Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Death toll in Gaza rises to 3,478, says Hamas-controlled health ministry

Al-Ahil hospital, which was packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, was destroyed in an air strike on Tuesday night.

At least 3,478 people have been killed with more than 12,000 others injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the coastal enclave since October 7, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Wednesday.

At least 1,300 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attacks that started the latest conflict, while at least 199 people thought to have been taken hostage by the militant group.

Al-Ahil hospital, which was packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, was destroyed in an air strike on Tuesday night. According to the official statements, 500 people were killed in the blast.

Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants.

Outraged over the hospital blast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II announced they were pulling out of a planned Arab summit Wednesday with President Joe Biden.

Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and other Arab nations condemned the hospital attack, or declared days of national mourning.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi declared the hospital explosion a clear violation of international law and humanity.

Protests erupted in some Arab cities.

Read in detail:

Day 12 of the Israel-Hamas conflict: Key Development

President Joe Biden said that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt.

He announces USD 100 million humanitarian aid to Gaza and West Bank

Palestinian protesters burn pictures that show US President Joe Biden during a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza

US vetoes UN resolution condemning Hamas' attacks on Israel and all violence against civilians

After "threatening email of attack", airports across France at Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais airport near Paris were evacuated.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian suggested the member states impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel during an emergency Organization Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi accused the United States of being an accomplice in Israeli "crimes"

At least 3,478 people have been killed with more than 12,000 others injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the coastal enclave since October 7, the Hamas-controlled health ministry

US announces sanctions against a group of 10 Hamas members, financial network over Israel attack

Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey immediately amid fears of reprisal attacks after a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip

Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of war crimes by all sides.

US president Joe Biden said that Pentagon intelligence suggests that the devastating explosion at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night was caused by “the other team” and not an Israeli airstrike.

Israel agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to move into Gaza from Egypt, says Biden

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with Israeli and U.S. government officials on Oct. 18, 2023 in Tel Aviv (Photo | AP)

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt, with the understanding it would be subject to inspections and that it should go to civilians and not Hamas militants. READ FULL STORY

Israel had cut off the flow of food, fuel and water to the Gaza Strip after the attack. Mediators have been struggling to break a deadlock over providing supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals.

Israel confirmed food, water and medicine would begin to flow, though the timing wasn't immediately clear.

“Let me be clear. If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people," Biden said.

He announces USD 100 million humanitarian aid to Gaza and West Bank

Palestinian protesters burn pictures that show U.S. President Joe Biden during a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza (Photo | AP)

A Palestinian protester hold placards against U.S. President Joe Biden, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, during a protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, south Lebanon on Oct. 18, 2023. (Photo  |AP)

US vetoes UN resolution condemning Hamas' attacks on Israel and all violence against civilians

Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour, background right, addresses members of the UN Security Council at the UN headquarters (Photo | AP)

15-nation Council met to vote on the draft resolution that was proposed by Council President Brazil. While 12 Council members voted in favour of the resolution, Russia and Britain abstained.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, "President Joe Biden is in the region engaging in diplomacy and we need that diplomacy to play out.”

She criticized the resolution for not saying anything about Israel’s right to self-defense.

Council members rejected two Russian amendments, one calling for a “humanitarian cease-fire” and the other condemning indiscriminate attacks on civilians and “civilian objects” in Gaza, which include hospitals and schools. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL STORY

French airports evacuated after 'threats of attack'

Passengers wait as a French soldier patrols outside the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in Blagnac, southwestern France, on October 18, 2023. (Photo |AFP)

France is on high alert following Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel and Friday's fatal stabbing of a teacher in the northern city of Arras by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group. READ FULL REPORT

After "threatening email of attack", Airports across France at Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais airport near Paris were evacuated on Wednesday.

Iran urges Muslim countries to sanction Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian suggested the member states impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel during an emergency Organization Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting.

He called for all Israeli ambassadors to be expelled, and establish a group of Islamic lawyers to record potential war crimes in Gaza, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Iran president says US accomplice in Israel 'crimes'

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday accused the United States of being an accomplice in Israeli "crimes" after a rocket struck a hospital complex in Gaza, killing hundreds of people.

"The people of the world consider America to be an accomplice in the crimes of the Zionist regime," Raisi told thousands of people who had gathered for a rally in central Tehran in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Gaza death toll rises to 3,478: Hamas health ministry

At least 3,478 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the coastal enclave, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Wednesday.

More than 12,000 others have been wounded in Israel's response to a brutal assault launched by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7.

'This is a massacre': Gaza takes stock after deadly hospital strike

Wounded Palestinians at the al-Shifa hospital, following Israeli airstrikes on Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City (Photo | AP)

Gazans combed through the debris of the devastated hospital, collecting the bodies of the dead in the battered enclave hours after a strike killed hundreds sheltering at the facility. READ FULL REPORT

"This is a massacre," Ahmed Tafesh, who assisted in the recovery effort, said he had collected the eyes, arms, legs and heads of the deceased. "I have never seen anything like this in my life."

"We felt there was fire and things were falling on us. We started looking for each other. The electricity cut suddenly, and we couldn't see," said Fatima Saed through tears, who survived the attack.

"The evidence — which we are sharing with you all — confirms that the explosion at the hospital in Gaza was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired. There was no IDF (Israeli army) fire by land, sea or air that hit the hospital," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a press conference in Tel Aviv.

US announces sanctions against a group of 10 Hamas members, financial network over Israel attack

President Joe Biden has tried to tamp down tensions in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas, but those efforts have faced massive setbacks, including a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed about 500 people.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US “is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”

Brian Nelson, US Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and illicit finance, said, “We cannot, and we will not, tolerate money flowing through the international system for Hamas’ terrorist activity”.

“We want to partner with all willing countries and financial entities to stop Hamas financing,” he said “but to the extent that any institution or jurisdiction fails to take appropriate action, they should then be prepared to suffer the consequences.”

READ FULL STORY

Israel tells citizens to leave Turkey 'as soon as possible'

People gather outside the Israeli consulate during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinians, in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (Photo | AP)

Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey immediately amid fears of reprisal attacks after a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip. READ FULL REPORT

"All Israelis staying in Turkey must leave as soon as possible," Israel's National Security Council announced late on Tuesday.

"I can confirm that the travel warning of the National Security Council to Turkey has been raised to 4, the highest level," the spokesperson said.

Situation in Gaza 'spiralling out of control': WHO chief

The situation in the Gaza Strip is spiralling out of control, the head of the UN health agency warned on Wednesday, following a blast at a hospital that killed hundreds of people.

"The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control," the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter. "We need violence on all sides to stop."

The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control.

Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives.

For 4 days @WHO supplies have been stuck at the border.

We need immediate access to start delivering life-saving supplies.

We need violence on all sides to stop.

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 18, 2023

READ FULL STORY HERE

Death toll in Gaza rises to 3,300

Following the air strike on Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night, the death toll in Gaza has gone upto 3,300.

According to the Palestine Ministry of Health, The number of people killed in Gaza has now risen to 3,300 with more than 13,000 injured since October 7.

The death toll in Israel stands at 1,400, with another 3,500 injured.

Biden backs Israel account of Gaza hospital strike, denounces Hamas

US President Joe Biden landed in Israel Wednesday on a solidarity visit following Hamas attacks, under the shadow of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital that has inflamed regional tensions.

Right after his arrival, Biden adressed the media with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden tells Netanyahu seems hospital strike 'done by the other team'

US President told Bibi that US is mourning with Israel.

Biden says Hamas has brought 'only suffering' to Palestinians

READ FULL STORY HERE

Biden will be plunging into Middle East turmoil on his visit to Israel

President Joe Biden was originally scheduled to visit Jordan as well, but his meetings with Arab leaders were called off as he was leaving Washington, costing him an opportunity for the face-to-face conversations that he views as crucial for navigating this fraught moment.

Read full details here

Outrage, condemnation over deadly Gaza hospital strike

A strike on a Gaza hospital compound which health officials there said killed at least 200 people has provoked outrage and condemnation from around the world.

Here are some of the major reactions

What we know about the deadly blast at a Gaza City hospital

In the dark of early evening in Gaza, reports emerged of an explosion at Gaza City's al-Ahli hospital. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on hospital grounds. Torn bodies covered the grass, with slain children lying among dead adults.

Bodies of Palestinians killed by an explosion at the Ahli Arab hospital are gathered at the front yard of the al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP)

How international law applies to war, and why Hamas and Israel are both alleged to have broken it

Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of war crimes by all sides.

Enforcing the law amid the fog of war is difficult. Holding perpetrators to account once conflicts are over has often proved elusive.

Here is a look at some of the issues.