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Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Israel intensifies ground assault into Gaza after rejecting ceasefire calls

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza was insufficient to meet the "unprecedented humanitarian needs."
Palestinians carry the members of a family who were killed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Photo | AP)
Palestinians carry the members of a family who were killed in an Israeli strike in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (Photo | AP)
Online Desk

Israel said Tuesday its forces battled Hamas inside Gaza overnight and struck 300 targets after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu categorically ruled out a ceasefire as a "surrender" to the Palestinian militant group.

The fighting came after Netanyahu on Monday evening slapped aside a call from 120 countries for a sustained humanitarian truce. "This will not happen," the premier told foreign media, vowing Israel would "fight until this battle is won."

"Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas," he said.

Air strikes hit about 300 targets including missile and rocket launch posts and "military compounds inside underground tunnels belonging to the Hamas terrorist organisation," the army said in a statement.

In the fourth night of major ground operations inside the north of the Palestinian territory, it reported "several engagements" in which its forces came under anti-tank missile and machine gun fire.

But the toll of Israel's war in Gaza has sparked a global backlash. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, Israel's bombing campaign has killed more than 8,300 people, many of them children.

Thousands of buildings have been destroyed and the territory's 2.4 million residents have little access to water, food, fuel and other essentials.

The largest convoy of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza still fell far short of needs, relief workers said. The movements of recent days, including larger ground operations both north and east of Gaza City, point to a focus on the city.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza was insufficient to meet the "unprecedented humanitarian needs."

Israel launched the war on October 7 in retribution for Hamas-led raids on Israeli homes, farms and villages that killed an estimated 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials.

More than three weeks of massive and sustained Israeli aerial bombardments have been followed by a large-scale ground offensive inside Gaza.

UPDATES |

Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 50 killed in Israeli strike

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said at least 50 people were killed Tuesday in Israeli bombardment of a refugee camp in the Palestinian territory.

"More than 50 martyrs and around 150 wounded and dozens under the rubble, in a heinous Israeli massacre that targeted a large area of homes in Jabalia camp in the northern (Gaza) Strip," a ministry statement said.

Iran says proxies won't 'remain silent' on Israel-Hamas war

Iran said on Tuesday it was "natural" for Tehran-backed groups to attack Israel in light of its war on Hamas, warning of a wider spillover if no ceasefire is reached.

  • The remarks were made by Iran's top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar's capital Doha where he met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his Qatari counterpart to discuss a push for a diplomatic breakthrough.

  • "It is natural that the resistance groups and movements do not remain silent against all these crimes" committed by Israel, Amir-Abdollahian said in remarks relayed by Iran's foreign ministry.

  • "They will not wait for anyone's advice, therefore we need to use the last political opportunities to stop the war," he said after talks with Sheikh Tamim, warning the situation could "get out of control".

    • Yemen's Houthi rebels vow more attacks on Israel: statement

    Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels Tuesday pledged more attacks against Israel if its war on Hamas in Gaza continues, saying it had already fired drones and ballistic missiles in three separate operations.

    "The Yemeni Armed Forces... confirm that they will continue to carry out qualitative strikes with missiles and drones until the Israeli aggression stops," said a Houthi military statement aired on the rebels' Al-Masirah TV.

    Israel army says engaged in 'fierce battles' with Hamas in Gaza

    Israeli forces were engaged in "fierce battles" with Hamas militants inside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the army said, as it continued to pummel the Palestinian territory with air and artillery strikes.

    Israeli forces are "engaged in fierce battles with Hamas terrorists deep inside the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement, adding that dozens of militants had been killed in the past few hours.

    Israel army says intercepted 'missile' from Red Sea region

    The Israeli military said on Tuesday its forces intercepted a missile fired from the Red Sea region, as tensions surged across the Middle East amid Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

  • "A surface-to-surface missile was fired toward Israeli territory from the area of the Red Sea and was successfully intercepted by the 'Arrow' aerial defence system," the military said in a statement.

  • The Israeli air force also scrambled jets following the detection of the missile.

  • "All aerial threats were intercepted outside of Israeli territory. No infiltrations were identified into Israeli territory," the military said.

    • Health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says death toll at 8,525

    Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Tuesday that at least 8,525 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel on October 7.

    The ministry said at least 3,542 children and 2,187 women were among the dead, as Israel pressed on with its air and ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

    Israel demolishes West Bank home of Hamas deputy leader

  • The Israeli army demolished the West Bank home of exiled Hamas number two Saleh al-Aruri with explosives on Tuesday as war raged with the Islamist group in Gaza.

  • Aruri is accused by Israel of masterminding numerous attacks. He was elected deputy to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in 2017, before being officially named the group's number two.

  • The Israeli military arrested around 20 people including a brother of Aruri and nine of his nephews, on October 21, village mayor Ali al-Khasib and witnesses told AFP.

    • READ THE FULL STORY HERE

    Israeli forces battle Hamas around Gaza City, as military says 800,000 have fled south

    Israeli troops battled Hamas militants and attacked underground compounds on Tuesday with a focus on northern Gaza, from which an estimated 800,000 Palestinians have fled south despite continued Israeli bombardment across the besieged enclave.

  • More than half the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, with hundreds of thousands sheltering in packed U.N.-run schools-turned-shelters or in hospitals alongside thousands of wounded patients.

  • UNRWA, says nearly 672,000 Palestinians are sheltering in its schools and other facilities — four times their capacity.

    • READ THE FULL STORY HERE

    Yemen's Huthi rebels claim drone attack on Israel

    Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels fired drones towards Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for its war against Hamas, a senior official from the group told AFP.

    "These drones belong to the state of Yemen," Abdelaziz bin Habtour, prime minister of the Huthi government, said when asked about drones launched towards Eilat in southern Israel.

    Israel envoy wears yellow star at UN, drawing Yad Vashem criticism

  • Israel's United Nations ambassador displayed a yellow star on his chest Monday as he addressed the Security Council, provocatively pledging to wear the badge until members of the body condemn Hamas "atrocities."

  • His wearing of the badge, which has come to symbolise the oppression of Jews since its imposition in Nazi-occupied Europe, was swiftly criticised by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, which urged him to wear the Israeli flag instead.

  • "This act disgraces the victims of the Holocaust as well as the state of Israel," Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan said in a Hebrew-language post on X, formerly Twitter.

  • "The yellow star symbolises the helplessness of the Jewish people and their being at the mercy of others. We now have an independent state and a strong army. We are the masters of our own fate. Today we will fasten to our lapel a blue and white flag, not a yellow star."

    • IDF shoots dead 70-year-old Palestinian in occupied West Bank: report

  • Rawhi Sawafta, a 70-year-old Palestinian was killed by IDF fire in the northeastern West Bank city of Tubas, reports Al Jazeera, based on an update provided by the Palestinian health ministry. Israeli forces shot and killed Rawhi Sawafta during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Tubas.

  • Similarly, the media outlet also reported that a 14-year-old Palestinian died of wounds sustained after being shot by Israeli forces near Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

  • The Palestinian Red Crescent announced nine people were wounded by live fire – including two in serious condition – during confrontations in Tubas.

  • The Palestinian death toll in the occupied West Bank has now risen to 124 since October 7, as per Al Jazeera.

    • Israel says 240 hostages are being held by Hamas in Gaza

  • Israel said on Tuesday that 240 hostages are under Hamas' captivity in Gaza, according to a report by Haaretz.

  • Referring to the fighting, Daniel Hagari said that fierce battles are being conducted in which "Hamas terrorists are eliminated."

  • The fighting is "complex," Hagari added, "but it is necessary for our ability to achieve our goals."

    • 'Security chaos' could engulf Middle East, warns Lebanon's caretaker PM

    Lebanese caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati warns of "security chaos" that could engulf the region should war spread beyond Israel and the Gaza Strip. The war has raised concerns that Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a Hamas ally, could open a new front with Israel.

    UN envoy says Israel-Hamas war is spilling into Syria, adding to growing instability there

  • The Israel-Hamas war is spilling into Syria, fueled by growing instability, violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution to its 12-year conflict, the United Nations special envoy for the country said.

  • Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that, on top of violence from the Syrian conflict, the Syrian people now face "a terrifying prospect of a potential wider escalation" following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the ongoing retaliatory military action.

    • READ FULL REPORT HERE

    Israel's army says it attacked nearly 300 Hamas targets in Gaza ground invasion: report

  • An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson has confirmed that Israel's army has killed several Hamas terrorists in their ongoing ground incursion into Gaza, reports by Haaretz.

  • According to an IDF statement, Israeli forces attacked some 300 Hamas targets, including anti-tank and rocket launching positions, tunnels and other terror compounds. During the operation, the Israeli forces have engaged several terrorist squads who shot anti-tank missiles and machine guns at them.

    • Israeli troops are 'striking all parts of the Gaza Strip', says IDF

    As Tel Aviv deepens its ground invasion of Gaza, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Jonathan Conricus says that Israel's military is currently "striking in all parts" of the besieged strip. Below are the images shared by the IDF on X showing the ground activity of its troops in the Gaza Strip.

    UN warns current aid system for Gaza 'geared to fail'

  • The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned Monday that the limited number of aid trucks entering Gaza were insufficient to meet the "unprecedented humanitarian needs" in the territory.

  • "The system in place to allow aid into Gaza is geared to fail unless there is political will to make the flow of supplies meaningful, matching the unprecedented humanitarian needs," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said, calling for the Security Council to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

    • READ FULL REPORT HERE

    'True cost of escalation will be measured in children's lives': UNICEF

    UNICEF chief Catherine Russell told the UN that her agency believes "the true cost of this latest escalation will be measured in children's lives -- those lost to the violence and those forever changed by it."

    Key developments so far

  • Israel expanded its military incursion into northern Gaza, freeing one hostage

  • Netanyahu rejects cease-fire calls, says Israel "will fight until this battle is won"

  • UN says urgent cease-fire is a matter of life and death for millions of Gazans

  • UNRWA warns current aid system for Gaza 'geared to fail' without political will

  • True cost of this escalation will be 'measured in children's lives', says UNICEF

  • Nearly 70 per cent of those killed in Gaza are children and women, says UNRWA chief

  • Over 8,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel's bombing began, says Hamas

  • Israeli forces raid several areas in the occupied West Bank region, reports Al Jazeera

  • UN envoy says the war is spilling into Syria, which already has growing instability

  • Israel backtracks on refusing on its refusal to grant entry visas to UN officials

    • Israeli forces raid several areas in occupied West Bank: report

    Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have carried out raids in several areas in the occupied West Bank region.

  • Israeli forces raided the cities of Hebron and Nablus, along with more raids and arrests in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin; the village of Deir Ballut, west of Salfit; the village of Zawata, south of Nablus; and the al-Shweiki suburb in Tulkarem.

  • Meanwhile, the news outlet also reported sounds of gunfire being overheard following what was described as "armed clashes" in Qabatiya.

    • UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman calls pro-Palestine rallies 'hate marches'

  • UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called pro-Palestine rallies "hate marches" and claimed that the protests that took place against Israel's attacks on Gaza witnessed a "large number of bad actors who are deliberately operating beneath the criminal threshold," Anadolu Agency reported.

  • She asserted, "To my mind, there is only one way to describe those marches - they are hate marches." In response to a question regarding the chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and whether she considered it antisemitic, Braverman said the police operate independently. However, Braverman emphasised that "The police must take a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism."

  • Meanwhile, shadow Home Secretary Yvette Copper called Braverman's comments "irresponsible and careless", reports The Guardian. "The home secretary has a responsibility to make it easier for the police to tackle hate crime and extremism while reassuring different communities who are deeply distressed by events in the Middle East not to use rhetoric carelessly in a way that makes the job of the police much harder," she said.

    • Hard experience says a land war won’t go well and faltering international support suggests the world knows it

    Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies, writes for The Conversation: Three weeks ago, Israel suffered a grievous loss and rightly got huge initial support, but that is already fading.

  • Worse still, there is a terrible inability of the current Israeli government to understand what it is dealing with in a ground invasion of Gaza. But the death toll tells us all we need to know.

  • If we look at the five Gaza wars since 2007, including the current devastating war, the Israelis have lost 1,700 people, but the Palestinians have lost more than 13,000 – and the numbers are rising by hundreds every day. READ FULL ANALYSIS HERE

    • Israeli tanks take position along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel. (Photo | AP)
    Israeli tanks take position along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel. (Photo | AP)

    In the Israel-Hamas war, children are the ultimate pawns – and ultimate victims

    Both sides in this war have focused on the deaths and kidnapping of children, sharing images and videos of the children as a testament to the other side’s cruelty.

  • For Palestinians, too, the killing of their children represents both the injustice of Israeli rule and occupation and the perceived attempt to stop Palestinians from having their own country.

  • The collective Palestinian memory of the Nakba in 1948, when Israeli forces killed thousands of Palestinians and pushed out 750,000 people from their homes, is replete with tales of children who lost both their homeland and their parents, writes Omer Bartov, Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, writes for The Conversation. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ANALYSIS

    • Palestinians carry a dead boy following Israeli strikes on Gaza on Oct. 26, 2023. (Photo | AFP)

    UN agency in Gaza says urgent cease-fire is `matter of life and death' for millions of Palestinians

    The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told a UN emergency meeting Monday “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,” accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.

    Philippe Lazzarini warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest UN agency in Gaza to continue operating.”

    Israeli airstrikes damage oxygen system and water supply at Turkish hospital

    Doctor Sobhi Skeik, director of the Turkish Palestinian Hospital, situated just south of Gaza City, said his hospital was damaged by an Israeli strike at 6:30 pm Monday evening. The blast partially destroyed two rooms on the third floor of the small hospital, damaging the building’s oxygen system and water supply.

    “Just out of luck no one was in the rooms at the time,” Skiek said. There was no evacuation order from the Israeli army before the strike.

    Over the past few days, Skeik said dozens of missile strikes have hit the atmosphere and area surrounding the hospital, which specializes in cancer treatment. He said the hospital is currently housing 100 to 150 patients, 200 staff members and 100 displaced people.

    Nearly 70% of those reported killed in Gaza are children and women, says UNRWA chief

    As Israel increases its ground expansions, the palestenian death toll has reached 8306 according to Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza in the last three weeks.

    The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees told a U.N. emergency meeting Monday “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,” accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.

    Philippe Lazzarini, The head of the UN security council in an emergency meeting noted that 70% of those reported killed are children and women. Nearly 3,200 children have been killed in Gaza in three weeks, he said, citing figures by the territory’s health ministry. That number surpasses the number of children killed annually across the world’s conflict zones since 2019, he said.

    Israel
    Palestine
    Gaza
    Hamas
    Humanitarian crisis
    Israel Hamas war

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