Ambulance driver in central Gaza finds mother dead in Israeli attack

It has been a very fluid situation, not only in the north of the Gaza Strip but also in the central area where we are right now.

A location just 5km [3 miles] away from where we are, in the eastern area of Maghazi refugee camp, was targeted. It was a civilian car hit with no warning given to residents or even passers-by who were critically injured in the attack.

According to officials at Al-Aqsa Hospital, three Palestinians have been confirmed killed including a Palestinian woman whose son is the ambulance driver who recovered her from the site of the strike.

He was shocked when he discovered the woman he was trying to rescue was his mother. There has been an intensification of air strikes on the coastline, especially in the north of the territory.

On al-Rashid Street, a group of Palestinians was hit by a drone; at least five Palestinians have been confirmed injured at the moment.

Earlier, Israeli fighter jets targeted one of the main markets in Beit Lahiya. Ten Palestinians were killed and 20 wounded, according to medical officials.

Medical care in northern Gaza is ‘virtually absent’

We have not seen any aid getting to Al-Aqsa Hospital, where we are right now. Most [of the aid goes] to field hospitals recently established by different countries, including Egypt and Jordan, alongside the US field hospital on the coastal line of the Gaza Strip.

We are talking about medical care in the north that is virtually absent due to the lack of essential suppliers and the destruction of the key medical infrastructure and facilities in the north of the Gaza Strip.

We spoke to [a doctor] who said that no ambulance or Palestinian Civil Defence car operates in the north. Gaza’s Health Ministry called for an immediate deployment of medical delegations, ambulances, and Civil Defence vehicles in order to rescue and save lives in the north of the Strip.

That is the bleak reality that escalation is still ongoing with a shortage of medical care.

Kamal Adwan Hospital receiving ‘constant stream of trauma patients’: WHO

_{A medic treats a wounded man in Beit Lahiya after Israel’s latest attack on civilians}

The besieged hospital in the northern Gaza Strip has just one paediatrician, one orthopaedic surgeon, and limited nursing staff during Israeli military attacks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“The hospital building and equipment sustained damage during the most recent siege, and its four ambulances were destroyed,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the UN organisation, said in a post on X.

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern #Gaza is receiving a constant stream of trauma patients due to ongoing hostilities in the area. The hospital has just one pediatrician, one orthopedic surgeon and limited nursing staff -- @WHO team assessed. The hospital building and equipment… pic.twitter.com/gVwYZLAK6b

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 30, 2024

Aftermath of a deadly Israeli strike on Beit Lahiya

<sub>A Palestinian carries an injured person following an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on Wednesday


Palestinians assist victims following Israeli bombardment in northern Gaza on Wednesday</sub>

Summary for October 30th

“I hope your beeper doesn’t go off": Mehdi Responds to Racist Attack on CNN

“Less than a week out from the most consequential election of our lifetimes, with... fascism PLUS genocide on the ballot, I’m in no mood to ‘explain’ myself to the racists and bullies. But I will continue to speak out.” Mehdi for the first time addresses the racist, violent comment Ryan Girdusky made toward him on CNN this week.

Israeli Mourners BOAST About Dead IDF Soldier's War Crimes... At His Funeral

Is it possible that after 42,000 people killed, you cannot empathize with the Palestinians?

In her address to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese expressed frustration, saying, "I always experience a sense of shock and delusion when I come to this room because many of you recite the same script you had last year." She acknowledged the condemnation of Hamas's attack, the solidarity shown to Israeli victims, and calls for the release of hostages but questioned the lack of empathy toward Palestinians, stating, "Is it possible that after 42,000 people killed, you cannot empathize with the Palestinians?" Albanese criticized those who had ignored the crisis in Gaza, saying, "Empathy has evaporated from this room, and empathy is the glue that makes us stand united as humanity."

Read her most recent report entitled "Anatomy of a Genocide"
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/anatomy-of-a-genocide-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territory-occupied-since-1967-to-human-rights-council-advance-unedited-version-a-hrc-55/

Hezbollah claims rocket attacks on Israel

The Lebanese armed group said its fighters launched four attacks on Israeli positions on Wednesday evening, including in the settlements of Liman and Gesher HaZiv and the city of Kiryat Shmona.

The attacks came as Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem, said the group would keep fighting Israel until it is offered ceasefire terms it deems acceptable.

“If the Israelis decide to stop the aggression, we say that we accept, but according to the conditions that we see as suitable,” Qassem said in the prerecorded televised address.

“We will not beg for a ceasefire,” he said.

Explosion reported in Israeli city of Nahariya

The Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar news outlet reports that the explosion was the result of a drone launched from Lebanon crashing into a target in Israel’s northernmost coastal city.

Hezbollah also posted footage of the alleged drone attack on its Telegram channel without claiming responsibility.

No casualties or injuries have been reported so far.

UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon targeted 30 times in October

A spokesman for the force, which is known as UNIFIL, said the 30 incidents had resulted in property damage or injury to peacekeepers and included 20 from Israeli fire or action.

Andrea Tenenti said seven of the Israeli actions were “clearly deliberate”.

For about a dozen other incidents, the origin of the fire could not be determined.

“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watchtowers, have been deliberately targeted by the [Israeli army],” Tenenti told a news conference.

“To be clear, the actions of both the [Israeli army] and Hezbollah are putting peacekeepers in danger,” he added.

The UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in Lebanon since Israel invaded the country in 1978.

Iraqi armed group claims three drone attacks on Israel

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it launched drone attacks on “vital” targets in the occupied Golan Heights and northern Israel, as well as a military site in the south of the country.

The Iran-backed group, comprising several Iraqi militias, has stepped up attacks targeting Israel as the Israeli military intensifies its assault on Gaza and Lebanon. The group, which says it is acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon, has also launched rockets and drone attacks at US forces in Iraq and Syria.

Israel’s military intercepts projectiles from Lebanon

The military said it shot down an unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanon into the western Galilee region at around 1:30am local time. The statement came as Lebanese media reported that a drone had exploded in Nahariya, the northernmost city in Israel.

The Israeli military also said several projectiles were detected in the upper Galilee at around the same time, but that they fell in open areas.

Earlier, the military said an unmanned aircraft had crossed “from the east” into the occupied Golan Heights. The drone fell, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, it said.

Hezbollah claims attacks on Israeli soldiers in Lebanon

The Lebanese armed group said it fired a barrage of rockets and artillery shells at a group of Israeli soldiers in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam in the early hours of this morning.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The Israeli military began its ground offensive into southern Lebanon earlier this month. According to Israeli media, at least 33 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon since then.

Israeli attack kills three people in south Lebanon

Lebanon’s 24 news agency is reporting that an Israeli attack on the town of Deir al-Zahrani in the Nabatieh district has killed at least three people.

It said rescue crews are still searching for survivors under the rubble.

Lebanon’s displaced find community in empty hotel

The Hamra Star apartment hotel in Hamra, a bustling district in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, used to be a spot for secret romantic encounters, according to local journalists.

A nondescript building, it boasted a modest little sign and not much else to identify it. Then, about 10 years ago, someone was reportedly murdered there, prompting authorities to mark its door with a red X – indicating it has been closed down.

Ten years later, a crowd of people forcibly displaced due to relentless Israeli bombing banged the lock and chain off the sealed door and moved in, only to find the building littered with rubbish and infested with insects and rats.

Bonded by their ordeal, the displaced came together to clean the building and install basic provisions. “We all cooperated and fixed the place up ourselves,” said Mohammad Zahran, who now lives on the first floor with his wife and two daughters.

_{The Hamra Star Hotel in Hamra, Beirut}

Israel issues forced displacement order for Lebanon’s Baalbek for the second day

Israel’s military has issued forced displacement orders for residents in Lebanon’s Baalbek city and surrounding areas for the second day in a row. Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee issued the warning to residents of Baalbek, Ain Bourday and Duris.

“You are in a combat zone where the IDF (Israeli army) intends to attack and target Hezbollah infrastructure, interests, installations and combat means, and does not intend to harm you. Staying in the red zone puts you and your family at risk,” he said on X.

On Wednesday, a series of Israeli air attacks pounded the city in the country’s east, as well as its outskirts, hours after Israel issued an evacuation call for the area for the first time in more than a month of war.

‘Serious sticking points’ remain despite Mikati’s optimism of a truce

Mikati describes himself as being “cautiously optimistic” of a ceasefire deal.

In terms of details of what that would entail, he said there will be no arms or military infrastructure south of the Litani River, except for that of the Lebanese army and an international force, under a ceasefire agreement in line with the UN Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed in 2006 on the back of the last Hezbollah and Israeli war.

Now, that resolution stipulates that there should be no arms other than those of state actors, and no armed groups in that area of southern Lebanon. But in the words of both the Lebanese government and the Israelis, as well as the Americans, 1701 has been a complete failure.

Still Mikati is saying that he is cautiously optimistic.

But there were some caveats.

He said that a ceasefire should come with American guarantees. But what that means remains to be seen. And he said that the Lebanese military will need additional hardware, additional weapons and logistical equipment as well.

It’s important to note here that Lebanon’s Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri again said very forcefully that the Lebanese don’t want any changes whatsoever to 1701, not a single word. And of course, Berri is acting on behalf of Hezbollah in these negotiations.

Let’s also remember that it was only last week that Amos Hochstein was here in Lebanon. And he said that 1701 had to be implemented, but there were additional measures that needed to be looked at, that needed to be included.

Lebanon insists its army should implement UNSC Resolution 1701

Some may describe Mikati’s hopes for a truce as optimistic language, but the reality is that there is a major sticking point between the warring sides.

And that is the enforcement mechanism of UN resolution 1701.

This resolution was adopted in 2006 following the last major war between Hezbollah and Israel. And it calls for the Lebanese army to be deployed in south Lebanon alongside UN forces and for Hezbollah to pull back. When the US envoy Amos Hochstein was here last week, he said that the resolution was never implemented and said that we need a new mechanism. He did not elaborate further.

Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is the main interlocutor involved in these negotiations and who is representing Hezbollah, has said the Lebanese army will enforce resolution 1701. But what we know and what we’ve heard from Israeli officials is that they want a US role and they also want to be able to act if they see any violation or threats against their security. In many ways, this violates Lebanon’s sovereignty and it will be very difficult for the Lebanese government or Hezbollah to agree to this.

Netanyahu accused of ‘actively sabotaging’ Lebanon ceasefire talks

You have Israeli officials saying what they want is to be able to enforce UN Resolution 1701, and they want to be able to assess whether Hezbollah is abiding by its promise to disarm and relocate north of the Litani River.

And if not, they want to have free reign to act with bombardment and troops in order to enforce that.

Some are even talking about imposing some sort of a naval and ground siege from the Syrian border area, led by the United States.

Many people are bewildered as to how this can come about, more so because Israeli media leaked some of those elements and discussions overnight, drawing sharp criticism from outside the government, from former ministers who accused Netanyahu of trying to actively sabotage the talks.

What we’re hearing from the US representatives is that they’re working towards a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and that it is within reach.

CIA director heading to Egypt for Gaza truce talks

CIA Director Williams Burns is expected in the Egyptian capital, Cairo today for a new round of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the Al Ahram Weekly.

Burns’s visit comes days after he held meetings with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Israeli and Egyptian security officials in Qatar’s capital, Doha. As those meetings took place, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced that Cairo had proposed a limited two-day truce to exchange four Israeli captives held by Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners.

And as we’ve been reporting, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East advisers, Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk, are also expected in Israel today for talks on a truce deal between Israel and Lebanon.

Gaza ceasefire talks just ‘campaign fodder’ for US elections

Hafsa Halawa of the Middle East Institute talks about why she thinks the Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Qatar are no more than political posturing by US Democrats eager to win the November 5 presidential election.

 
Hamas official says group rejects short-term Gaza truce: Report

A senior Hamas official says the group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza and insists on a lasting ceasefire, according to AFP news agency.

“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior leader of the movement, told AFP.

Mediators seeking to broker a Gaza ceasefire are expected to propose a truce of “less than a month” to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia says normalization with Israel is “off the table” without Palestinian statehood

The prospect of Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel is “off the table” without the Palestinians being granted an independent state, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told CNN’s Becky Anderson in Riyadh.

“Normalization with the Kingdom of the Saudi Arabia is not just at risk (for Israel), it’s off the table until we have a resolution to Palestinian statehood,” he said. “I would say more than that, it’s not just the issue of normalization with the kingdom that is at risk, I would say the security of the region as a whole is at risk if we do not address the rights of the Palestinians.”

Prince Faisal was reiterating a policy laid out by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month, when he told the country’s Shura Council that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without a Palestinian state.

The Biden administration has made Israel-Saudi normalization one its key Middle East policy goals. The US and Saudi Arabia had engaged in discussions on the pact in 2023, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to fly to Riyadh on October 10 of last year to discuss the details, just three days before Hamas attacked Israel, derailing the effort.

Saudi Arabia and the US were negotiating a potential landmark defense agreement over the past year that was pursuant on Saudi normalization with Israel.

“There is one element of the bilateral agreements that we’re working on that is tied to normalization. … The Crown Prince made very clear what would be required for the kingdom to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. … Absent that we’re very happy to wait until the situation is amenable,” he said.

Pro-Palestine supporters interrupt Kamala Harris speech in Pennsylvania

Pro-Palestine supporters interrupted a rally of Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris held late on Wednesday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

They demanded an end to the genocide of the Palestinian people and the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

The protesters held signs reading “Stop the Genocide Now” and continued to disrupt the speech several times, with chants supporting Palestine and calling for an end to the US arming Israel.

Harris responded with a familiar line, saying the protesters have the right to speak, “but let me finish my speech”. Event organisers were seen trying to forcibly remove those carrying the Palestinian flag and their supporters from the hall.

There were 4 interruptions from Pro-Palestine protestors and a Pro-Trump supporter who interrupted Vice President Harris’ speech in Harrisburg this afternoon.

They have all been escorted out of the venue. pic.twitter.com/wepWyPl3YG

— Ryan Hartnett (@ryanmhartnett) October 30, 2024

Youth movement calls for hunger strike as famine threatens Gaza

A youth movement has announced the launch of a global hunger strike campaign, called “Support for Gaza”, to attract attention to famine-like conditions in the enclave.

Activists with the Global Youth Movement said they want the siege of Gaza to be broken, the forced displacement of Palestinians to be stopped, and humanitarian aid to be brought into northern Gaza starting from November 1.

The movement said in a statement published by Palestinian media that the strike will not end until the campaign’s demands are met.

This comes as UN and international organisations operating on the ground in Gaza report that food insecurity levels are rising to catastrophic levels in the enclave as the Israeli military blocks most aid.