Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Sunday was the twenty-third consecutive day of the Israeli occupation forces’ aerial, ground, and naval bombardment of northern Gaza. The siege has included blocking supplies of food, water, medicine, and fuel, destroying homes, demolishing entire residential blocks, attacking hospitals, and assassinating individuals trying to escape.
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its siege of northern Gaza.
Israeli forces killed at least 53 people across Gaza on Sunday, including 46 in the north.
In Lebanon, Israeli air attacks killed at least 21 people, including three paramedics, in the past 24 hours, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
Northern Gaza
Dr. Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, warned on 27 October that Israel has rendered the health sector in northern Gaza “inoperative,” with the aim of killing as many Palestinians as possible.
He explained, “There are approximately 1000 martyrs since the start of the occupation’s siege on the northern sector. We do not know the fate of around 300 medical personnel at Kamal Adwan Hospital,” adding that since Israeli troops destroyed all drug supplies on Saturday, hundreds of patients are at risk of death.
Israel strikes another school-turned-shelter
At least nine people were killed in another Israeli airstrike on a UN-run school sheltering displaced civilians west of Gaza City on Sunday, a medical source said. Among the dead were three journalists and an eight-year-old girl who was waiting in a queue to receive cookies from the school.
Twenty other people were injured in the attack that targeted Asma School, run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Shati refugee camp, the source added.
The attack was the second to have targeted the same school within days.
An Israeli airstrike hit the school on Oct. 19, leaving at least 10 people dead and injuring others.
More journalist deaths
Five Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 182, the government media office said.
Lebanon
Healthcare under attack
The Israeli army on Sunday bombarded Al-Risalah Health Emergency Association in Ain Baal town of southern Lebanon, a health care center run by the Amal Movement political party, killing three of its members.
The latest casualties brought the total number of health workers killed in Lebanon since the Israeli offensive began in October of last year to 167, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
Explosions as “news”
An Israeli journalist took part in detonating a civilian structure in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army intensified its air and ground assaults on the country, as shown in a video recently broadcast.
Footage aired by Israeli Channel 12 showed news presenter Danny Kushmaro wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet while being instructed by a soldier on how to detonate an explosive device.
The video shows him listening to a soldier, who claimed that a nearby gray building was used to fire rockets into northern Israel.
The detonation of the building was recorded by the Israeli army from the air, and the video was shared with Israeli Channel 12.
West Bank
Israeli Forces Kill a Palestinian Near Jerusalem
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man, on Sunday, after an alleged car-ramming attack between the towns of Anata and Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Media sources said that the man, Sami Al-Amoudi, succumbed to live gunshot wounds inflicted on him by Israeli soldiers during an alleged car-ramming attack near Hizma town, northeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Sources added that occupation forces shot Al- Amoudi, on Sunday morning, near Hizma town, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, after opening fire at his vehicle between the towns of Anata and Hizma.
Occupation forces shot and abducted him; he later succumbed to his wounds.
No injuries were reported among Israeli soldiers.
RECOMMENDED READING: Uneasy equilibrium after Israel strikes Iran (a non-Israel-centric examination of Israel’s weekend attack – from Electronic Intifada)
Israel
Israel could get expelled from UN if it bans UNRWA, officials warn
Israeli Foreign Ministry officials have issued warnings that a Knesset bill proposing a ban on the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and a severance of ties with it constitutes a violation of the UN Charter, potentially resulting in Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations, Russia Today reported.
The Ynet News site also reported on Sunday that US Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew, along with other American diplomats, contacted opposition members Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid Party, Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, and Benny Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party, urging them to delay the bill’s progression at least until after the US presidential election.
Lapid reportedly informed the US administration of his support for the bill, claiming in a statement: “UNRWA is a disaster, and it’s time to shut it down.” Ynet reported that Lieberman and Gantz rejected the US request, while Knesset coalition members are pressuring Likud MK Boaz Bismuth to postpone submitting the UNRWA-related bill he introduced.
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee approved the UNRWA bill earlier this month. The proposed legislation would bar any government representative from engaging with UNRWA, block Israel’s Interior Ministry from issuing entry visas to UNRWA staff, prevent customs officials from processing UNRWA imports into Gaza or the West Bank, and revoke the tax exemptions currently afforded to the agency.
Foreign Ministry officials cautioned that the law could backfire against Israel, saying that the bill harms Tel Aviv more than it does UNRWA.
Israel has long lobbied to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.
Alleged ramming attack
Israeli sources reported Sunday, that 40 people were injured in what was described as a “ramming attack” outside a military base near Tel Aviv and added that the driver was “neutralized.”
The sources stated that the incident occurred just outside an Israeli military base at Gilot, north of Tel Aviv.
They added that the driver, who was later “shot and neutralized,” allegedly drove a truck into a bus stop, wounding 40 persons, including four who suffered serious wounds, and stated that some of the wounded remained trapped in the bus.
It is worth mentioning that Gilot is an Israeli Military Intelligence base that was recently targeted by Iran. The base always plays an essential role in Israel’s “intelligence and cyberwarfare operations.”
Group of world leaders try to save UNRWA
Foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the UK issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” over the Israeli parliament’s or Knesset’s consideration of bills that would revoke UNRWA’s privileges and immunities and prohibit the UN agency’s presence in Israel.
The ministers emphasized UNRWA’s critical role in providing essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, including education, health care, and fuel distribution.
“We urge the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched and live up to its responsibility to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms as well as the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population,” it said.
The statement also highlighted the UN agency’s efforts to address concerns about alleged employee affiliations with “terrorist organizations.”
NOTE: Israel has long tried to dismantle UNWRA’s humanitarian support of Palestinian refugees. The 6-page dossier Israel issued, allegedly proving the guilt of twelve UNRWA employees out of a staff of 13,000, reportedly offers no compelling evidence.
Read more about the spurious allegations against UNRWA here.
RECOMMENDED READING: What does Israeli Knesset’s approval of laws labeling UNRWA a terrorist organization signify?
US and elsewhere
International Court of Justice
South Africa is set to submit a detailed memorial against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, aiming to substantiate its case that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, diplomatic sources confirmed to Anadolu on Sunday. (A memorial is a legal document which contains a statement of facts or a summary of information related to a case.)
A South African diplomatic source told Anadolu, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, that the memorial will be filed on Monday.
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told the Daily Maverick news website that the memorial contains more evidence, in “forensic detail,” to show that “this is not just a plausible case of genocide, but indeed it is genocide.”
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed shock on Sunday at the horrific levels of death, injury, and destruction in northern Gaza, criticizing Israeli authorities for continuing to deny humanitarian aid deliveries with few exceptions.
He warned that the conditions for Palestinian civilians trapped in the region have become untenable due to Israel’s military operations in North Gaza, according to a statement issued by Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The UN chief emphasized the critical situation, where civilians are trapped under rubble without access to essential medical care, food, or shelter, and stated that Israeli authorities continue to deny humanitarian aid deliveries with “few exceptions.”
Of particular concern is the postponement of the polio vaccination campaign, which the statement says puts thousands of children at risk.
Emphasizing that the conflict is being waged with “little regard for international humanitarian law,” Guterres called for an immediate cease-fire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and accountability “in the name of humanity.”
LA Times withdraws support for Harris over ‘Gaza genocide’, owner’s daughter claims
Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times, has decided to withdraw his newspaper’s support for Kamala Harris’s bid for the US presidency due to her pro-Israel stance in the ongoing Gaza genocide, his daughter has claimed.
The decision caused three editorial board members to resign in protest, and around 200 employees signed a letter calling for clarification from management.
“I have no regrets whatsoever. In fact, I think it was exactly the right decision,” Soon-Shiong said in an interview with The Times on Friday afternoon. “The process was [to decide]: how do we actually best inform our readers? And there could be nobody better than us who try to sift the facts from fiction” while leaving it to readers to make their own final decision.
Commenting on the decision, Soon-Shiong’s daughter Nika wrote on X: “This is not a vote for Donald Trump. This is a refusal to ENDORSE a candidate that is overseeing a war on children […] There is no such thing as human animals.”
“For me, genocide is the line in the sand,” she added.
War Criminal Israelis are Welcomed to Canada – Palestinians Barred
The double standard is egregious. A people group enduring genocide have to face extreme security checks, while members of a group perpetrating genocide enter Canada with ease.
In “Quand quitter Gaza pour le Canada est mission presque impossible,” Le Devoir detailed the difficulties Palestinians have in entering Canada. While the government has officially granted 5,000 temporary visas to residents of Gaza, fewer than 334 have made it here in nine months.
Le Devoir’s reporter in Egypt found that the main obstacle to Palestinians coming was Canada’s extreme security review, not Israeli or Egyptian restrictions.
The article contrasted the situation with the ease at which nearly 300,000 Ukrainians came after Russia’s February 2022 invasion. But Ottawa’s anti-Palestinian security overreach should be contrasted with the treatment of Israelis – residents of the nation perpetrating the genocide.
Over the past year many times more Israelis than Palestinians have come to Canada. At the urging of Canada’s genocide lobby, Ottawa introduced a special fee-exempt three-year work or study permit for Israelis, which offers a path to permanent residency.
(Read the full article here.)
MORE NEWS:
The Intercept: How the Israeli Attack on Iran Could Seed a New World War
Waging Nonviolence: BDS and its Allies are Exposing the Companies Fueling the Genocide in Gaza
Middle East Monitor: CNN has just tried to garner even more impunity for Israel and its genocide
Stop selling arms to Israel then. https://t.co/wUJHDgHEzx
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 27, 2024
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 27, 2024:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 27, 2024: at least 43,783* ( 43,020 in Gaza* – 69% are women and children, according to Gaza’s Media Office). [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]
This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 763 in the West Bank (~166 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.
Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Ralph Nader earlier estimated 300,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.
- At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 25 from West Bank).
- At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition (at least 37 of them children)**.
- About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
- Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – October 27, 2024: at least 107,410 (including at least 101,110 in Gaza and 6,300 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 27, 2024: ~1,562 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 387*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza (most recent: Oct 27); 39 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.
The death toll in Lebanon since October 8, 2023 is at least 2,653, with 12,360 injuries. An estimated 1.34 million have been displaced.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.
**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.
***The figure does not include the reportedly 56 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.
† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
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