LIVE | Israel-Hamas War Day 24: Gaza gets largest aid shipment; deaths top 8,000
Humanitarian workers say assistance still desperately short of needs after thousands of people break into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products
Nearly three dozen trucks entered Gaza on Sunday (October 29) in the largest aid convoy since the war between Israel and Hamas began, but humanitarian workers said the assistance still fell desperately short of needs after thousands of people broke into warehouses to take flour and basic hygiene products.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the death toll among Palestinians crossed 8,000, mostly women and minors, as Israeli tanks and infantry pursued what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “second stage” in the war ignited by Hamas’s brutal October 7 incursion.
The toll is without precedent in decades of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Over 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the initial attack.
Communications were restored to much of Gaza early on Sunday after an Israeli bombardment described by residents as the most intense of the war knocked out most contact late Friday. The besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people were largely cut off from the world.
Israel has allowed only a small trickle of aid to enter. On Sunday, 33 trucks of aid entered the only border crossing from Egypt, a spokesperson at the Rafah crossing, Wael Abo Omar, told The Associated Press.
After visiting the Rafah crossing, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called the suffering of civilians “profound" and said he had not been able to enter Gaza.
Karim Khan called on Israel to respect international law but stopped short of accusing it of war crimes. He called Hamas' Oct 7 attack a serious violation of international humanitarian law. “The burden rests with those who aim the gun, missile or rocket in question,” he said.
“These are the most tragic of days,” Khan added.
The court investigates and prosecutes people for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. It has been investigating the actions of Israeli and Palestinian authorities since 2014.
The Israeli military said Sunday it had struck over 450 militant targets over the past 24 hours, including Hamas command centres and anti-tank missile launching positions. It said ground forces killed a number of Hamas militants as they exited one of their extensive network of Gaza tunnels near the Erez crossing, which was the sole pedestrian passageway into Israel before it was destroyed in the fighting.
The Hamas military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles. Palestinian militants have continued firing rockets into Israel.
(With agency inputs)
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Live Updates
- 30 Oct 2023 8:56 AM IST
Number of children killed in conflict soars
The number of children killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of the Hamas-Israel earlier this month has exceeded the number of children killed in armed conflict every year globally since 2019, international charity Save the Children said Sunday.
In a statement, the charity cited numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry of at least 3,195 children killed in the war that was sparked following a surprised Hamas attack on Oct. 7. It also mentioned the deaths of 33 children in the occupied West Bank and 29 children killed in Israel.
“The numbers are harrowing and with violence not only continuing but expanding in Gaza right now, many more children remain at grave risk,” Save the Children Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory Jason Lee said in a statement. “One child's death is one too many, but these are grave violations of epic proportions. A cease-fire is the only way to ensure their safety.” (AP) - 30 Oct 2023 8:56 AM IST
UN secretary general reiterates call for humanitarian cease-fire
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that “the world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes” in Gaza, with over two million people denied the essentials of life and subjected to relentless bombardment.
“I urge all those with responsibility to step back from the brink,” he told reporters at a meeting with Nepal's prime minister in Kathmandu on Sunday.
“We must join forces to end this nightmare for the people of Gaza, Israel and all those affected around the world.” The UN chief reiterated his appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the unconditional release of all hostages and delivery of aid at scale to Gaza.
Guterres again condemned Hamas' “appalling attacks” on Israel on Oct 7, stressing that “there is no justification, ever, for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians”.
The secretary-general reiterated that all parties to conflict are required under international humanitarian laws to protect civilians and provide them with food, water, medicine and other essentials, stressing that “those laws cannot be contorted for the sake of expedience”.
“The number of civilians who have been killed and injured is totally unacceptable,” Guterres said. (AP) - 30 Oct 2023 8:55 AM IST
Israel drops leaflets on Gaza, asking civilians to surrender
Israel’s military, which has said repeatedly that it is not at war with civilians in Gaza but rather with Hamas, dropped leaflets on the Gaza Strip Sunday asking civilians to “surrender”.
Written in Arabic, the leaflets told civilians to lay down all their weapons, put their hands up, wave white flags and follow instructions from the Israeli military.
“Hamas leaders are exploiting you,” the flyers read. “They and their families are in safe places, while you die in vain.” (AP)
