Shortage of basic supplies is pushing Gaza to the "edge of catastrophe," World Food Programme says
From CNN's Clarissa Ward and Sahar Akbarzai
Civilian lives in Gaza are being pushed "to the edge of catastrophe," the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said, citing acute shortages of food, water and medical supplies to the enclave.
The agency said Saturday it urgently requires $74 million to sustain its emergency response in Gaza for the next 90 days.
The coastal enclave's stores have food reserves of less than a week and the ability to replenish these stocks is "compromised by damaged roads, safety concerns, and fuel shortages," the WFP said.
The report also cites a steady decline in food commodities such as vegetables, wheat flour, and eggs, along with a rise in their prices.
The UN agency appealed “for the protection of vital infrastructure and the safeguarding of civilians so they can access humanitarian aid points and services.”
Three WFP trucks were part of the convoy of 20 aid trucks that moved through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza on Saturday. Another 40 WFP trucks are waiting at Al-Arish, Egypt, to go through the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza, the report said.
12:29 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
Israeli airstrike on West Bank mosque meant to thwart "imminent terror attack," IDF says
The Israeli military said it launched an airstrike early Sunday local time against a mosque in the West Bank city of Jenin to thwart what it called "an imminent terror attack."
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN the IDF had new intelligence that "suggested there was an imminent attack coming from a joint Hamas and Islamic Jihad squad" making preparations from an underground command center in the Al-Ansar mosque.
A few months ago, there was significant fighting in Jenin for about two days, and Conricus said during an IDF operation there, they discovered the "terrorist" tunnel system inside the mosque.
The IDF and Israel Securities Authority (ISA) also put out a statement Saturday confirming the strike on the tunnel.
"In a joint IDF and ISA activity, the IDF conducted an aerial strike on an underground terror compound in the Al-Ansar mosque in Jenin; The mosque contained a terror cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror operatives who were organizing an imminent terror attack," the statement said.
The statement said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives had been responsible for several "terror attacks" over the past few months and were plotting a new, "imminent" attack.
"The terrorist cell also carried out a terror attack on October 14 in the area of the security fence, where an explosive device was detonated by a cellular activation of terror forces who arrived at the scene. No injuries were reported," the statement added.
"Intel was recently received which indicated that the terrorists, that were neutralized, were organizing an imminent terror attack. The mosque was used by the terrorists as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution," the statement said.
12:10 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
At least 13 killed in airstrikes in West Bank refugee camp, UN agency says
People inspect the damage after an Israeli airstrike hit a mosque in Jenin, West Bank, on Sunday. Mohammed Ateeq/Reuters
At least 13 Palestinians, including five children, were reported killed in an Israeli security forces' operation that lasted 28 hours in a West Bank refugee camp, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The operation took place in Nur Shams, the UNRWA director in the West Bank, Adam Bouloukos, said.
The statement added that the UNRWA has suspended schools, health services, and solid waste collections in the camp.
Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 84 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
12:03 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
US sends additional missile defenses to Middle East and orders more troops to prepare to deploy
The US military is sending more missile defense systems to the Middle East and placing additional US troops on prepare-to-deploy orders in response to escalations throughout the region in recent days.
The Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday he had “activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for US forces."
The order for troops to prepare for deployment is meant “to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required,” he said.
Both the THAAD and Patriots systems are air defense systems designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles.
“Following detailed discussions with President Biden on recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region, today I directed a series of additional steps to further strengthen the Department of Defense posture in the region," Austin said in a statement.
"These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” he added.
12:03 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
Israel says it will step up its airstrikes on Gaza. Here's what else you should know
A view of residential buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Saturday. Shadi Tabatibi/Reuters
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, told IDF commanders Saturday that the military is readying an operation to enter Gaza and take out Hamas but did not provide a specific timeframe.
Meanwhile, the IDF will increase airstrikes on Gaza, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday.
Airstrikes have killed at least 4,385 people in Gaza since Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.
Here are other headlines you should know:
Gates briefly open for aid to Gaza: A convoy of Egyptian trucks unloaded humanitarian aid after crossing into southern Gaza using the Rafah crossing, which was briefly opened Saturday, according to a CNN stringer on the ground. The crossing is now shut again. However Palestinian officials warned that the volume of aid that reached Gaza is "not enough" to relieve the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
Rising death tolls: The death toll in Gaza since October 7 has risen to 4,385, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza. Meanwhile, at least 84 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by "Israeli occupation forces," according to a statement from the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
Peace summit: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he gathered world leaders in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Saturday to find a "roadmap" to end the "humanitarian tragedy" unfolding in Gaza. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was defiant in remarks to world leaders at the summit, telling them, "We will not leave, we will remain on our land." King Abdullah II of Jordan specifically addressed European and Western leaders in English to say that "our region came with a message of peace."
Developments on the ground: One member of the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency services agency was killed and another four were wounded in shelling on Saturday morning, officials from the Palestinian Authority said in a statement. And a "large fire" broke out in the Bani Suhaila area in Khan Younis following an Israeli airstrike on a house, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Interior in Gaza on Saturday afternoon.
Protests: Up to 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, according to estimates by the city's Metropolitan Police. Protests have erupted globally this week, particularly around the Arab world, with thousands of demonstrators taking the streets in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and the West Bank to protest Israel’s actions in its war on Hamas.
Back-and-forth on hostages: Israel says it will not respond to the Hamas claim that the militant group was “prepared” to release two more hostages, characterizing it as “lying propaganda.” The military wing of Hamas had said in a statement Saturday that it was prepared to release two “detained individuals” on Sunday, who were identified by name, using the “same procedures” that saw the release of two Americans Friday. But Israel has dismissed the claim as “false Hamas propaganda.” CNN has reached out to Qatar to inquire about the status of mediation efforts underway to release additional civilians taken hostage by Hamas but has not yet heard back.
12:03 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
Israeli military will increase Gaza airstrikes, spokesperson says
From Tamar Michaelis and Radina Gigova
Palestinians inspect a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture alliance/dpa/AP
The Israel Defense Forces will increase airstrikes on Gaza "from today," IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday.
“We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today," Hagari told reporters during a briefing in Tel Aviv.
When asked whether Israel has halted a ground operation in Gaza due to US pressure, Hagari said the Israeli military would launch such an operation when the conditions for the military are optimal.
The IDF has continued to conduct airstrikes over the last day, Hagari said.
"Our main effort in Gaza is to eliminate the terrorists, and especially those involved in the massacre on Saturday two weeks ago," he said, referring to the surprise attack carried out by Hamas, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.
"We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage," he added.
Remember: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Gaza is gripped by a deepening humanitarian crisis, with an Israeli siege cutting off access to critical resources and airstrikes killing at least 4,385 people since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Israel has told over 1 million people to leave the northern Gaza Strip as it prepares for the next stages of the war with Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces' chief of staff told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will "enter the Gaza Strip."
Threats elsewhere: The IDF is focusing "on the goals we have in Gaza, as they were set by the government and they will have to be fulfilled," Hagari said. "At the same time, we look at all the threats in the Middle East."
"If there are any developments, we will adapt. However, our focus is Gaza," he added, when asked about the potential of an additional front fighting Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the Israel-Lebanon border.
10:37 a.m. ET, October 22, 2023
Analysis: If Israeli troops move into Gaza, what comes next?
Analysis from CNN's Ivana Kottasová
An Israeli tank moves along the border with Gaza on October 18. Gil Cohen Magen/AFP/Getty Images
Tal and Zak have no idea how long they’ll be deployed in what the Israelis call “the Gaza envelope,” the area in southern Israel that was attacked by Hamas terrorists two weeks ago.
It could be weeks, it could be months, they said. “It’s the same for everyone. No one knows,” Zak told CNN at a military camp not far from the Gaza border. The two young soldiers, whose surnames CNN isn’t revealing for security reasons, serve in an artillery unit of the Israel Defense Forces that was moved into the area after Hamas militants killed 1,400 people and kidnapped about 200 on October 7.
Their unit is part of a massive buildup of Israeli troops and military material on the Gaza border. On top of its regular force, the IDF has also called up 300,000 reservists who reported to their bases within hours. Across Israel, highways in the vicinity of major bases are lined with thousands and thousands of cars, abandoned by reservists rushing to take up arms.
A ground incursion by Israel into Gaza now seems inevitable. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered near the border that they would “soon see” the enclave “from the inside,” saying Gaza will “never be the same.”
But what that operation might look like remains unknown. The IDF could launch a full-scale invasion or conduct more precise incursions aimed at recovering hostages and targeting Hamas operatives.
What will happen after that is an even bigger question. While the Israeli leadership speaks about the need to get rid of Hamas, the plan for the future of Gaza and its more than 2 million people people remains unknown.
“There is a consensus that any other option than to totally eliminate Hamas would be terrible, not just for Israel, but for the entire area, and then even globally,” said Harel Chorev, senior researcher in Middle Eastern studies at the Tel Aviv University.
But Hasan Alhasan, a research fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the plan to annihilate Hamas could be dangerous and complicated – and may have unforeseen consequences.
“Because Hamas is deeply rooted and embedded within Gaza, its society and geography, in order to defeat them, Israel would have to carry out permanent topographic and demographic change of the Gaza Strip – and that has already been happening,” he told CNN.
“The concern, within Egypt especially, is that Israel’s strategy of making the humanitarian situation very difficult in Gaza is ultimately meant to force a mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza into the Egyptian Sinai,” Alhasan said, adding that Egypt has the backing of all of the Arab states in that it would not allow this.
“The Jordanians are also concerned that if we see a mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, that this would create a precedent and that Israel’s right-wing government would attempt to solve the Palestinian issue once and for all by expelling them en masse from Gaza into Egypt and from the West Bank into Jordan,” he added.
Egypt says Israel-Hamas war revealed "shortcoming" in international approach to crises
From CNN's Radina Gigova and Caroline Faraj
After a peace summit in Cairo aimed at de-escalating the war between Israel and Hamas, Egypt criticized the international community for not doing enough to address the root causes of the conflict.
"The international scene over the past decades has revealed a serious deficiency in finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, because it sought to manage the conflict, and not end it permanently," reads a statement issued by the Egyptian presidency on Saturday.
"The ongoing war has also disclosed a shortcoming in the values of the international community in addressing crises," it said. "While we see one place rushing and competing to promptly condemn the killing of innocent people, we find incomprehensible hesitation in denouncing the same act in another place. We even see attempts to justify this killing, as if the life of the Palestinian human being is less important than that of other people."
Egypt hopes that in light of the current crisis "a new political spirit and will" will emerge that "pave the way for unlocking a real and serious peace process," reads the statement.
"This shall lead, in a short period of time, to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, along the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," it said.
