Live: Five Palestinian journalists killed, Gaza media office says
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Palestinian journalist Imad Zakout reports on developments in the besieged northern Gaza Strip for the 14th consecutive day as Israel intensifies its air and artillery strikes and continues demolishing citizens' homes. pic.twitter.com/tSbZK7zkW8
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 19, 2024
For fifteen days in a row, no food or clean water has entered Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Israeli aircraft and vehicles have been bombing and targeting any place where movement is detected. Even those who have attempted to reach food stores have been targeted by bombs and shelling.
There have been reports of people dying of hunger inside their homes, besieged in the camp.
Those in the camp are speaking of Israeli forces attempting to permanently "erase the memory" of Jabalia from the minds of future generations.
In the narrow streets and alleys, stray dogs feed on the bodies of killed Palestinians.
The siege on Al-Shifa hospital, in central Gaza, earlier this year was considered the worst since the war began. The choking off of Jabalia over the past two weeks may well prove to have been even deadlier.
Reporting by Mohammed al-Hajjar in Gaza, occupied Palestine
Israeli forces have besieged and shelled the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.
The Palestinian health ministry reported on Saturday that Israeli forces targeted the upper floors, where over 40 patients and medical staff were present.
It added that heavy gunfire directed towards the facility had caused “great panic” among staff and patients.
Marwan Sultan, the hospital director, said: “Israeli tanks have completely surrounded the hospital, cut off electricity and shelled the hospital, targeting the second and third floors with artillery.
“There are serious risks to medical staff and patients.”
An Israeli air strike on Baaloul, a town in Lebanon's western Beqaa Valley, killed four people and wounded at least 13 others, Lebanon's health ministry reported.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Israeli warplanes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut and several towns in southern Lebanon, destroying infrastructure and buildings.
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over southern Gaza showing a picture of Yahya Sinwar's body, accompanied by a message saying: "Hamas will no longer rule Gaza."
Drawing from a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israeli forces killed Sinwar in Rafah, the leaflets read: “Whoever lays down their weapons and hands over the hostages will be allowed to leave and live in peace.”
Meanwhile, rescuers have gathered at Asmaa school in al-Shati refugee camp to search for survivors under the rubble after an Israeli attack left seven dead.
The school, which was affiliated with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), was being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.
At a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the international community to pressure Israel to end what he described as "genocides" in Gaza and Lebanon.
Erdogan said the leaders discussed "the genocidal war waged by Israel against Gaza and all the attacks against Lebanon".
He added: "We, as an international community, need to exert pressure on Israel so all the genocides in Gaza and Lebanon should stop. As long as these genocides are ongoing, our region cannot achieve peace and stability.
"Over 50,000 people have been killed. All those with a conscience need to take responsibility to put an end to this Israeli approach, and we will continue to work on this path."
The UN investigator tasked with monitoring the right to adequate housing said that Gaza's reconstruction could take 80 years.
Balakrishnan Rajagopal said that by January, between 60 and 70 percent of homes in Gaza had been destroyed. He added that in northern Gaza, the destruction is now nearing 100 percent.
Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that by May, there were over 35m tonnes of debris in Gaza.
Israeli air strikes have targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area colloquially known as Dahiyeh, for the first time since Wednesday, according to Lebanese media.
At least two strikes were reported in Dahiyeh.
Video footage captures the moment of a ramming attack at the entrance of a settlement north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army reported that it had shot and killed a Palestinian man who drove his vehicle into a police car at the settlement's entrance.
Footage captures the moment of a ramming attack at the entrance of a settlement north of Ramallah in the West Bank.
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 19, 2024
The Israeli army reported that it had shot and killed a Palestinian man who drove his vehicle into a police car at the settlement's entrance. pic.twitter.com/i6xI9Uby6y
India's largest business conglomerate, Tata Group, is complicit in Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestine and should be dropped as the lead sponsor of the New York City Marathon, activists have said.
The TCS New York City Marathon, organised by New York Road Runners (NYRR), a non-profit based in the city, is considered the largest marathon in the world.
The New York City-based group South Asian Left (Salam) alleges that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a subsidiary of the Tata Group, maintains several business relationships with the Israeli government, including the manufacturing of weapons for the Israeli military.
"We are demanding Tata disclose all its connections with the Zionist entity and divest from them. We are demanding the NYRR to drop TCS," Aman, an organiser with Salam, told Middle East Eye.
Read more: Activists urge New York City Marathon to drop Indian company Tata over links to Israel
All three major hospitals in northern Gaza have been out of service due to Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Indonesian, al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals have been besieged by Israeli forces and subjected to artillery shelling and bombardment.
Israeli fighter jets have destroyed a residential house in Nuseirat in northern Gaza, killing at least four Palestinians, according to reporters on the ground.
Meanwhile, in Maghazi, at least 11 Palestinians have been confirmed dead after Israeli forces demolished a residential building. Seven of them were reportedly from the same family.
Iran is hosting joint naval drills with Russian and Omani warships, with observers from nine other countries.
According to Iran's state-owned Press TV, the exercises in the Indian Ocean aim to boost "collective security in the region, expand multilateral cooperation and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security".
The observing countries include Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
Video footage shows the aftermath of a "large rocket salvo" fired by Hezbollah towards an Israeli military base north of Haifa.
13 people have reportedly been injured.
Hezbollah fired rockets towards an Israeli military base north of Haifa, describing it as a "large rocket salvo", injuring at least 13 people, according to Israeli Army Radio
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 19, 2024
Hezbollah said that the attack was in retaliation for Israeli attacks on villages in south Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/3RS01uGKMb
One person has been confirmed dead and 14 others wounded after Hezbollah launched a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel, according to Al Jazeera.
The attacks sparked fires in several locations near Safad in northern Israel after the rockets struck open areas, Haaretz reported.
