Friday, October 27, 2023

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers a with military escort shot and injured a Palestinian during a raid in Sarra. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinians traveling near Tuqu’, causing damage. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers vandalized 200 olive, grape, and almond trees, water pumps, irrigation pipes, and a water tank in Ein al-Beida. Israeli settlers also assaulted Palestinians during a raid in Susiya. Israeli forces shot and killed 4 Palestinians during raids in Jenin and Qalqilya; during the raid in Jenin, Israeli forces vandalized the memorial of Shireen Abu Akleh and used bulldozers to destroy infrastructure. Israeli forces also shot and injured 19 Palestinians, including at least 1 child, during raids in Jenin, Hebron, Deir Abu Masha’al, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, al-Bireh, and Nablus. Elsewhere, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian Red Crescent medics in Tubas. 45 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in as-Samu, Dahariya, Dura, Beit Umar, Ni’lin, Kafr Ni’ma, Hizma, Jericho, Aida refugee camp, Dheisheh refugee camp, and Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces blocked entrance to the Haram al-Sharif compound and assaulted worshippers. In Gaza, Israeli attacks killed 298 Palestinians, including 125 children. Israeli forces made incursions and fired tank shells at Palestinian infrastructure near Gaza City. At night, all telecommunications were cut off in Gaza; several humanitarian organizations and media outlets said they were unable to reach their people on the ground. The communications blackout started prior to Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza. Hamas said its military wing had repelled Israeli attacks on Beit Hanun and al-Bureij and from a beach in Rafah. Israel said it assassinated Hamas member Madhat Mubashe. Rockets were fired at Israel; no injuries were reported. In Egypt, explosives hit a medical facility in Taba and an electric plant near Nuweiba, lightly injuring 6 people; it was later reported that the explosives came from the south of the Red Sea. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/27; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, REU 10/28)

The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 7,326 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 4,000 women and children, and 18,967 have been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. It is estimated that 1,700 people, including 940 children, were trapped in rubble. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 108 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 30 children. More than 1,967 have been injured. Israeli officials recorded no new fatalities, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals; 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. The UN reported that over 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half the population in Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. As of 10/23, at least 27,781 housing units had been destroyed and 150,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. At least 45% of all housing units have been either destroyed or damaged in Israeli airstrikes. UNRWA said 14 of its staff members have been killed in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of UNRWA staff killed in Israeli attacks to 53. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the monitoring regime for the aid trucks that pass into Gaza via the Rafah crossing was too slow. At least 10 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA 10/27)

Israel indicted 5 Israeli citizens on charges of inciting terrorism or identifying with Hamas. A total of 24 have been indicated on similar charges since 10/7. (HA 10/27)

The Israeli military released a video illustration claiming al-Shifa Hospital has a vast network of underground facilities. The head of the Government Media Office in Gaza, Salama Marouf, called the illustration “false fabricated allegations.” (AJ, AJ, REU 10/27)

Reuters reported that Israel had told the news agency and Agence France-Presse that as Israel ramps up its attacks on Gaza, it cannot guarantee the safety of the 2 agencies’ journalists. 29 journalists have been killed since 10/7, including 25 Palestinians and 1 Lebanese. (AJ, REU 10/27)

UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini defended the data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, saying it has been reliable in the past “5, 6 cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip.” U.S. president Joe Biden said on 10/25 that he did not have confidence in the data. (AJ, AJ, REU, WAFA 10/27)

Israeli soldiers were filmed singing “Ahmad Tibi is dead,” referring to the Palestinian member of Knesset for the Ta’al party. (HA 10/27)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, discussing the situation in Gaza. (WAFA 10/27)

The UN General Assembly voted to adopt a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas and demanding humanitarian aid access in Gaza. 120 countries voted in favor, 45 abstained, and 14 voted against. Tunisia and Iraq explained their abstentions, saying the resolution did not support Palestine strongly enough. Israel’s UN ambassador said the passage of the resolution was “a dark day for the UN and for mankind.” An amendment introduced by Canada and co-sponsored by the U.S., condemning Hamas for “the taking of hostages,” failed as it did not get the 2/3s majority support needed to pass.  (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/27; AJ, AP, WAFA 10/28)

The Council of the European Union accepted a Spanish proposal for the country to host a peace conference on Middle East peace within 6 months. (AJ, AP 10/27)

French president Emmanuel Macron said France and several other European countries will make a “humanitarian coalition” for Gaza. (AJ 10/27)

The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was pushing Israel not to undertake a full ground invasion of Gaza. ABC News reported that the U.S. State Department was not aware that Israel would “expand its ground invasion.” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. supports humanitarian pauses if captives held by Hamas were released. A U.S. official told Reuters that Qatar is open to reconsidering allowing Hamas to have a presence in the country. (AJ, HA, REU, REU 10/27; AJ 10/28)

New York City police arrested more than 200 people at a mass sit-in at Grand Central Station arranged by Jewish Voice for Peace, which temporarily closed the station. The protesters called for an immediate ceasefire. (HA, WAFA 10/27; AJ, AJ, AP, AP, NYT 10/28)

The U.S. told its citizens in Lebanon that they should leave the country due to the “unpredictable security situation.”  (AJ 10/27; AJ, HA 10/28)