, from Oxfam’s humanitarian lead, Magnus Corfixen, who told the BBC it’s good that more aid reached Gaza but it’s not enough.
“Oxfam of course welcomes that another aid convoy of 14 trucks have passed into Gaza as well as the 20 trucks yesterday [Saturday],” he says, “but we must also say that it’s a drop in the ocean considering the large-scale humanitarian needs there currently are within Gaza.”
Without a ceasefire to enable more aid to be safely delivered, he goes on, the situation will not improve – particularly “when bombs are failing on humanitarian workers and civilians” in Gaza. Corfixen adds:
Quote Message: The current scenario with letting in a few trucks a day is simply not sufficient considering the humanitarian needs, and that’s why Oxfam and other humanitarian organisations are calling for unfettered access.Quote Message: But in order for that to happen, we also need to an immediate ceasefire – because one thing is to get aid supplies across the border, the other is also to ensure that these supplies are reaching those most in need.”
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Biden and Netanyahu say there will be ‘continued flow’ of aid
Copyright: ReutersImage caption: Biden sat down with Netanyahu during a visit to Israel earlier this week Following the news that more aid has arrived in Gaza, US President Joe Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have insisted there will be “continued flow of this critical assistance” into the region.
In a call between the two leaders, Biden welcomed the first two aid convoys into Gaza since Hamas’s attacks on 7 October.
In a statement, he said the humanitarian aid – food, water and medical supplies – had crossed the border into Gaza and is being distributed to Palestinians in need.
The leaders also discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages being held by Hamas, according to an official handout of their conversation.
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BREAKINGUN aid chief says second convoy of aid trucks has entered Gaza
The UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says the second convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza has entered the Palestinian enclave.
Fourteen trucks have gone in, a day after the first 20 aid trucks crossed the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.
Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, posted on X to say the move was:
Quote Message: Another small glimmer of hope for the millions of people in dire need of humanitarian aid.” -
Rally in London calls for safe return of hostages
Tom Grundy
Reporting from central London
Copyright: EPAEarlier today, members of the Jewish community gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, to call for the safe return of hostages from Gaza.
Security was high, there was a significant police presence as well as representatives from the Community Security Trust charity.
The Israel national flag was visible across the event, as were photos of loved ones who have been taken hostage and remain missing. Their names were read out on the steps outside the National Gallery.
Later a minute’s silence, and a group prayer, followed speeches from MPs and leaders of the Jewish community.
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Hostage families ‘worried sick’ for relatives held by Hamas
Lucy Manning
Special correspondent
Let’s return now to some of the people being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza – and their families who are desperate for them to be freed.
I’ve spoken to a British-Israeli woman who told me she is “worried sick” for her diabetic mother and brother – they’re believed to have been taken from Israel.
Ayelet Svatitzky’s mother Channah Peri, 79, and brother Nadav Popplewell, 51, were taken by Hamas when their kibbutz in southern Israel was attacked on 7 October. Her other brother Roi, 54, was killed.
On the day of the attack, Ayelet said she was sent two pictures by the attackers from her mother’s phone, showing them sitting in her mother’s living room. Underneath was written “Hamas” in English.
- To read the full interview, head here
Copyright: BBCImage caption: The WhatsApp photo sent by Hamas showing Channah Peri and Nadav Popplewell -
A look at where things stand
Copyright: EPAImage caption: As day turned to night in the region, Israeli army flares were pictured over Gaza City It’s gone 22:00 in Israel, where the war with Hamas – which rules the Gaza Strip – has entered its third week. If you’re just joining us, or need a catch up, here are some of the latest developments:
- Iran’s foreign minster warned Israel and the US that the Middle East may “go out of control” if Israel military action continues – and blamed the US for providing military support to Israel
- Hours later, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned troops his people were in a battle for their lives and said the war against Hamas is “do or die”
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded to Iran with a warning against any “escalation” of the conflict
- The Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza said it was running out of material to cover the dead with a day after Israel said it was intensifying air strikes
- Another convoy of trucks trying to get aid into Gaza has spent hours waiting at the Rafah crossing from Egypt – it’s not clear when or if they’ll get in today
- And a little earlier, the Israeli military admitted one of its tanks had accidentally fired on an Egyptian position near the border with Gaza. Egypt’s military said there were “minor injuries”
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UN agency says 29 staff killed in last two weeks
We’re hearing from the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, which says 29 of its staff have now been killed since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out earlier this month.
The agency – known as UNRWA – described being “in shock and mourning”. It had previously reported the deaths of 17 staff members.
“Half of these colleagues were teachers,” the agency added of its latest toll.
Thousands of Gazans have sought shelter at UNRWA facilities since Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Hamas after the organisation carried out deadly attacks on Israeli military posts and kibbutzes on 7 October – killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages into Gaza.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 4,600 have been killed there.
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Why the Rafah border crossing is so important
The crossing that connects Egypt to the southern Gaza Strip opened yesterday for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted to allow 20 trucks to carry aid in. Two other border crossings from the strip go into Israel – both are shut.
Hamas and Egypt exercise control over who can pass through, but Egyptian media said the crossing was shut following three Israeli strikes on 9 and 10 October.
On 12 October, the Egyptian government asked Israel to halt strikes near the crossing but made it clear it would not reopen the passage without safety guarantees for staff and supplies.
On 20 October, around 175 trucks with life-saving aid waited on the Egyptian side for entry. On 21 October, the first 20 trucks crossed. Today, 17 more trucks were seen lining up.
Israel has refused to allow fuel to cross the border but aid leaders say fuel is essential to power water pumps, with water quickly running out in Gaza.
- For more on the Rafah crossing, head here
- Source:BBC
