3,648 children and at least 8,796 Palestinians were slain by ruthless Israeli airstrikes.
While the Palestinian authorities reported that at least 195 Palestinians had perished in Israeli attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp—attacks that Israel claimed killed Hamas commanders—more foreigners were getting ready to evacuate the confined Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Since October 7, Israeli strikes have killed at least 8,796 Palestinians in the small coastal enclave, including 3,648 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry
According to an agreement between Israel, Egypt, and Hamas, at least 320 foreign nationals on a first list of 500, together with other Gazans who were critically injured, entered Egypt on Wednesday.
IDF in Gaza, the invasion continues. pic.twitter.com/z35JE1YXTY
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 2, 2023
Passengers with passports from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Jordan were evacuated.
In order to allow more foreigners to leave, Gaza officials announced that the Rafah border crossing will reopen on Thursday. According to a diplomatic source, 7,500 people with foreign passports would depart Gaza over the course of two weeks.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, there were explosions in the early hours of Thursday morning close to Gaza City’s heavily crowded al-Quds hospital. UN officials said that it was difficult to evacuate the hospital without putting patients in danger, despite earlier warnings from Israeli authorities.
The media agency for Gaza reported on Thursday that 120 Palestinians were reported missing and at least 195 Palestinians dead in the two Israeli attacks on Jabalia. It released a statement stating that at least 777 individuals had been hurt.
On Wednesday, Palestinians laboriously dug through debris in an attempt to find stranded casualties. One observer remarked, “It’s a massacre.”
According to UN human rights officials, attacks on the camp might constitute a war crime.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights posted on social media site X, saying, “We have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes, given the high number of civilian casualties and the scale of destruction following Israeli air strikes on Jabalia refugee camp.”
The Israeli military reported that another soldier had died in the battle in Gaza, raising the total number of casualties to 17 since ground operations were increased on Friday.
Under Israel’s merciless and unrelenting attack and tighter blockade, the situation in the beachfront enclave is becoming more and more dire amid rising international appeals for a humanitarian pause in hostilities. We’re low on fuel, food, water to drink, and medication.
US passport holder Dr. Fathi Abu al-Hassan, who was waiting to enter Egypt on Wednesday, spoke of the terrible situation in Gaza, where there was no food, water, or shelter.
“We open our eyes on dead people and we close our eyes on dead people,” he stated.
Fuel shortages have caused hospitals, notably Gaza’s sole cancer hospital, to close, which has caused them to struggle. Israel has allegedly threatened to utilize fuel that humanitarian convoys attempt to bring in for military purposes by Hamas forces.
A spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, Ashraf Al-Qudra, stated that fuel shortage had caused the Indonesian Hospital’s main power generator to malfunction.
Intense clashes continue between Palestinians and the Israeli army in the northwest of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/m25naKBUlI
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 2, 2023
The hospital would no longer be able to run oxygen generators and morgue refrigerators, so it was moving to a backup generator. “If we don’t get fuel in the next few days, we will inevitably reach a disaster,” he stated.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reports that over 20,000 injured individuals remain in the Gaza Strip after the first wave of critically injured Palestinians and holders of foreign passports were evacuated across the border to Egypt.
In a statement released on Wednesday, MSF mentioned the evacuation of “a number of severely injured” individuals and mentioned that 22 of its foreign staff members in Gaza were among those who departed the region through the Rafah border crossing.
“However, there are still over 20,000 injured people in Gaza with limited access to healthcare due to the siege,” added the statement.
It further stated that MSF’s Palestinian employees continued to provide medical care within the region and that an additional foreign team was poised to arrive “as soon as the situation allows” to take the place of the departing team.
The group continued by demanding that more people be evacuated, that there be a ceasefire, and that more essential help be permitted to enter.
“Those who want to leave Gaza should be able to do so right away. The right for them to return must likewise be granted,” the statement read.
Ambulances carrying injured evacuees to Egyptian field hospitals were observed by AFP reporters near Gaza’s southern border on Wednesday. Egyptian officials said that 335 foreigners or dual nationalities and 76 badly injured people had been admitted to the Rafah gate.
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UN organization that assists Palestinian refugees, entered the region on Wednesday through the Rafah crossing and told reporters that he had “never seen” anything like it before.
The most senior UN official to be permitted into the besieged area since the start of the war, Lazzarini, remarked, “I was shocked by the fact that everyone there was asking for food, was asking for water.”
Blinken heads back to Israel
It was scheduled on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would leave for his second trip to Israel in less than a month. According to his spokesperson, he will meet with Israeli leaders on Friday, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to express support and to reiterate the imperative of reducing Palestinian civilian casualties.
Blinken will also make a visit in Jordan, one of the few Arab countries with ties to Israel that have been normalized. Jordan removed its ambassador from Tel Aviv on Wednesday, pending Israel’s cessation of its attack on Gaza. Israel expressed regret over Jordan’s choice.
According to the spokesman, Blinken will stress in Jordan the value of preserving civilian lives and reaffirm America’s commitment to preventing the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, an issue that is becoming increasingly apparent among Arab countries.
Blinken will also continue the negotiations spearheaded by Qatar and Egypt to secure the release of every hostage that Hamas is holding.
Also on Thursday, a plan worth $14.3 billion in aid for Israel might be approved by the US House of Representatives with Republican backing.
But given the fierce resistance it will receive in the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House’s threat of a veto, it is unlikely to become law. A $106 billion measure, as requested by President Joe Biden, would finance humanitarian aid, border security, Ukraine, and Israel.
I am a dedicated student currently in my seventh semester, pursuing a degree in International Relations. Alongside my academic pursuits, I am actively engaged in the professional field as a content writer at the Rangeinn website.