Two civilians killed in missile attack on car in Damascus: Syrian state media

We have some more information about the attack on a car in Syria’s capital, Damascus, that we reported earlier.

Syrian state news agency SANA has quoted a military source as saying the apparent guided missile attack, which was blamed on Israel, had killed two civilians.

“At approximately 5:17pm [14:17 GMT] today, the Israeli enemy launched an air attack targeting a civilian car in the Mazzeh residential neighbourhood in Damascus, which led to the death of two civilians, the injury of three others and material damage to private property in the surrounding area,” the source said.

There was no immediate comment by Israel, which rarely provides information about its attacks in Syria. Israel has been carrying out attacks against what it says are Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids over the past 12 months.

 
Israeli military claims killing of Hezbollah commander in Damascus strike

The Israeli army spokesperson claims that a strike in Syria’s capital killed the commander of a Hezbollah unit who was responsible for the transfer of weapons from Iran.


_{Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in Damascus on October 21}

Israel arresting seven for allegedly spying for Iran

As we previously reported, Israeli authorities have arrested seven citizens who they say were paid by Iran to collect intelligence for more than two years.

In a statement, Israel’s internal security agency and police alleged that the seven collected information about other Israelis and photographed Israeli military installations, including missile defence systems, air force and naval sites, and power plants.

Abed Abou Shhada, a Jaffa-based independent journalist, has told Al Jazeera what was particularly distinctive about this case was the identity of the suspects.

“This is without a doubt groundbreaking both for the Israeli society and the Israeli security services, because usually the people who are automatic suspects in these stories were either … Palestinian citizens or Palestinians from the West Bank,” he said. “But now, it’s Israeli Jewish citizens; two of them are minors and one of them was a soldier who deserted from the military.”

The timing was also particularly important, he noted, as the alleged operations happened at a time of war, with Israel having faced attacks by both Iran and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Advanced US missile system ‘in place’ in Israel: Pentagon

An advanced missile defence battery is now “in place” in Israel, US Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has said, as Washington seeks to help shield the country against Iranian retaliation.

The deployment of the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system comes as Israel prepares to hit back against Iran for a major ballistic missile attack earlier this month, the second time Tehran directly targeted its arch foe this year.

“That system is in place,” Austin told reporters, according to a transcript of his remarks. “We’re not going to talk about … whether it’s operational or not, but we have the ability to put it into operation very quickly.”

The Pentagon announced on October 13 that it would deploy a THAAD battery to Israel. Spokesman Pat Ryder said last week that an advance team of US personnel and components for the battery had arrived, with more to follow soon.

The deployment of the THAAD battery puts the US troops who will operate it – as well as the highly costly system itself – on the ground in Israel and more directly in harm’s way.

Iran tells UN Biden signalled US approval, support for attack

Iran’s mission to the UN says that Biden has signalled “tacit approval and explicit support for Israel’s unlawful military aggression against Iran”, citing remarks by the US president in Germany last week.

“The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran… as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security,” Iran’s UN mission said in a letter to the Security Council.

Biden, on a visit to Berlin, also told reporters that he had an understanding of how and when Israel would respond to the missile attacks by Iran, without elaborating.

Israel has taken human shields to a whole new criminal level

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/10/20/israel-has-taken-human-shields-to-a-whole-new-criminal-level

The use of human shields in war is not a new phenomenon. Militaries have forced civilians to serve as human shields for centuries. Yet, despite this long and dubious history, Israel has managed to introduce a new form of shielding in Gaza, one that appears unprecedented in the history of warfare.

The practice was initially revealed by Al Jazeera but, subsequently, Haaretz published an entire expose about how Israeli troops have abducted Palestinian civilians, dressed them in military uniforms, attached cameras to their bodies, and sent them into underground tunnels as well as buildings to shield Israeli troops.

‘On all fronts, this has become a war of attrition’

Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, says the wars raging in Lebanon and Palestine are unlikely to end anytime soon as all actors believe they can win militarily.

“Neither side is at the point on the battlefield where they feel the military pressure is unbearable. I think they believe they can sustain it or potentially benefit from keeping it going. On all fronts, this has become a war of attrition where it’s a test of resilience,” Krieg told Al Jazeera.

He said fighters opposing Israel’s army in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon are inflicting casualties on Israeli forces, and the question is whether Israel can sustain the military pressure it faces on multiple fronts.

“And on the Iranian front, they’ve proven over the past 45 years to be the most resilient country when it comes to sanctions and military pressure as well. Their threshold for pain is much higher than it is in Israel,” said Krieg.

The less people have left to lose, the harder they will resist. The fight to erase to will to be free has never succeeded.

Situation in northern Gaza ‘beyond catastrophic’: UNRWA official

Sam Rose, director of planning at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, says people in Gaza “are facing absolutely unimaginable conditions”.

They have been going through “12 months of war, repeated displacement, bombardment, loss of life, loss of property, deprivation and lack of food and water”, he told Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

“What we have seen over the past two weeks has taken it to another level in terms of the intensity of the bombardment and military operations,” Rose said.

“It is very difficult to get a precise read on what is going on due to the closure and the way the area is strangled, but every report we are getting suggests the situation up there for the approximately 175,000 people we estimate remaining is beyond catastrophic.”

Israel still blocks aid from reaching northern Gaza: UN

Israeli authorities continue to prevent humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies including water, food, and medicine for people under siege.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says hospitals have been hit and are without power while wounded people are left without care.

“UNRWA remaining shelters are so overcrowded, some displaced people are now forced to live in the toilets. According to reports, people attempting to flee are getting killed, their bodies left on the street. Missions to rescue people from under the rubble are also being denied,” he said.

“Denying and weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is.”

‘Genocide is unfolding on the ground’

About an hour ago, rescue workers recovered the bodies of five Palestinians killed in southern Rafah city in an Israeli raid. There is also artillery fire in Nuseirat refugee camp. But the concentration of Israeli army attacks remains in northern Gaza, particularly Jabalia. Witnesses say the camp is still under heavy bombardment for a 17th day.

Civilians are trapped in their houses and there’s a mass blackout. Food, water, and medicine have run out. Genocide is unfolding on the ground. Palestinians in central Gaza are afraid they’ll meet the same fate as those in the besieged north. They’re scared of the expansion of the conflict there.

Two killed in Israeli attack on northern Gaza City

At least two Palestinians have been killed and others wounded in an Israeli attack northwest of Gaza City. Local residents told the Wafa news agency that Israeli artillery shelled homes in the as-Saftawi area, which killed two people. Successive explosions occurred in Gaza City and the northern areas of the enclave.

In the west of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Israeli forces blew up several residential buildings. Several areas northwest of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip were also shelled by Israeli artillery.

Israel attacks UN shelter for war displaced, killing at least 7

UN-run schools acting as shelters for war-displaced Palestinians are being told to evacuate northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp by Israeli forces.

Sources on the ground say Israeli quadcopter drones equipped with loudspeakers ordered families trapped inside these shelters to flee. Once people gathered at the front gate, Israeli artillery fire struck the crowd, killing at least seven Palestinians.

The attack spread a great deal of fear and people returned inside the UNRWA evacuation centre. The army is pressing on with its offensive on Jabalia. Lethal force is being used to force families to leave the refugee camp.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital told us his staff were unable to cope with the large number of casualties being brought to the overwhelmed facility.

Forcibly displaced Palestinians filmed at north Gaza checkpoint

Video from Israel’s state news broadcaster shows crowds of forcibly displaced Palestinians at a military checkpoint in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, as they are forced to leave the area.

Witnesses say men have been separated from their families and many have been detained.

Hamas claims killing and wounding of Israeli soldiers in Jabalia

The armed wing of Hamas says its fighters ambushed four Israeli vehicles loaded with explosives in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

A tank, an armoured personnel carrier, and two D9 bulldozers were in the convoy, which was hit by Yassin-105 rockets and a Shawaz explosive device, a post on Telegram said. The military equipment was blown up, killing and wounding an unidentified number of soldiers.

Palestinians desperate for water among those killed in Gaza

Six men have been killed by Israeli forces as they tried to get drinking water in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, the main focus of a 17-day ground invasion that’s killed at least 460 people and cut off food, water and medicine.

Four other Palestinians, including two women, were killed in a strike on an area sheltering displaced people in Jabalia, the Health Ministry’s emergency service said. Another three people died in an attack on a school-turned-shelter in Beit Hanoon, a northeastern city near the boundary with Israel.

Dr Hossam Abu Safiyya, director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, said it’s overwhelmed with wounded people and patients.

Israeli authorities have dramatically reduced the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, raising fears among Palestinians that it’s implementing a “surrender-or-starve plan” advocated by retired Israeli generals.

‘Utter devastation’ as Gaza City in ruins

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), has shared photos from Gaza City showing the scale of the destruction caused by Israel’s bombardment.

Egeland said NRC staff who visited the city spoke to residents who had fled northern Gaza, which has been under siege by Israeli forces.

“Testimonies they heard from people there included elderly parents unable to reach the bodies of their dead children for burial, of the sick & desperate with zero access to essential medicine, & of people now destitute having spent entire life savings just trying to survive,” he said.

Palestinian olive farmers attacked with toxic gas by Israeli forces

Several Palestinian farmers and international activists were attacked with toxic gas by Israeli forces and settlers while picking olives in Beit Lid, east of Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank.

The director of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Murad Shteiwi, told the Wafa news agency that Israeli forces and settlers fired live rounds and gas canisters towards those harvesting olives.

Dozens of people suffered suffocation-like symptoms from the gas, Shteiwi added. He said the international volunteers refused to leave the area despite Israeli threats.

This year’s olive harvest season is experiencing repeated attacks by settlers and Israeli troops, including burning and cutting down olive trees and preventing farmers from reaching their land.

Ninety-four Palestinian women currently in Israeli jails

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, 91 of these women were detained after October 7, 2023.

The organisations said three of the women are from Gaza, four from Israel proper, four others from occupied East Jerusalem, and 83 from the occupied West Bank. They said 61 remain under arrest, five have been sentenced, and 28 are in administrative detention – held without charge for an indefinite amount of time.

“Seven of the detainees were released in the 2023 exchange deal with Israeli authorities and were re-arrested at various times throughout the year,” said the organisations. “Between 7 October 2023 and October 20, 2024, a total of 425 women were arrested by Israeli forces, with all but 94 released at various times.”

Israeli forces assault Palestinian children in occupied West Bank

Israeli forces raided the occupied West Bank town of as-Sawiya, near Salfit, amid the firing of live ammunition and sound grenades, Wafa news agency has reported. During the raid, several Palestinian children and young men were briefly detained and assaulted by Israeli soldiers.

A similar incident took place in Kafr Qalil, south of Nablus, where Israeli forces detained a Palestinian child during a military raid into the village.

Wafa reported that Israeli troops raided the town, patrolling the streets before beating and then detaining the minor.

Main points for October 21st

• There have been at least 13 strikes from Israeli drones and the Air Force targeted three locations: Ozai, Jinah and Haret Hreik in southern Beirut.
• Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the attacks have killed at least four people, including a child.
• The director of field hospitals at Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel is targeting the three remaining medical facilities in northern Gaza.
• The Israeli army spokesperson claims that a strike in Syria’s capital killed the commander of a Hezbollah unit who was responsible for the transfer of weapons from Iran.
• Israeli authorities have arrested seven citizens who they say were paid by Iran to collect intelligence for more than two years.
• An Israeli air raid on the eastern city of Baalbek has hit a building in a densely packed residential area, killing six people, including a child.
• UNRWA says Israel continues to prevent humanitarian missions from reaching areas of northern Gaza with critical supplies, including water, food and medicine for people under siege.
• The Sahel General Hospital is being evacuated after Israel’s army claims a Hezbollah bunker filled with cash was located under the medical facility – an allegation the hospital director denies.
• Israel’s military claims a strike in the Syrian capital Damascus has killed a Hezbollah commander who was responsible for the transfer of weapons from Iran.
• The head of the Palestinian agency for UN refugees, UNRWA, has accused Israel of blocking humanitarian aid from reaching northern Gaza, which has been under a deadly siege for more than two weeks.
• An advanced US missile defence battery is now “in place” in Israel, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin says, as Washington seeks to help shield the country against Iranian retaliation.