November 6: Today’s news on Palestine & Israel – Day 31

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November 6: Today’s news on Palestine & Israel – Day 31
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, November 2, 2023. (photo)

Latest Palestine & Israel casualty figures, humanitarian update, military update, evacuation, West Bank, Ahed Tamimi arrested, US involvement.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here. For more news, go here and here. Live broadcast news from the region is here.

Some people are led to be skeptical of the Al Jazeera news network. However, the network has won several Emmys, a Peabody and the Overseas Press Association’s Edward R. Murrow award, among many other honors. The New York Times reports that “its reporting hews to international journalistic standards and provides a unique view on events in the Middle East.” it’s important to remember that all news sources may potentially have bias. For example, CNN uses anchors who used to work for the Israel Lobby, who have lifelong attachment to Israel, and who often exhibit pro-Israel spin and omission in their broadcasts. Similarly, Fox News is strongly influenced by Rupert Murdoch, who has a strong attachment to Israel, and who may have fired Tucker Carlson, the network’s most popular host, in part due to the host’s opposition to war and his pattern of failing to exhibit sufficient devotion to Israel).

Latest statistics:

Palestinian death toll: 9,454* (9,299 in Gaza** (including at least 4,008 children and 2,550 women), and at least 155 in the West Bank). *NOTE: The official UN death toll includes 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast. IAK does not yet include those deaths since the source of the projectile is being disputed; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation.

Palestinian injuries: 27,130** (including at least 24,808 in Gaza** and 2,322 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to offer an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption. The Associated Press has reported ~32,000 in Gaza, while the UN number is 24,808. Our total for Gaza and the West Bank is based on the conservative figure.

It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. About 1.5 million people have been displaced; 2,260 are missing (1,270 children) and presumed to be under rubble.

Israeli death toll continues to be reported as ~1,400*** (2 killed in West Bank, 33 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and ~5,400 injured).

***NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
 

Humanitarian aid: On 5 November, a limited number of trucks carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Egypt into Gaza. Since 21 October, at least 451 trucks have entered Gaza. The average number of trucks allowed into Gaza prior to the hostilities was about 500 per day. The entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate life-saving equipment, remains banned by the Israeli authorities.

A Jordanian plane, in coordination with Israeli forces, overnight “dropped medical equipment and food to the Jordanian Hospital in the Gaza Strip”, the Israeli army said in a statement on Monday. “The equipment will be used by the medical staff for patients.” (07:40 GMT)

France is in talks with Egypt to establish a military medical facility on the ground, which would include surgical capacities for people seriously wounded in the neighboring Gaza Strip, France’s defense minister said in remarks published on Monday. Paris will host an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza later this week as it looks to coordinate international efforts for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave.

Egypt has prepared a field hospital 9 miles from the Rafah crossing to Gaza, to treat evacuees from the fighting. France has sent the Tonnerre helicopter carrier to the region that President Emmanuel Macron had said aimed to support Gaza hospitals. Military sources say it is not equipped to provide medical assistance to people affected by the bombings in the besieged area.

Healthcare crisis worsens: An Israeli bombing targeted the only psychiatric hospital in the Strip and the eye hospital; 8 Palestinians were killed in the bombing at dawn today on the Al-Nasr Children’s and Al-Rantisi hospitals in Gaza City.

Since 3 November, the main electricity generators at Shifa Hospital in Gaza city and the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza have reportedly stopped operating due to the lack of fuel. Both hospitals operate secondary, smaller generators, which provide only a few hours of electricity a day for the most critical services. At least 1,000 kidney failure, 9,000 cancer patients, 130 neonates in incubators are at risk if/when hospitals shut down or lose power completely.

There are reports of particularly heavy Israeli strikes in the vicinity of Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa. One analyst said,

We can understand that these air strikes are aimed at pushing the Israeli troops surrounding Gaza City towards the Al Shifa Hospital. We know that thousands of people left their homes in these neighborhoods towards the hospital, seeking shelter…[This] indicates that the Israeli army is planning for something big, maybe in the coming hours or in the coming days in terms of the Al Shifa Hospital itself.

The UN relief agency has confirmed that seven water facilities in the Gaza Strip were “directly hit and sustained major damage” on Saturday and Sunday: 2 water wells, 3 sewage pipelines, 2 water reservoirs. The Gaza municipality has warned of the imminent risk of sewage flooding. (03:45 GMT)

625,000 students have no access to education. Over 51% of Gaza’s education facilities have been hit.

Israeli attacks on Gaza continue: Dozens of Gazans have reportedly been killed in overnight Israeli bombardments across Gaza. The raids have been described as “unprecedented.” Medical sources say that at least 15 deaths were recorded early on Monday at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the most recent aerial raids. Airstrikes targeted the vicinities of multiple hospitals in Gaza as well as residential neighborhoods around Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck two central Gaza refugee camps, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens, health officials said. Air strikes hit the Maghazi refugee camp overnight, killing at least 40 people and wounding 34 others, the health ministry said.

Gaza was plunged into a communications blackout on Sunday for the third time in 10 days, again leaving its people without access to internet or phone services as night fell and Israel’s heavy bombardment of the enclave continued.

Israel’s military claims it has encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two. “Today, there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters on Sunday, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against Hamas.

Israel repeats evacuation orders: The Israeli army said residents in northern Gaza would be allowed to evacuate southwards through Salah al-Din Street, adding that a safe passage would be granted for four hours on Monday. “For your safety, take this next opportunity to move south beyond the Gaza Valley,” the army said on its Arabic channel on X. In the past, Israel has issued similar evacuation warnings.

However, in addition to logistical challenges, including non-availability of transport and fuel, as well as debris from demolished buildings and destroyed roads, safety concerns have also been high. Several reports show that deadly air raids and artillery fire have targeted convoys heeding Israel’s warning and evacuating the northern part. The UN reported that about 30,000 people decided to return to the north after concluding that the risks were the same as in the south. (09:12 GMT)

West Bank deaths: Monday morning, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian youth and a young man. The 16-year-old boy allegedly tried to carry out a stabbing attack, and was killed immediately. Israeli reports say 2 soldiers were injured in the incident. Elsewhere, Israeli soldiers raided the town of Halhoul, shooting at Palestinian residents and killing a 21-year-old man. Several others were seriously injured.

Ahed Tamimi arrested: Al Jazeera Ahed Tamimi, a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested by Israeli forces for “inciting terrorism” during overnight raids in the occupied West Bank. Tamimi became famous in 2012 (at the age of 11) for confronting and standing up to an Israeli soldier in defense of her brother. She was also arrested in 2017 (age 16) after a video of her slapping and hitting two Israeli soldiers outside of her house in the village of Nabi Saleh went viral. (06:50 GMT) She was tried for the offense as an adult – the court waited until after her 17th birthday to proceed with the trial. In a plea bargain, she pled guilty to assault and served 8 months, earning her high school diploma in prison.

The Israeli army also arrested an adviser to the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in these raids and Fatah member Rafat Alian was also arrested during a live interview. (05:45 GMT)

Media blackout? Companies that provide satellite images to news organizations are restricting images of Gaza since Israeli forces began an advance in the area, despite having no problem disseminating similar images of Russian forces in Ukraine. The images have been key to understanding how Israeli ground operations have been developing but, beginning on October 22, one of the providers, Planet Labs, stopped releasing high-resolution images to subscribers, reported the US news website Semafor. (02:55 GMT)

Israel’s Iron Dome defense system has reportedly malfunctioned, with an interceptor rocket landing in the central area of the city of Rishon LeZion, south of Tel Aviv. The video below was posted on X by Quds News Network. Qatar-based media organization Al Jazeera verified it.  (08:00 GMT)

US involvement in the region: Al Jazeera (06:10 GMT) The US Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said that an Ohio-class nuclear missile submarine has arrived in the region. Analysts say the unusual public announcement of a nuclear submarine’s position could be a message of deterrence by the US to Iran and its proxies.

The New York Times reports:

The United States provides the Israeli army with military and intelligence support, and is therefore required by the Geneva Conventions to ensure that bombing raids in Gaza do not breach international law.

The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centers has continued over the past 24 hours, resulting in no reported fatalities.

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