Israel war updates: Satellite image ‘proof’ of who was behind Gaza hospital bomb
The first lady of the Hamas terror group has been killed in an Israeli air strike, according to reports, as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has arrived in Tel Aviv. Follow the updates. Warning: Graphic
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Israel claims it has killed the military head of a Palestinian terrorist organisation and 10 commandos involved in the October 7 attacks on civilians.
In messages posted to Twitter/X, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed Rafat Abu Hilal, a senior member of the Gaza Popular Resistance Committee, in the southern city of Rafah.
The Times of Israel reported that the IDF had destroyed hundreds of Hamas sites over the past 24 hours, including missile launch sites, tunnels and intelligence infrastructure.
The masthead also reported IDF claims that Hamas militants had been using the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, which is made in North Korea.
Armament experts who spoke to The Times said it was “no surprise” Hamas was using North Koreans weapons, and the arms themselves had previously been identified in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza.
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— דובר צה״ל ×“× ×™×ל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 19, 2023
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HAMAS FIRST LADY KILLED
The Times of Israel is reporting that Jamila al-Shanti, the first lady of the Hamas terror group has been killed in an Israeli air strike.
Ms al-Shanti is the widow of Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi and the first woman elected to the terror group’s political bureau.
The media outlet is quoting Hamas-affiliated media reports which said it occurred at dawn on Thursday in Israel but no other details have been released.
Ms Al-Shanti became the first woman elected to the Hamas political bureau, its highest decision-making body.
Her husband was killed in an air strike in Gaza in 2004.
RISHI SUNAK ARRIVES IN TEL AVIV
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has landed in Israel where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
His visit comes just after US president Joe Biden left after eight hours of talks with Israeli leaders.
Mr Sunak is expected to press for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza as soon as possible.
He is due to meet Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday before visiting other capitals in the region.
He will also offer his condolences for the civilians killed so far during the war.
“Above all, I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you,” Mr Sunak said after landing.
‘PROOF’ OF WHO WAS BEHIND GAZA HOSPITAL STRIKE
Israel has doubled down over the deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, claiming the destruction footprint does not match that of an Israeli bomb, and appearing to dispute the death toll from the event.
Reports of the death toll have been inconsistent; initially it was claimed 500 people died, but later reports put the tallyat between 200 and 300. More recently Palestinian authorities said there had been 471 fatalities.
But in a 15-minute video uploaded to social media platform X, formally Twitter, on Thursday, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Jonathan Conricus appeared to dispute these reports.
Showing satellite images of the hospital car park, where the explosion occurred, Lieutenant Colonel Conricus said it was clearabout 15 cars had been affected, but there was no evidence of bodies.
“If 471 people were killed there... where were they?” he said.
“I don’t have the answer, but I’m not the one who should be providing the answers to this. Answers should be provided by Hamasor the Gaza health ministry,” he said.
Lt Col Conricus also pointed to the size of the crater in the photo, saying it was too small to be evidence of an Israeli bomb.
“When a bomb like we use hits the ground, it creates a very big crater,” he said.
The satellite image also showed the hospital buildings were “generally intact” he added.
“If a big Israeli bomb had dropped, none of them would be intact.”
Both sides of the conflict continued to blame each other for Tuesday night’s explosion, with anger continuing to spur unrest throughout the Middle East.
Protests erupted in Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and Turkey, with Ankara declaring three days of mourning to honour the victims.
AID TO ENTER GAZA ON FRIDAY
Twenty aid trucks could enter the southern part of Gaza as soon as Friday, as American and Israeli authorities brace for more violence across the Middle East in the wake of Tuesday’s attack on a hospital which killed hundreds of civilians.
US President Joe Biden said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had agreed to re-open the border crossing at Rafah after works to repair roads damaged in the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said aid would not be allowed to enter Gaza from Israel until Hamas released 199 hostages, but they would not stop the provision of aid from Egypt.
“Israel will not prevent the flow of humanitarian aid from Egypt as long as it is food, water and medical supplies for the Palestinian population in the southern Gaza strip and as long as it doesn’t go to Hamas. Any aid diverted to Hamas will be prevented,” a spokesperson for the Israeli PM said.
Humanitarian groups warned the amount of aid was insufficient and it would be difficult for it to reach the parts of Gaza where it was most needed.
Israeli and American embassies throughout the Middle East will be on high alert for more unrest and violence on Thursday, after protests in Tunisia, Lebanon, Turkey, Morocco, Yemen and Jordan.
Protests also broke out near Ramallah in the West Bank. Palestinian officials claimed Israeli soldiers fatally shot two teenagges during the protests.
SENIOR US OFFICIAL RESIGNS OVER ‘LETHAL ASSISTANCE TO ISRAEL’
A senior official in the US State Department has publically resigned over what he describes as “disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel”.
Director of Political-Military Affairs for the State Department Josh Paul said he could no longer “work in support of rushing more arms to one side”.
“I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades and I decline to be a part of it for longer,” Mr Paul said in the letter posted to his LinkedIn account.
“It was our responsibility [to] be able to name gross violations of human rights no matter who carries them out.”
FORRESTS DONATE $10M IN HUMANITARIAN AID TO HELP GAZA
Andrew and Nicola Forrest have announced their donating $10 million in aid to Gaza, matching the Australian government’s commitment.
The funding from the pair’s philanthropic arm, Minderoo Foundation, will be provided to United Nations agencies and Médecins Sans Frontières.
Dr Forrest said the people of Gaza were suffering greatly, and the funding would help avert the rapid acceleration of a humanitarian tragedy.
He said the latest aid to Gaza was aimed at helping civilians who want nothing to do with the war.
“I don’t mind if you’re Israeli or Palestinian. What we all agree is that innocent children, mums and dads, should be as protected as we possibly can throughout this crisis,” he said in a video statement.
“We did it with Ukraine. We will do it with Gaza. We are very much of the view that innocent people must be protected in any militarised politics.”
‘COSTING LIVES’: 1M PALESTINIAN CHILDREN AT RISK
Bill Van Esveld from the group Human Rights Watch posted on Twitter/X that a million children were at risk in Gaza, and “every hour that this blockade continues costs lives”.
The announced aid would be inadequate, he stated.
“Israel announced it would stop blocking food, water and medicine from Egypt, but only to southern Gaza. Without electricity or fuel to run the local power plant or generators, or clear provision of aid to those in the north, this falls short of meeting desperate needs,” he said.
On Monday the World Health Organisation warned the Gaza Strip would run out of water, electricity and fuel within 24 hours.
Richard Brennan, the Regional Emergency Director for the WHO, told al-Jazeera that both Hamas and the Israelis would be informed of the geographic coordinates of the aid trucks, so they would not be targeted.
“The supplies... must be distributed throughout Gaza,” al-Jazeera quoted him as saying. ”That’s why we need this de-confliction process so both sides respect the neutrality of humanitarian aid. The aid will be handed over to the Palestine Red Crescent for wider distribution.”
PALESTINIANS ‘COLLECTIVELY PUNISHED’ LABOR MPS SAY
Prominent federal Labor ministers Ed Husic and Anne Aly have thrown their support behind Palestine, warning the people of Gaza are being subject to “collective punishment” by Israel.
The ministers hit out at Australia’s response to the Hamas attack on Israel which killed more than 1400 Israelis, warning the plight of Palestinians was being ignored and in breach of international law.
A day after a Gaza hospital was destroyed and killed 500 people, Mr Husic questioned why city landmarks had not been lit up with the colours of the Palestinian flag, as they had for Israel.
Mr Husic condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack but warned a “humanitarian catastrophe” was unfolding in Gaza.
“We don’t see any public landmarks in Australia that are being lit up in red, black, white and green,” the Industry Minister told ABC radio on Thursday.
“I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished here for Hamas’s barbarism.
“I really do feel that there is an obligation on governments, particularly the Israeli government, as we have said, to follow the rules of international law and to observe, in particular, innocents should be protected.”
ISRAEL RAID ON SYRIAN GOVT POSITION: NGO
The Israeli government carried out a raid on a Syrian government position in the war-torn country’s south, a war monitoring NGO says.
“Sounds of explosions rang out in the province of Quneitra after an Israeli strike against a Syrian army position,” said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights NGO, which has a vast network of sources in the country.
The sound of explosions also rang out in the Golan Heights, the NGO said, without specifying their source.
UK PM TO VISIT ISRAEL
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Israel on Thursday local time before heading to other countries in the region in an effort to de-escalate the Israel-Gaza conflict, his office has said.
“The attack on Al Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict,” Mr Sunak said in a statement.
“I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort.”
The prime minister will stress the international community must “not let Hamas’ barbaric terrorism and disregard for human life become a catalyst for further escalation of conflict in the region”, the statement said.
Expected in Israel early on Thursday morning, Mr Sunak is due to meet his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He is also expected to insist that humanitarian aid be allowed to arrive at a time when Israel has authorised the entry of aid into Gaza from Egypt, and that Britons stranded in Gaza be allowed to leave.
US VETOES ‘HUMANITARIAN PAUSE’ IN WAR
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the raging Israel-Hamas conflict as the text did not recognise Israel’s right to defend itself, the US ambassador said.
Twelve out of 15 Council members voted in favour of the resolution put forward by Brazil, which also condemned the “heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas,” while Russia and the United Kingdom abstained.
The United States was the only vote against, but as one of the body’s five permanent members its vote counts as a veto.
“The United States is disappointed this resolution made no mention of Israel’s rights of self defence,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan thanked the United States for vetoing “a very bad resolution,” and said “Washington continues to stand with us in times of need.”
Addressing the Security Council, Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour warned that “killing more Palestinians will never make Israel safer.”
ISRAEL’S ‘PROOF’ ROCKETS ON HOSPITAL FROM GAZA
The Israel Defence Force released drone footage and audio from a recorded phone call between two operatives working within the militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), they claim proves the blast at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza which killed nearly 500 people was caused by Hamas.
Posting the recording to X, formerly known as Twitter, they wrote: “Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza – the IDF did not.
“Listen to the terrorists as they realise this themselves”.
The intercepted audio recording begins with the first Hamas operative saying: “I’m telling you this is the first time that we see a missile like this falling”.
A second militant responds: “And so that’s why we are saying it belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad”.
The first speaker says: “What?” before the other replies: “They are saying it belongs to Palestinian Islamic Jihad”.
“It’s from us?” asks the first Hamas operative, and the other responds: “It looks like it!”
As the chilling phone call continues, the second speaker explains that the shrapnel from the rocket missile was “local shrapnel and not like Israeli shrapnel”.
After a few seconds of silence, one adds: “But God bless, it couldn’t have found another place to explode?”
The recording also allegedly reveals that the deadly rocket was launched from a cemetery a short distance away.
“They shot it coming from the cemetery behind the Al-Ma’amadani Hospital, and it misfired and fell on them,” said the first operative.
The pair then discuss the cemetery’s location before the second speaker admits to knowing of it.
Hours earlier, the IDF shared drone footage from the Israeli Air Force that showed the Al-Ahli Hospital before and after the overnight destruction.
“A failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation hit the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City,” the IDF said.
“IAF footage from the area around the hospital before and after the failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation”.
The absence of a large crater and the lack of damage to surrounding buildings are said to prove it was not an Israeli air strike.
Israel’s Channel 12 published footage which it claimed showed rockets being fired from near the Al-Ahli Hospital.
TV anchor Yonit Levy said: “This is proof of Israel’s claims that it was actually missiles from the Gaza Strip shot in the direction of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City.”
The Israeli army also released aerial photos to “prove” that there were no signs of Israeli planes striking the hospital.
More than 3000 people are thought to have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict on October 7, while Israeli casualties are estimated to be more than 1400.
ISRAEL RELEASES DRONE FOOTAGE
The IDF shared drone footage on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that if the strike was from one of its rockets there would have been a crater at the site – and there was none.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari told a media conference a missile would not have left a burning parking lot and shrapnel-damaged roofs.
Israel said the fatal blast was the result of a failed rocket launched by Palestinian terrorists.
Two Hamas operatives were allegedly recorded saying the rocket was fired by another terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Israeli TV broadcast footage appeared to show a rocket barrage being fired over the hospital from within the Gaza Strip.
US President, Joe Biden, who is in Tel Aviv, reportedly told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the blast appeared to have been done “by the other team, not you.”
Two officials told ABC News in the US that the Pentagon had independently concluded the Gaza hospital blast was caused by an errant PIJ rocket and that the US Defence Department was not basing guidance to Mr Biden solely on information from the Israelis.
Mr Netanyahu, meanwhile, said: “The barbaric terrorists in Gaza are responsible for the attack on the Gaza hospital, not the IDF.
“The people who brutally murdered our children are murdering their own children too”.
The PIJ has rejected the IDF claim saying that “the angle of the impact and the intensity of the fire proves that it was an attack from the air.
The PIJ has said that “the hospitals in the Gaza Strip received evacuation notices before they were hit by the bombings, but no one in the international community intervened.
‘TIME IS UP’: IRAN THREATENS ISRAEL
Iran’s foreign minister warned in an ominous tweet that time is “running out” for Israel following an attack on a hospital in Gaza, as experts grow concerned about a potential WWIII.
According to the New York Post, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shared the chilling message after a deadly missile strike at a Gaza City hospital, which Israel has claimed was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.
“After the terrible crime of the Zionist regime in the bombing and massacre of more than 1000 innocent women and children in the hospital, the time has come for the global unity of humanity against this fake regime more hated than ISIS and its killing machine,” Amir-Abdollahian tweeted.
“Time is UP!”
The Iranian Embassy in Syria also tweeted “time is up” in both Hebrew and Arabic.
The troubling message came just days after Amir-Abdollahian warned that a regional network of militias dubbed the “axis of resistance” would open “multiple fronts” against Israel if it continued to kill civilians in Gaza.
Iran’s threats have caused some to become concerned that if Iran escalate the war in Gaza, it could even bring Russia into the conflict — creating a potential WWIII.
Russian officials have already spoken out against the hospital attack, with Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry, saying that Israel must provide satellite images to prove it was not involved.
PROTESTS HEAT UP
Two molotov cocktails were thrown at a Jewish synagogue in Berlin early on Wednesday local time, police said, with no damage or injuries reported.
“Two unidentified people arrived on foot and threw two burning bottles filled with liquid in the direction of the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse,” a commercial and residential street, police said in a statement.
HOW HAMAS COULD WEAPONISE PALESTINIANS’ DESPAIR
Award-winning lecturer in international relations Dr Tobias Ide said radicalisation of both Hamas and Gaza populations had developed over recent years.
He said there had been evidence impoverished Palestinians in Gaza, while they did not share Hamas goals, had been drawn in because they were either desperate for work and income, seeking favour or revenge.
It is the latter that could see Hamas and its Al-Qassam Brigade ranks or affiliate Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighters swell beyond their reported 40,000 armed militants.
ISRAELI CITIZENS WARNED TO LEAVE TURKEY
Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey immediately amid fears of reprisal attacks after a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, a consular spokesman said.
“I can confirm that the travel warning of the National Security Council to Turkey has been raised to 4, the highest level,” the spokesman told AFP.
Thousands joined protests in Istanbul and the capital Ankara outside Israel’s diplomatic missions to condemn the attack on the Gaza hospital in the early hours on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
Turkish police detained five protesters for attempting to sneak into the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, the governor’s office said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause, accused Israel of “striking a hospital sheltering women, children and innocent civilians” and urged the world to stop the tragedy in Gaza.
JOE BIDEN ARRIVES IN TEL AVIV
President Biden was met at the steps of Air Force One by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Biden has a range of meetings including with victims’ families, relatives of those who have been taken hostage by Hamas and first responders.
The White House has said the President would ask “tough questions” of the Israelis about their intentions in the coming weeks and emphasised humanitarian assistance would be a focus of the conversations.
WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog welcome President of the United States Joe Biden upon his arrival to Israel. https://t.co/S5x2JFtwOr
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 18, 2023
The US President, flanked by with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke to the media on last night (AEDT) about the situation in Gaza and the hospital strike that killed hundreds of Palestinians.
President Biden said “I am deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza and based on what I have seen that it appears as though it was done by the other team not you (Israel)”.
“But there are lots of people out there who are not sure,” President Biden said.
“So we have to overcome a lot of things, and also encouraging lifesaving capacity to the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this.
“Israel has a value set like the US and other democracies and we are looking to see what we are going to do.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked President Biden for the US support and the steadfast commitment to providing Israel with the tools they need to defend themselves.
“The Level of co-operation that is unprecedented,“ Prime Minister Netanyahu said.
PROTESTERS STORM US EMBASSY
Thousands of protesters gathered at US, Israeli and French embassies in Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, Iran and Jordan in the hours following the strike. There were also protests in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
In Beirut, where protesters stormed the gates of the US embassy and set fire to a building, Hezbollah called for “a day of rage against the enemy”.
Mr Biden, who pressed on with his trip to the region despite the cancellation of talks with Palestinian and Egyptian leaders in Jordan, said he had directed his national security team “to continue gathering information about what exactly happened”.
‘HORRIFIED’: WORLD REACTS TO HOSPITAL STRIKE
International condemnation was swift.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed “any indiscriminate attack and targeting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals,” and said Australia “joins with others in calling for international law to always be upheld”.
French president Emmanuel Macron said “nothing can justify a strike against a hospital” and called for humanitarian aid to be provided to the Gaza Strip.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” by the killing and his heart was with “the families of the victims”.
“Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law,” he said.
Russia and the United Arab Emirates called for a meeting of the UN Security Council in the wake of the bombing.
IDF SPREADING ‘LIES’: ISLAMIC JIHAD GROUP
The Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine also denied responsibility for the strike, accusing the “Zionist enemy” of “his usual fabrication of lies”.
A statement from Islamic Jihad also claimed Israel had previously ordered the hospital to evacuate.
Some commentators expressed doubt about the Israeli claim, questioning whether any rockets carried by a Palestinian group had the capacity to inflict such destruction on a hospital.
But Israel said they would also release drone footage and intercepts of conversations which backed up their claims.
There was concern the hospital strike would escalate regional tensions. A spokesman for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad said Damascus “holds western countries responsible, especially the United States of America, for this massacre and others”.
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