In the West Bank, Israeli settlers kidnap a Palestinian child south of Hebron, taking him to the Havat Ma’on settlement where he is beaten before being released. Israeli settlers also assault a Palestinian man grazing livestock in Khirbet al-Tuba in the Masafer Yatta area. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers assault Palestinians harvesting olives in Ramin. Israeli settlers also set up a new outpost in Farkha. Israeli settlers also vandalize 30 olive trees and later return to set fire to other trees in Yasuf. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers with a military escort raid Nablus, touring Joesph’s Tomb. Thousands of Israeli settlers also raid Jabal Sabih near Beita. Israeli forces shoot and kill an 11-year-old boy in Nablus. Israeli forces also seize a vehicle belonging to a principal at a school in Khirbet a-Dabe. Elsewhere, Israeli forces arrest 28 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Ramallah, Salfit, Bethlehem, Nablus, and Qalqilya. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Jabalia refugee camp, Beit Lahiya, Gaza City, Khan Yunis, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Rafah, killing at least 74 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Beirut, Nabatieh, al-Haush, and towns and villages. Israeli forces also open fire at a UNIFIL observation tower near Dhayra, forcing the peacekeepers to flee. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Ma’agan Michael, the Stella Maris naval base, and the Glilot base near Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli soldier. An Israeli soldier is also killed in southern Lebanon. (AJ, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/22; AJ, UNOCHA 10/24; REU 10/25)
More than 42,718 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 17,000 children and 11,487 women, and around 100,282 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 760 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 166 children. More than 6,500 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 356 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,363 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 79,000 housing units have been destroyed and 370,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023. (AJ, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 10/22)
The UN Development Programme says the poverty rate in the occupied Palestinian territories has doubled over the past year to 74.3%. (AJ, AJ, WAFA 10/22)
PA president Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Russia for the upcoming BRICS summit. (WAFA 10/22)
U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Media reports say that Netanyahu rejected a request by Blinken to publicly say Israel is not pursuing the General’s Plan of starvation and ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza. Before leaving for Saudi Arabia, Blinken urges Israel to move toward normalization. (AJ, AJ, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU 10/22; AJ, HA 10/23)