October 31, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

Israel's prime minister is downplaying a leaked intelligence ministry document that proposed the relocation of millions of Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

The document is dated October 13 — just days after the Hamas terror attack — and was published on the website Sicha Mekomit. In it, the intelligence ministry lays out three options for dealing with civilians in Gaza after the Hamas attacks and the outbreak of war. 

The paper’s authors concluded that “Alternative C," which calls for relocating Gaza’s civilian population to the northern Sinai, would be best for Israel’s long-term security.

As part of the plan, tent cities would be constructed in the area, with more permanent cities being constructed at a later date. The plan also calls for a humanitarian corridor to aid the resettled population and a security perimeter to be created to prevent them from entering Israel.

The acknowledgment of the paper by the Israeli government will likely intensify suspicion amongst Arab nations in the region that Israel is deliberately trying to displace Palestinians permanently. Egypt and Jordan have warned that any plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank to their respective countries would escalate conflict in the region.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasized the need for Israel to “minimize civilian casualties” during a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to Downing Street.  

Sunak also highlighted the importance of “rapidly” increasing the “flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and welcomed Israel’s commitment to facilitate significantly more deliveries,” according to Downing Street. 

During his call with Netanyahu, Sunak laid out the United Kingdom’s commitment to supporting “all efforts to ensure life-saving aid reaches those in need, including temporary humanitarian pauses.” 

On Monday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said during a trip to the United Arab Emirates that the UK is working “extensively” with Egypt and other partners to try and “have a humanitarian pause” in Gaza.

In a separate phone call to the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Sunak “set out the intensive diplomatic and practical efforts the United Kingdom is making to rapidly increase the delivery of life-saving aid to Gaza.” 

Abbas provided Sunak with an update on the security situation in the occupied West Bank, according to Downing Street. 

The UK will continue to “support diplomatic action to protect Palestinian civilians, prevent wider escalation and secure a peaceful and lasting resolution to the crisis,” Downing Street added. 

Mohammad Al Aswad was only 100 meters (320 feet) away from Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza when he said he heard huge missiles.

"I ran like crazy to the area. I found my family all safe, but the scene was horrific," Al Aswad told CNN on the phone from Gaza Strip. "Children were carrying other injured children and running, with grey dust filling the air. Bodies were hanging on the rubble, many of them unrecognized. Some were bleeding and others were burnt."

He said most of his relatives live in this area, along with many displaced people who have come to the area. The impacted area was so hot that he burnt his feet, he said.

Al Aswad said he previously took civil defense and paramedics training so he is able to help rescue people.

"Injured people were trying to carry their loved ones and take them to the ambulances, whether they were killed or severely injured. Others were using their donkey carts to take injuries to the hospitals," Al Aswad said.

Jabalya is the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight refugee camps, according to the main United Nations agency supporting Palestinians in the territory.

The Rafah border crossing is set to open Wednesday morning to allow 81 wounded Palestinians from Gaza treatment in Egypt hospitals, according to an Egyptian border official.

The official spoke to a CNN journalist at the border crossing on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The official confirmed that the 81 Palestinians were “seriously injured” patients from Gaza who will get treatment in Egypt.

The 81 Palestinians are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals across Gaza, Al Shifa hospital director Dr. Mohammed Abu Silmiyeh told CNN. Most of the patients require surgical intervention in operating rooms, a procedure not currently available in Gaza, Abu Silmiyeh said. They will be discharged from the hospitals in Gaza and then complete their treatments in a field hospital in Egypt’s Sheikh Zuweid city, Abu Silmiyeh said. 

Khaled Zayed, director of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, also confirmed the location of the field hospital in an interview with CNN’s Melissa Bell at the Rafah border crossing earlier on Tuesday, saying Egypt is “ready to receive them.” 

An Israeli strike in the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed a large number of people and has left catastrophic damage, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed the strike was targeting a Hamas commander. The Israeli military said later Tuesday that it had taken out Ibrahim Biari — who was one of the leaders of the October 7th terror attack in Israel, according to spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.

Hamas however has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in camp, according to Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem. He accused Israel of attempting to justify what he described as a "heinous crime against safe civilians, children, and women in Jabalya camp."

Here's what you need to know about the strike and other news from Israel and Gaza today:

Impacts of the strike: The Ministry of Interior in Gaza reported that 20 homes "were completely destroyed" in the residential Jabalya Refugee Camp. "Hundreds" of dead and injured people arrived at Gaza's Indonesian hospital, its director, Dr. Atef al-Kahlout, told CNN, adding that many people are still under the rubble. Another doctor, Dr. Mohammad alRann, described a "scene no one can imagine" at the hospital — there are “charred bodies in the hundreds” and "patients and injured are on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area” of one of Gaza's largest hospital, he said.

Death toll in Gaza rises again: At least 8,485 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to an update earlier Tuesday from the Palestinian Ministry of Health based in Ramallah, West Bank, quoting data sourced from within Hamas-controlled Gaza. In addition, more than 21,000 people have been injured, it added. About 73% of the deaths are women, children and the elderly, the ministry reported. And amid Israel's ground operation, the country's military claimed it killed "approximately 50 Hamas terrorists" in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

Aid trucks trickle into Gaza: At least 66 trucks crossed the border into Gaza in the last 24 hours — the highest single-day delivery of aid to the enclave so far, according to the White House. The US is trying to get 100 trucks a day to enter Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. Prior to October 7, there were 450 trucks going into Gaza daily, said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, in a press briefing last week. But US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday that he had no announcements to make about the opening of the Rafah crossing for civilians. He did note that “we have made good progress, even in the past few hours.”

About 400 Americans and their family members are stuck in Gaza: About 1,000 people are seeking to leave the enclave, Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday, adding he and the State Department are “focused on this intensively.”

Protests at US Senate hearing: Blinken's opening remarks at the Senate committee hearing Tuesday were quickly and repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Within minutes of speaking, Blinken was interrupted by a man shouting “ceasefire now” and “save the children of Gaza.” There were other protesters in the audience with their hands, painted red, in the air. A dozen protesters were arrested during the congressional hearing, according to Capitol Police.

US emphasizes on protecting Palestinian civilians: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday he has “repeatedly made clear” to Israeli leaders that they must ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians. “Now, we fully understand that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. And we mourn the loss of Palestinian civilians,” Austin said in opening remarks to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Several United States officials are saying Israel is not targeting civilians and is working to minimize harm to people in Gaza, despite a strike Tuesday at the Jabalya refugee camp that has resulted in many casualties.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN that the airstrike was targeting a Hamas commander, whom he accused of “hiding, as they do, behind civilians.” Civilian deaths, Hecht also said, are “the tragedy of war.”

Hamas however has strongly denied the presence of one of its leaders in camp, Hazem Qassem, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Tuesday that the Israeli military is not “deliberately targeting civilians, unlike Hamas."

Ryder said he could not “speak to individual Israeli strikes” but said the Pentagon does “care about civilian casualties, and we’ve made it both clear publicly and privately about our concern for the protection of innocent life and the respect for the law of war.”

The White House said it has seen “indications” that Israel is trying to protect civilians. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called the deaths as a result of the strike on the Jabalya refugee camp “all tragedies” and said the US would “continue to work with the Israelis about the need to respect human life, and to try to limit civilian casualties.”

Asked if he would go as far as to say that Israel is not successfully minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza, Kirby replied: “It's obvious to us that they are trying to minimize [civilian casualties]."

Meanwhile, the State Department would not comment on the Israeli strike on the Jabalya refugee camp except to say generally that the US has said to Israel that they must minimize civilian harm.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller would not comment on whether or not the US has laid down any “red lines” for Israel or whether the US would accept the killing of a Hamas commander in a civilian area as justification for the deaths of scores of civilian casualties.

The Senate confirmed former US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, 53-43, as the new US ambassador to Israel, despite stiff opposition from Senate Republicans over his involvement in the Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration.

Earlier Tuesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the importance of filling the vacancy in Israel amid the current conflict.

"With everything happening in Israel right now, confirming Jack Lew at this moment will be one of the most important and consequential nomination votes the Senate has taken in a long time,” he said. 

Schumer added, “Lew has a strong, long, proven record as a public servant and ferocious ally of Israel, and it will help send a powerful message of support to Israel to have this appointment filled ASAP.”

Sens. Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul were the only two Republicans to vote to confirm Lew. After the vote, Graham released a statement defending his vote. 

He added, “The leaders I spoke with in the Israeli government both knew and were comfortable with Mr. Lew serving in this position. A vote for his confirmation was not something I took lightly, but given the circumstances, I believe it is the right call.”

Following the Israeli strike on Jabalya refugee camp several countries in the Middle East have spoken out against the attack.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel's deadly strike in a statement.

“Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression that targeted the Jabalya camp in the Gaza Strip this evening, holding Israel, the occupying power responsible for this dangerous development,” the statement, released on X, previously known as Twitter, said.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry “affirmed the Kingdom’s strong rejection and condemnation of this act, which contradicts all human and moral values and the rules of international humanitarian law.”

Saudi Arabia also condemned the airstrike in northern Gaza. 

Saudi Arabia "affirmed that the dangerous humanitarian conditions resulting from the continuous escalation cannot be justified at all,” according to a statement released by the country's foreign ministry.

"Sparing blood, protecting civilians, and stopping military operations are urgent priorities for which any procrastination or disruption cannot be accepted, and failure to immediately adhere to them will inevitably lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for which the Israeli occupation and the international community bear responsibility," the statement added.

Iran "condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric attack" on the Jabalya camp in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

Kanaani said "This action added another stain to the long list of war crimes committed," by Israel.

Kanaani urged "the international community, especially the United Nations and the Security Council, to immediately fulfill its international responsibility," in stopping the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike, warning that “indiscriminate attacks will result in irreparable ramifications in the region."

In a statement, the UAE foreign ministry urged, "an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, stressing the importance of protecting civilians, according to international humanitarian law, international treaties, and the need to ensure that they are not targeted during conflict."

The statement also warned that "the continued lack of a political horizon risks catastrophic repercussions, and disregarding the potential consequences would lead to devastating outcomes for the prospects of peace and stability in the region."

Israeli human rights organization B’tselem condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza on Tuesday following the deadly strike on the Jabalya refugee camp.

B’tselem went on to criticize Israel's operations and the civilians that have been killed.

The statement added, "More than half of them women and children. Entire buildings have collapsed with occupants still inside. Whole families have been wiped out in an instant. This criminal harm to civilians is intolerable and the obvious needs to be stated again and again – not everything is allowed in war, including war on Hamas. Targeting civilians is always prohibited and Israel must stop these attacks now."

The statement was released shortly after an Israeli strike on the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza caused many casualties, officials in the enclave said Tuesday.