In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with a military escort raid Khalayel al-Loz, attacking homes. Armed Israeli settlers also force Palestinians harvesting olives to flee in Sabastia and Hizma. Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man in ‘Urif. Israeli forces also assault several Palestinians during a raid in Kafr Qaddum. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently disperse Palestinians with tear gas during a raid in al-Khader. Israeli forces also prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives in Huwwara, Haris, and Deir Sharaf. Meanwhile, Israeli forces prohibit the call for prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque. Israeli forces also arrest 24 Palestinians during raids in Hebron and Beit Umar. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers tour the Haram al-Sharif compound, blowing a shofar. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Gaza City, Nuseirat refugee camp, and Beit Lahiya, killing at least 14 people. 2 rockets are fired at Israel. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood, a hospital in Marjayoun, Khiam, Bint Jbeil, at-Tiri, Kfar Kila, Khirbet Selm, Tayr Harfa, Odeissah, Ayta ash Shab, Baalbek, and Majdal Zoun, killing at least 25 people, including 4 medics in Marjayoun. Israeli forces also bomb the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. Israel orders the evacuation of 35 towns in southern Lebanon, telling residents to move north of the Awali River and orders the evacuation of parts of the Beirut neighborhood of Bourj el-Barajneh. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Haifa. In Iraq, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launches a drone at the Golan Heights, killing 2 Israeli soldiers. In Yemen, U.S. forces bomb al-Jabana, Sanaa, Hodeidah airport, and Dhamar. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/4; AJ, AP 10/5; UNOCHA 10/8)
More than 41,802 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,456 children and 11,088 women, and around 96,844 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 730 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 153 children. More than 6,000 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, 346 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,298 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. The UN Education Cluster says 87% of schools in Gaza have been directly targeted or sustained damage. UNRWA says that 1.4 million people in Gaza did not receive food rations in September due to “Israeli-imposed bureaucratic hurdles, lack of security guarantees within Gaza, insufficient border crossing points, and risk of criminal gangs looting humanitarian convoys in southern Gaza.” UNRWA also says 52 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza daily in September, but at least 700 were needed. (AJ, UNOCHA 10/4)
The WHO says it has reached out to Israel for permission to start the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on 10/14. (AJ, HA, REU 10/4)
The Lebanese health ministry says that 2,023 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in the past year, including 127 children and 261 women, while 9,526 have been wounded. The UN says that the nearly 900 Lebanese government shelters are at capacity. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric calls the civilian death toll in Lebanon “totally unacceptable.” (AJ, HA, REU 10/4; AJ 10/5)
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrives in Beirut for meetings with Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati and Parliament speaker Nabih Berri. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU 10/4)
The Irish Times reports that Ireland has rejected an Israeli demand for it to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from the area along the Blue Line. (AJ, HA 10/4)
The German foreign ministry issues a statement saying the “high number of civilian casualties in an Israeli air strike in Tulkarm is shocking,” referring to an attack on 10/3 carried out by Israeli fighter jets. (AJ 10/4)
U.S. president Joe Biden says during a press briefing that Israel has not decided how it will attack Iran but says that if he was “in their shoes, I would think about alternatives than striking oil fields.” (AP, AX, HA, NYT 10/4; HA 10/5)
Axios reports that the U.S. wants to take advantage of a weakened Hezbollah to push for the election of a new Lebanese president. The U.S. is interested in seeing Lebanese military commander Joseph Aoun as the next president according to Axios sources. Axios says U.S. deputy assistant to the president Amos Hochstein told Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati that the U.S. plan for a diplomatic solution between Hezbollah and Israel is off the table and that Mikati should instead prioritize the election of a new president, after which a ceasefire can be negotiated. (AX 10/4)
Reuters reports that U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul told President Biden’s aides in an email on 10/13/2023 that Israeli evacuation orders for more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza would be a humanitarian disaster and could violate international law and lead to war crimes charges against Israel. Stroul’s warning was reportedly one of many that the White House chose to dismiss. The New York Times reports that senior Defense Department officials are questioning the Biden administration’s policy of “de-escalation of the [Middle East] situation through deterrence and diplomacy,” reportedly saying it emboldens Israel. ProPublica reports that U.S. ambassador to Israel Jack Lew sent a cable to the State Department in January urging it to approve the sale of 3,000 more bombs for Israel, saying there is no potential that the Israeli military will misuse the weapons. Lew also told State Department officials that Israeli AI targeting software is “sophisticated and comprehensive” and “often exceeds our own standards,” despite reports that it indiscriminately targets civilians. ProPublica also reports that State Department officials received gifts from the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C., including wine from the Naqab Desert. (AJ, AJ, NYT, PP, REU 10/4)
The Netherlands evacuates Dutch nationals on military planes from Beirut. Brazil and Germany also evacuate some of their citizens from Lebanon. (AJ 10/4)
The U.S. donates $157 million and the UK $13 million to Lebanon to help deal with mass displacement in the country. (AJ, HA, REU 10/4)