October 23, 2023 06:45 am | Updated 02:14 pm IST
Palestinians gather around the remains of a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Israeli warplanes have struck targets across the Gaza Strip as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants, while a second convoy of humanitarian aid reportedly began crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Sunday afternoon.
The war, now in its 17th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly in the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 203 people were believed captured by Hamas during the incursion and taken into Gaza, the Israeli military has said.
Israel-Hamas war, Day 16 LIVE updates(With inputs from Agencies)
Follow for Live updatesIsrael’s military said on Monday that ground forces mounted limited raids into the Gaza Strip overnight to fight Palestinian gunmen and that air strikes were being focussed on sites where Hamas was assembling to attack any wider Israeli invasion.
In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 222 people had now been confirmed as taken hostage during the Oct 7 cross-border onslaught by Hamas.
- Reuters
Israeli overnight strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip have left at least 60 people dead, Hamas officials said Monday.
A statement from the Hamas government media office said “more than 60 were martyred in the (Israeli) raids” during the night, including 17 who were killed in a single strike that hit a house in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza.
The war, now in its 17th day, is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people.
AFP
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell joined calls on Monday for a pause in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas to let more aid supplies into Gaza.
“Now the most important thing is for humanitarian support to go into Gaza,” Mr. Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
Mr. Borrell said the Ministers would discuss the call from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a pause to allow much more humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians to enter Gaza.
“I cannot anticipate the result of the meeting but it is certainly something which the ministers will have to discuss ... The Secretary-General of the United Nations asked for it very much,” Mr. Borrell said.
Reuters
n October 7, Hamas, a Palestine-based terrorist group, launched an attack on Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and taking many hostage. Israel has retaliated with all its might, triggering a war in West Asia.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza early Monday, including in areas where Palestinian civilians have been told to seek refuge after another small aid shipment was allowed.
Israel is widely expected to launch a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal October 7 rampage into southern Israeli communities.
Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, and Israel says it has stepped up airstrikes in order to reduce the risk to troops in the next stages.
AP
Oil prices slid more than $1 on Monday as diplomatic efforts grew over the weekend to contain a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, amid worries of a wider confrontation in the oil-rich region and pressure on supplies.
Brent crude futures fell 67 cents to $91.49 a barrel, as of 0203 GMT, having lost $1.02 to $91.14 a barrel earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 72 cents to trade at $87.36 a barrel, after sliding $1.72 to $87.03 a barrel earlier on Monday.
Reuters
The United States on Sunday vowed a continued flow of aid to the Gaza Strip, as a new convoy of 14 trucks entered the besieged and bombarded Palestinian enclave.
With the first of two convoys of humanitarian assistance now inside Gaza, the White House said Israel had agreed “there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance”.
AFP
The second aid convoy destined for desperate Palestinian civilians reached Gaza on Sunday, as Israel widened its attacks to include targets in Syria and the occupied West Bank and the Israeli prime minister warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group that if it launches its own war, “we will cripple it with a force it cannot even imagine.”
For days, Israel has been on the verge of launching a ground offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 rampage through a series of Israeli communities. Tanks and troops have been massed at the Gaza border, waiting for the command to cross.
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the country had increased airstrikes across Gaza to hit targets that would reduce the risk to troops in the next stage of the war.
Fears of a widening war grew as Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza, two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants.
AP
Leaders of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain on Sunday underscored their support for Israel and its right to defend itself but also urged it to adhere to international humanitarian law and protect civilians.
In a joint statement issued after a virtual meeting on the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, the leaders welcomed the release of two hostages by Hamas and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.
U.S. President Joe Biden convened a meeting of the so-called Quint - the U.S., France, Britain, Germany and Italy - plus Canada after speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
The calls came amid growing fears that the Israel-Hamas war could mushroom into a wider Middle East conflict as Israel pounded Gaza and clashes on its border with Lebanon intensified.
In the statement, Mr. Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to work together closely to support their citizens in the region, and especially those wishing to leave Gaza.
They welcomed the arrival of the first aid convoys in Gaza and pledged to continue working with regional partners to ensure “sustained and safe access” for the 2.2 million people in Gaza to food, water, medical care and other humanitarian assistance.
Reuters
Israeli aircraft struck two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon early on Monday, which were planning to launch anti-tank missiles and rockets toward Israel, its military said, as fighting flared across the two countries’ shared border.
The military said one cell was adjacent to the Israeli town of Mattat, around 13 km (8 miles) southwest of Aitaroun. It said the other was further north in the disputed Shebaa Farms area. The military said it struck both cells before they fired.
Reuters
China views the situation in Gaza as “very serious” with the risk of a large-scale ground conflict rising and the spread of armed conflicts along neighbouring borders, Chinese state media said on Monday, citing the country’s Middle East special envoy.
The envoy Zhai Jun, who is visiting the Middle East, said spillover effects in the region and internationally are widening, as conflict along the Israeli-Lebanese and Israeli-Syrian borders spread, “making the outlook worrisome”.
Mr. Zhai called on the international community to be “highly vigilant in this regard” and to take immediate action urging parties concerned to strictly abide by international humanitarian law and avoid a serious humanitarian disaster while putting in “joint efforts to control the situation”.
Reuters
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