Israel is preparing for a "multilateral operation" from the sea, ground and air, defense minister says
From CNN's Tamar Michaelis and Hadas Gold
A convoy of Israeli army vehicles drives along a road close to the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 23. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images
Israel is preparing for a "multilateral operation" on Hamas from the "air, ground, and sea," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement released Monday.
Gallant has completed a tour of the Ashdod Navy base, where he said he "conducted a situation assessment of naval operations" and "toured the shores on Israel’s southern border together with Navy Commander VADM David Saar Salama," according to the Ministry of Defense on Monday.
He commended the work of soldiers and commanders in "thwarting many attacks that would have taken place" against Israel, Gallant said in a video statement filmed during the visit.
“My message to the soldiers – well done, you did an excellent job! Keep preparing for our operation, it will come soon. We are preparing thoroughly for the next step – a multilateral operation in the air, ground, and sea," Gallant added. "Do your work, get ready. We will need you.”
1:41 p.m. ET, October 23, 2023
20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza on Monday as situation in hospitals remains "dire," UN says
From CNN's Richard Roth
Members of Palestine Red Crescent Society organize humanitarian aid sent by the World Health Organization, after entering Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday. Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images
Twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid passed the Rafah crossing into Gaza on Monday, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Ten trucks were carrying UN supplies of water, food, and medicine, OCHA wrote in a statement on Monday. The remaining ten trucks carried supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent, the UN spokesperson said.
"It’s a drop in the bucket," UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said of the number of aid trucks.
On Saturday and Sunday, a total of 34 trucks were able to enter Gaza with life-saving supplies, the statement said. That's less than 4% of the daily average of commodities entering Gaza prior to October 7.
Aid deliveries entering Gaza have not included fuel. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), by far the largest humanitarian provider in Gaza, will exhaust its fuel reserves within the next two days, the statement said.
"No fuel means no functioning water desalination. No fuel also means that humanitarian partners will have to focus almost their entire aid delivery operation on transporting water. It also means no bakeries and no hospitals," the OCHA statement declared.
"The number of people internally displaced in Gaza is estimated at about 1.4 million, with nearly 580,000 people sheltering in 150 UNRWA-designated emergency shelters. Humanitarian colleagues warn about overcrowding, as the average number of people per shelter has reached more than 2.5 times capacity," it said.
"The situation in hospitals remains dire, given shortages of electricity, medicine, equipment, and specialized personnel. The Shifa hospital in Gaza city, the largest in the Strip, is currently treating some 5,000 patients, significantly over its capacity of 700 patients. This is in addition to approximately 45,000 internally displaced people seeking refuge within and around the hospital," the OCHA statement continued.
“As of 19 October, the World Health Organization (WHO) had documented 62 attacks on health care, affecting 29 healthcare facilities and 23 ambulances. Seven hospitals, all in Gaza city and northern Gaza, were forced to shut down due to the damage they sustained, lack of power and supplies, and evacuation orders. For the 14th consecutive day, Gaza remains under full electricity blackout,” OCHA concluded.
1:33 p.m. ET, October 23, 2023
These Israeli-Americans are flying into a war zone to help their communities
From CNN's Camila Bernal and Norma Galeana
Israeli forces are preparing for a potential ground operation in Gaza in its war against Hamas, amassing huge numbers of troops at the border. Hundreds of Israeli airstrikes since October 7 have flattened neighborhoods in Gaza. Hospitals in Gaza have been overwhelmed with casualties and some facilities have scaled back treatments amid electricity and fuel shortages. More than 4,500 Palestinian people have been killed, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.
Here are the Israeli-Americans who are going to help their communities Israel:
Kineret Levin, 27: After Hamas’ surprise attack on Israeli communities on October 7, when Israel Defense Forces say the militant group took about 200 hostages and brutally killed more than 1,400 people, she felt going to Israel was a calling. So she left her home in Texas to fly to Israel to volunteer as a medic. She said she is not necessarily ready or prepared to see war injuries. But the medic said no matter what, she is sticking through it.
“It reminded me how I felt on 9/11 when I was a child and that hopelessness and not understanding what was going on,” she said. “And I was like, ‘never again’ and this is really never again.”
Dorel Meiri, 28: The Hamas attack on the Nova music festival that left scores dead particularly affected Meiri, an Israeli reservist from Los Angeles. “I think I was just in shock that it didn’t make sense to me the things that I was seeing.” He jumped on one of the charter flights.
“We’re going to fight for our country,” Meiri said at the Los Angeles terminal. “We’re ready and it’s amazing that everyone’s ready and you know, I’m just doing my part.”
Meanwhile, for Americans wanting to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, it’s much more difficult. A trickle of international aid is reaching the besieged enclave.
Lulu Hammad of Yalla Indivisible, a California-based activist group advocating for Palestinian rights, says it is impossible to help in the way they want. And traveling to the area or sending supplies is not an option for them.
“We feel that we are unable to help in the way that we believe we can help and in the way we know we can help,” Hammad said. “We are taking to the streets as much as possible, we are sending letters, we are making phone calls, we are raising some funds but we are outmatched.”
CNN’s Stephanie Elam and Jason Kravarik contributed to this report.
12:29 p.m. ET, October 23, 2023
Hamas says its first female political bureau member killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City
From CNN's Eyad Kourdi
Jamila Al-Shanti speaks during an interview in Gaza City in March 2021. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Hamas Political Bureau member Jamila Al-Shanti was killed after an Israeli airstrike on her home in Gaza City, Hamas said in a statement released on October 19.
"A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and a member of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, Dr. Jamila Al-Shanti, was martyred in the occupation bombing of her home in the Gaza Strip at dawn today," the Hamas statement said.
Dr. Jamila Al-Shanti founded the women’s wing of the Hamas movement in Gaza and was the first female member of its political bureau, according to Hamas. Al-Shanti was the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi.
CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces if Al-Shanti was targeted in the strike that Hamas claims killed her.
11:59 a.m. ET, October 23, 2023
UK pledges 20 million pounds more in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza
From CNN’s Amy Cassidy in London
The UK will provide an additional 20 million pounds ($24.4 million) of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Monday, on top of 10 million pounds ($12.2 million) pledged last week.
"We recognize that the Palestinian people are suffering terribly," he said in a speech to Parliament. "Over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed in this conflict. They are also the victims of Hamas, who embed themselves in the civilian population. Too many lives have already been lost, and the humanitarian crisis is ongoing."
The limited entry of aid trucks to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing is "important progress and testimony to the power of diplomacy," he said, but it is "not enough."
"We need a constant stream of aid coming in, bringing the water, food, medicine and fuel that is so desperately needed, so we will keep up the diplomatic pressure," he said.
12:05 p.m. ET, October 23, 2023
UK says it believes Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital blast was "likely caused" by missile fired from inside Gaza
From CNN’s Amy Cassidy in London
A view of the surroundings of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after it was hit in Gaza City, Gaza on October 18, 2023. Over 500 people were killed on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told. According to the Palestinian authorities, Israeli army is responsible for the deadly bombing. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images) Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images
The British government believes last week’s deadly blast at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City was “likely caused by a missile or part of one” fired “from within Gaza towards Israel,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Monday.
This is based on “the deep knowledge and analysis of our intelligence experts,” he told British lawmakers in the House of Commons Monday.
Sunak did not provide any further details, such as which group London believes is responsible.
Israel says a rocket “misfired” by the Islamic Jihad militant group caused the blast at the hospital, a claim that US President Joe Biden said last Wednesday was backed up by US intelligence. However, Palestinian officials and several Arab leaders blame an Israeli airstrike.
With previous reporting by CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Jeremy Herb.
12:05 p.m. ET, October 23, 2023
Norway is ready to support any investigation of possible war crimes in Gaza and Israel, justice minister says
From CNN’s James Frater in London
Norwegian Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl condemned attacks on civilians and announced Norway is “prepared to provide resources quickly” if the country receives a request to contribute to an investigation of possible war crimes in Gaza and Israel.
“War crimes are never acceptable” and “those guilty of any war crimes must be held accountable,” the minister said in a statement on Monday.
“Regardless of who is behind it, civilians have special protection against attacks in a conflict,” Mehl said, reiterating that Norway “will make available capacity related to a possible investigation of war crimes in Gaza and Israel, if desired.”
“It is inhumane how civilians are affected in the bloody conflict in Gaza and in Israel,” Mehl added. “Thousands of civilians have already been killed on both sides. Norway condemns illegal attacks on civilians regardless of who commits them."
Mehl also urged the international community to “come together to protect fundamental principles in a war.”
2:05 p.m. ET, October 24, 2023
More than 5,000 people killed in Gaza since October 7, Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health says
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Eyad Kourdi
People search through destruction from Israeli strikes in Gaza on Monday. Anas al-Shareef/Reuters
As of Monday, at least 5,087 people have been killed in Gaza, and 15,273 have been injured since October 7, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank reported.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank at least 95 Palestinians have been killed and 1,828 have been injured since the Hamas attacks and Israeli retaliation.
The ministry said that the Gaza Strip has experienced 250 strikes on its health sector, leaving a vast portion of its population without adequate medical assistance.
The ministry also warned of the impact on the health infrastructure stating ten of the 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip — equating to 28% — are currently non-functional. Of these, nine hospitals have been “destroyed or rendered out of service.” The health sector has further lost 54 health personnel, with over 90 injured. Ambulances have also been affected, with 50 being hit and 23 now out of service, it added.
In Gaza, outbreaks of chickenpox, scabies, and diarrhea have emerged due to the deteriorating health environment, lack of sanitation, and consumption of water from unsafe sources, the ministry reported. Hospitals are nearing collapse, operating at more than 150% of their capacity. Situations have become so dire that surgeries are being conducted without anesthesia, and in some cases, under the illumination of phone lights, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health added.
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health, based in the occupied West Bank, operates medical facilities and hospitals in Gaza and employs doctors who serve under the Palestinian Authority. Hamas ultimately controls Gaza.
Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp at a United Nations-run center in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Monday. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
“Patients are being treated in corridors, on floors and other inappropriate places. For example, Al-Shifa Medical Complex is currently treating 5,000 patients daily, while its capacity is 700,” the ministry said.
The the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health stressed that the impending maternal and child health crisis cannot be ignored either. Around 50,000 pregnant women are struggling to access healthcare, with about 166 unsafe births happening daily, the upcoming month is anticipated to witness 5,500 childbirths under these challenging conditions.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that chickenpox, not smallpox, has emerged in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health.
10:31 a.m. ET, October 23, 2023
Israeli soldiers training to improve "readiness and capabilities for ground operations," IDF says
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London
Israeli soldiers are taking part in training exercises to improve their "readiness and capabilities for ground operations" in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Monday.
"IDF soldiers in mandatory and reserve service are conducting a variety of training exercises in order to improve the forces’ readiness and capabilities for ground operations in the Gaza Strip," the statement read.
The IDF added "soldiers and commanders" were "training in combat teams" that combine forces from Israel’s Infantry Corps, Armored Corps and other units.
More context: Israel has mobilized troops and military material on the Gaza border and called up 300,000 reservists in anticipation of a potential military incursion into the enclave.
