Monday, November 6, 2023
19:35 GMT – 88 UN staff killed in Israel-Palestine conflict
Eighty-eight UN relief workers have been killed so far in the Israel-Hamas war, United Nations' agency chiefs said, calling for a ceasefire.
"For almost a month, the world has been watching the unfolding situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in shock and horror at the spiralling numbers of lives lost and torn apart," the heads of 18 UN organizations including UNICEF and the World Health Organization said in a rare joint statement late Sunday.
"Scores of aid workers have been killed since October 7 including 88 UNRWA colleagues – the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict."
17:20 GMT — Gaza becoming a 'graveyard for children' — UN chief
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the protection of civilians "must be paramount" in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, warning that Gaza was becoming "a graveyard for children."
"Ground operations by the Israeli army and continued bombardment are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities – including shelters. No one is safe," Guterres told reporters on Monday.
He said clear violations of international humanitarian law were being committed and again appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire.
17:30 GMT — Turkish foreign minister discuss Gaza conflict with European counterparts
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is engaging in diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the human tragedy in Gaza as Israel continues relentless attacks on the blockaded enclave.
Fidan held separate phone calls with his Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky to discuss the latest situation in the region, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
Fidan told Slot that a full cease-fire should be declared as soon as possible and humanitarian aid need to be delivered to Gaza immediately, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
He also said that joint effort should be made to prevent the escalating tension in Gaza from turning into a regional crisis.
17:20 GMT — US says 'thousands' of civilians killed or wounded in Gaza
The United States acknowledged there have been "thousands" of civilian casualties in Gaza as Israel indiscriminately bombards the narrow coastal territory, but did not provide an exact figure.
"As it relates to civilian casualties in Gaza... we know the numbers are in the thousands," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
"This is a reason why it has been a point of emphasis with the Israelis and others in the region on how important it is to get humanitarian assistance and aid into Gaza," Ryder said.
17:12 GMT — 88 UN workers killed in Israeli-Palestinian war: statement
Eighty-eight UN relief workers have been killed so far in the Israel's war on Gaza, United Nations' agency chiefs said, calling for a ceasefire.
"For almost a month, the world has been watching the unfolding situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in shock and horror at the spiralling numbers of lives lost and torn apart," the heads of 18 UN organisations including UNICEF and the World Health Organization said in a rare joint statement.
"Scores of aid workers have been killed since October 7 including 88 UNRWA colleagues — the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict," they said, referring to the UN relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees.
17:08 GMT — Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces killed three Palestinians and critically injured a forth in the city of Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank.
According to official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli special forces soldiers covertly entered Tulkarem, stopped a Palestinian car, and opened fire on the four Palestinians inside.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the three Palestinians as Jihad Shihada, 24, Ezzeddine Awad, 22, and Qasim Rajab, 20.
Locals in the city mourned the three men and declared a general strike.
16:08 GMT — Lebanon to file war crime complaint against Israel with UNSC
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib described Israel's killing of Lebanese civilians as a "war crime."
On Sunday, Israel struck a civilian car in southern Lebanon, killing three children and their grandmother, according to Lebanese media.
Bou Habib stated that his country will file a formal complaint with the UN Security Council about the killing of Lebanese civilians, the Lebanese official news agency NNA reported.
"Israel's killing of children and civilians is a war crime that clearly reflects its policy of intentionally targeting families, children, medics and journalists," the top diplomat added.
15:55 GMT — Israeli police officer fatally stabbed in East Jerusalem
An Israeli border police officer died after being stabbed by a Palestinian in front of a police station in the occupied East Jerusalem, police said.
Police said that "a terrorist armed with a knife stabbed border police officers at the Shalem police station" and that police "neutralised the terrorist".
Police said the 20-year-old border police officer died of her injuries after being taken to hospital. Another soldier, also 20, suffered light injuries.
15:43 GMT — Child killed as Israeli air strike targets Al Shifa Hospital building in Gaza
At least one child was killed after Israeli warplanes hit one of the buildings of Al Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City, local authorities said.
"The Israeli occupation hits Al Quds building in Al Shifa Hospital complex," the Gaza-based Palestinian government's media office said in a statement, adding that the building was hosting hundreds of patients, medical staff and displaced people.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry in Gaza said the Israeli air strike on the Al-Quds building in Al-Shifa Hospital left one child dead and five others, including a woman, injured.
15:21 GMT — Supporting Tel Aviv's war, Zelenskyy says Israel can go 'beyond laws'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "where there are terrorists, there are no rules."
"When we talk about laws and rules, where there are terrorists, there are no rules. Everything is beyond laws," Zelenskyy said during an interview with NBC News, in response to a question of whether he thinks Israel is following international law.
Zelenskyy said they are looking at the situation in Gaza as if it is something new, but that the situation is not new at all.
"It's a fire that has been burning between Israel and Palestine, and some people are still throwing matches into this fire, and I’m sure that Russia was behind in sponsoring Hamas, and Iran too. That’s who is to blame," Zelenskyy further said.
Zelenskyy also said everybody is trying to "say their own lies and fight against the enemy” using all their efforts to finish the war and sit down at the negotiation table.
15:21 GMT — Hamas says launched 16 rockets from Lebanon at Israel
Hamas fighters fired 16 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel, the Palestinian resistance group's armed wing announced, saying they targeted areas south of the Israeli coastal city of Haifa.
The Qassam Brigades said that the strikes came "in response to the occupation's (Israel's) massacres and its aggression against our people in Gaza".
The Israeli army meanwhile reported about 30 projectiles had been fired at northern Israel from Lebanon, adding that it fired back at the direction they had been launched from.
14:11 GMT — Gaza-Egypt border crossing reopened for evacuations: Hamas
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has reopened to allow the evacuation of foreigners, dual nationals and wounded Palestinians from the territory being shelled by Israeli forces, Hamas said.
The terminal was opened for three days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week to allow dozens of wounded Palestinians and hundreds of foreign passport holders to cross before closing Saturday and Sunday amid a dispute over the passage of ambulances.
Sources within the resistance group Hamas said the crossing reopened after an agreement with Israel — secured with Egyptian mediation — to allow the evacuation of 30 wounded people.
Six ambulances arrived at the Egyptian side of the crossing on Monday carrying wounded Palestinians to be transported to hospitals, a border official told AFP.
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14:12 GMT — Aid reaching Gaza 'too small to match massive needs': EU
The European Commission head announced that the EU is increasing its humanitarian aid to Gaza by another $26.8 million, saying the volume of aid entering Gaza is "too small to match the massive humanitarian needs" there.
"Aid is now entering through the Rafah border crossing, but the volumes remain too small to match the massive humanitarian needs in Gaza," Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech at the EU Ambassadors Conference in Brussels.
Underlining that aiding civilians in Gaza is "essential" amid "dire" humanitarian situation, von der Leyen said: "The death toll and the suffering of Palestinian civilians is tragic.
14:11 GMT — ‘Unacceptable’: Germany slams Israel's minister's nuclear threats
Germany has condemned statements by an Israeli minister who threatened to consider using nuclear bombs in the Gaza war.
The remarks by Israel’s Cultural Heritage Minister Amichai Elijahu are "of course to be condemned. Such statements are unacceptable," Kathrin Deschauer, deputy spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing in Berlin.
13:56 GMT — Israeli army will open Gaza corridor to allow Palestinians to flee south
The Israeli army said it will open a corridor for Palestinians in Gaza to flee south amid a massive military offensive in the seaside territory.
Avichay Adraee, the army’s Arabic-language spokesman, said on Monday that civilians can move across the Salahuddin Highway between 10:00am to 14:00pm local time.
"For your safety, take advantage of the time to move south beyond Wadi Gaza," the spokesperson said.
The Israeli army has warned 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza to evacuate and move south as its forces widened their operations in the northern part of the blockaded enclave.
13:04 GMT — Palestinian death toll from Israeli bombings in Gaza exceeds 10,000
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has said that the death toll from Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory surpassed 10,000, nearly one month after the start of the conflict.
The toll included 4,104 children and 2,641 women, the ministry said.
Palestinians held a mass funeral for dozens killed a day earlier in strikes in the south, where Israel has told civilians to seek refuge though it has continued to strike targets all across the coastal enclave.
12:58 GMT — Phone, internet services gradually return to Gaza after outage amid conflict
Phone and internet services began to gradually return to Gaza, Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said.
"The communications service is gradually being restored in different areas of Gaza after it was cut off by the Israeli side," the company said in a statement.
The service was interrupted on Sunday for the third such outage since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October.
12:56 GMT — Türkiye, US agree on ensuring uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza
Türkiye and the US agreed on ensuring uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict-torn Gaza, where Israel has continued attacks from multiple fronts since the October 7 offensive by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Hakan Fidan emphasised to his US counterpart the necessity of preventing Israel from targeting civilians, displacing people in Gaza and urging for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire.
Both sides confirmed their consensus on the importance of preventing harm to civilians, the insiders said, adding that "the meeting also highlighted the importance of working together for a two-state solution."
12:44 GMT — South Africa to recall all diplomats from Israel
The South African government said that it would recall all its diplomats from Israel to signal its concern over the situation in Gaza.
Pretoria also said the position of the Israeli ambassador to the country was becoming "more and more untenable", accusing the diplomat of having made "disparaging remarks" about people criticising Israel.
"The South African government has decided to withdraw all its diplomats in Tel Aviv for consultation," Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president's office, told a press briefing on Monday without providing further details.
12:16 GMT — Israeli strikes cause extensive damage to two hospitals in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes have caused extensive damage to two hospitals in Gaza City, the Government Media Office said.
"The bombardment targeted the territory’s only psychiatric hospital and an eye hospital in Gaza City on Sunday," Salama Marouf, a spokesperson for the office, told Anadolu.
"The (Israeli) occupation intentionally strikes bakeries and all sources of water and solar power to starve the population," he said.
11:46 GMT — Gaza gov’t demands protection for convoys evacuating injured Palestinians to Egypt
Authorities in Gaza demanded protection for convoys evacuating injured Palestinians to Egypt via Rafah crossing.
"Convoys must be accompanied by the Red Cross and United Nations vehicles to ensure their protection and safety," Gaza's Government Media Office said in a statement.
At least 13 Palestinians were killed and 26 others injured when Israeli warplanes struck an ambulance in Gaza City on Friday.
11:30 GMT - Israel kills 200 in overnight strikes on Gaza
Intense Israeli strikes killed more than 200 people overnight in Gaza, says the Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory.
"More than 200 martyrs were reported in the overnight massacres," the ministry said in a statement on Monday, adding the death toll only covered Gaza City and the northern part of Gaza.
Additionally, a hospital official said the bodies of 58 people killed in overnight strikes in the centre of Gaza were taken to the main hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah.
11:16 GMT - Palestine urges ICC to issue arrest warrants over Gaza deaths
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
“The ICC must issue arrest warrants for criminals as a precautionary step to stop the killing machine,” Shtayyeh said during a Cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday.
07:08 GMT- Israel bombs southern Lebanon
Israeli artillery shelling targets Naqoura, Labbouneh cities in southern Lebanon, reports Lebanese official news agency
07:05 GMT- Lebanon to submit complaint against Israel to UN Security Council
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his government will submit an urgent complaint against Israel to the UN Security Council in response to “Tel Aviv’s targeting of civilians and children” in southern Lebanon.
“The Israeli enemy’s targeting of civilians in its aggression against Lebanon, and the martyrdom of four people, including three children, in the south tonight, and the wounding of others by drone fire, is a heinous crime,” Mikati's office said in a statement on Sunday.
06:59 GMT - I will use my music for global peace,’ says legendary Italian singer
Renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli said that he will use his voice and music to contribute to the promotion of global peace.
“Music speaks to the human soul, it affects it profoundly. If my voice and my music can contribute to the improvement of the current global conditions, I am blessed,” Bocelli told reporters on Saturday in Istanbul ahead of his concert in Türkiye’s metropolitan city next year.
“I am willing to sacrifice my voice if it means establishing peace. In my opinion, war is a very foolish thing. Setting aside its horrors, it is the greatest mistake of humanity," he said.
4:34 GMT - The US Navy has sent a nuclear submarine to the Middle East
“On November 5, 2023, an Ohio-class submarine arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X.
Since the Palestinian resistance group Hamas launched Operation Al Aqsa Flood against Israel on October 7, the US has sent two aircraft carriers to the region.
4:00 GMT - King of Jordan says 'urgent medical aid' airdropped into Gaza
Jordan's air force airdropped vital medical supplies to a field hospital in the besieged Gaza, King Abdullah II said early Monday.
"Our fearless air force personnel airdropped at midnight urgent medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza," he said on X.
"This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza," he said, adding: "We will always be there for our Palestinian brethren."
3:30 GMT - Gaza media office calls on ICC to condemn Israeli minister's remarks
The head of the Media Office in Gaza urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include a call by the Israeli heritage minister for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza as evidence of Israel's crimes.
“We call on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to include this audacious and outrageous statement as evidence of the occupier's acknowledgment of committing and inciting crimes,” said Salam Marouf in a statement viewed by Anadolu News Agency.
“We hope to see a practical and concrete effort from the international legal system that leads to seeing these killers in the dock to receive fair punishment for their horrifying crimes,” Marouf said.
For our live updates from Sunday (November 5), click here.
