LIVE Day 22: Israel-Hamas war: Gaza death toll crosses 7,700 as Israel expands ground operation
Israeli strikes have killed so many people so quickly that they've overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, making the normal rituals of death all but impossible
Israel launched an expanded ground operation on Saturday after knocking out communications and creating a near-blackout of information in the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment and artillery fire overnight.
Israel’s defence minister said that “the ground shook in Gaza” and that the war against the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers had entered a new stage. Gaza residents described the massive overnight bombardment from the sea and the air as the most intense of the 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war.
The Palestinian death toll has mounted rapidly in the last 24 hours and has crossed 7,700 since the war started, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.
Israeli strikes have killed so many people so quickly that they've overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, making the normal rituals of death all but impossible. Of the dead, nearly 300 have not been identified. Fear and panic were spreading as Israel expanded its ground incursion and intensified bombardment.
“We have hundreds of people being killed every day,” said Inas Hamdan, a Gaza-based communications officer for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency. “The whole system in Gaza is overwhelmed. People are dealing with the dead however they can.” Overcrowded cemeteries have compelled families to dig up long-buried bodies and deepen the holes.
Gravediggers have laid dozens of unidentified bodies side by side in two large backhoe-dug furrows in Gaza City now holding 63 and 46 bodies, respectively, said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the general director of Shifa Hospital.
Israel strikes Hezbollah sites in Lebanon
Israel's military says it is striking Hezbollah military infrastructure in Lebanon. It said the strikes were ordered Saturday after “several anti-tank missile and mortar shell launches were identified from Lebanese territory toward Israel," including Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border.
There has been concern that the Israel-Hamas war could expand into Lebanon and northern Israel if Hezbollah decides to join the conflict.
Communication blackout in Gaza Strip
Israel knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information by striking targets in the Gaza Strip with stepped-up bombardment and artillery fire overnight and into Saturday.
Explosions from continuous air strikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall Friday as the Israeli military said it was expanding ground operations in the territory, signalling a move closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza meant to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody rampage in southern Israel on October 7.
The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services as the besieged enclave's 2.3 million people were largely cut off from contact with the outside world. Some satellite phones continued to function.
This action created a virtual information blackout, as the military announced its plans to “expand” ground operations in the region. The cut-off resulted in an inability to ascertain casualties from strikes and gather information on ground incursions. The military’s announcement signalled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces said its fighter jets attacked around 150 underground sites in the northern Gaza Strip which belong to the Hamas group. It added that several Hamas terrorists were killed in the overnight attack. Combat tunnels, underground combat spaces and other underground terrorist infrastructures were destroyed, it added.
The Palestinian death toll passed 7,300. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list including names and ID numbers on Thursday. In the occupied West Bank, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids since the war's start three weeks ago.
Hamas head of aerial forces killed
Meanwhile, the head of Hamas' aerial unit, Issam Abu Rukbeh, was killed in an overnight airstrike, as confirmed by the Israel Defence Forces and Shin Bet security services. Abu Rukbeh was responsible for overseeing Hamas' drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, paragliders, aerial detection systems, and air defences. He played a significant role in planning and executing the October 7 attack by directing terrorists who used paragliders to enter southern Israel and coordinating drone attacks on Israel Defence Forces observation posts.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack. In addition, 229 people — including foreigners, children and older adults — were taken hostage by Hamas during the incursion and remain in captivity in Gaza. Four hostages were released earlier.
UN General Assembly calls for ‘humanitarian truce’
The UN General Assembly approved a non-binding resolution on Friday calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, the first United Nation’s response to the on-going war.
The 193-member world body adopted the Arab-drafted resolution by a vote of 120-14 with 45 abstentions after rejecting a Canadian amendment backed by the United States. It would have unequivocally condemned the October 7 “terrorist attacks” on Israel by Hamas and demanded the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas.
The Arab group went to the General Assembly after the more powerful 15-member Security Council failed to agree on a resolution after four attempts over the past two weeks. While council resolutions are legally binding, assembly resolutions are not, but they do serve as a barometer of world opinion.
Blackout hampering rescue and relief work
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the blackout in Gaza is making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured. He added that the WHO is still out of touch with its staff and health facilities in the Palestinian enclave. Tedros added that under the current circumstances, it is not possible to evacuate the patients or to find safe shelters for them.
Aid groups said the communications blackout in the Gaza Strip has not only left them unable to contact their staff, but has also impeded their operations in the territory.
“It doesn't only mean that Gaza is isolated from the world but also it means people can't connect to each other. Our emergency line is down so people are literally not able to call an ambulance,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent. “We are extremely worried because we are completely cut off from our teams.” The International Committee of the Red Cross also said it's currently unable to reach its staff in Gaza.
“We are deeply worried for their safety and the safety of all civilians where hostilities are taking place," the organisation said in a statement. “Without access to information in a communication blackout, people don't know where to go for safety.”
Protests in Indonesia and US seeking end to war
More than 3,000 protesters marched to the heavily guarded US Embassy in Indonesia's capital on Saturday to demand an end to the war and bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Waving Indonesian and Palestinian flags, the protesters, many wearing white Islamic robes, filled a major thoroughfare in downtown Jakarta running outside the embassy. About 1,000 police were deployed around the compound, which is blocked off by concrete road barriers.
The protesters, organised by the Indonesian Ulema Council, known as MUI, chanted “God is Great” and “Freedom for Palestine” during the noisy but peaceful protest. Banners and placards proclaimed, “We stand with Gaza,” and slammed the Israeli government while denouncing the staunch U.S. support of Israel.
Similarly, hundreds of protesters in black T-shirts filled New York City's iconic Grand Central Terminal during the evening rush hour on Friday to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Many of the protesters were detained by police and taken out of the station, their hands zip tied behind their backs. The NYPD could not immediately say how many were taken into custody.
“Hundreds of Jews and friends are taking over Grand Central Station in a historic sit-in calling for a ceasefire,” advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace said on social media.
Live Updates
- 28 Oct 2023 6:26 AM GMT
Gaza’s largest hospital struggles to keep its neonatal units running
Premature babies wiggle and squirm, some with oxygen tubes under their noses, in rows of clear plastic incubators inside the neonatal unit of Gaza's largest hospital, which, like the rest of the besieged Palestinian territory, is running out of fuel, food, water, and electricity.
Doctors in Gaza say conditions have reached catastrophic levels. They say a lack of basic supplies has left them struggling to maintain hygiene and sanitation, and hospital grounds are overcrowded with displaced civilians seeking refuge from Israeli air strikes.
“We have noticed an increase in premature birth cases,” said Dr. Nasser Bulbul, head of the NICU at al-Shifa Hospital.
“We had to perform a premature delivery of the fetus from the mother's womb while she's dying,” he said. “Many of these infants are orphaned, and we don't know the fate of their relatives or have information about their identities.”
Around 50,000 pregnant women are caught up in the conflict, with around 5,500 due to give birth within the next 30 days, according to the United Nations Population Fund.
If fuel supplies run out, neonatal intensive care units will be impacted and planned or emergency caesarean sections will be impossible, the UN agency said.
- 28 Oct 2023 6:23 AM GMT
‘Past 3 weeks deadliest period for journalists’: Press group
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the past three weeks have been the deadliest on record for journalists covering conflict since the organisation started tracking in 1992.
The organisation said in a statement on Friday (October 27) that at least 29 journalists have died covering the Israel-Hamas war since it ignited on October 7, including 24 Palestinians, four Israelis and 1 Lebanese. Additionally, 8 other journalists were reported injured and 9 were reported missing or detained.
CPJ also criticized the cutting of communications services in the Gaza Strip, warning that the blackout is also a “news blackout” that has compromised the public's ability to “know and understand what is happening in this conflict.”
“This can lead to serious consequences with an independent, factual information vacuum that can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation,” it said.
The organisation stressed that journalists are civilians that must be respected and protected in accordance with international humanitarian law, adding that “deliberately targeting journalists or media infrastructure constitutes possible war crimes.”
- 28 Oct 2023 5:40 AM GMT
Turkish foreign minister appeals to Israel to heed calls for peace
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appealed to Israel on Friday (October 27) to “heed Turkey's call for peace,” warning that the country could find itself in a growing spiral of violence.
Speaking during a joint news conference with Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Fidan said: “Humanity is at a crossroads. Either there will be a great war that will spread all over the world, or a great peace will emerge.”
Fidan continued: “Ignoring the existence of the Palestinians, ignoring the rights of the Palestinians, and applying pressure and cruelty to the Palestinians have not — and will not — bring peace to Israel. If Israel wants to be in peace and security, it must respect the right of the Palestinians to live in their own state on their own land.”
Rasmussen defined Hamas as a terrorist organisation in an apparent rebuke of Turkish President Recep Tayyip who earlier this week described the militant group as “liberation fighters.”
Fidan said Turkey regards Hamas as a political party “that is part of the Palestinian state system,” but added that this did not mean that Ankara “accepts the killing of civilians.”
- 28 Oct 2023 5:36 AM GMT
Argentine 9-month-old baby among Hamas’ hostages
One of the youngest hostages being held captive in Gaza by Hamas is a 9-month-old Argentine baby, according to the head of Argentina's embassy in Israel.
“The youngest hostage, a baby of only nine months, is Argentine. It's very difficult to talk about such painful topics,” Francisco Tropepi told Vis á Vis, a news outlet focused on reporting related to Israel and the Jewish community in Argentina, in an interview. Tropepi did not reveal the baby's identity.
There are 21 Argentine citizens who remain missing and are presumed to be held hostage by Hamas, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said in a radio interview on Friday morning (October 27). An estimated nine Argentines have been killed in the conflict.
“In some cases, we have precise information that they've been captured, and in others, we've been actively searching for them,” Cafiero said, adding that he had spoken with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to request his intervention for the release of the Argentine hostages who are being held in the Gaza Strip.
- 28 Oct 2023 5:32 AM GMT
Aid group says internet blackout has impeded staff communications
The Palestinian Red Crescent says the communications blackout in the Gaza Strip has not only left them unable to contact their staff, but has also impeded their operations in the region.
“It doesn't only mean that Gaza is isolated from the world but also it means people can't connect to each other. Our emergency line is down so people are literally not able to call an ambulance,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the organisation.
“We are extremely worried because we are completely cut off from our teams.” She added: “That means that our emergency rescue workers are having to just follow the sound of bombardment to search for wounded people instead of arriving at a location that needs help in the fastest way possible.”
- 28 Oct 2023 5:19 AM GMT
Israel cuts off mobile, internet services in Gaza
Israel knocked out internet and communication in the Gaza Strip in stepped-up bombardment on Friday night (October 27), largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from contact with each other and the outside world and creating a near-blackout of information, as the military said it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory.
The military's announcement signalled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.
- 28 Oct 2023 5:07 AM GMT
Israel-Hamas war: India abstains from UNGA resolution
Israel-Hamas war: India abstains from UNGA resolution; calls for zero-tolerance approach to terrorism as it
