Four killed in Israeli attack in Gaza City, 2 killed in Deir el-Balah: Report

The Israeli military has carried out an air strike in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, killing at least four people, Wafa reports. Two people were also killed in an attack on a “civilian vehicle” on Salah al-Din Street, south of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

‘Horrific’ witness accounts coming from Gaza’s north

Words fail to describe what is going on now in northern Gaza. Civilians are witnessing brutality in one of the deadliest ethnic cleansing campaigns ever witnessed in the 20th century. Witnesses reported horrific details of what is happening this morning in Jabalia, where Israel is demolishing and burning homes to the ground.

And in Beit Lahiya – now turned into one of the most densely populated areas in Gaza after Palestinians fled there from Jabalia – the situation is dust and smoke coming from every corner with the smell of death everywhere.

The Israeli army ordered earlier this morning the evacuation of at least three centres that were housing thousands of Palestinian families in Beit Lahiya. They are now calling those who remained to go to Gaza City.

Palestinian men are expected to be driven to sites where they will be investigated while women will be allowed to go to Gaza City. Videos show children walking through destruction and looking for a safe place to go, but even in Gaza City there are active operations. What is happening there is unprecedented – people are being evicted and they are gradually losing hope that they will be allowed to return to the north of the Strip.

 
Gaza polio vaccination halted due to Israeli attacks

A polio vaccination campaign for children in northern Gaza has been postponed due to Israeli bombardment, mass displacement and lack of access, the World Health Organization says.

The final phase, due to begin today, was aimed at vaccinating more than 119,000 children in the Strip.

“The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure, continue to jeopardize people’s safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination, and health workers to operate,” the UN agency said in a statement, reiterating its call for a ceasefire.

Israel ‘hindering’ implementation of Gaza vaccination campaign: Health Ministry

We also have some comments from the Health Ministry in Gaza about the halting of the polio vaccination campaign. In a short statement, the ministry said Israeli forces have been “putting obstacles in the way” of the campaign in the territory, especially its heavily besieged and bombarded northern part.

“This is hindering its timely implementation, and depriving the children of Gaza and North Governorate of their right to receive the vaccination,” it added.

Vaccination halt will ‘seriously jeopardise’ efforts to contain polio: WHO chief

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza after Israeli attacks prevented tens of thousands of children from receiving their second polio doses.

“Having a significant number of children miss out on their second vaccine dose will seriously jeopardise efforts to stop the transmission of poliovirus in Gaza,” he wrote in a post on X.

The WHO earlier said “intense bombardments, mass displacements and lack of access” in northern Gaza have forced the programme to halt.

‘Death in all types and forms’ in northern Gaza

Mohammed Obeid, an orthopaedic surgeon with Doctors Without Borders, has given a chilling account of the disastrous situation in and around the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

Here is what he said:

“There is death in all types and forms in Kamal Adwan Hospital and north Gaza. The bombardment does not stop. The artillery does not stop. The planes do not stop. There is heavy shelling, and the hospital is targeted too. It just looks like a movie; it does not seem real.

“About five days ago, my house was hit. They completely blew up the roof and water tanks, but we were on the ground floor and only one person got injured, thank God. We left a few times, moving to different areas, my family and neighbours were terrified. I sheltered in Kamal Adwan Hospital with my wife and children, and I am now working here, where I can treat numerous patients.

“There are no words to describe the situation in Kamal Adwan Hospital. It is disastrous. The hospital is completely overwhelmed. There are injured people everywhere, outside and inside the hospital, and we do not have medical and surgical equipment to treat them.

“Ambulances cannot move. We cannot reach the bodies of the people killed and cannot save the injured ones who lie in the streets. Many of them died before reaching the hospital, and others died inside the hospital as we could not treat their wounds.

“We have 30 people dead inside the hospital, and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted, and many are injured as well. We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.

“We call on all the countries in the world to consider north Gaza, and to lift the blockade that has led to the death of so many people.”

Rescuers halt operations in north Gaza during Israeli attacks

The Gaza civil defence agency says three of its rescuers were wounded in northern Gaza in what it called a “targeted strike” that aimed to force them out of the besieged Jabalia refugee camp.

Later, it said all its operations in northern Gaza were suspended after Israeli forces detained five staff members and bombed the only fire truck.

“Our work has completely stopped in the north Gaza governorate, and the situation has become catastrophic there, and the citizens there are now without any kind of humanitarian services,” the agency said in a statement.

The municipality of Gaza City said two city workers were killed and three others wounded in an Israeli strike.

Health and civil emergency officials said dozens of bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in and around Jabalia are scattered on roadsides and under the rubble where medical teams could not reach them.

Israeli military carries out raids, arrests across the West Bank

The Israeli military has carried out several raids and arrests in the occupied West Bank over recent hours.

Recap for October 23rd

• Israeli fighter jets have carried out a violent assault on Beirut, striking Lebanon’s capital about 17 times in three hours, killing one person and injuring five, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
• About six buildings have also been destroyed, marking one of the “most violent” nights in Beirut since the Israel-Hezbollah war escalated on September 23, according to Lebanese media.
• Air raid sirens have echoed across Tel Aviv as Hezbollah has claimed an attack on a military factory in the Israeli city, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is staying.
• Gaza’s civil defence has said its work in northern Gaza has “completely stopped”, leaving thousands without humanitarian services, after Israeli forces wounded three of its rescuers in a “targeted strike”.
• Syria is teetering on the brink of a “military, humanitarian and economic storm”, said Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, who warned of spillover from fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.
• Hezbollah says it fired “precision missiles” and launched new types of attack drones for the first time in clashes with Israeli troops.
• Al Jazeera Media Network denounced Israel’s “unfounded allegations” that six of its journalists reporting in besieged northern Gaza are “terrorists”.
• Israel’s siege of north Gaza enters its 20th day with our correspondent reporting men and women have been forced out of their homes at gunpoint.
• Hezbollah confirmed senior figure Hashem Safieddine, touted as the likely replacement for slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli attack several weeks ago.
• The Israeli military has launched major air strikes on Tyre, the fourth-largest city in Lebanon, after ordering its residents to evacuate the area.
• The polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza was postponed because of Israeli bombardment and lack of access.

UN rapporteur calls for protection of Al Jazeera journalists

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, has said Israel’s declaration that six Al Jazeera journalists are members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad “sounds like a death sentence”.

“These 6 Palestinians are among the last journalists surviving Israel’s onslaught in Gaza [with 130+ of their colleagues killed in the last year],” Albanese wrote on X. “They must be protected at all costs.”

Al Jazeera Media Network has strongly condemned the accusations by Israel’s military, saying it views them “as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide”.

The network noted that Israeli forces in Gaza have killed more than 100 journalists and media workers in the past year, including several Al Jazeera journalists, “in an attempt to silence the messenger”.

Al Jazeera decries ‘unfounded’ Israeli claims about its Gaza journalists

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/23/al-jazeera-decries-unfounded-israeli-claims-about-its-gaza-journalists

Al Jazeera Media Network has vehemently condemned the Israeli military’s “unfounded allegations” accusing six of its journalists based in war-torn Gaza of having links to armed groups.

“Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces’ portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,” the network said in a statement.

“The Network views these fabricated accusations as a blatant attempt to silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby obscuring the harsh realities of the war from audiences worldwide,” the statement read.

_{Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif is among the six correspondents named in the Israeli army’s statement}

Committee to Protect Journalists questions Israel’s claims about Al Jazeera reporters

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said it is “aware of accusations” made by the Israeli military against several Al Jazeera journalists, but highlighted Israel has “repeatedly made similar unproven claims without producing credible evidence”.

“After killing Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail [al-Ghoul] in July, the [Israeli military] previously produced a similar document, which contained contradictory information, showing that [al-Ghoul], born in 1997, received a Hamas military ranking in 2007 – when he would have been 10 years old,” the press freedom group said in a post on X.

As we previously reported, the Israeli military has named six Al Jazeera journalists based in Gaza, claiming, without providing any evidence, that the men are members of armed groups.

In August, the CPJ made a public call for Israel to cease “smearing” the reputations of the Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military, and for the establishment of “international, swift, and independent investigations into these killings”.

_{Mourners and colleagues holding ‘press’ signs surround the body of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed along with cameraman Rami al-Rifi, in an Israeli strike during their coverage of Gaza’s Shati refugee camp, on July 31, 2024}

Israel’s accusation against Al Jazeera journalists is a ‘dangerous escalation'

The recent allegations against Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza are part of a troubling trend by the Israeli army. This time, the army has released a dossier accusing several journalists of being affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

As we’ve seen earlier, Al Jazeera has firmly rejected these claims, and Palestinian groups monitoring violations against journalists have raised serious concerns. They argue that these allegations pose a direct threat to the safety and lives of the journalists involved.

Over the past year, nearly 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza, including colleagues from Al Jazeera in the occupied West Bank. Additionally, more than 120 journalists have been arrested by Israeli authorities, with 52 still imprisoned.

Many of these journalists are arrested simply for being journalists or for posting the news online on social media. They’re not accused of anything. They’re not tried for any crime. Given the backdrop of Israel’s ban on Al Jazeera’s operations in the occupied West Bank and the targeted attacks on journalists in Gaza, this dossier is viewed as a dangerous escalation. It intensifies the already significant risks faced by journalists in the region.

MP says Israeli society has become ‘more beastly and bloodthirsty’

Israeli legislator Ofer Cassif has accused “most of the Israeli media” of gradually becoming “one big mouthpiece of the government” since the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

Cassif, a member of the Israeli Knesset representing the far-left Hadash coalition, said the “media’s spiral of silence” has made “Israeli society more and more beastly and bloodthirsty”.

He added that this silence has enabled the “atrocities committed in Gaza and the accelerated fascism in Israel”.

What effect has US and UK military assistance had on Israel’s war ambitions?

Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza is among the most destructive in history. But Western nations continue to provide Israel with substantial military assistance, despite accusations of genocide and global calls for a ceasefire.

An investigation by Al Jazeera’s Sanad monitoring and verification agency has revealed the extent of that international involvement.

Watch the full report on the ethical and moral implications of Western nations supporting Israel’s wars:

More than 6,000 military jets fly arms to Israel to support Gaza operations

An Al Jazeera investigation by its Sanad monitoring and verification agency has revealed that the US and UK have provided military support to Israel by creating an air bridge that has been vital to sustain the intensity of the war on Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Defence Editor, Alex Gatopoulos, breaks down the data showing that more than 6,000 military jets in a year, including hundreds of transport missions, ferried arms to Israel.

UNRWA seeking support in Lebanon-focused conference in Paris

The head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says he will ask for further support at the France-hosted Lebanon conference today so that the organisation can remain “a key humanitarian responder and a stabilising force” with its work to aid millions of refugees across the region.

Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X that UNRWA shelters in Lebanon are now protecting Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians alike against Israeli military attacks.

He said his teams met a displaced Lebanese who had never interacted with Palestinians or Syrians before but is now exchanging stories of displacement and collective traumas with others in the shelter.

Lazzarini said he wishes to expand this “inclusive approach” adopted by UNRWA, but as Israel intensifies its hostile approach against the organisation, he cautioned that a “political will” to end the violence remains the only way out.

France to provide more than $108m in humanitarian aid to Lebanon

Speaking at an international aid conference for Lebanon in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will provide 100 million euros ($108 million) in aid to Lebanon amid Israeli attacks on the country.

“We must be ambitious for those who love Lebanon and for those who are not only seeking their personal interest,” Macron said, sitting next to Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Macron reiterated his call for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. He said he regretted that Iran had backed Hezbollah against Israel but also criticised Israel’s operations in the south of Lebanon. “The destruction is there. The victims are there. More violence is there. And we cannot accept this,” he said.

France hosts Lebanon conference hampered by empty seats

An aid conference for Lebanon has opened in Paris in the hope of raising half a billion euros ($540bn), with hosts France also aiming at diplomatic progress for the country. “This country, France’s friend, is on the edge of the abyss,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a message posted to X.

“It is our duty to act and that’s why France has taken this initiative,” he added.

But in the absence of key players, any political breakthrough appears remote in the conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has so far killed more than 1,500 and displaced about 800,000 people.

France wants to reinstate UN Security Council resolution 1701, which sealed the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006. The resolution stipulates that the only armed forces on Lebanon’s southern frontier with Israel should be UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army.

Paris is also seeking an increase in humanitarian aid for a country to which it has historical ties and which has a large diaspora in France. About 70 countries and 15 international organisations are expected, although the list of invitees did not include either Iran or Israel.

Displaced people in Lebanon must be allowed to go back: Macron

The French president says a ceasefire must be reached that allows displaced people in Lebanon to go to their homes “in security”.

“This is a priority that necessitates our commitment, and we need to learn our lesson. We need to know that the current situation must not be there,” he told attendees at the Lebanon aid conference.

Macron also reasserted that UN resolution 1701 “must be applied completely” amongst all parties to reach “peace, security and stability”. The resolution ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and called for the removal of all armed groups in the south except the Lebanese army.