Israel unleashes ‘unprecedented’ wave of air strikes across Gaza
Israeli fighter jets struck 150 “underground targets” in northern Gaza during an intense night of raids after communications were cut off in an “unprecedented” attack. Follow updates. Warning: Graphic
Israeli fighter jets struck 150 “underground targets” in northern Gaza during an intense night of raids on Saturday, three weeks after the deadliest attack in the country’s history.
A military statement said the sites hit included “terror tunnels, underground combat spaces and additional underground infrastructure. Furthermore, several Hamas terrorists were killed.”
Correspondents in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel said shelling and air strikes continued into the daytime Saturday, although they were less intense than during the night.
Battles were raging in Gaza, as Israel expanded its ground operations and cut communications to the Palestinian territory, three weeks after the deadliest attack in the country’s history.
Gaza has effectively been cut off from the world, with internet and phone service severed.
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“This information blackout risks providing cover for mass atrocities and contributing to impunity for human rights violations,” Human Rights Watch’s Deborah Brown said.
The health ministry in Gaza says at least 7326 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, in which at least 1400 people lost their lives.
Hamas said its fighters are now battling Israeli forces inside northern Gaza.
“We are confronting an Israeli ground incursion in Beit Hanoun and in east Bureij (in the centre) and violent engagements are taking place on the ground,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said.
It comes after Israeli warplanes unleashed air strikes of “unprecedented” ferocity across the Gaza Strip. The aerial onslaught, which observers described as much more intense and louder than previous days sparked fears of an imminent a full-scale Israeli ground invasion.
Ezzat al-Rishaq, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau said: “If (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu decides to enter Gaza tonight, the resistance is ready.
“The remains of his soldiers will be swallowed up by the land of Gaza.”
According to one report, Israeli forces even unloaded “bunker buster” concussion missiles to try and destroy the extensive Hamas tunnel network under Gaza.
“The air force widely attacks underground targets and terrorist infrastructure, very significantly,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said.
“In continuation of the offensive activity we carried out in the last few days, the ground forces are expanding the ground activity this evening.”
Israel has not yet confirmed that its ground forces have entered the besieged enclave.
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MORE AID VIA EGYPT
The Israeli military is set to allow more humanitarian aid from Egypt into the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces hopes more food, water and medical supplies will encourage more Palestinians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip for its south.
ISRAEL’S GAZA BOMBARDMENT IN PICTURES
HEAD OF HAMAS AERIAL ARMY KILLED
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) revealed it had killed the head of Hamas’ Aerial Army, who they claim was behind the plot to use armed-terrorists on hang gliders to attack Israelis attending the Nova music festival on October 7.
“Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, the Head of Hamas’ Aerial Array,” the IDF said.
“Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas’ UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and defense. “He took part in planning the October 7 massacre and commanded the terrorists who infiltrated Israel on paragliders and was responsible for the drone attacks on IDF posts”.
The IDF also revealed it had killed Madhath Mubasha, the Commander of Hamas’ Western Khan Yunis Battalion.
RALLY IN WEST BANK AS AUSSIE PROTESTS PLANNED
Protests continue in the West Bank as Israeli air and ground forces step up operations in the Gaza Strip.
Pro-Palestine protesters will gather in Sydney on Sunday for a “Stop the Genocide in Gaza” rally.
They will also be in Perth’s Forrest Place, Melbourne State Library and Hobart Town Hall.
“The Australian Government continues to give full support to Israel’s war crimes, even sending troops to the Middle East to act as Israel’s protector,” the protest Facebook group said.
“Last week, we held a massive and peaceful demonstration of 30,000 people, including people from Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. This Sunday, we need to mobilise in even bigger numbers.”
200 ARRESTED IN MASS PROTEST IN NYC
Hundreds of people were arrested when police broke up a large demonstration of mostly Jewish New Yorkers who had taken over the main hall of Grand Central station in protest of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The New York Police Department said at least 200 people had been arrested, while protest organisers put the number at more than 300.
AUSTRALIA ABSTAINS FROM UN VOTE FOR TRUCE IN GAZA
Australia has abstained from casting a vote in a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza. The nation’s representative James Larsen said it was “incomplete” because it did not mention Hamas as the perpetrator of the October 7 attack.
“We agree with the central proposition, that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and human suffering is widespread and unacceptable,” he said.
“The resolution did not recognise terror group Hamas as the perpetrator of the 7 October attack,” he said. “And Australia again explicitly calls for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.”
Greens leader, Adam Bandt, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Labor’s failure to vote with most of the world for a ceasefire is unacceptable.
“Labor needs to work towards peace, not war, in Gaza and the Middle East.”
Former Australian of the year and human rights advocate Craig Forster said Australia’s decision to abstain was “deeply, deeply sad”.
After today's UN General Assembly Emergency Special Session resolution, Member States had the chance to give an explanation of their vote: https://t.co/ceBoJy82TTpic.twitter.com/9e7fRT5dy5
— Ambassador James Larsen 🇦🇺🇺🇳 (@AustraliaUN) October 28, 2023
US TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION AFTER STRIKES ON IRANIAN TARGETS IN SYRIA
US President Joe Biden has confirmed the US will take further action against Iran after he ordered strikes on a sites in Syria linked to Iran’s militia groups.
“The strikes were intended to establish deterrence and were conducted in a manner to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties. I directed the strikes in order to protect and defend our personnel, to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners, and to deter Iran and Iran-backed militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities,” Biden wrote.
“The United States stands ready to take further action, as necessary and appropriate, to address further threats or attacks.”
The US military strike has increased concerns the war between Israel and Hamas could escalate into a broader regional conflict.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed two facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been targeted by “precision self-defence strikes”.
The strikes come after US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria were targeted by drone and rocket attacks 16 times since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
One non-military US contractor died from a cardiac incident sustained during one of the attacks, while 21 service personnel suffered minor injuries. All 21 have since returned to duty, Mr Austin said.
“These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defence were intended solely to protect and defend US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” he said.
“They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict”.
PENTAGON SPEAKS TO ISRAEL ABOUT INVASION
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to Mr Austin on the phone, where his US counterpart
emphasised “the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza.”
“He also raised his focus on the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages,” the statement adds.
New US House Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and pledged support for Israel.
It was a privilege to speak this evening with my friend @netanyahu. The House of Representatives stands with Israel and I reaffirmed our strong support. pic.twitter.com/pzoh2SuMBb
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 27, 2023
‘MORE PEOPLE WILL DIE’: UN CALLS FOR TRUCE
The news of extended ground operations has prompted the US to back a pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into Gaza.
“We would support humanitarian pauses for stuff getting in, as well as for people getting out, and that includes pushing for fuel to get in and for the restoration of electrical power,” John Kirby from America’s National Security Council said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned that “many more will die” in Gaza from catastrophic shortages after nearly three weeks of bombardment by Israel.
It has also raised the alarm over “war crimes” being committed as the Israel-Hamas conflict raged into its 21st day and called for an urgent “humanitarian truce”.
Israel and Hamas have rejected calls for a ceasefire.
“People in Gaza are dying, they are not only dying from bombs and strikes, soon many more will die from the consequences of (the) siege,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.
“Basic services are crumbling, medicine is running out, food and water are running out, the streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage,” he said of the overcrowded territory where 45 per cent of housing is reported to have been damaged or destroyed.
In Geneva, the UN human rights office raised the alarm over war crimes, saying “the atrocious attacks by Hamas … amounted to war crimes” but also pointing to Israel’s Gaza bombardment.
“Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Compelling people to evacuate in these circumstances … and while under a complete siege raises serious concerns over forcible transfer, which is a war crime,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said after Israel ordered Gaza residents to flee south.
Concern is growing about regional fallout from the conflict, with the US warning Iran against escalation while striking facilities in Syria it says were used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and others.
HAMAS OPERATIONS ‘UNDER GAZA HOSPITAL’
Meanwhile, Israel’s military has accused Hamas of using hospitals in Gaza as operations centres for directing attacks.
“Hamas wages war from hospitals,” in the territory, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
Rear Adm. Hagari also alleged the Islamist group was also using fuel stored in these facilities for its operations.
“We have concrete evidence that hundreds of terrorists flooded into the hospital to hide there after the massacres of October 7,” he said.
Israel has intelligence that there are several tunnels leading to the underground base from outside the hospital, so that Hamas officials do not need to enter the hospital to reach it, he said. There is also an entrance to the complex from within one of the wards.
“Hamas terrorists operate inside and under Shifa hospital — and other hospitals in Gaza — with a network of terror tunnels,” he said.
“Shifa is not the only hospital — it is one of many. Hamas use of hospitals is systematic.”
The IDF issued a graphic overlay of a satellite image of Shifa Hospital, showing what it says are Hamas command centres hidden underneath the hospital.
Hamas denied the allegations, rejecting them as “baseless”.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the terror group’s political bureau, said in a statement that “these lies represent a prelude to a new massacre against our people, greater than the one of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital” — a reference to the October 17 blast widely seen as being caused by a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket that Hamas has blamed on Israel.
MEDICAL TEAM ENTERS GAZA
It comes as a 10-person team of medical staff and experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) crossed into Gaza.
The ICRC’s regional director said this will provide a “small dose of relief, but it’s not enough.”
“Safe, sustained humanitarian access is urgently needed,” said Fabrizio Carboni, in a statement. “This humanitarian catastrophe is deepening by the hour.”
Among the supplies ICRC has taken into Gaza are war surgery kits and equipment to treat people with wounds suffered in conflict. The ICRC said it had enough equipment to treat several thousand people, depending on their injuries, adding it had also sent in water purification supplies that would enable the treatment of 50,000 litres of water.
PALESTINIANS POST NAMES OF DEAD
Palestinian officials have released a list of more than 6,700 names of what they describe as Palestinians killed in Gaza since the outbreak of war with Israel earlier this month, after US President Joe Biden cast doubt on the toll from the territory.
Israel has attacked Gaza ever since Hamas, the militant group that governs the territory, unleashed a day of violence on Israeli communities near its border on October 7, attacking soldiers and civilians in a rampage that Israel says left 1,400 people dead. Nearly 230 hostages continue to be held by Hamas.
The list of 6,747 names gave the age, sex and identity card number of each victim, adding that 281 bodies had not yet been identified. Another 1,600 people, including 900 children, are missing and may be under rubble, according to the UN, citing local authorities.
ISRAELI TROOPS CONDUCT MORE ‘TARGETED RAIDS’
Israeli troops conducted “targeted raids” inside Gaza for a second consecutive night before withdrawing, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in statement.
Video published by the IDF showed tanks and armoured vehicles moving on a road near agricultural land as well as strikes on buildings and open areas.
The raid, which included aircraft and artillery strikes in the Shaja’iyah neighbourhood, targeted Hamas infrastructure including “antitank missile launch sites, military command and control centres, as well as Hamas terrorists,” the IDF said.
It comes one day after the IDF said it carried out a raid with tanks in northern Gaza as “part of preparations for the next stages of combat.”
‘SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS’ MADE ON HOSTAGE RELEASE
There has been “significant progress” on negotiations to release hostages held by Hamas but there are issues still remaining, according to a CNN report.
“Negotiations are going very well. We have a breakthrough,” the source said. “There are issues still remaining, but talks are ongoing, and we remain hopeful.”
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Barbara Leaf is in Doha for meetings with Qatar’s leadership, a person familiar with the meetings said.
Asked about the status of the negotiations, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commented at a news conference on Thursday, saying, “every channel is a possible channel.”
“One thing should be clear — we have a goal and I trust the State of Israel and the IDF … and we’ll keep doing every effort to bring the hostages and the missing back,” he said.
IRAN’S MAJOR THREAT TO US IN CONFLICT
Iran’s foreign minister warned the US “will not be spared from this fire” if Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza doesn’t end.
Speaking at the UN, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran does not welcome [an] “expansion of the war in the region”.
“But if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire,” he said.
The US responded with a warning of its own, with National Security spokesman John Kirby telling reporters at the White House a message had been sent to Iran’s leader, the Ayatollah Khomeni.
Pressed about whether the message was made in a phone call or via a third party, Mr Kirby said: “There was a direct message relayed. That’s as far as I’m going to go.”
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