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Gaza-Israel Conflict | October 2023

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KEY POINTS
  • Intensive bombardments continued as hostilities entered the fourteenth day in Gaza, with an additional 352Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours (as of 17:00). This brings the cumulative fatality toll in the Gaza Strip to 4,137, with 70 per cent of the fatalities being children and women, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
  • More than 1,000 people are reported missing and presumed to be under rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery. About 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are estimated in Gaza, with more than 544,000 sheltering in147 UNRWA-designated emergency shelters (DES) in increasingly dire conditions.
  • At least 30 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed or damaged since the start of the hostilities, according to the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.
  • The full electricity blackout, compounded by the ban on the import of fuel to run backup generators, enters its tenth consecutive day, with devastating consequences on the access to health care and drinking water. Increasing water consumption from unsafe sources elevates the threat of infectious disease outbreaks.
  • Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population centres continued, with no new Israeli fatalities reported (as of 21:00). Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October. Israeli media reported that, as of 20 October, the names of 767 of these fatalities have been released; of those for whose age has been provided, 22 are children.
  • At least 201 people have been held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimates. The Secretary-General has called upon Hamas to release the hostages immediately and unconditionally. As this Update is being finalized, media reports indicate that two hostages were released.
  • In the West Bank, in the past 24 hours (as of 21:00), Israeli forces killed another three Palestinian children during clashes. This brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 82, including 25 children.
  • At least 74 Palestinian households, comprising 545 people, over half of whom are children, have been displaced from 13 herding/Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank since 7 October, amid intensified settler violence and access restrictions
Map of Area C:
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GAZA HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW
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Water being distributed to residents of the refugee camp in Rafah. Source: UNRWA.
[Water and sanitation facilities have also been severely damaged. As of 12 October, at least six water wells, three water pumping stations, one water reservoir, and one desalination plant serving over 1,100,000 people were damaged.]

Israeli air strikes continued targeting residential towers in Gaza city, reportedly destroying 24 multi-story residential towers in the Az Zahra' compound, in the early hours of 20 October. No casualties were reported from these strikes as residents were reportedly given warning and managed to evacuate. However, between 6,000 and 8,000 people were displaced to nearby schools and university buildings.
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Since the start of hostilities, 4,137 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 1,661 children and 908 women, and about 13,162 have been injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The reported fatality toll in Gaza during the13 days of hostilities is about 84 per cent higher than the total number of fatalities during the 50-days escalation of hostilities in 2014 (2,251 Palestinian fatalities).

The Palestinian Civil Defense estimated that about 1,000 people, including children, are trapped beneath the rubble, some of whom are believed to still be alive. Rescue teams, primarily from the Palestinian Civil Defense, are struggling to carry out their mission, amid continuous airstrikes, severe shortage of fuel to run vehicles and equipment, and with limited or no connection to mobile networks.
On 15 October, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) issued a warning that the Gaza Strip is facing a shortage of body bags due to the rising number of fatalities. Furthermore, about 100 unidentified bodies were buried on 15 October in a mass grave in Rafah due to the lack of refrigerated space to store them until recognition procedures are conducted. This measure followed environmental and human indignity concerns related to the decomposition of the bodies.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of 18 October, 79 families had lost ten or more of their members; 85families had lost 6 to 9 members, and 320 families had lost two to five of their members.
The Gaza Ministry of Public Works reported the destruction of 12,845 housing units and the rendering of 9,055 housing units uninhabitable, as of 18 October. Another 121,000 housing units are said to have suffered minor to moderate damage
. The total number of housing units destroyed or damaged accounts for at least 30 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip. Entire neighbourhoods have been largely destroyed, including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, Shuja’iyeh, and Abbassan Kabeera.

An assessment of the North Gaza Governorate area, by the United Nations Satellite Centre, identified 927 destroyed structures and 4,337 moderately to severely damaged structures, corresponding to about 15 per cent of all structures in that area. The assessment was based on a comparison of images collected on 15 October 2023 with those from 1 May 2023.


The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 62 attacks on health care affecting 29 health care facilities(including 19 hospitals damaged) and 23 ambulances. Seven hospitals
, including four in northern Gaza (Beit Hanoun,Hamad Rehabilitation, Al Karama, and Ad Dura) either sustained damage or had to be evacuated and are no longer operational.
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The cumulative number of IDPs since the start of hostilities in Gaza is estimated at over 1.4 million
, including over 544,000 people staying in147 UNRWA-DES, of whom 367,500 are in central and southern Gaza alone and 70,000 in 67 non-UNRWA schools, and about 101,000 took shelter in the Orthodox center, churches in Gaza city, hospitals, and other public buildings.

In addition, the Ministry of Social Development estimates that there are about 700,000 IDPs with hosting families. Overcrowding of UNRWA-DES in the central and southern areas has been increasing. Essential resources like water, food, and medicine are in critically short supply. In some DES, UNRWA has been forced to ration down potable water, providing only one litre of water per person per day. The minimum international ’emergency standard’ is 15 litres.

Meanwhile, due to the security conditions, UNRWA is no longer able to assist or protect IDPs that remained in its DES in the northern Gaza governorates, who are unwilling or unable to evacuate, and does not have information on their need sand conditions.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that some IDPs are returning to the north, following the continuous bombardments in the south, as well as due to the inability to find reasonable accommodation.

The displacement of civilians and the related poor access to basic services has raised concerns regarding the most vulnerable people, including children, the elderly, those in need of medical care, people with disabilities, and pregnant women.

It is feared that they are exposed to psychosocial distress, conflict and tension amongst the IDPs, denial of access to information and potential abuse or exploitation.



Electricity
For the tenth consecutive day (since 11 October), Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout
, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply to Gaza, which in turn triggered the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant. This has forced essential service infrastructure to rely on backup generators, which are limited by the scarcity of fuel in the Strip.

According to officials at the Gaza Power Plant, the Israeli authorities have warned that the plant would be targeted if it attempted to resume operations. The Israeli Defense Minister indicated that electricity, fuel and full water supply to Gaza would not be restored until the Israeli hostages are released.

Health care

On October 20, the 17 hospitals that are still operational in Gaza City, North Gaza, and one hospital in Rafah received evacuation orders from the Israeli military. These hospitals have not been evacuated yet because doing so would immediately endanger the lives of vulnerable patients. There is extremely limited capacity and space to transfer them toother hospitals.

Hospitals are on the brink of collapse due to the shortage of power, medicine, equipment and specialized personnel. Yet, the number of patients treated or awaiting treatment is at 150 per cent of their capacity; many lay on the floors and corridors. To keep emergency rooms operational, vital procedures such as sterilization and dialysis may soon be halted.

This has been exacerbated by the shutdown of over 60 per cent of primary health care facilities.
Only eight (out of 22) of UNRWA health centres in Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates are providing primary health care services tocritical outpatients and patients in need of treatment for non-communicable diseases.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has been reallocating to hospitals limited amounts of fuel still available in other public facilities to prevent their shutdown, while calling on people who have fuel for domestic consumption to donate it to the hospitals.

On 17 October, WHO, together with UNRWA, managed to deliver 10,600 litres of fuel to Shifa hospital, enabling the hospital’s generators to operate for a few more days; additional fuel allocations by these UN agencies from their existing reserves within Gaza are expected in the coming days.

Health Cluster partners estimate that mortality rates in Gaza, excluding casualties in the context of the hostilities, have been on the rise due to the extremely limited access to essential healthcare services. Of particular concern are over 9,000 cancer patients, who depend on chemotherapy treatment for their survival. The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only facility in Gaza providing chemotherapy, is struggling to remain operational, relying on a single electricity generator. Additionally, some patients are missing their appointments, facing the expansion of tumors, as it has become risky and difficult to get to the hospital.

Prior to the hostilities, some 2,000cancer patients from Gaza had been referred for regular treatment to hospitals in East Jerusalem and Israel. However, this practice has been halted since 7 October.


Water and sanitation

Water production from municipal groundwater sources is at less than five per cent of the pre-hostilities level.
The three seawater desalination plants, which, prior to the hostilities produced seven per cent of Gaza’s water supply, are currently not operational. Water trucking operations came to a halt in most areas due to the lack of fuel, insecurity and roads blocked by debris. Bottled water is largely unavailable, and its price has made it unaffordable for most families. Private vendors, who operate small water desalination and purification plants, which are mostly run by solar energy, became the main suppliers of clean drinking water.

Consequently, the average water consumption from all sources and for all needs (including cooking and hygiene) dipped to just three litres per day per person, according to estimates by partners of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)Cluster.

People have resorted to consuming brackish water extracted from agricultural wells, increasing exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, placing the population at risk of death or infectious disease outbreak.

Eastern Khan Younis (Bani Suheila area) is currently one of the few areas where piped water is supplied to households for a few hours a day.
This followed the Israeli authorities’ reactivation of one out of three water lines servicing this area. This line supplies about 14,400 cubic metres of water per day, which is less than four per cent of the water consumed in the Gaza Strip prior to the hostilities. The distribution of this water to the rest of Khan Younis city is impaired by the lack of pumping capacity.

Most of the 65 sewage pumping stations are not operational, increasing the risk of sewage flooding. All five wastewater treatment plants in Gaza have been forced to shut down due to lack of power, resulting in large amounts of raw sewage being continuously dumped into the sea. Due to the access restrictions to Gaza’s main landfills, near the perimeter fence with Israel, solid waste has been accumulating in temporary locations and in the streets, posing health and environmental hazards.
Food security


Three out of the five WFP-surveyed bakeries ceased operations on 20 October, due to fuel shortages and a lack of essential ingredients, while another bakery, which was providing bread for about 12,000 people, was forced to shut down after sustaining damage from an Israeli airstrike on 18 October.

Wheat flour across Gaza is expected to be depleted in about five days.
Moreover, only one out of the five mills in Gaza are currently operational.

On 20 October, 12 WFP-contracted shops in the Gaza Strip (six in the northern governorates and six in the southern governorates) reported that the available stock for most food items is projected to last for only five days. Many retailers are encountering substantial challenges when restocking from wholesalers, predominantly located in Gaza City, due to widespread destruction and security concerns.

The blackout has disrupted food security by affecting refrigeration, crop irrigation, and crop incubation devices, consequently harming various livelihoods, including poultry, cattle, fish, and other commodities. The lack of access to fodder and damage from the airstrikes have taken a toll on farmers, with many breeders, primarily small-scale ones, reporting substantial losses among their animals, particularly in the poultry sector. Farmers are losing their crops in agricultural lands east of Khan Yunis and other locations.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications enable information gathering on humanitarian needs and is therefore paramount to assistance delivery. Damage to related infrastructure during the hostilities, compounded by the fuel shortages, have severely impaired connectivity, undermining lifesaving operations. Network monitoring systems of the Paltel Group show that across the Gaza Strip, 83 per cent of fixed line users are disconnected; 54 per cent of fixed line sites are disconnected; and 50 per cent of their main Fiber optic internet lines are not operational. This is a result of infrastructure damage and fuel shortage. Bombardments have resulted in cuts in two out of three fiber cables going out of Gaza, one of which was repaired after the Israeli authorities granted the company a two-hour window for staff to fix one fiber cable.

Humanitarian operations

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All humanitarian agencies and personnel have faced major constraints in providing humanitarian assistance, due to hostilities, movement restrictions and shortages of electricity, fuel, water, medicines and other essential items.

The prevailing insecurity is preventing safe access to people in need and essential facilities, such as warehouses. Since the start of the hostilities, 16 health workers and 16 UNRWA staff have been killed, with over ten other staff members injured. According to UNRWA, the actual number is likely to be significantly higher, as these figures encompass only those cases that the Agency has been able to confirm.

Despite these challenging conditions, humanitarian actors are working around the clock to support the most vulnerable. The major operation entails the hosting of IDPs in UNRWA schools, where basic food, medicine and support is provided to retain dignity and a glimmer of hope.

Other interventions include the distribution of food and cash assistance to IDPs and emergency fuel to WASH facilities, psychosocial support helplines, and a mass media campaign to raise awareness about the risks of unexploded ordnance.

The reach of operations will remain limited without a humanitarian ceasefire, the opening of the crossings with Israel and Egypt and significant funding for humanitarian response.
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Egypt: Speech by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the opening of the “Peace Summit”: Millions of people are subjected to collective punishment in Gaza without discrimination


Jordan: The Jordanian King: The violent bombing campaign against Gaza is unacceptable, it is collective punishment of a helpless population, and it is a war crime.



Tunisia: The Tunisian President: The global Zionist movement seeks to change the entire map of the Middle East

 
They're acting all tough against a civilian defenseless population begging for US backing all during it. This is why I nuke needs to be dropped on the Jews heads in Tel Aviv. They need a wakeup call.

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The Israeli army: Humanitarian aid entering Gaza will only go to the south of the Strip, and fuel will not be allowed to enter

 
So true, and that's ok as well. As I said, there will be and was a homeland for the Dutch, that homeland is called Belgium.

Well islamic counties were part of empires and not nation states at the time. This does not diminish their claim in my view.

Well to be fair, it was largely Greece. But it was "ancient greece" and ancient greece was never a UN recognised nation state. It was a collection of warring city Staes. Sparta and Athens, troy. etc. And they never joined the UN.

True. A lesson indeed. But it took many many millions of deaths before this lesson was learnt.
Your whole post is basically:
“UN status matters unless it doesnt”
“Nationhood history matters unless it doesnt”
“Ancient empirical claim matters unless it doesnt” (british empire had last claim).

Double standards all with massive bias to “muslim empires”.

You are correct i guess the muslim world need to go through some million more deaths until they learn to get their mindset out of 1914 imperialism/revanchism.

You are lucky the EU is past this or we would be leveling the middle east in another crusade, greek/christian historic claims afterall right!
 
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2 hostages , Mother and daughter, realeased.




Blinken speaks after Hamas releases 2 U.S. hostages




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