UK wants to minimize Palestinian and Israeli casualties, foreign minister says
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, after appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Jonathan Brady – Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty Images
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly says he has not specifically asked Israel to wait until Palestinian civilians have moved to the south of Gaza before carrying outs its expected military operation.
“I haven’t asked that specific request because Hamas are trying to prevent people leaving northern Gaza,” Cleverly told the BBC Sunday morning.
“Of course, we want to minimize Palestinian casualties, we want to minimize Israeli casualties. We want everybody to respect civilians, but the real clear distinction is Israel are trying to get civilians out of danger, Hamas are trying to put civilians into danger and that is a fundamental difference between the two,” he added.
The Palestinian militant group of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, has told citizens to ignore Israel’s evacuation order. The United Nations has said the evacuation order is not possible and warned of “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
— Sam Meredith
Israeli military says Lebanese border is now ‘strictly’ off-limits
The Israel Defense Forces said it has isolated the area within 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of the country’s border with Lebanon.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the move was taken in response to shooting from Lebanon at Israeli territory.
“Following the assessment of the situation and the shooting incident in the north, it was decided to isolate the area of ​​up to four kilometers from the northern border with Lebanon,” Hagari said on X, formerly known as Twitter, according to a Google translation.
“The IDF clarifies that entering the area is strictly prohibited and asks the public to be vigilant and not to enter the area.”
He added that the Israeli military was undertaking “proactive GPS jamming” in the area, which could affect location-based apps.
— Katrina Bishop
Palestinian citizens flee their homes as Israel prepares next stage of military operations
Images published Sunday showed Palestinian citizens leaving their homes as Israel’s military prepares for its next stage of operations.
Palestinian families flee their homes following an Israeli attack on the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on Oct.15, 2023.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
A Palestinian boy carries his pet bird in a cage as families leave their homes in the southern of Gaza Strip on Oct. 15, 2023.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
Palestinian families flee their homes following an Israeli attack on the Rafah refugee camp.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
— Sam Meredith, Getty Images
Israeli citizens evacuate city of Sderot near Gaza
Israeli citizens on Sunday were seen placing their bags on board a bus in the city of Sderot as they evacuated in search of safer areas amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The city is located close to the Gaza border.
Israelis place their bags on board a bus as they evacuate from the Israeli city of Sderot to safer areas in the state of Israel on Oct. 15, 2023.
Jack Guez | Afp | Getty Images
Israelis board a bus in the city of Sderot as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continue.
Jack Guez | Afp | Getty Images
— Sam Meredith, Getty Images
Deadliest week on record for journalists covering Israel-Palestine, NGO says
Israeli journalists take cover during a rocket attack from Gaza in the southern Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Aza near the border with the Palestinian territory, on October 10, 2023.
Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images
The president of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a U.S. non-governmental organization that promotes press freedom, said the last week has been the deadliest on record for journalists covering Israel-Palestine.
As of Saturday, 12 journalists had been killed, eight were injured and two were missing over the course of the first eight days of the Israel-Hamas war, the CPJ said in an update via its website.
Of the journalists confirmed to have been killed, the CPJ said 10 were Palestinian, one was Israeli and a Beirut-based journalist was killed during a shelling attack in southern Lebanon.
“This is the deadliest week ever for journalists covering Israel-Palestine in the more than 30 years that @pressfreedom has been covering attacks on the press,” Jodie Ginsberg, president of the CPJ, said Saturday via X, formerly known as Twitter.
— Sam Meredith
U.S. offers Americans in Israel sea evacuation on Monday
The U.S. Embassy in Israel said it would help Americans and their immediate family members with valid travel documents to depart the northern Israeli port city of Haifa via sea to Cyprus on Monday.
In a security alert posted on its website Sunday, the embassy said boarding for passengers would begin at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) and U.S. citizens must arrive at Haifa Port’s passenger terminal no later than 9 a.m. local time.
“Boarding will proceed in order of arrival and is on a space limited basis,” the embassy said.
The alert listed several instructions for travelers and noted the passage to Limassol Port in Cyprus was expected to take roughly 10-12 hours.
— Sam Meredith
IDF says no operations in northern Gaza from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time
Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes on October 14, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. Many Gazan citizens have fled to the south following warnings from the Israeli government to do so.
Ahmad Hasaballah | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Israel Defense Forces said Sunday in a message addressed to residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza that it won’t carry out any military operations from 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) to 1 p.m., renewing its call for people to move southward.
“Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we’ve urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM,” the IDF said in a post via X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Your safety and that of your families matters. Please follow our instructions and head southward,” it added.
The United Nations has criticized Israel’s military for issuing an evacuation order to 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, saying it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
— Sam Meredith
Death toll in Gaza crosses 2,300
EDITORS NOTE-Graphic content- Image shows body bags of those killed in Gaza.
More than 2,300 people have been killed and another 9,000 injured in Gaza, according to the local health ministry’s latest update.
Mourners pray over the shrouded bodies of members of the Agha family, killed in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral on October 14, 2023.
Mahmud Hams | AFP | Getty Images
In Israel, at least 1,300 have been killed and 3,300 wounded, according to public broadcaster Kan.
— Christine Wang
Blinken to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he arrives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, after making a day trip to the United Arab Emirates.Â
Jacquelyn Martin | Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh at 7:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. ET), a U.S. official said.
The meeting comes as Blinken is scheduled to depart for Egypt later in the day, where he is expected to discuss a tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage through the Rafah border crossing.
— Christine Wang
UN agency calls for protection of civilians in its shelters, including those in northern Gaza
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East called on Israeli authorities to protect all civilians in its shelters across the Gaza Strip, including those in northern Gaza and Gaza City.
Internally displaced Palestinians rest as they take refuge in a United Nations school, in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern of Gaza Strip on October 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day in the Gaza Strip enclave.
Mohammed Abed | Afp | Getty Images
The UNRWA warned that despite Israel’s order to evacuate the north, many people will not be able to flee, particularly pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
“UNRWA shelters in Gaza and northern Gaza are no longer safe. This is unprecedented,” it said.
“This war should be no exception, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including United Nations buildings, applies to this conflict too.”
Israel has ordered roughly 1 million residents in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south ahead of an anticipated ground offensive.
Palestinians fill water bottles and take them home as a UN report states that more than 2 million people struggle with water shortage, in Khan Younis, Gaza on October 14, 2023.Â
Mustafa Hassona | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Separately, the UNRWA warned that 2 million people are at risk as water runs out in Gaza and called for humanitarian supplies to be let in. It said its newly relocated base in the south is also running out of water as it takes in refugees, thousands of whom it said followed the evacuation order.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said fuel needs to be brought in immediately to guarantee safe drinking water.
“If not, people will start dying of severe dehydration, among them young children, the elderly and women. Water is now the last remaining lifeline. I appeal for the siege on humanitarian assistance to be lifted now,” he said.
— Christine Wang
IDF renews calls for residents to evacuate to southern Gaza
Palestinians with their belongings leave Gaza City as they flee from their homes following the Israeli army’s warning on October 13, 2023.
Mahmud Hams | AFP | Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces reiterated its call for residents to evacuate to southern Gaza, in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier, the military posted another video listing other acts committed by Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group “has shown the world time and time again what they are capable of.”
“Now the IDF is prepared to counter with an even greater force. There is no place in the world for terrorism,” it said.
The posts come as Israel is expected to commence a ground offensive in Gaza.
— Christine Wang
Israel Defense Forces says its preparing for ‘wide range’ offensive
Israel continues to deploy soldiers and armored vehicles along the Gaza border in Zikim kibbutz of Ashkelon, Israel on October 14, 2023.Â
Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said it was “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans” which will include “an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land” against Hamas.
The IDF added that it had already completed its mobilization of hundreds of thousands of servicemen for the counteroffensive, according to a statement translated by NBC News.
Israeli soldiers prepare armed drones stationed close to the Palestinian Gaza Strip enclave, from a field near the southern Israeli city of Sderot, on October 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day.
Thomas Coex | AFP | Getty Images
“IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed all over the country and are prepared to increase readiness for the next stages of the war — with an emphasis on a significant ground operation,” the statement added.
Israeli soldiers in an armoured vehicles drive along a street near northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 9, 2023.
Jalaa Marey | AFP | Getty Images
Deal to allow Americans out of Gaza through Rafah gate faces obstacles, officials say
The tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage into Egypt through the Rafah gate continues to face significant obstacles to implementation, U.S. officials told NBC News.
Previous discussions between Egypt, the U.S., Qatar and Israel looked set to allow Americans across the border crossing during a five-hour window Saturday, but NBC reports the deadline came and went without any immediate sign of success. One official told NBC the parties are continuing to negotiate.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to land in Cairo on Sunday and the deal is set to be a key issue on his agenda.
While sticking points remain, the State Department has urged the estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza to move south, warning that if the crossing opens, the window could be brief.
— NBC News, Christine Wang
