‘I beg the world to return her’: Hostage’s mother pleads with Hamas
The mother of French-Israeli woman Mia Shem, held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza, urged world leaders Tuesday to free her daughter
The Israeli military has shown a small group of journalists an hour-long cut of horrifying vision showing Hamas terrorists mercilessly massacring civilians, including children and the elderly.
It comes as US President Joe Biden announced he will visit Israel on Wednesday for high-level talks about the worsening conflict in Palestine, as Iran threatened to involve itself in the war.
Some 2000 American troops have been ordered to “prepare to deploy” as US warships head to the region.
Meanwhile, aid organisations say time is running out to avoid a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza as food, water and fuel runs out.
Read on for live updates as they come in.
Militants attempt to ‘infiltrate’ Israel
Israeli troops killed four militants attempting to enter its territory from Lebanon on Tuesday, the army said, as tensions run high on the border between the two countries.
Israel has traded fire with Hezbollah and allied Palestinian militants in Lebanon on a near-daily basis since October 8, the day after Hezbollah’s Palestinian ally Hamas launched its surprise attack in Israeli territory.
The Israeli army said its forces opened fire on militants who had attempted to cross the northern border with Lebanon in the morning.
“Observation troops spotted a terrorist squad attempting to infiltrate the security fence with Lebanon and plant an explosive device,” the army said in a statement, adding that “four terrorists were killed”.
Later, anti-tank missiles targeted Israeli forces in two locations, with Israeli tanks and artillery retaliating against the “origins of the fire” and Hezbollah military posts, the army said.
Shots “fired from a light weapon” also targeted several Israeli military positions near Lebanon, it added.
Hezbollah said in a statement afterwards that its fighters had targeted “a Zionist tank in the Ramim barracks” at noon.
Two Israeli military reservists and a civilian were wounded in one of the attacks, the army said.
Turkey talking to Hamas about hostages
Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, says his country is speaking to Hamas about the release of civilians, children and foreigners who are still being held hostage in Gaza.
According to Reuters, Mr Fidan personally spoke to the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, about the issue yesterday.
Hostage’s mother speaks out
The mother of French-Israeli woman Mia Shem, held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza, urged world leaders Tuesday to free her daughter after the Islamists aired a video showing her in captivity.
“I ask world leaders that my daughter be returned to us in the state that she is today, as well as the other hostages,” Keren Shem said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
She was speaking a day after Hamas broadcast a video showing her daughter receiving treatment for a wounded arm.
“I beg the world to return my baby to me,” Ms Shem said, after French President Emmanuel Macron demanded her immediate and unconditional release.
Ms Shem said her daughter was at a rave party in the desert near the border when she was abducted to Gaza during the deadly attack Hamas militants launched on Israel on October 7.
“Now she is in Gaza. She is not the only one. There are many adults, children, babies and Holocaust survivors,” she said of other Israelis and foreigners held by militants.
“It is a crime against humanity. All together we need to stop this terror.”
Ms Shem said she had not known whether her daughter “was alive or dead” until Hamas released the video footage of her.
“There was a rumour saying that she was wounded in the shoulder or the leg. She was wounded in the hand. She was operated on,” Ms Shem said.
“She looks terrified. She says what they tell her to say. I’m really worried about her.”
Ultimate fate of Gaza a ‘global issue’
Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, has stressed that the fate of the Gaza Strip after the war would be a “global issue”.
“This is a global issue, what the situation will look like in this region,” Mr Hagari said.
“Gaza borders other countries. So when we say things on the final status (of Gaza), they will combine the orders of the political level and the military.
“We’ve had all kinds of end games.”
He was responding to a question about Israel’s intentions, and whether it would occupy Gaza after the looming ground invasion.
Over 50 killed in southern Gaza airstrikes
Palestine’s interior ministry has confirmed 23 people have died in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza strip. 28 more were killed in strikes in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border.
It came as the Israel Defence Force’s Chief-of-Staff Herzi Halevi said Israel were destined to defeat Hamas in a signed statement.
“The IDF will win thanks to sticking to the mission, fortitude, and courage,” he said.
“The IDF will win because our war is just. The IDF will win thanks to the resilience of the people from which it comes. It will win thanks to its abilities and because we trained for this task. We will win, and in all actions, we will act according to the spirit of the IDF and its values,” Halevi stated.
Iran warns it may take ‘pre-emptive action’
In a major escalation, Iran has issued a warning that it may take “pre-emptive action in the coming hours” against Israel in response to preparations for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Tehran has previously cautioned that any invasion of Gaza would trigger a response from various fronts, as resistance leaders continue to refute Israel’s right to continue on its warpath act without consequences.
The United States has begun to prepare 2,000 troops for potential deployment to the area and has now positioned a second aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said he had discussed the deteriorating situation in a recent meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, suggesting that “pre-emptive action by the resistance axis” was a necessary response to the chaos unfolding in Gaza.
Israel can’t “do whatever it wants in Gaza and then go after other resistance groups after it‘s done with Gaza,“ Amirabdollahian said.
“If the limited and extremely tight windows of opportunity available to the United Nations and political actors are not used over the coming hours, opening new fronts against the Zionist regime is inevitable.”
He did not specify what that action could entail but said: “All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza”.
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi warned that time is running out to find a political solution and said the conflict could quickly spill over across the continent without precise action.
‘Living a horror movie’: Situation deteriorates in Gaza
Life has quickly become a living hell for those still stuck in Gaza, as debris piles up on the street and civilians facing mass shortages in food and medical supplies.
In hospitals, water is in such a short supply that patients are reportedly only being given 350mL per day. Humanitarian officials have continued to rally for an end to the violence as the city’s healthcare system deteriorates, leaving countless patients in critical condition stranded.
Husam Zomlot, a Palestinian diplomat in the UK says that Israel is preparing for the “mass slaughter, not of Hamas but of my people”.
“We should believe Israel’s defence minister when he says Palestinians are simply human animals,” the diplomat told the BBC describing the situation on the ground as “living a horror movie”.
The fighting continues in and around the region, with the The Israeli Air Force now confirming it has hit Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in addition to its fight against Hamas.
‘Where are the kids?’ Horrifying vision of Hamas massacre
WARNING: Distressing content
Israel has shown a group of reporters an hour-long compilation of footage showing Hamas terrorists massacring civilians and soldiers.
A series of clips from mobile phones, surveillance cameras, dashcams and livestreams show the extent of barbarity unleashed by militants in co-ordinated attacks carried out on 7 October.
More than 1400 Israelis were killed and thousands more injured. Retaliatory strikes on Gaza have claimed the lives of 2800 Palestinians.
Overnight, a small group of journalists covering the conflict were gathered by a member of the Israel Defence Force and shown the macabre vision.
They were not allowed to record or use any of the vision presented. Mobile phones were confiscated.
Recounting what he saw, Matt Gutman from US broadcaster ABC wrote about seeing Hamas fighters travelling through the streets in the back of a ute, heavily armed with RPGs.
They can be seen waving down unsuspecting motors and then opening fire. Bodies are ripped out of bullet-riddled cars.
Footage then shows militants sneaking into a kibbutz in Beeri at about 8am. As one enters a playground, he asks in Arabic: “Where are the kids?”
Two terrorists set fire to a house and shoot dead an elderly man. Another is shown stomping on a dying man’s face with his boot.
“Another pair screams, ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they use a garden hoe to try to decapitate another man,” Gutman writes.
“In another house, a gunman sticks the muzzle of his rifle into a room inhabited by a family. It‘s a mash of colours. In one, a terrorist is standing on an Israeli man’s chest and shoots him point-blank in the face.
“Then, the scenes of bloodied bedrooms start to blur. The rooms and the gore are the same – it‘s how the bodies are arrayed in death that’s different.
“There are so many children. Some are jam-packed together in a slippery mass of human flesh. Huge blood stains streak the tiles.”
Countless charred bodies can be seen, and he notes that it’s unclear if they were set on fire or whether grenade sparked a blaze.
“Other videos show Israeli first responders trying to put out the still-smouldering skeletal remains of victims – with water bottles, as if watering a parched plant,” he writes.
In another clip shown, militants can be seen tossing grenades into roadside bomb shelters somewhere in southern Israel.
They were filled with young people who fled terrorists at the Supernova music festival, he wrote.
“The camera shows a flash of limbs, some dismembered, some still attached to writhing, screaming bodies. A selfie camera shows a young man weeping, while someone croaks hoarsely in the background, ‘help, help’.
“Hamas then drags survivors out, some by their hair, to trucks, and then batters them some more in the backs of the pick-ups on the way to Gaza.”
Elsewhere, vision shows “the sheer number of Hamas attackers” who set on the music festival.
“Those were some of the most professional and well-equipped fighters we saw in the video. Some of them are wearing police uniforms, others are in military uniforms.”
The presentation ended with clips of a Hamas attack on a military base near the border with Gaza, in which about 20 female soldiers wearing pyjamas can be seen ducking for cover.
They are unarmed and screaming. A woman filming the scene can be heard saying “Who is that man?” She pans and a Hamas fighter is seen, before the clip ends.
Of the scene, Gutman writes: “Outside, soldiers are decapitated. Otherwise, the bodies seem untouched. The heads were not in the images.”
Biden heading to Israel
United States President Joe Biden will visit Israel for high-level talks about the escalating conflict with Hamas in Palestine, after Iran threatened to become involved “within hours”.
Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the visit, during which Mr Biden will “reaffirm the United States’ solidarity … and iron-clad commitment to its security”.
“The president will hear from Israel what it needs to defend its people as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs,” Mr Blinken said.
Confirmation of the visit came shortly before a bombshell report in the New York Times, which claims Israel has requested a whopping US$10 billion (AU$15 billion) emergency military aid package from the US.
While in Israel, Mr Biden will also “underscore our crystal-clear message” to others to not seek to take advantage of the crisis “to attack Israel”.
“To that end, he has deployed aircraft carrier groups and other military assets to the region.”
That warning to “state or non-state” forces and the president’s confirmed visit to Israel on Wednesday came just moments after Iran issued a stern threat that is prepared to involve itself in the conflict.
On Wednesday, I'll travel to Israel to stand in solidarity in the face of Hamas's brutal terrorist attack.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 17, 2023
I'll then travel to Jordan to address dire humanitarian needs, meet with leaders, and make clear that Hamas does not stand for Palestinians' right to self-determination.
Mr Blinken flew out of Tel Aviv shortly after his press conference, and not long after that, one of America’s top generals flew in.
Army General Michael Kurilla, head of US Central Command, landed in Israel just before dawn in a surprise visit.
“I‘m here to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself, particularly focused on avoiding other parties expanding the conflict,“ he told Reuters.
Major Kurilla is expected to hold high-level talks with Israeli Defence Force officials.
Israel striking targets in Lebanon
The alarming remarks came shortly after the Israeli Defence Force confirmed it has begun “striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon”.
Israel had earlier ordered the evacuation of some 28 villages along its northern border with Lebanon.
A short while ago, the IAF struck terror targets and military infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon, in response to fire yesterday (Monday) towards Israel. pic.twitter.com/6AP56PSHld
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 17, 2023
Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran, said it had struck five Israeli targets.
Yesterday, Amirabdollahian warned: “We have conveyed our message to the Zionist regime through its allies that if they do not cease their atrocities in Gaza, Iran cannot simply remain an observer.”
He also warned the US it will suffer “significant damages” if the conflict in Gaza escalates.
Aussies warned of ‘spontaneous violence’ here
The head of Australia’s spy agency has warned about the potential for violence here because of heightened tensions sparked by the Israel-Palestine conflict.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess is in San Francisco for a summit of the Five Eyes alliance – an intelligence cooperative comprising Australia, New Zealand, America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Mr Burgess appeared at a joint press conference with the FBI’s Director Christopher Wray before the meeting, at which he said ASIO anticipates “spontaneous violence”.
He urged all Australians to do their bit to minimise tensions.
“We, of course, recognise this is a moment that drives feelings and attitudes in our respective countries, and in Australia, so we’re on the lookout for that as we see protests and counterprotests, but we do anticipate spontaneous violence,” Mr Burgess said.
“We do see a direct correlation between language that inflames tension and out of that tension does grow a small number of people who think violence is the answer.”
Civilians ‘tied together and set alight’
WARNING: Distressing content
Forensic scientists have given a horrifying insight into the task of identifying the remains of hundreds of people massacred in attacks by Hamas terrorists.
Israel’s National Centre of Forensic Medicine are relying on fingerprints, dental records and DNA testing to put names to the countless bodies that fill its morgue.
“We decided to show this horror because there are people who accuse us of lying, of telling stories and of actually showing dog bones,” the centre’s director Hen Kugel told the AFP.
Among the remains are those of an adult and a child, consisting of bones and chunks of flesh, held together with a melt electrical cord.
“The posture of the two bodies shows that the adult tried to protect the child,” Mr Kugel told the AFP.
“On the scanner, we clearly see two spinal columns. That of a man or a woman, and that of a child. They were tied up then burned alive.”
Most of the bodies are riddled with bullets, charred beyond recognition or heavily militated, he said.
At least 1400 Israelis were killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks by Hamas terrorists. In retaliation, Israel’s Defence Force launched a bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, which has killed scores of people.
Hamas has strongly denied claims its fighters abused and tortured civilians, including allegations babies were beheaded, but Mr Kugel said the forensic analysis is clear.
Among the bodies in his morgue are those of infants.
“I’ve been doing this job for 31 years,” Mr Kugel said. “I’ve never seen such barbarity, such cruelty, such relentlessness. It’s just atrocious.
“We don’t know how many babies died, or how many elderly people. There are also a lot of headless bodies. It will take a little more time to identify everyone.”
Nurit Boublil, the head of the genetic identification unit, confirmed 500 bodies have been identified so far.
“Everything is made more difficult by the fact that often those who were tortured were tied together,” Mr Boublil said.
The AFP also visited Shura military base near the Israeli town of Ramla, where similar work is being carried out to identify victims.
Rabbi Israel Weiss said refrigerated containers lined up outside a facility each hold up to 50 bodies.
“Never in my life have I seen the horrors that lie behind us today,” Rabbi Weiss told the AFP.
“I have seen babies, women and men beheaded. I have seen a pregnant woman with her belly torn open and the baby cut out.”
US troops told ‘prepare to deploy’
The Pentagon has issued “prepare to deploy” orders to some 2000 American troops headed towards Israel, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.
A rapid response force from the US Marines will join a larger group of warships and personnel that American officials hope sends a message to Iran and Lebanon militant group Hezbollah.
The Wall Street Journal and CNN both quoted sources as saying the 2000 troops are preparing to offer medical and logistical support.
Both report US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin issued the order yesterday. The Biden Administration has not officially confirmed the move.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) has been stationed near Kuwait undergoing a scheduled exercise, which wrapped early “as a result of emerging events”, the Marine Corps Times reported.
The unit specialises in crisis response, special operations, amphibious operations and humanitarian assistance, CNN reported.
However, defence sources told the outlet boots would not be put on the ground in Israel itself, but instead could operation from friendly nations in the region.
It could also remain on board the USS Bataan in the Red Sea off Israel’s southern coast.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told the Wall Street Journal: “I don’t have more to provide at this time. I might be able to give you more details later, but at this time I just don’t have anything more specific to add to.”
Hospitals at breaking point
Israeli bombing of Gaza has killed more than 2800 people, the Palestinian Authority has reported, but scores more have been seriously injured.
Hospitals in the region are overwhelmed and at risk of running out of water and electricity, humanitarian groups say.
This morning, ABC Radio National spoke with Leo Cans, the head of mission for Palestine for charity group Doctors Without Borders.
“MSF staff are distressed,” Mr Cans said.
“In an operating theatre there‘s normally have six or seven medical staff. Right now, they are doing an operation with two … so it’s a very degraded way of working but they’re still here, still working for the patients.”
It is only a matter of time before hospitals are depleted of supplies, which will put the lives of patients at risk, he added.
“This is something that is known and could be prevented just by letting fuel and supplies inside Gaza.
“What is ahead of us is beyond words, and it‘s hard to believe but it seems there is a road that has been taken and until now there has been no sign of changing direction, but at the end of the road it’s a big wall, and this big wall is full of dead people.”
Urgent efforts to get aid in
At his preference earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said America and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from multilateral organisations to reach civilians in Gaza”.
“It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Mr Blinkin told reporters.
“We share concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or otherwise prevent it from reaching the people who need it.
“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians including by seizing the aid itself, we‘ll be the first to come to condemn it and work to prevent it from happening again.”
Water supplies in Gaza remain cut-off and local authorities say supplies are rapidly running out.
The World Health Organisation said Palestinians face an “imminent” health crisis. Meanwhile, the United Nations said its fuel trucks have been blocked from entering Gaza.
An estimated one million people have been displaced within Gaza.
‘Despicable’: JK Rowling slams Hamas
British author JK Rowling has shared a heartbreaking post about a 12-year-old Israeli girl being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The original post on X, formerly Twitter, from Israel’s official account shows a photograph of Noya, who has autism.
In it, she is dressed in a Harry Potter costume and holding a wand and a book.
Officials said the child was abducted from her home by militants. She is being held somewhere in Palestine.
“Noya, is sensitive, kind, funny and a massive Harry Potter fan,” the post read.
Rowling shared the post and condemned the act, writing: “Kidnapping children is despicable and wholly unjustifiable.”
She said the picture “hit home with me” for “obvious reasons”.
“May Noya and all hostages taken by Hamas be returned soon, safely, to their families,” Rowling wrote.
Overnight, a Hamas terrorist released a video statement confirming the group has between 200 and 250 Israeli hostages.
Sydney man arrested over pro-Palestine protest
New South Wales Police have arrested and charged a man over alleged offensive comments made during a pro-Palestine protest at the weekend.
Sydney City Police Area Command officers commenced an investigation after reports of offensive behaviour at Sunday’s demonstrate in the CBD.
“Following extensive inquiries, investigators arrested a 63-year-old man at a home in Mt Druitt about 8pm yesterday,” NSW Police said in a statement.
The man was taken to Mt Druitt Police Station and charged with use offensive language in/near public place/school.
He has been granted strict conditional bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on 15 November.
NSW Police deployed more than 1000 officers as part of Operation Shelter, formed following ugly scenes at a pro-Palestine rally last Monday.
Vision of that protest showed some men in the crowd chanting “gas the Jews” and “f*** the Jews”, sparking condemnation.
Police had urged plans for Sunday’s protest to be abandoned but organisers pushed on.
Vision shows young Israeli hostage
There are at least 200 hostages being held in Gaza following co-ordinate attacks on Israel on 7 October by the terrorist group Hamas.
The figure was confirmed in a televised statement by the group’s military spokesperson Au Obeida, although he said there could be up to 250 people held.
One of those is Israeli woman Mia Shem, 21, who was snatched from a desert music festival in Kibbutz Re’im where Hamas militants massacred hundreds of civilians.
Hamas has released chilling footage of Ms Shem, showing her being treated for a wound on her arm.
“I’m being cared for, I’m getting medications,” she said in the footage.
“I’m only asking for me to be returned home as soon as possible, to my family, to my parents, to my siblings. Please get me out of here as soon as possible.”
“From the second the reports started I called her cell phone,” her mother Karen Shem told Army Radio.
“And the phone has been ringing for hours, but there‘s no answer. I demand to know, someone should tell me something. No one has looked for me. I did everything I could to let everyone know that my daughter is missing, but no one has contacted me.”
‘Blown away’: Dutton slams Teals
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has lashed Teal independents over their stance on Israel, after the pair supported an attempt by the Greens to condemn Israel’s so-called “war crimes”.
In Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moved a motion to condemn the attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists.
Mr Albanese’s motion called for the release of hundreds of hostages held in Gaza and acknowledged a “devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life”.
But Adam Bandt, leader of the Greens, pushed an amendment dumping the motion of support for Israel, replacing it with a condemnation of the country’s bombing of Gaza.
Independents MPs Sophie Scamps and Kylea Tink supported the amendment. It was ultimately defeated.
Speaking on 3AW Radio in Melbourne this morning, Mr Dutton said he was “blown away” by the support from the Teals.
“I mean, the Greens are predictable because they were always going to be voting the way they did, but for the teals to cross over and vote with them, and against Israel, it was quite remarkable,” he said.
“There’s obviously a broad range of views on the issue in the Labor Party – and we saw that after the Hamas terrorist attacks a week ago – but all of them lined up and voted in favour of the motion.
“There was no person from Labor who abstained or voted against and, and yet the teals decided to vote with the Greens, which is quite remarkable.”
Jetstar flight abandoned in Sydney
A flight from Sydney to Melbourne this morning has been abandoned and passengers on board removed after a man began acting erratically.
The Jetstar JQ501 service was preparing for takeoff at about 6.20am when the crew became concerned about someone and called the Australian Federal Police.
News.com.au understands the man had been acting strangely shortly after boarding, asking for a seat change and then not moving, then asking to go to the toilet but not using it.
The plane returned to the gate and officers came on board to conduct a welfare check.
After speaking with the man, it’s understood AFP officers were comfortable for him to remain on board and for the plane to depart, but the passenger decided to disembark the plane.
It’s at this point he became involved in a verbal exchange with another passenger about the Israel-Palestine conflict, it’s been reported.
“Because they were talking about the war it made us all very nervous,” a man who was on the plane told 2GB Radio.
All passengers were then removed for operational reasons. The flight eventually departed for Melbourne at about 8.45am.
Israeli family of five found dead in an embrace
Harrowing accounts continue to emerge about the unprecedented attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel, including a couple who were killed three days before their planned engagement — and a family of five whose bodies were found in a tragic embrace.
Aviv Kutz, 54, was found embracing his wife, Livnat, 49, daughter, Rotem, 19, and sons Yonatan, 17, and Yiftach, 17, as they lay dead in a bed at their Kfar Aza home on Oct. 7, the day the terrorists invaded Israel, according to the Times of Israel.
“On the day they were murdered, we were supposed to visit them,” the children’s aunt, Adi Levy Salama, said of the family that had returned to Israel after living in Boston for several years.
“Aviv organised an annual kite festival along the fence with Gaza to show them that we just want to live in peace,” Ms Salama told the outlet.
Livnat, a graphic designer who was about to turn 50, was born during the Yom Kippur War — the 1973 conflict that has been compared to the current crisis in terms of Israel’s intelligence failure.
Her husband was deputy director of a consulting firm and also worked in agriculture, the Times of Israel reported.
Rotem was an IDF soldier who trained new recruits, while Yonatan and Yiftach attended the Kfar Hayarok boarding school in Ramat Hasharon near Tel Aviv and played basketball in the Hapoel youth program.
“They were all amazing kids with huge hearts. They had their whole lives ahead of them,” their heartbroken aunt said.
Number of Aussies remain in Gaza
The government has confirmed the number of Australians known to be in Gaza is 45, more than double the figure released yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described the situation as “extremely difficult”.
“We are looking at ways in which and working very hard to find ways in which we can get those people to safety,” Mr Marles told ABC News Breakfast.
“That obviously includes working with other countries around the establishment of a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza.
“That hasn’t happened yet. But we are doing what we can in very, very challenging circumstances.”
Full details of where those Australians are remains unclear, he said, as well as whether any have managed to escape into Egypt.
Eerie image of Hamas terrorist
The face of a senior Hamas terrorist has been revealed in a televised statement, in which he confirms hundreds of Israeli hostages are being held.
Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida said between 200 and 250 prisoners are being held in Gaza.
Another 50 are being held captive elsewhere “by resistance factions and in other places”, Obeida added.
He described the hostages as “our guests” and said they will be released when conditions “on the ground” make it possible.
In his video address, Obeida said a promised ground assault by Israeli soldiers of Gaza “doesn’t scare us” and said the group is “ready for it”.
‘High price to pay’
Israeli has vowed to wage a “long war” against Hamas in Palestine as international pleas for a ceasefire fall on deaf ears.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the country had high hopes of a successful campaign.
“Let me tell you, Mr Secretary, this will be a long war, the price will be high, but we are going to win – for Israel, for the Jewish people and for the values that both countries believe in,” Mr Gallant said.
There would be no ceasefire to allow foreign civilians to flee from Gaza across the Egypt border.
The meeting came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet were forced to shelter in a bunker when air raid sirens went off in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli civilians have been armed in cities across the country as part of civilian units.
Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir issued a statement confirming the 13,200 volunteers received rifles and protective gear.
Hopes build for border crossing opening
Thousands of Palestinians have gathered near a border crossing between Rafah and Egypt after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced it would open soon.
But overnight, an area near the border was hit by shelling, prompting renewed warnings from international aid groups.
In a video address, Martin Griffiths, United Nations Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, declared “we are living in the worst of times”.
“You cannot ask people to move out of harm’s way without assisting them to do it, to go to places of their choice where they want to be safe and with the humanitarian aid they need to make that journey safely,” Mr Griffiths said.
He warned hospitals in Gaza are “running out of fuel, are running out of supplies” and urged Israel to allow access for aid.
Discussions led by Mr Blinken had given the UN hope that progress will be made, he said, adding: “I’m hoping to hear some good news this morning”.
“We need access for aid,” Mr Griffiths said.
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation regional director Ahmed Al-Mandhari warned Gaza is at risk of turning into “a real catastrophe”.
Supplies of water, electricity and fuel could run out within the next 24 hours, Mr Al-Mandhari told AFP.
Without urgent aid, doctors should “prepare death certificates for their patients”.
Tel Aviv shelled heavily
Multiple rockets have been intercepted by Israeli’s ‘iron dome’ defence system overnight, with Tel Aviv subjected to a major barrage.
Multiple rocket interceptions by the Iron Dome over central Israel pic.twitter.com/PBWJY46Dks
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 16, 2023
Hamas took responsibility for the attacks. There are no reports of the rockets making ground impact.
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