Main points for October 26th

• The Israeli military has carried out strikes on Iran, hitting about 20 sites over several hours in a response to Tehran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel.
• An Israeli army spokesperson said the now-completed assault, which he named operation “Days of Reckoning”, attacked Iran’s “means of producing missiles”, as well as surface-to-air missile systems and other air defence capabilities.
• Iran’s military has confirmed the Israeli strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, saying they caused only “limited damage”.
• Israel has warned Iran against retaliating, saying it will be “obligated to respond” again, adding it has “additional targets” it could strike should that happen.
• A US National Security Council spokesman said Washington was aware of strikes by its ally, but did not participate, describing the Israeli operation as an “exercise in self-defence”.
• Israeli authorities have closed the country’s airspace until 8:30am local time (05:30 GMT), but are yet to issue a state of alert to citizens.

US says Israeli attack on Iran should ‘complete’ exchange of fire

The White House has said that Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran should end direct exchanges of fire between the two countries, while also warning Tehran of “consequences” should it respond.

A senior White House official said the Biden administration believed the Israeli operation should “close out” the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran. US President Joe Biden was updated as the Israeli operation was developing and as the attacks were carried out by the Israelis, the official said.

The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the US had no involvement in the strike.

Israel's response to Iran shows US can influence Tel Aviv "when it wants to," analyst says

Israel’s highly calculated response to Iran Saturday shows that the United States can influence Israel’s actions in the region “when it wants to,” geopolitical analyst H. A. Hellyer told CNN.

“Israel will calculate its own responses, keeping in mind that the United States is its closest ally, its indispensable ally, and thus far, a pretty solid ally in terms of not placing any conditions or restrictions on how Israel prosecutes the war on Gaza, how it proceeds in terms of strikes and (its) invasion of Lebanon, and of course, these strikes on Iran,” Hellyer told CNN’s Paula Newton on Saturday.

A senior US administration official said that US President Joe Biden “encouraged” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to “design” a retaliatory attack against Iran that would “deter future attacks against Israel.”

The US also advised Israel against any actions that could escalate tensions in the Middle East more widely, Hellyer, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London, said.

“I think that the engagement of the US in this regard was significant, but frankly, it also shows when the US wants to push Israel to modify its behavior, it can do so,” he continued. “And as of yet, what we’ve seen is really unbridled for Israel in terms of the war in Gaza and that sort of pressure (could) be welcomed there.”

Arab states’ condemnation of Israeli strikes on Iran reflect deep concerns over escalation

A host of Arab states have condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran in a sign of concerns over further regional escalation. Without mentioning Israel by name, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) foreign ministry “expressed deep concern” over the continued escalation.

Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse and a historic foe of Iran, also did not mention Israel but condemned the “military targeting” of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and contravention of international law, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Qatar and Kuwait separately condemned the Israeli strikes and Egypt expressed deep concern over regional escalation.

Diplomacy at work: US-allied Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two of the world’s top oil producers, have in recent years steered their foreign policies away from conflict to serve their economic interests. This has seen them repair ties with former adversaries like Iran.

“After more than a year of military confrontations and (their) unfortunate humanitarian and political repercussions, the region needs a different path that favors diplomatic work and political solutions, and pushes towards reducing escalation and confrontations in favor of communication and dialogue channels,” the UAE’s presidential diplomatic adviser, Anwar Gargash, said on X Saturday.

Countries across the Middle East who historically viewed Iran as their primary regional adversary opted to engage the Islamic Republic in intensive diplomacy ahead of the Israeli strikes.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi traveled across the Middle East over the past month for meetings with regional leaders. Days before the Israeli strike, Aragchi claimed that he received assurances from several countries that their airspaces would not be used by Israel for the strike.

Malaysia condemns Israel’s attack on Iran

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry has released a statement in response to Israel’s overnight attacks on sites in Iran, labelling the strikes a “clear violation of international law” that “seriously undermine regional security”.

“Malaysia calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to the cycle of violence,” the statement said. The Foreign Ministry added that Israel’s continued attacks on countries in the Middle East continue to bring the region closer to the brink of a wider war.

Israeli attacks targeted Iran’s capital Tehran

We’ve seen that Israel has targeted multiple locations across Iran, including the north, east and south, but the main focus of the strikes has been Tehran.

The attacks primarily aimed at Iran’s air defence systems, missile bases and drone facilities. So far, Iranian officials claim Israel has not achieved their goals, stating that the attacks have caused only limited damage.

As daylight breaks, we may soon see the true scale of the impact and whether there are any casualties.

Currently, Iranian officials are not reporting any casualties and assert that their integrated, multi-layered air defence system has functioned effectively, portraying the situation as a success.

Timeline of Israel’s recent attacks on its neighbours

Here are the critical events that have escalated tension in the region:

Iran says it is “entitled” to defend itself following Israeli strikes

Iran’s foreign ministry says it “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend itself” after Israel hit military sites overnight in a wave of retaliatory strikes. The ministry condemned Israel’s attacks in a statement, calling the action a “clear violation” of international law.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes the use of all the material and spiritual capabilities of the Iranian nation to defend its security and vital interests, as well as standing by its duties toward regional peace and security,” the statement said.

Mixed signals: In an earlier statement Saturday, Iran appeared to downplay the impact of the attack, claiming its air defenses had successfully countered the strikes in three provinces – Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan – and that the damage was “limited.”

The Israeli military has said that it was deliberate in only choosing to target Iranian military facilities, avoiding oil fields and nuclear assets. The effect of the strikes, a US official told CNN, was to both “deter future attacks and also to degrade the capabilities of Iran being able to conduct those types of activities.”

Flights return to normal in Iran after Israeli attacks

Flights have now returned to normal across Iran, according to the country’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).

Jafar Yazarlou, the spokesman of the CAO, told state media that flights would resume from 9am local time (05:30 GMT), coming shortly after the Israeli military confirmed that its overnight attacks on Iran had concluded.

Neither Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran nor other airports were subjected to any attacks.

Israel reportedly warned Iran in advance of attack

Israel has stated that all their aircraft, which were guided by intelligence and involved in the attack on Iran, have safely returned to Israel.

In the hours leading up to these details, we heard some information about how precisely this strike was approved. We learned that on Friday evening, a call took place during which ministers from Israel’s cabinet spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who then approved the strike plans.

We also know they had been briefed in the days leading up to this call on the parameters of the strike plan regarding Iran.

Another interesting detail we’ve learned is that reports in Israeli media, quoting unnamed Israeli officials, indicate that Israel sent a message to Iran on Friday – before the strike, warning Iran not to retaliate. The reports do not specify how this message was delivered or who conveyed it, only that the message was sent.

That aligns closely with the rhetoric in the statements released by the Israeli army, which have all warned Iran not to retaliate. They have stated that the retaliation against Iran is over and that they do not want further retaliation from Iran.

Hopefully this concludes the direct exchanges between Iran and Israel. Iran downplaying the strikes is a good thing, but it seems they're keeping the door open to strike back. No doubt for when Israel carries out more assassinations :/ Ceasefire needed asap.

Iran says two soldiers killed in Israel’s attack

Two soldiers were killed in the Israeli attacks on Iran this morning, according to a statement from the Iranian army.

Earlier, the military said the Israeli strikes had caused “limited damage”.

Israel’s direct strike on Iran marks ‘a new phase’

Israel’s attack on Iran was part of a new phase in tensions as it was the first time Israel admitted to a direct strike on Iran, with Tehran downplaying the impact and Israel exaggerating its achievements, analyst Abas Aslani said.

“This indicates that … Israel may be encouraged by the US to avoid a full-scale war in the region,” Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera from Tehran. “The initial assessment and the initial reaction here in Tehran indicates that maybe a serious or significant reaction, a direct reaction against Israel, was not as likely.”

However, Aslani said some sort of response from Iran should be expected.

Oman joins condemnation of Israel’s attack on Iran

Oman has joined the growing international condemnation of Israel’s air strike on Iran, calling the attack a “blatant violation” of Iranian sovereignty.

Muscat’s Foreign Ministry said the Israeli air strikes were “an escalation that fuels the cycle of violence and undermines efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tension”.

“We call on the international community once again to take effective action to stop the aggression and put an end to violations on the territories of neighbouring countries.”

Iran ‘should not respond’ to Israel’s attack: British PM

Britain’s PM Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to a wave of Israeli strikes, urging restraint on all sides.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond,” Starmer said.

Also clear Iran does not have the right to defend itself... Double standards.


Israeli attack on Iran was ‘sign of fear and flight’: Former IRGC commander

A former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has described the Israeli attacks on Iran as being unsuccessful and weak.

“The Zionist regime’s aggression against Iran was more a sign of fear and flight than it was a show of strength,” Mohsen Rezaee, now a member of the country’s Expediency Council, wrote in a post on X.

The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news website also cited informed sources as refuting claims that Israel had hit 20 targets in Iran or used a large number of fighter jets to carry out the strikes.

Explosions reported around Damascus in Syria

Syria’s state media is reporting explosions on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus, and the central region.

Explosions also reported around Tehran

Now we have Iran’s state media reporting explosions around the capital Tehran.

No cause has been reported and no more details announced.

Iran says it is ‘entitled’ and ‘obligated’ to defend itself

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned what it called “the Zionist regime’s aggressive actions against several military centres in Iran”, saying it is “entitled and obligated to defend itself against external aggressive acts” after the Israeli attacks on its soil.

The ministry said it considers the attacks “a blatant violation” of international law and the UN Charter, particularly the principle prohibiting threats or use of force against the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries.

“Iran emphasizes the use of all capabilities of the Iranian people to safeguard its security and vital interests. Furthermore, it affirms its responsibilities toward regional peace and security, while reminding all countries in the region of their individual and collective duties to protect regional peace and stability,” the statement said.

US will focus on preventing escalation after Israel's strikes on Iran, defense secretary says

US Defense Secretary Llyod Austin said the US is focused on preventing continued escalation in the Middle East after Israel’s strikes on Iran early Saturday.

Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following the attack, and said in a Saturday post on X that the US military continues to have an enhanced presence in the region.

“I reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and right to self-defense,” Austin said of his call with Gallant. “I made it clear that the United States maintains an enhanced force posture to defend U.S. personnel, Israel, and partners across the region in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations and is determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict in the region.”

Some context: Analysts say the nature of Saturday’s strikes — which Israel said hit military sites, and did not target Iran’s energy infrastructure, according to an Israeli military source — indicates that a US pressure campaign to limit the scope of the Israeli attack may have been successful.

World leaders have been urging the two sides to avoid a wider regional war.

Analysis: The ball is in Iran's court after US pressure pays off

What happens next in the escalating but sporadic missile slugfest between Israel and Iran may depend a lot on who wins the US election 10 days from now.

As the dust settles in Iran, early indications are US diplomacy has, for now, headed off fears of tit-for-tat retaliation. A regional source speaking on condition of anonymity, who quickly and accurately predicted Iran wouldn’t respond to Israel’s last strike on the country in April, tells CNN Iran will “contain” this strike, too.

Israelis are divided over the mission, which could make follow-up strikes safer but didn’t hit Iran’s nuclear or oil sites. Where they agree is that the dialing down of the target list is a result of US pressure.

Since Iran’s ballistic missile barrage striking Israeli military targets almost a month ago, US President Joe Biden had called for a “proportional” response. If Biden’s intervention has paid off, it is perhaps the clearest indicator in over a year of war that the White House maintains some influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This comes following a mostly futile — or at best very limited — success in convincing Netanyahu to ease the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where over 42,000 have been killed as the Israeli military wages war against Hamas.

It is no secret Netanyahu prefers former President Donald Trump, an Iran hawk, over Vice President Kamala Harris in the coming election.

How the Israeli prime minister plans to prosecute and eventually land his deadly conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran could depend on what he hears from the White House. What we may have witnessed last night is a place-holding strike by Netanyahu.

The ball for now, though, is firmly in Iran’s court.

European leaders call for restraint after Israel strikes Iran

European leaders are urging restraint after a wave of retaliatory Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military sites.

France: The French foreign ministry cautioned against any further escalation, writing in a statement: “France has learned of Israel’s announcement of strikes against military targets in Iran last night … France immediately urges the parties to refrain from any escalation or action likely to aggravate the context of the extreme tension prevailing in the region.”

Switzerland: The country’s foreign ministry wrote in a statement on X: “Switzerland condemns the dangerous escalation of violence in the Middle East, including today’s Israel airstrikes in Iran. “Hostilities must cease on all sides to avoid the worsening of the regional escalation.”

Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed that Israel had said they “tried to minimize personal injury” during the attacks, adding that “this provides an opportunity to avoid further escalation.”

“My message to Iran is clear: Massive reactions of escalation must not continue. This must end now. Then there will be an opportunity for peaceful development in the Middle East,” Scholz continued in a post on X.

Iran has said Israel’s strikes early Saturday caused “limited damage” although two soldiers were killed. The strikes have long been expected and come as Israel mounts a major operation in northern Gaza and against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Biden reacts to Israeli strikes on Iran: "My hope is that this is the end"

US President Joe Biden expressed hope Saturday that the Israeli strikes on Iran marks the end of a period of escalation in the Middle East.

“It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets. My hope is this is the end,” he told reporters in Philadelphia, noting that he spent time earlier Saturday being briefed by the intelligence community.

The president said he did receive a heads up ahead of the Israeli strikes. Biden administration officials have said the US was not directly involved with the strike, but had been consulting closely with Israel.

Biden also said he was “not surprised” that former President Donald Trump has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but acknowledged he was concerned that Trump was not representing the US in those conversations.

How is the world reacting to Israel’s attack on Iran?

Israeli strikes do not change balance of power

Today is a Saturday. So officials, especially from the religious right, would not be commenting until after Shabbat. However, we’ve heard from the opposition leader Yair Lapid who said not striking strategic economic and strategic assets in Iran was a mistake.

We even heard from a prominent and very vocal member of Netanyahu’s Likud party who said this was a mistake. It was a capitulation, in her own words, to the Biden administration, and this strike does not change the balance of power in the region.

There’s some commentary already in the Israeli media to that effect.

At the very least, some military analysts said this strike gives Iran plausible deniability – it allows Iran not to strike back, and it gives Israel room to claim that it did something big, although it’s in sharp contrast to the statements that we heard before the Israeli strike on Iran.

4 Iranian service members killed in Israeli strikes, state media reports

Two more members of Iran’s army have died from injuries suffered during Israeli airstrikes earlier Saturday, according to state media, bringing the death toll to at least four.

The additional service members died Saturday evening local time, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news, which said all four of those killed worked for the military’s air defense.

State media also published a photo of the four fallen men in their uniforms.

 
Iran says ‘no limits’ in defending itself

No limits exist when it comes to Iran defending its interests, territorial integrity, and its people, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says.

“Iran does not set any boundaries for itself in protecting and defending its interests and territorial integrity and its people,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

“During our regional trips, we clearly presented Iran’s definitive positions on regional issues and on defending itself and the axis of resistance. Likewise, Iran’s ability to defend itself and Iran’s ability to retaliate against those who intend to invade Iran were explained to all of them.”

How Iranians reacted to Israel’s deadly attack

Tehran, Iran – Thousands of Iranians in Tehran were jolted awake by the sound of explosions in the early hours as Israel attacked. “I heard about 10 booms in relatively quick succession,” said Ali, 32, who lives in the west of Iran’s capital.

Iranians got on social media to report explosions all over the city and surrounding areas. By the time the second round of attacks hit a few hours later, videos circulated showing air defences countering incoming threats.

“Not that it was unexpected, but it was stressful anyway,” said Ali.


UN chief ‘deeply alarmed’ by escalation after strikes on Iran

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres says he’s “deeply alarmed” by the escalation of violence in the Middle East after Israel carried out deadly air strikes on Iran.

Guterres “urgently reiterates his appeal to all parties to cease all military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

He called for “maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of diplomacy”.

 
Gantz: Attack represents ‘new phase in our war against Iran’

Benny Gantz, leader of Israel’s National Unity Party, says the strikes on targets inside Iran had a meaningful impact.

“The direct and significant attack across Iran tonight against defence industries and military targets is important in itself, and in its execution method,” he said in a post on X. “It constitutes a new phase in our war against Iran that lays a foundation for further actions.

“I want to emphasise – a year after the war’s beginning the campaign is far from over. We must continue persevering in the efforts to bring our hostages home, replace the Hamas regime, and continue degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities to create a new reality on our northern border that will enable our citizens to return home and live in safety.”

Gantz lauded Israel’s “security superiority” in the region, which he said was built “together with its partners, led by the US”.

Israel’s hardliner Ben-Gvir says attack on Iran ‘necessary’

In a post on X, the far-right Israeli national security minister says the attack on Iran is a “necessary first strike against Iran’s strategic assets”.

“This is my position and I will continue to present it in the relevant forums. We have a historic obligation to eliminate the Iranian threat to destroy Israel,” Ben-Gvir added.

Israeli military claims over 70 Hezbollah targets attacked

The Israeli military has claimed that its air force hit more than 70 Hezbollah targets over the past 24 hours. Jet fighters hit antitank positions, military buildings, ammunition depots and operatives, it said.

The military also released what it claimed was night-vision footage from its soldiers invading southern Lebanon, and that they had attacked Hezbollah operatives and retrieved weapons.

An explosives-laden drone crossing into northern Israel from Lebanese territory was also shot down after sirens activated in the upper Galilee area, the military said.

🚨 ✈️ Hostile Aircraft Intrusion [08:39:53] - 1 Alert:

• Confrontation Line — Metulla

Population: 1,600 pic.twitter.com/zV9kH2cAkV

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) October 26, 2024

Israeli army blows up houses in Lebanon border village

Lebanon’s National News Agency said “the army of the Israeli enemy has since dawn blown up and destroyed houses” in the border village of Odaisseh.

The Israeli military had earlier reported “the explosion of a large quantity of explosives in Lebanon” that was strong enough to trigger earthquake warnings in large parts of Israel.

Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli soldiers and military base

Hezbollah said it has carried out drone and rocket attacks on Israeli soldiers and a military base.

The Iran-backed group said in a statement that its fighters had launched a “salvo of rockets” at Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of the village of Aita al-Shaab, where Hezbollah reported regular clashes with Israeli forces over the past two weeks.

Hezbollah says it targeted intel base in northern Israel

In a statement, the Lebanese armed group said “a rocket salvo” had targeted Meishar base which it called Israel’s “intelligence headquarters for the northern region”. Earlier, we reported Hezbollah saying the group launched a drone attack against Israel’s Tel Nof airbase, south of Tel Aviv.

It also said attacks were carried out at Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab.

Hezbollah says it fired rockets at 5 Israeli residential zones

In a series of statements, Hezbollah claimed “rocket salvoes” on five residential areas in northern Israel, including the outskirts of Krayot near Haifa.

Israeli raid on Lebanese health centre kills paramedic

According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, a paramedic was killed and 12 wounded in an Israeli raid on a health centre in al-Bazourieh, near Tyre, in the south of the country.

The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre – affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health – said in a statement the Israeli raid on the health centre led to the killing of a paramedic and the injury of others, including three paramedics.

The ministry said the total number of killed paramedics “since the beginning of the aggression has risen to 164 and the number of wounded to 275”.

The ministry said it “reiterates its condemnation of the occupation forces’ insistence on targeting medical and health centres and crews and urges the international community to put an end to this long series of inhumane attacks”.

Death toll in Lebanon rises to 2,653

Israeli attacks killed 19 people in Lebanon on Friday, said the Lebanese Health Ministry, bringing the death toll to 2,653 since the Israel-Hezbollah conflict began last year.

Israel has drawn condemnation for the targeted killing of three journalists in south Lebanon on Friday when its forces hit a compound where media workers were staying.

Hezbollah says US responsible for ‘tragedies’ caused by Israel

Lebanon’s Hezbollah warned of a “dangerous escalation” in the region saying Washington bears “full responsibility” for the “treacherous” raids on Iran launched by United States ally Israel.

“Hezbollah strongly condemns the treacherous Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considers it a dangerous escalation at the level of the entire region,” the Lebanese group said in a statement.

The US “bears full responsibility for the massacres, tragedies and pain” caused by Israel, it added.

Microsoft fired employees who organised vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza

On Friday, Microsoft fired two employees who organised a vigil at the company’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. Microsoft said it has “ended the employment of some individuals in accordance with internal policy” without providing details.

The event took place on Thursday afternoon at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington.

Both workers were members of a coalition of employees called “No Azure for Apartheid” that has opposed Microsoft’s sale of its cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government. But they contended that the vigil was similar to other Microsoft-sanctioned employee giving campaigns for people in need.

It’s the latest internal turmoil at a tech giant over the Israeli war on Gaza. Google earlier this year fired more than 50 workers after protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government as it wages war on the besieged coastal enclave.

UNICEF: ‘When you think the situation can’t get worse it actually does’

A spokeswoman from the UN agency for children says northern Gaza is a disaster zone after the Israeli military’s three-week ground incursion.

“I would like to impress on all viewers the gravity of the situation here in Gaza, specifically in the north. Attacks have been escalating, hospitals and schools used as shelters haven’t been spared,” UNICEF’s Rosalia Bollen told Al Jazeera.

“It’s been extremely difficult to bring supplies to the north with only 224 trucks reaching. But 224 trucks is the number we’d like to get in on a daily basis, not for an entire month. In the hospitals, there’s no food or water for patients. There’s no fuel, no electricity.”

Malnutrition is expected to affect 60,000 Palestinian children in Gaza in the coming months, she said. “When you think the situation can’t get worse, it actually does.”

Trapped medical staff injured at Gaza’s besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital as Israeli soldiers open fire

Three members of the medical staff at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza have sustained injuries, ranging from mild to moderate, according to the head of nursing, Palestinian media reports.

Reports of injuries follow after Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers opened fire inside the hospital, which has been placed under an Israeli military siege for weeks.

Medical workers remains inside the hospital with sick and injured patients, the hospital’s head of nursing said, while evacuation orders by the Israeli military had forced some of their companions, as well as displaced women and children sheltering at the facility, to leave.

Israeli forces arrest all male medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital

The Israeli siege of northern Gaza is now in its 22nd day. It has also been targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital.

This is what the Palestinian Health Ministry said:

Everything outside Gaza is ‘a distraction’ to the situation inside

Everything that happens outside Gaza serves as distraction from the situation on the ground, particularly in the northern part of the Strip and the Jabalia refugee camp. The most heartbreaking part of this all is that hospitals are no longer sacred spaces for healing. They have been transformed into military sites by the Israeli army.

Among the 600 people trapped inside the hospitals, 200 – including wounded patients and those in the ICU – currently have no access to medical care.

On top of that, we’ve seen a video of the mass arrest of people, where the Israeli military separated men from women, the female medical staff from the male medical staff. The male medical staff were ordered to strip to their underwear, blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to unknown areas for interrogation.

Everybody else is locked inside rooms with no access to food or water supplies for the second day.

Gaza’s civil defence unable to respond to emergency calls amid ongoing Israeli offensive

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza said it has been unable to respond to emergency calls from residents in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, as the region continues to endure a 22-day-long siege.

“We are unable to respond to numerous pleas for help from homes that have been targeted and burned by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia and Jabalia Nazla in northern Gaza,” it said in a statement.

“Civil Defense operations have been completely halted due to ongoing Israeli targeting and aggression in northern Gaza.”

_{A displaced Palestinian girl on the border of Jabalia refugee camp}

Death toll rises in Gaza

Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 42,924 Palestinians have been killed and 100,833 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since last year.