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.
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
It's been 8 days since #Hamas launched its attack against #Israel and stories of extraordinary courage, and horror, continue to emerge:
Neta Portal was shot six times when Hamas gunmen stormed the #KfarAza kibbutz in southern Israel.
She had jumped from a window to escape a grenade, only for Hamas militants to open fire.
You can find out here what happened afterwards:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67089114
The #UN relief agency operating in #Gaza has said its shelters in the northern part of the territory "are not safe anymore" - calling it "unprecedented".
"This war should be no exception," UNRWA said in a statement. "Protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure including UN buildings applies to this conflict too."
"Wars have rules," #UNRWA said. "Civilians, hospitals, schools, clinics and UN premises cannot be a target."
#Israel #hamas
One of the #Palestinian families that reached the Maghazi camp in southern #Gaza told the #BBC "the last three days had been "unspeakable".
"We are hostages here for both sides, for #Israel and for #Hamas ."
"If Israel are not able to find Hamas, they must not bomb the civilians and the infrastructure. We are not animals, we are not in a zoo, we are human beings."
#WHO stmt says the lives of those in intensive care or who rely on life support; newborns in incubators, and many others hang in the balance:
"Forcing more than 2,000 patients to relocate to southern #Gaza could be tantamount to a death sentence"
health workers have overwhelmingly chosen to stay behind, rather than risk moving their critically ill patients, a choice it calls "impossible".
It calls for #Israel "to reverse #evacuation orders to hospitals in northern Gaza"
There's been a protest outside #Israel’s def min by families demanding more information about those missing and the #hostages held by #Hamas.
Some there believed the area around #Gaza was left unprotected because troops had been deployed to the occupied West Bank by the hardline, ultranationalist govt of Netanyahu.
"The #IDF is supposed to defend us, not to secure some crazy adventure of settlers which only harm the security of Israel and the security of its soldiers" a participant said
Mark Schwarz, a ret. US lieutenant general has told the #BBC an #Israeli ground invasion into #Gaza is unlikely to be imminent because of the degree of preparation required.
The former US security co-ordinator for #Israel and the #Palestinian Authority, says the Israeli military's final preparations are probably "a few days away, if not hours away".
The logistical sustainment of such an operation - such as the number of casualties the Israeli military is likely to sustain - is hard to predict
#Russia has asked the United Nations' Security Council #UNSC to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the #Israel - #Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and "all acts of terrorism", Reuters news agency said
The draft resolution calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected #humanitarian #ceasefire, the secure release of all #hostages, and the distribution of humanitarian assistance and the safe evacuation of civilians in need
In #Egypt, an aid convoy has been waiting for hours to enter #Gaza through the #Rafah crossing.
In recent days the checkpoint has been closed due to #Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip which has reportedly damaged the #Palestinian side of the crossing.
This has prevented people from leaving or entering Gaza through the checkpoint. It also means aid has been held up at the border, and aid agencies have urged authorities to let their convoys through.
It is just over a week since #Hamas gunmen infiltrated #Israel to attack both civilians and soldiers. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel.
Israel has been carrying out retaliatory air strikes in #Gaza and a ground offensive is expected.
In total, 2,329 #Palestinians have been killed and 9,714 have been injured, according to the health ministry.
Thousands of #Palestinians are continuing to flee northern #Gaza ahead of #Israel's expected ground offensive.
In its latest update the #IDF says civilians still in northern Gaza must head south between 10:00 and 13:00 local time.
They should use a single route running from Beit Hanoun towards Khan Yunis, it says, adding that it will not target the route during those hours.
Initially, a 24-hour evacuation window was set by Israel for people to flee the area.
Commentary by the International Crisis Group ICG:
'Deterrence between #Israel and #Hizbollah Must Hold'
Thus far, October’s exchanges of fire between Hizbollah and Israel have stayed within the sides’ red lines. Still, with an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza looming, risks are tremendous. A Gaza ceasefire, while improbable, is the only way to rule out a broader war.
Recent shelling in southern Lebanon resulted in the tragic death of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and left several other journalists injured, including Carmen Joukhadar, who works with Al Jazeera, and Christina Assi, reporting for AFP.
V #BBC Hugo Bachega in S. Lebanon:
'The arm of the #Palestinian militant group -
#Hamas in #Lebanon - has confirmed that three of its members were killed while infiltrating #Israel from southern Lebanon early on Saturday.
It said the men were “able… to blow up the border fence” and “target the surveillance and access checkpoint” near the Israeli village of #Margaliot
On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces #IDF said it had killed “from the air” three “terrorists” in that area.'
The #US embassy in #Israel has said it has offered Americans + their immediate relatives evacuation by sea.
Those eligible will leave from the port city of #Haifa for #Cyprus on Monday.
'Entry requirements can be found here: https://mfa.gov.cy/visa-information.html
Those wanting to board will be asked to sign a n agreement to repay the US govt
Meanwhile the UK Foreign Office is telling British nationals in #Gaza to prepare in case the #Rafah border crossing into #Egypt is opened:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67114394
Some headlines v #BBCMonitoring:
#China 's Wang Yi says #Israel 's actions in #Gaza have 'gone beyond self-defence'
#Pakistan , #UAE urge 'cessation of hostilities' amid Israel- #Hamas war
Tunisian parliament considers bill criminalising normalising ties with Israel
#Afghan #Taliban condemn Israel's 'brutal' measures in Gaza
Pakistan paper warns of Israel-Hamas war turning into 'regional war'
V Haaretz:
#IDF Spox stmt saying that following an assessment of the situation and the shooting incident in the north, the army decided to 'isolate the area of up to four kilometers from the northern border with #Lebanon '.
The spox clarified that 'entering the area is strictly prohibited and asks the public to be vigilant. Residents staying up to two kilometers from the border are required to be near a protected area.'
#Israel #Gaza #hamas
V madamasr:
' #Egypt is on the verge of accepting an agreement that would allow foreigners and dual nationals to traverse the #Rafah crossing into North #Sinai , having set as a precondition the approval of the entry of #humanitarian #aid into the #Gaza Strip, according to informed sources'
https://www.madamasr.com/en/2023/10/15/feature/politics/under-pressure-egypt-inclined-to-accept-israel-us-push-to-host-palestinians-potentially-displaced-by-israeli-offensive/
V @michaelh992 :
'there are so many people coming back to #Israel to join the army that El Al, the Israeli airline, has had to operate during Shabbat - a first in decades.'
M Ghuneim, an ER doctor at the Al-#Shifa hospital in #Gaza, says like almost all the staff there, he hasn’t been able to leave since the bombardment started.
“the staff... can’t (go home) because of the number of people coming in that need help."
Around 60% of casualties coming into the hospital are women, children and elderly, he says. Al-Shifa is running out of medical supplies, with fuel powering the generators expected to run out today.
“We feel so helpless, like we can’t do anything"
PM #Netanyahu insists #Israel's expanded emergency government is working around the clock and together with a united front. He vowed Israel's unity relays a clear message to the nation, enemy and wider world.
A moment's silence was held for victims of the #Hamas onslaught last Saturday.
The Israeli leader told the cabinet that the military knows the "entire country" is behind them and understand "this is a fateful hour"
#Israeli soldiers and armour moving forward near Nahal Oz kibbutz towards the #Gaza boundary, acc to #BBC 's Jeremy Bowen, where his team has been filming.
"Smoke is rising from the northern part of Gaza Strip and there is steady artillery fire into Gaza from Israeli guns.
But nothing I’ve seen here this morning feels like the brink of action. Perhaps the Israeli army needs a few more days."
V Haaretz, by Sam Sokol (story written up in the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/14/bbc-arabic-reporters-back-hamas-anti-israel-bias/ and in Arutz Shiva as well https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/378512 ):
'BBC "urgently investigating" journalists at BBC World (Service)'s Arabic channel (who) are accused of writing and sharing social media posts in support of Hamas and (allegedly) claiming "no Israelis are civilians"
Kriszta Satori
Joe