Opening summaryWelcome to our continuing coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas. Here is a summary with a selection of the latest developments.
The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”. Lloyd Austin said on Saturday the deployment signalled Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war”. The USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships will join another carrier group already deployed to the region in the wake of the attack on Israel a week ago and Israel’s ongoing response. The US has sent munitions to Israel and warned other countries not to escalate the conflict.
The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.
Iran has warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped immediately. On Saturday, the permanent mission of Iran to the United Nations added: “The responsibility of which lies with the UN, the security council and the states steering the council toward a dead end.”
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar. Hamas said the two had agreed to continue cooperation to achieve Hamas’s goals. Earlier, Haniyeh said in a televised speech that “there will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt” in the wake of Israel’s order to evacuate, and that Egypt “welcomes the Palestinian people, but not on the basis of migration or an exodus”.
US president Joe Biden spoke separately with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister told Biden that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, Abbas’s office said Abbas told Biden he rejected the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as thousands fled amid deadly Israeli airstrikes.
Russia has asked the United Nations security council 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.
The Syrian defence ministry has confirmed Israel’s targeting of its Aleppo airport on Saturday night, putting it out of action. “The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo international airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service,” Reuters reports the ministry saying.
Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had fired back at Syrian areas from which two rockets were launched towards Israeli territory and fell into open areas. The military also said it fired an interceptor towards a “suspicious target” that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon but did not provide any additional details.
The European Council chief has called on a virtual summit with EU leaders next week to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. “It is of utmost importance that the European Council, in line with the treaties and our values, sets our common position and establishes a clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
Médicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the Israeli authorities to “show humanity”. In a statement issued on Saturday, MSF condemned Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip “without restraint for a week”.
Smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images Israel has admitted to intelligence “mistakes” in failing to predict Hamas’s attacks last weekend. “It’s my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those making [intelligence] assessments,” Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said at a press briefing.
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that its forces were preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans. It also announced its forces had been deployed throughout Israel and were preparing for the next stages “with an emphasis on significant ground operations”.
Lebanon said on Saturday that Israel had launched a deadly strike on Friday that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six other journalists from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Al Jazeera. The Lebanese army said in a statement: “The Israeli enemy fired a rocket shell that hit a civilian car belonging to a media team, leading to the death of Issam Abdallah.”
The UN’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “fast becoming untenable”. In a statement issued on Saturday, Griffiths said: “Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and assets, must be protected.”
The European Commission announced that it will triple humanitarian aid for Gaza. The move comes after the EU faced criticism for conflicting messaging from its senior leadership. The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke on Saturday with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, the commission said.
Key events
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Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people run out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians under an air bombardment struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive.
In Nasser hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest after al-Shifa, AP reports intensive care rooms are packed with wounded patients, most of them children below the age of three. Hundreds of people with severe blast injuries have come to the hospital, where fuel is expected to run out by Monday, said Dr Mohammed Qandeel, a consultant at the critical care complex.
Palestinians injured during Israeli raids arrive at on Sunday 15 October at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Photograph: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty ImagesThere are 35 patients in the ICU that depend on ventilators to stay alive and another 60 on dialysis. If fuel runs out, “it means the whole health system will be shut down, the services will be off,” he said.
“We we are talking about another catastrophe, another war crime, a historical tragedy,” he said, as children moaned in pain in the background. “All these patients are in danger of death if the electricity is cut off,” he said.
A man receives treatment at Nasser hospital on 14 October 2023 amid Israeli airstrikes, which have killed at least 2,329 people according to the Gaza health ministry. Photograph: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty ImagesIn the Kamal Alwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the head of paediatrics, said the hospital did not evacuate despite the Israeli order because there was no way to move patients elsewhere without risking their lives. There are seven newborns in the ICU hooked up to ventilators, he said. “We cannot evacuate, it would mean their death and other patients under our care.”
And wounded patients keep coming in with severed limbs, severe burns and other life-threatening injuries. “It’s frightening,” he said.
The UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has been appearing on television, where he has been asked about the war between Israel and Hamas. He said that considering about ten British people dead or missing was not an “unreasonable estimate”, and declined to say if the UK believes actions by Israel so far have been a breach of international law.
In an appearance on Sky News, Cleverly declined to give an exact number of British people dead or missing and said that the situation remained uncertain, but told the programme “[Ten] is not an unreasonable estimate of the kind of number of people that we’re talking about.”
PA Media reports that later on the BBC, Cleverly said “The interpretation of international law is that, I’m not a lawyer, but the UK’s position on international law is absolutely unwavering. So President Herzog has said … that Israel will abide by international law
“What I’m saying is the UK Government is absolutely committed to the adherence of international human (rights) law. And when we see breaches of that we raise that including with Israel.
“The point is the clear difference is from statements coming from Israel, saying that they respect and will abide by international humanitarian law and Hamas on the other hand, who are specifically targeting civilians.”
The UN’s OCHR position has been that the evacuation order imposed by the Israeli military on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is “a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law”. It demanded the order be rescinded.
Cleverly’s opposite number, the Labour politician David Lammy, said during his media appearances this morning that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is entitled to have an “operational desire” to “see an end to Hamas” but must act within international law.
“We must distinguish between Hamas, a terrorist group, and the Palestinian people. International law must prevail and that means that you have to minimise civilian casualties,” he said.
Three security sources have confirmed to Reuters that Israeli artillery is striking several areas in the south of Lebanon.
The move comes after a missile attack this morning which has killed one person and wounded three others in the Israeli village of Shtula, which is opposite the Lebanese community of Ayta a-Shab, over the UN blue line that has seaprated the two countries since 2000.
The Israeli military said it was striking in Lebanon in retaliation and it declared a zone within 4 km (2.5 miles) of the blue line off-limits to public access.
The Israeli military has said that as part of its operations, it is deliberately disrupting GPS operations in northern Israel near Lebanon, and also in the south near Gaza. Spokesperson Rr Adm Daniel Hagari has warned citizens it could cause glitches in their location apps.
כמו כן, במהלך הלחימה מופעלים שיבושי GPS יזומים בכלל מרחבי הלחימה לצרכים מבצעיים שונים.
על האזרחים להיות מודעים לכך שהפעלת השיבוש יכולה לגרום לתקלות זמניות ביישומים מבוססי מיקום.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 15, 2023 Here are some of the latest images sent to us from Gaza, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Family members grieve during the funeral of Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza and killed during an attack in the town of Deir Al-Balah. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty ImagesRockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday 15 October. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/APUS secretary of state Antony Blinken (R) returns to his hotel in the Saudi capital Riyadh after meeting with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AFP/Getty ImagesA picture shows the remains of a rocket launched from Gaza after it was intercepted by the Iron Dome system and fell in Sderot on Sunday 15 October. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty ImagesAn IDF supplied image of the Israeli Navy Sa’ar 6-class corvette ship firing at a target in Gaza yesterday. Photograph: Israel Defence Force/ReutersThe US embassy in Israel has published details of how it will attempt to evacuate people by sea from Haifa to Cyprus tomorrow. It says:
The US government is assisting US nationals and their immediate family members with a valid travel document to depart Haifa via sea for Cyprus on 16 October 2023. Boarding begins at 8am local time. US citizens must arrive at Haifa port passenger terminal no later than 9am local time. Boarding will proceed in order of arrival and is on a space limited basis.
The passage to Limassol Port is expected to take approximately 10-12 hours. US consular staff will be available both on the ship and at the Limassol port in Cyprus to assist and provide information about onward travel to the US.
Reuters has a quick snap that the Israeli military has ordered civilians not to come within 4km (2.5 miles) of the blue line that has marked the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon since 2000.
More details soon …
Latest reported casualty figuresThe latest reported casualty figures since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Saturday 7 October are that at least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 wounded. It remains unclear how many hostages Hamas are holding in Gaza – authorities have estimated the number to be between 100 and 150.
In subsequent Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip enclave, at least 2,329 Palestinians have been killed, with more than 9,714 wounded. In addition at least 53 people have been reported killed in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 wounded.
Tens of thousands of people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes and moved south following Israel’s evacuation warning, according to estimates by the UN humanitarian office OCHA. Prior to the evacuation order, it said more than 400,000 Palestinians were already internally displaced.
One killed in missile attack on northern Israeli village near Lebanon – reportsHezbollah’s Al-Manar television channel appears to have confirmed that missiles were fired from Lebanon at the Israeli village of Shtula, and Israeli medics are stating that one person has been killed and three wounded as a result. The claims, both reported by Reuters, have not been independently verified.
More details soon …
Reuters has a quick snap that the US embassy in Israel is to offer US citizens and their relatives evacuation by sea from Haifa to Cyrpus.
During the week Cyprus said it stood ready to aid evacuation attempts, as it had done when providing logistics for evacuations from Sudan.
More details soon …
An anti-armour missile was fired from inside Lebanon at an Israeli border village on Sunday, causing at least four casualties, Reuters reports Israel’s army radio has claimed.
The Israeli military did not immediate confirm that information, saying only that it was striking in Lebanon after a reported attack on Shtula village.
Shtula, a farming community, abuts the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Israel, Lebanon and the Golan Heights created by the UN after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. It faces the Lebanese town of Ayta a-Shab.
Reuters reports that US secretary of state Antony Blinken said his meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh was “very productive”.
Blinken made the comment as he was returning to a hotel.
“The secretary highlighted the US’s unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the conflict from spreading,” the state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“The two affirmed their shared commitment to protecting civilians and to advancing stability across the Middle East and beyond,” Miller added.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at [email protected].
Israel’s communications minister has said he is seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza.
Reuters reports that Shloma Karhi said the proposal to shut Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being examined by legal experts. He would bring it to the cabinet later in the day, he said.
Al Jazeera and the government in Doha had no immediate comment.
Karhi told Israel’s army radio:
This is a station that incites, this is a station that films troops in assembly areas [outside Gaza] … that incites against the citizens of Israel – a propaganda mouthpiece.
It is unconscionable that Hamas spokespeople’s message goes through this station.
Karhi added: “I hope we will finish with this today.” It was not clear if that referred to the cabinet discussion or implementing a closure.
A file photo of Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem. Photograph: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty ImagesUS secretary of state Antony Blinken said his meeting in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was “very productive”.
Blinken was answering a question from a Reuters reporter as he returned to the hotel where the US delegation was staying. The meeting with the kingdom’s de-facto ruler lasted a little under an hour, a US official said.