At least 13 #Israeli and foreign #hostages held in five locations in the #Gaza Strip have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours, Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Hamas took about 150 people captive in its attack on 7 October. It has threatened to kill hostages if civilians homes are bombed by Israel without warning.

As the reports came in, UK Def Sec Grant Shapps told ITV he would treat the claims with "caution" but "deep concern".

From #Ukraine president #Zelensky 's latest stmt:
"We can clearly see that our enemy, #Russia, is interested in the worst-case scenario in the Middle East.

I am grateful to everyone who works to keep the Middle East from further exploding, but also to hold terrorists accountable for everything they have done against Israel—against children and women, against ordinary people.

We also remember about the citizens of other countries who have been detained or killed by terrorists." (Cont)

"There are also Ukrainians among the dead. My condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one.

It is critically important—for everyone around the world including those who do not yet comprehend—that terrorists must always be held accountable for all the evil they have caused."

On the #hostages v i24news:
' #IDF has notified the families of 120 hostages being held by #Hamas in the #Gaza Strip'

Would it refer to #Israeli soldiers being kept as hostages?

Previously there was talk of about 150 people altogether taken from #Israel

#IDF entered #Gaza to search for hostages - #Israeli Airforce

The Israeli Airforce acct posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that over the last 24 hours the Israeli Army carried out "local raids" in the territory of the Gaza Strip. The post says:
"Infantry and armored forces searched and gathered in the area for findings that may help in the effort to locate the missing and thwarted terrorist infrastructure and terrorist cells found in the area."

The #ICRC has condemned the #hostage taking during the attacks on #Israel by #Hamas , saying "our hearts go out" to those who have lost family members or are worried about loved ones.

"We reiterate our call for their immediate release and stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits," the #RedCross said.

Their quote regarding the evacuation orders:

"The instructions issued by the Israeli authorities for the population of #Gaza City are not compatible with international humanitarian law"

Reuters says its videographer has been killed while working in southern #Lebanon:
"We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed," the statement said.

Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh also sustained injuries and are seeking medical care, according to the statement.
#JournalismIsNorACrime

' #Hamas bears responsibility for what happens in #Gaza '-
says #Israel 's UN envoy

Gilad Erdan called on the UN to support Israel's order to evacuate Gaza:

"Hamas was democratically elected by the people of Gaza, we shouldn't forget this, don't look away," Erdan said.

The #Israeli military says it has struck a "terrorist target" in southern #Lebanon belonging to #Hezbollah

It says it acted after it intercepted two "unidentified targets" above #Haifa, close to the #Lebanese border, and after an unidentified UAV (drone) crossed into northern Israel.

In recent days Israeli forces have exchanged rocket fire with Hezbollah.

Like #Hamas, Hezbollah too has been designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other countries.

Blinken has arrived in #Saudi Arabia , his fifth stop on a tour of Arab countries as he tries to prevent the conflict between #Hamas and #Israel from spreading to the region.

Blinken wants Arab states to clearly condemn Hamas and to also show restraint over Israel’s response.

But as he arrived in Riyadh, the Saudi foreign ministry issued its strongest criticism of Israel yet, condemning what it called the targeting of defenceless civilians.
#Gaza

It has just passed 5 AM in the Middle East, a quick recap of what is going on in #Gaza :

#Palestinian civilians have been fleeing northern Gaza by car, on the back of trucks and on foot after an #Israeli warning - about 1.1 million people living in northern areas have been told to leave ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces.
The UN described the order as horrendous, while the US urged #Israel to take every precaution to avoid killing civilians

And if you missed the last week in news:
#Hamas fighters kidnapped at least 150 people and took them into #Gaza during attacks on #Israel a week ago which killed at least 1,300 people

1,900 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, authorities say

A total blockade is being enforced on Gaza, with fuel, food and water running out

V NBC:
'Documents exclusively obtained by NBC News show that #Hamas created detailed plans to target schools and a youth center in the #Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Sa'ad, to "kill as many people as possible," seize #hostages and move them into the #Gaza Strip.

The attack plans, which are labeled "top secret" in Arabic, appear to be orders for two highly trained Hamas units to surround and infiltrate villages and target places where civilians, incl children, gather'

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/top-secret-hamas-documents-show-terrorists-intentionally-targeted-elem-rcna120310?

V CNN:
'The journalists were wearing body armor clearly labeled as “press” when Israeli forces struck Lebanon on Friday; the sudden blast killed one Reuters journalist and wounded at least six others, according to official statements and videos analyzed by CNN.

Journalists from international news organizations Al Jazeera, Agence France Presse, and Reuters were among the victims, according to statements from their outlets.'

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/13/world/israel-lebanon-journalists-attacked-intl/index.html

#JournalismIsNotACrime

Thanks for all your likes, reposts and questions, the civility of the debate in most cases, and of course for reading plenty of #BBC material on #Israel , #Gaza , #Hamas

Meanwhile someone thought defacing our New Broadcasting House would be a better idea - picture taken by Victoria Derbyshire this morning:

It has just passed 7.30 AM in the Midde East - you might have missed some of the following:

" #IDF is gearing up for a comprehensive offensive" with the help of hundreds of thousands of reserve personnel, its stmt says.

No timings were given. A ground offensive into the #Gaza Strip has been expected and #Israel has asked residents in the north to flee.

It says they plan an offensive "involving air, sea, and land" forces.

#hamas

The #European Commission said it will immediately triple #humanitarian assistance for #Gaza

That's an extra 50m euros - for a total of 75m euros. The #EU is already the largest foreign donor to the #Palestinian people.

"It is essential that safe and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid is ensured", a stmt urged

The conditions in #Gaza are "fast becoming untenable," #UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said. "I fear that the worst is yet to come Humanity is failing."

So far at least five planes carrying humanitarian relief have arrived in Egypt's Sinai, Red Cross #ICRC officials said.

The #WHO said a plane carrying trauma medicines and health supplies had also landed.

Al Arish airport on #Sinai is about 45 km from the Gaza border, but the #Rafah crossing with #Egypt remains closed.
#Israel #hamas