Doctors Without Borders is "horrified" by refugee camp Israeli airstrike, nurse says
From CNN's Nada Bashir
Mohammed Hawajreh, a nurse with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, said the group is "horrified" by the Israeli airstrike on Jabalya refugee camp, which left many people dead and buildings destroyed.
"Young children arrived at the hospital with deep wounds and severe burns," Hawajreh said in a statement released Tuesday. "They came without their families. Many were screaming and asking for their parents. I stayed with them until we could find a place, as the hospital was full with patients." "We condemn this latest episode of senseless violence and reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire to prevent more deaths across the Strip. Enough is enough!" Hawajreh said.
6:29 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
US secretary of state to return to Israel this week, official says
From CNN's Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel at the end of this week, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said Tuesday.
“Secretary Blinken will travel to Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the Israeli government, and then will make other stops in the region," Miller said.
The visit comes as Israel continues its offensive inside Gaza, including a strike on a refugee camp in northern Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces said had housed one of the Hamas leaders involved in the October 7 attack.
Blinken made multiple visits to Israel earlier this month as part of his multi-nation trip to the Middle East.
6:02 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
Hamas claims it will release some foreign hostages in the coming days
From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq
Hamas will free some foreign nationals they are holding hostage in the coming days, according to a Hamas military wing spokesperson.
"Some countries have intervened through mediators to free some foreign nationals' detainees in Gaza," Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for the Qassam Brigades, said in a video clip on Tuesday.
"We received the requests of these countries," he said without naming the countries. "Therefore, we informed the mediators that we will release a number of foreigners in the coming days," he added.
Obeida did not give further details on the nationalities and numbers of hostages Hamas claimed it will free.
Addressing the Israel Defense Forces' announcement that it had rescued a female IDF solider from Hamas captivity on Monday, the Hamas spokesperson said that none of the prisoners that the group is holding have been rescued and suggested that the solider could have been held prisoner by another group besides Hamas.
9:42 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
Turkish president calls for a new security mechanism for permanent peace between Israel and Hamas
From CNN’s Hande Atay Alam
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes remarks following a cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on October 31. Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu/Getty Images
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a path to permanent peace in Gaza must be made between Israel and Hamas, arguing that there is a need "to establish a new security mechanism in cooperation with the actors in the region," according to Turkish state media Anadolu.
"We stated that security cannot be achieved by shooting and dropping more bombs on Gaza; shedding more blood, killing more children, and destroying more hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and marketplaces," Erdogan said, according to Anadolu. "We believe that Israel, which seems to have completely lost its state of mind and acts like an organization, must be stopped as soon as possible."
He said that if such a security mechanism was established, "Turkey is ready to take responsibility," Anadolu reported.
The country's top priority, he added, is "preventing the massacre, which is on its 25th day."
"Our aim is to get our region out of this whirlpool it has been dragged into," he said. "The Israeli administration, backed by the unconditional support of Europe and America, has been committing crimes against humanity in front of the eyes of the whole world for exactly 25 days," Erdogan said.
5:39 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
2 French children were killed and their mother was wounded in Gaza, French foreign ministry says
From CNN’s Joseph Ataman
Two French children have been killed in the north of Gaza, the French foreign ministry said Tuesday. It did not give further details on how they were killed, but said their mother and a third child were wounded.
In a statement, the ministry said it is “not in a position to check the situation of the [surviving] family” as they are unable to make contact with them on the ground.
The ministry reiterated its demand for “foreigners and especially French citizens” to be allowed to immediately exit Gaza, in addition to a humanitarian pause.
4:52 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
Israel downplays intelligence ministry document that proposed relocating of millions of Gazans to Egypt
From CNN's Kyle Blaine and Kevin Flower
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.
"This is a preliminary paper, like dozens of such papers prepared by all political and security echelons,” Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “The ‘day after’ is a topic that has not been discussed by official Israeli channels, which are now focused on dismantling Hamas' governing and military abilities."
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.
5:01 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
UK prime minister emphasized need for Israel to minimize civilian casualties in call with Netanyahu
From CNN’s Max Foster and Niamh Kennedy
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chairs a cabinet meeting in London on Tuesday. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Reuters
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.
“The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s resolute backing for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism, while emphasising the importance of taking all possible measures to minimise civilian casualties,” a Downing Street readout of the call said.
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 Prime Minister emphasised the importance of making progress on the peace process to ensure that Palestinian civilians in both Gaza and the West Bank can live in security and prosperity,” Downing Street said..
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.
6:35 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
"Children were carrying other injured children": Witness describes aftermath of Israeli strike on refugee camp
From CNN's Abeer Salman
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.
"People were hysterical because no one knew where they were anymore. More than 40 houses have been completely demolished," he said. "I saw women screaming and confused. They didn't know whether to cry for losing their children or run and look for them, especially since many children were playing in the neighborhood," Al Aswad added.
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.
6:26 p.m. ET, October 31, 2023
Rafah border crossing will open Wednesday for 81 Palestinian patients, border official says
From journalist Asmaa Khalil, CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman, Zeena Saifi, Melissa Bell and Chris Liakos
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.”
