Gaza/Jerusalem: Day 9 of the Israel-Palestine war and the situation in Gaza continues to remain grim with 2,329 Palestinians killed since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks.
That makes this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed, the vast majority of them civilians killed in Hamas's October 7 assault. This is the deadliest war for Israel since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.
Here are the updates from Day 9 so far:
- Iranian President warns war could expand if Israel's siege of Gaza doesn't stop
Iran’s hard-line president spoke with France’s leader on Sunday, warning that war would expand if Israel’s siege of Gaza doesn’t stop, state-run media reported. The official IRNA news agency said Ebrahim Raisi and Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone. The Iranian president made no mention of the unprecedented Oct. 7 incursion by Gaza’s militant Hamas group into southern Israel that sparked the latest Hamas-Israel war. Iran has long been a supporter of Hamas.
“The situation will be complicated ... if the crimes by the Zionist regime, including the killing of people and blockade of Gaza, are not stopped,” Raisi was quoted as saying, referring to Israel. IRNA did not provide further details. Earlier, the Elysee Palace confirmed this weekend that Macron planned to talk to Raisi to urge Iran not to fuel tensions in the region or provide any operational support to Hamas.
Water has run out at U.N. shelters across Gaza as thousands packed into the courtyard of the besieged territory's largest hospital as a refuge of last resort from a looming Israeli ground offensive and overwhelmed doctors struggled to care for patients they fear will die once generators run out of fuel. Palestinian civilians across Gaza, already battered by years of conflict, were struggling for survival Sunday in the face of an unprecedented Israeli operation against the territory following a Hamas militant attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians
- Netanyahu convenes emergency Israeli cabinet, vows to 'demolish Hamas'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel's expanded emergency cabinet for the first time on Sunday, saying the national unity on display sent a message at home and abroad as the country gears up to "demolish Hamas" in Gaza. The meeting, held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment's silence in memory of the 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas' shock Oct. 7 onslaught, a video released by Netanyahu's office showed.
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בישיבת ממשלת החירום. אנחנו נפרק את החמאס. pic.twitter.com/p7GxXIKS9a
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 15, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">בישיבת ממשלת החירום. אנחנו נפרק את החמאס. pic.twitter.com/p7GxXIKS9a
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 15, 2023בישיבת ממשלת החירום. אנחנו נפרק את החמאס. pic.twitter.com/p7GxXIKS9a
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 15, 2023
Welcoming former opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz, who joined the government along with several members of his party last week, Netanyahu said all ministers were "working around the clock, with a united front." "Hamas thought we would be demolished. It is we who will demolish Hamas," Netanyahu said, adding that the show of unity "sends a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world."
- Joe Biden dials Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
US President Joe Biden held a telephonic conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday. He said that the US is working with partners in the region to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza. "I spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel and reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. I assured him that we're working with partners in the region to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza and to prevent the conflict from widening," Biden posted on X.
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I spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel and reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 15, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
I assured him that we're working with partners in the region to ensure…
">I spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel and reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 15, 2023
I assured him that we're working with partners in the region to ensure…I spoke with Palestinian Authority President Abbas to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel and reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 15, 2023
I assured him that we're working with partners in the region to ensure…
- Israeli forces' 3-hour evacuation window for Gazans ends
The three-hour window Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had announced for citizens of Gaza to evacuate from northern Gaza has ended. IDF had said that close to 1.1 million people living in the region could use the evacuation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The IDF said that no military activity will take place in the area, for the duration. This came about a week after Israel announced a blockade around north Gaza, cutting off food, water, electricity, medical supplies and other essentials including electricity.
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Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we've urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity… pic.twitter.com/JUkcGOg0yv
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we've urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity… pic.twitter.com/JUkcGOg0yv
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2023Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we've urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity… pic.twitter.com/JUkcGOg0yv
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2023
"Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we've urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity to move southward from northern Gaza. Your safety and that of your families matters. Please follow our instructions and head southward. Be assured, Hamas leaders have already ensured their safety and that of their families," IDF wrote in the post on X, sharing the map of the 'safe' passage.
The Israeli Forces are preparing for a coordinated attack on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people run out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by Hamas' deadly attack last week.
Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of U.S. warships in the region, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire neighbourhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel.
A high-ranking Hamas commander, Billal Al Qedra, known for his involvement in the October 7 Kibbutz Nirim massacre in Israel has been killed in an air strike, Israeli Air Force said on Sunday
- Hezbollah strikes Israel
Israel is fending off attacks by the Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Sunday, a missile fired from south Lebanon hit the Israeli village of Shutla on its northern border, killing one and injuring three, reports said. The Israeli army has said that it is retaliating.
After the IDF said that it struck a target in southern Lebanon belonging to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, it said that they had thwarted a “terrorist cell” that sought to enter Israeli territory from Lebanon, a CNBC report reads. The Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israel, citing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Saturday, called on Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, warning that the war might expand to other parts of the Middle East if Hezbollah joins the battle, and that would make Israel suffer “a huge earthquake,” AP reported. Deputy chief of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, on Friday, said that the group is prepared to intervene in the war between Israel and Hamas.
- Rally in Los Angeles in support of Palestinians; Tel Aviv holds solemn rally in tribute to Israeli victims
Large crowds gathered outside the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles, showing solidarity with Palestinians amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Organised by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the demonstration on US soil comes in the wake of escalating clashes between Hamas and Israel, which began on October 7, 2023. The streets of Los Angeles witnessed a groundswell of support for the Palestinian cause, with thousands of people speaking out against the recent wave of violence that has claimed hundreds of victims on both sides.
On Saturday night, a solemn rally took place in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square as people gathered to light memorial candles in honour of the 1,354 Israeli victims tragically killed in the recent Hamas attacks. The violence, which erupted on October 7 after Hamas launched an attack from the Gaza Strip, has left more than 1,300 Israelis dead and more than 3,200 wounded, according to the Israel Defence Forces. The Israeli response has consisted of retaliatory air strikes on Gaza, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 8,700, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- Egypt border crossing remains closed
The Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza remained closed on Sunday morning, as Egyptian authorities continued negotiations with Israel, the U.S. and Palestinian militant groups over allowing aid to flow into the besieged strip and letting Americans and other foreigners and wounded Palestinians cross into Egypt, two Egyptian officials said. Convoys of humanitarian aid, including shipments from Turkey and Jordan, have been waiting near the crossing point for delivery to Gaza, they said.
- Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh as the Biden administration scrambles to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a broader regional conflict.
Blinken and the crown prince spoke Sunday for a little less than an hour at his private farm outside the capital, U.S. officials said. Asked how the meeting went, Blinken replied “Very productive,” but there were no other immediate details. The meeting, which had been expected late Saturday night but never materialized, was closed to media.
The talks came just hours after the Israeli military warned that a full-scale assault on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip would begin soon amid increasingly dire warnings that the expected ground invasion will have devastating consequences for Palestinian civilians.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement after the meeting: “The Secretary highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the conflict from spreading. The two affirmed their shared commitment to protecting civilians and to advancing stability across the Middle East and beyond." (With AP inputs)
Also read: Facing dire water shortage, Palestinians in Gaza struggle to follow Israeli evacuation order
