October 17, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

With Gaza's last functioning desalination plant shut down, the water crisis has escalated, risking fatalities, according to the United Nations relief agency in Gaza (UNRWA).

On Monday, one line of water was open for three hours only in the south of the Gaza Strip, providing limited water to only half of the population of Khan Younis.

“This does not solve the urgent water needs in other parts of Khan Younis, the Middle Area and Rafah. Only 14 per cent of the population in the Strip benefited from this three-hour opening of the water line," UNRWA said.

UNRWA added that Gaza requires 600,000 liters of fuel daily to operate water and desalination plants.

Fuel reserves at all Gaza hospitals are on the brink, it said, with only 24 hours of supply left. The failure of backup generators would endanger thousands of patients' lives. 

Gaza needs international assistance urgently as it faces an "unparalleled humanitarian crisis," according to the head of the Hamas-controlled government media office.

As the humanitarian situation worsens, “there is a noticeable decline in [the] international response,” Salama said.

Decisive action was "urgently required" from the international community to halt what he called a campaign of "ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the occupation against the Palestinian people."  

Earlier on Tuesday, Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, told CNN's John Vause that the humanitarian corridor into Gaza remains unsafe due to Israeli bombing, with more than 44 Gaza hospitals targeted and 84,000 pregnant women in need of assistance. 

Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people. It has laid siege to the enclave and told more than 1 million people to move to southern Gaza from the north.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani told US President Joe Biden that “continued aggression in Gaza stirs outrage among people in the region and globally," according to a readout of a call from the prime minister's office.

The two men stressed “the importance of containing the conflict and avoiding the expansion of war, given the far-reaching consequences it has on regional and global peace, as well as its adverse impact on civilians,” it said.

Al-Sudani emphasized the importance of establishing humanitarian corridors to provide essential aid to Gaza, according to the readout.

They also discussed coordinating efforts to promote lasting stability in the region and reinforcing the bilateral partnership between Iraq and the United States, in accordance with the Iraqi- US Strategic Framework Agreement.

An Israeli airstrike on a residence in Gaza killed 21 people, Palestine's Ministry of Interior Affairs said Tuesday.

The strike hit the Al-Jabri family's residence in the Emirati neighborhood of Khan Younis, the Gaza-based ministry said in a statement. A number of others were injured, but the ministry did not provide an exact figure.

Khan Younis is in southern Gaza, which has become increasingly crowded with displaced civilians after Israel told people to evacuate northern Gaza.

IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s John Vause earlier that he was “not aware of any strikes specifically in those areas but they could have happened.”

The World Health Organization is unable to get aid and supplies to Gaza, potentially putting 84,000 pregnant women at risk, a spokesperson told CNN.

There are "78 cubic meters of health supplies, which is enough for the basic essential needs for 300,000 people" positioned on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, which is currently closed, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told CNN’s John Vause.

The WHO’s director-general had an agreement with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to open the crossing, but Israeli bombing has rendered the passage unsafe, she said.

There are 84,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with many delivering every day, Harris told Vause. “Babies don’t care about bombs, they come when they come,” she said.

Several hospitals are “out of action due to the physical damage of the bombing,” Harris said, noting that the WHO has documented over 44 attacks on hospitals.

Japan will provide $10 million in emergency assistance for civilians in Gaza, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in a press conference on Tuesday. 

The assistance will come "through international organizations," Kamikawa added.

“Japan will work with humanitarian groups to ensure that innocent civilians and Palestinian refugees receive food, water, medical care, and support they need," she said.

The foreign minister reiterated Japan’s firm condemnation of Hamas's attacks and expressed support for diplomatic efforts.  

The Israeli military does not expect a planned visit by US President Joe Biden to complicate or delay any ground invasion of Gaza, a spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.

Israel Defense Forces international spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s John Vause he believes Biden supports Israel's campaign to defeat Hamas.

Biden is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 people in Rafah early Tuesday, according to a statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Interior.

Another statement from the ministry said airstrikes also killed and injured people in Khan Yunis, but did not provide an exact number.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not confirm whether they launched strikes in those areas.

IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s John Vause he was “not aware of any strikes specifically in those areas but they could have happened.”

“The combat operations continue. We continue to hunt Hamas operatives to attempt to degrade their military capabilities,” Conricus said.

He said the hunt for Hamas targets is part of “the war that has been forced upon us” and Israel will continue military operations “according to the law of armed conflict and of course to minimize civilian casualties.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday rejected a Russian resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire of the war between Israel and Hamas because the draft did not get the required minimum number of votes to be passed. 

The resolution received five votes in favor, four against and six abstentions, with the United States, the United Kingdom and France voting against due the resolution's failure to condemn Hamas for its attacks on Israel. The draft would have needed nine votes in favor to proceed. 

"By failing to condemn Hamas, Russia is giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians. It is outrageous, it is hypocritical, and it is indefensible," US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in justification to the US' vote. She previously compared the attacks executed by Hamas to the "most heinous atrocities committed by ISIS."

France's Permanent Representative to the UN Nicolas de Rivière said "several essential elements were lacking" from Russia's draft resolution and instead encouraged the council to "unite around the draft proposed by the Brazilian presidency, and agree to condemn this terrorist attack, ensure humanitarian assistance and protect the civilian population of Gaza."

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya claimed the resolution failed to get adopted because of the western bloc's selfish intentions.

"The UN Security Council has once again become hostage to the aspirations of Western countries by not adopting the Russian Federation's draft resolution on the Middle East," Nebenzya stated, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

Moscow has previously criticized Israel’s actions and called for a ceasefire.