Israel-Hamas war live: Israel tells civilians to flee northern Gaza after heaviest bombing of war so far
[ad_1]
IDF re-issues plea for civilians to evacuate northern Gaza amid ‘intense hostilities’
The Israel Defence Forces have released an “urgent message for the residents of Gaza” which calls on civilians from northern Gaza to temporarily relocate south.
“Moving back to northern Gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end,” an IDF spokesperson said in a video message.
“Your window to act is closing, move south for your own safety,” he said. “This is not a mere precaution, this is an urgent plea.”
Key events
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told a massive pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul that Israel was an occupier, and repeated his stance about Hamas not being a terrorist organisation.
“I reiterate that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation. Israel was very offended by this. (…) Israel is an occupier, Erdogan speaks clearly because Turkey does not owe you anything,” he told hundreds of thousands of supporters.
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses mass rally in Istanbul to show support for Palestinians:
– I thank everyone of you for showing solidarity with Palestinians
– Our hearts are wrenched due to what is happening in Gaza
– We’ll continue to raise our voice against… pic.twitter.com/uo3N2yWoBH— TRT World (@trtworld) October 28, 2023
Labour shadow minister accuses Israel of ‘disproportionate attacks on a civilian population’
A Labour shadow minister has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “disproportionate attacks on a civilian population”.
Naz Shah, the shadow minister for crime reduction, is the latest in Keir Starmer’s party to voice their view on the conflict.
The Bradford West MP said on X: “What we are seeing is not defence, it is disproportionate attacks on a civilian population, I continue to call for a ceasefire to stop the killings of innocent civilians. We cannot be silent.”
What we are seeing is not defence, it is disproportionate attacks on a civilian population, I continue to call for a ceasefire to stop the killings of innocent civilians. We cannot be silent. https://t.co/6ea6vS9cg1
— Naz Shah MP 💙 (@NazShahBfd) October 28, 2023
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, warned on Saturday there was the potential for thousands more civilians to die as Israel presses ahead with a ground operation in Gaza.
Israel’s army relentlessly hammered the territory on Saturday after fierce overnight bombardment that rescuers said destroyed hundreds of buildings three weeks into a war sparked by the deadliest attack on Israel in the country’s history.
“Given the manner in which military operations have been conducted until now, in the context of the 56-year-old occupation, I am raising alarm about the possibly catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in Gaza and the potential for thousands more civilians to die,” Turk said.
“There is no safe place in Gaza and there is no way out. I am very worried for my colleagues, as I am for all civilians in Gaza.”
Israeli forces will continue military operations begun overnight in the Gaza Strip, targeting tunnels and other infrastructure of Hamas as well as leaders of the Islamist movement, the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Saturday.
“We attacked above the ground and underground, we attacked terror operatives of all ranks, everywhere,” he said in a video statement. “The instructions for the forces are clear: the operation will continue until a new order.”
IDF re-issues plea for civilians to evacuate northern Gaza amid ‘intense hostilities’
The Israel Defence Forces have released an “urgent message for the residents of Gaza” which calls on civilians from northern Gaza to temporarily relocate south.
“Moving back to northern Gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end,” an IDF spokesperson said in a video message.
“Your window to act is closing, move south for your own safety,” he said. “This is not a mere precaution, this is an urgent plea.”
Cash Boyle
An Al Jazeera correspondent has returned to work just days after his entire immediate family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
Wael al-Dahdouh’s wife, son, daughter and grandson were killed in the strike late on Tuesday. They had moved to a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza following Israel’s warning on 13 October.
Dahdouh said that as Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza he believed it was his duty to return to work as soon as possible.
“I felt that it was my duty, despite the pain and the open wound, to get back in front of the camera, and to communicate with you on social media as soon as possible.
“As you can see, the firing is ongoing everywhere. There are airstrikes and artillery shelling, and things continue to develop.”
Russia says Israel’s Gaza bombardment is against international law
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Israel’s bombardment of Gaza risks creating a catastrophe that could last “for many decades, if not centuries”.
Lavrov made the comments, some of Moscow’s most critical of Israel yet, in an interview with the Belarusian state news agency Belta, which released them on Saturday.
While we condemn terrorism, we categorically disagree that you can respond to terrorism by violating the norms of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminately using force against targets where civilians are known to be present, including hostages that have been taken.
If Gaza is destroyed and 2 million inhabitants are expelled, as some politicians in Israel and abroad propose, this will create a catastrophe for many decades, if not centuries.
Russia itself has been the subject of intense criticism over its actions in Ukraine, which many allege have included the commissioning of war crimes.
Lavrov’s comments come with the Israel-Hamas war in its 22nd day. Health authorities in Gaza said on Friday that 7,326 Palestinians had been killed since Israel’s bombardment began.
Lavrov said Russia, which backs an immediate ceasefire and a two-state solution, continues to emphasise the need for peace.
“We remain in full contact with Israel, and our ambassador is regularly in touch with them. We are sending signals about the need to seek a peaceful solution and not to follow through with this announced ‘scorched earth’ strategy.”
Israel’s defence minister vows to meet the families of Hamas hostages
Peter Beaumont
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said he will meet the families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza on Sunday, after a group lobbying for them issued a powerful statement amid the Israeli military’s intensifying operation.
The statement from Gallant came after relatives of the 229 confirmed hostages held in the Gaza Strip demanded a meeting with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the defence minister and members of the war cabinet.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said:
“This night was the worst of all nights. Anxiety, frustration, and especially enormous anger that no one from the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the abductees to explain to them one thing – whether the ground operation endangers the safety of the 229 abductees in Gaza.”
Egypt president warns region could become a ‘ticking timebomb’
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has warned against any expansion of the conflict in Gaza, “regardless of where it comes from”.
He told Reuters on Saturday that a move in this direction means the region would become “a ticking timebomb that impacts us all”.
Sisi also said his country’s “sovereignty and position should be respected” after drones were intercepted after entering Egyptian airspace on Friday.
On Friday, Israel said it was the target of the drones, which it blamed on Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi movement. Egypt’s military said the drones, which fell on the Egyptian towns of Taba and Nuweiba near the Israeli border, injuring six, originated in the southern Red Sea. It did not say who launched the drones.
Families of Israeli hostages fearful as military steps up ground assaults
A group lobbying for the families of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas say they are racked with “anxiety” that Israel’s long-awaited ground invasion will put them in more danger.
This night was the most terrible of all nights … against the backdrop of the major IDF [Israel Defence Forces] operation in the Strip,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on Saturday.
Israel said on Saturday that it stepped up ground operations inside Gaza overnight – during internet and power blackouts in the territory – and that forces were still fighting in the area.
The lobbying group said that the hostages were being subjected to the same heavy bombardment as Palestinian residents and that their families were racked with “anxiety, frustration” as a result.
Hamas has taken more than 200 hostages back into Gaza during its raids. It has so far released four and said on Thursday that Israeli bombing had killed another 50 – a claim Reuters could not verify.
They are believed to be hidden in the Gaza Strip, possibly in a warren of tunnels Hamas has built there.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticised Israel’s cabinet for not meeting those whose loved ones were still held while Israel pressed its assault.
“The families are worried about the fate of their loved ones and are waiting for an explanation. Every minute feels like an eternity,” it said.
The World Health Organization has issued a statement. It says:
During a night of intense bombardment and ground incursions in Gaza, with reports of hostilities still continuing, health workers, patients and civilians have been subject to a total communication and electrical blackout.
The WHO reiterates its calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and reminds all parties to the conflict to take all precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. This includes health workers, patients, health facilities and ambulances, and civilians who are sheltering in these facilities. Active measures must be taken to ensure they are not harmed and safe passage provided for the movement of desperately needed medical supplies, fuel, water and food into and across Gaza.
Reports of bombardment near the Indonesia and Al Shifa hospitals are gravely concerning. The WHO reiterates that it is impossible to evacuate patients without endangering their lives. Hospitals across Gaza are already operating at maximum capacity due to the injuries sustained in weeks of unrelenting bombardment, and are unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number of patients, while sheltering thousands of civilians.
Health workers who have stayed by their patients’ sides face dwindling supplies, with no place to put new patients, and no means to alleviate their patients’ pain. There are more wounded every hour. But ambulances cannot reach them in the communications blackout. Morgues are full. More than half of the dead are women and children.
The WHO said it has not been able to communicate with its staff in Gaza, nor have other agencies. Furthermore, it is trying to gather information on the overall impact on civilians and healthcare.
The statement said the WHO “appeals to the humanity in all those who have the power to do so to end the fighting now, in line with the UN resolution adopted yesterday, calling for a humanitarian truce, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held captive”.
The Scottish first minister has said he has not heard from his parents-in-law who are trapped in Gaza.
Humza Yousaf said: “Thank you for your good wishes, I’m afraid we have not heard from my in-laws.
“My concern is for all the innocent people suffering for a crime they did not commit.
“If you did not vote for peace, while children are dying, then I do not know how you sleep at night.”
Thank you for your good wishes, I’m afraid we have not heard from my in-laws.
My concern is for all the innocent people suffering for a crime they did not commit.
If you did not vote for peace, while children are dying, then I do not know how you sleep at night.#CeasefireNow
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 28, 2023
Hamas has given no sign it would abide by ceasefire, UK foreign secretary says
Hamas has given no indication it “desires or would abide by calls for a ceasefire”, according to the UK’s foreign secretary.
James Cleverly urged pro-Palestinian supporters demonstrating on British streets over the weekend to be “conscious of disinformation and manipulation”, following reports Iran is attempting to use the rallies to sow division.
The cabinet minister’s intervention comes as Israel’s military continued to expand its operation in Gaza as part of its ongoing retaliation against Hamas’s deadly raids three weeks ago that killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians.
Cleverly told broadcasters: “We have consistently sought to bring about pauses to facilitate the inward passage of humanitarian aid that we are providing and the release of hostages and the evacuation of British nationals in Gaza, so that has been our position from the start.
“Of course we want to see this resolved, we want to see Israel safe, peaceful and secure.
“But, as yet, I have seen or heard nothing from Hamas that gives me any confidence that they desire or would abide by calls for a ceasefire.”
He said the Palestinian militant group “habitually embed military capabilities within civilian infrastructure” in a move he said was “internationally recognised” as “completely inappropriate”.
Cleverly reiterated the government’s position that Israel has a right to defend itself after Hamas’s attack on 7 October.
“Of course we are having conversations, and will continue to have conversations with the Israeli military about the preservation of civilian life, about the adherence to international law,” he added.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, on Saturday urged all to respect Egypt’s sovereignty and position in the region after drones fell on two Egyptian Red Sea towns on Friday.
Egyptians should feel safe and the army was able to protect the country, Sisi said at a manufacturing expo in Cairo.
He emphasised that Egypt would continue to play a positive role in the Israel-Hamas conflict and did not want it to expand regionally.
Fighting between Hamas and IDF appears to be ongoing
Julian Borger
By 10am the heavy fog over Gaza has burned away and from a hillside in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, it is possible to see into Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, about 5km away.
Hamas said overnight its fighters were in a battle with the Israel Defence Forces, and that battle still appears to be going on. Heavy machine-gun fire can be heard sporadically from inside Gaza, together with bigger shell bursts, most likely tank fire.
To the south of this hill, you can hear the crump of the big self-propelled howitzers the Israelis have dug into the surrounding farmlands. Occasionally, a warplane can be heard high above and an airstrike sends a big white cloud of smoke up on the horizon. The apartment buildings in the eastern side of Beit Hanoun, nearest the Israel border and Sderot, are in ruins.
Behind them is the Jabalia refugee camp, which has also come under heavy fire. The pounding of the city is steady, but less intense than on Friday night, when it was at its heaviest between 8pm and 10.30pm, quite possibly preparing the way for an incursion. An IDF officer predicted it would escalate again when the sun sets tonight.
Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had stopped a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon at one of its drones, and was responding by striking the launch site.
“The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] thwarted a surface-to-air missile that was fired from Lebanon towards an IDF UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle]. In response, the IDF is striking the origin of the missile’s fire,” it said, according to Reuters.
The Lebanese authorities on Saturday issued precautionary guidance for evacuating Beirut international airport and its surrounding facilities in case of emergency, as tensions rise on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
The guidance for Beirut Rafic Hariri airport, which lies on the southern fringe of the capital, did not indicate any immediate escalation on the border, according to Reuters.
There have been daily but relatively contained exchanges of fire there recently between Israel and the heavily armed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The message comes after Israel’s military widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip overnight.
The Israeli military told Reuters on Saturday it had entered northern Gaza overnight and expanded military operations with infantry and armoured corps in the besieged Palestinian enclave as it steps up its assault on the Hamas militant group.
The military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces were still “in the field”, without elaborating.
Hagari also said they were “broadening the humanitarian effort” on Saturday and would allow trucks carrying food, water and medicine to enter southern Gaza.
Israel’s military targeted Hamas commanders overnight, including leaders of the group’s naval and aerial forces, which Hagari said would allow “forces on the ground to fight against a weaker enemy”.
Analysis: US looked badly isolated during Israel motion at UN general assembly
Patrick Wintour
The US ended up looking quite badly isolated when only 12 countries joined Washington and Israel at the UN general assembly in opposing a motion calling for a sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities. One hour after Israel had extended its offensive in Gaza, Jordan’s motion was passed in New York by 120 votes to 14, with 45 countries abstaining.
The outcome was remarkable for showing the limited direct support for the world’s greatest superpower, with even France, Spain and the UK refusing to join the US in voting against the motion. The splits inside the EU, visible over recent weeks, were also laid bare, with the 27 members of the bloc voting three different ways, but the majority abstaining. Six of the votes the US garnered were from the Pacific Islands: Fiji, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Jordan was delighted by the outcome, with its foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, saying the general assembly had “spoken for justice”. The resolution, he claimed, “is a clear stand against Israel’s war, against the killing of Palestinians, against war crimes, on the side of international law”.
It certainly makes clear that Israel has an imperative duty in international law to ensure civilians are not deprived of objects indispensable to their survival.
But the resolution is non-binding, more a snapshot of world opinion. The security council, which can pass binding resolutions, has been unable to pass a motion on the crisis without either Russia or the US wielding its veto.
‘Total chaos’ in Gaza after night of bombing, says BBC journalist
A journalist working for the BBC in Gaza described “total chaos” during the night of strikes and in its aftermath.
“There was a huge bombardment in the north of Gaza Strip on a scale we’ve never seen before,” wrote Rushdi Abualouf.
“At the hospital here, ambulance drivers told me they couldn’t communicate with anyone, so they were just driving in the direction of the explosions.
“There’s been panic everywhere, even here in Khan Younis, where the bombing was less, as people try to reach family members in other areas to check they are safe, but the phones have been cut off.”
[ad_2]
