October 30: Today’s news on Palestine & Israel

Emergency personnel and residents check damage at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 29, 2023 [Mohammed Salem/Reuters] (photo)

Update on Gaza: death toll, new hostage video, humanitarian aid, medical risks, Israeli advances, US presidential promises. West Bank deaths.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

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

Latest statistics:

Palestinian death toll 7,951* (7,835 in Gaza* (including 3,457 children, 2,136 women, and at least 116 in the West Bank); 23,059 injured (21,048 in Gaza and over 2,011 in the West Bank). It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. About 1.4 million people have been displaced. more than 1,950 missing (1,050 children) and presumed to be under rubble.

*NOTE: The official OCHA 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 in dispute; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation.

Israeli death toll remains near 1,400 (1 killed in West Bank, 1 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and 5,431 injured. (It is unclear how many of the Israeli deaths and injuries 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 were Israeli soldiers.)

The names of those killed: Palestinians killed in Gaza are here (an English translation appears to be here). The names of the Israelis killed are here.

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

Here’s what’s happening around Palestine and Israel – and beyond (check back for updates):

Ceasefire not the answer, says White House: The US does not believe a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is currently “the right answer,” says National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. “We do not believe that a ceasefire is the right answer right now,” Kirby said. “We believe that a ceasefire right now benefits Hamas, and Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now.”

Save the Children reports: The number of children reported killed in Gaza in just three weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed across the world’s conflict zones since 2019.

Since October 7, more than 3,257 children have been reported killed, including at least 3,457 in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel, according to the Ministries of Health in Gaza and Israel respectively. The number of children reported killed in just three weeks in Gaza is more than the number killed in armed conflict globally – across more than 20 countries – over the course of a whole year, for the last three years.

Hostage video released by Hamas: The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has released video of several captives, one of them pleading with Prime Minister Netanyahu to help them, demanding a prisoner swap, and criticizing the Israeli government for failing to protect people during Hamas’s October 7 attack (it took the Israeli military between 8 and 20 hours to reach locations). The word “shevi” in the video is Hebrew for captive.

Israeli warplanes made a direct hit on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, the only hospital in Gaza for cancer patients.

Evacuation demands: Palestinians in Gaza City report receiving threats by the Israeli army over the phone telling them to evacuate, as bombing continues and there are no safe routes.

Humanitarian aid to Gaza: the UN says at least 33 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday bringing the total number of trucks crossing into Gaza to 117. The average number of trucks allowed into Gaza prior to the hostilities was about 500 per day. Fuel, which is desperately needed, remains banned by the Israeli authorities.

Impeding relief supplies to Gaza’s population may constitute a crime under the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, the court’s top prosecutor said during a visit to the Rafah border crossing.

US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli PM Netanyahu on Sunday to “immediately and significantly” scale up the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. US officials expect that in the coming days, up to 100 aid trucks will begin to enter into Gaza per day, after Israel agreed to speed up inspections of the convoys carrying vital humanitarian support.

Suggested reading: UN Secretary-General’s statement on Palestine

Gaza: Heavy smoke was seen in Gaza City, indicating that Israel was carrying out air strikes using white phosphorous on civilian homes. The use of phosphorus bombs near populated areas or civilians is a war crime, as humanitarian law requires military attacks to be selective.

Israel advances into Gaza: Israeli soldiers appear to have advanced more than two miles into Gaza, following warnings on Sunday that the ground operations would intensify. A video shows soldiers waving an Israeli flag on a rooftop in Gaza.

Hospital threat: Al-Quds Hospital continues to receive constant warnings from the Israeli army to evacuate.

New health risks in Gaza: Water scarcity has led to widespread outbreaks of waterborne diseases and skin ailments.

West Bank: Four Palestinians were killed in the early hours of Monday in a new Israeli army assault on the northern West Bank city of Jenin. At least nine other Palestinians were wounded. Israel entered the camp with at least 100 vehicles, drones and bulldozers.

West Bank health situation: Since Oct. 7, WHO has documented several Israeli attacks on the health care sector in the West Bank:

99 attacks affecting ambulances
67 involving obstruction to delivery of health care
61 involving physical violence on medical teams
19 involving detention of medical staff and ambulances
12 involving armed search of health assets

Since Oct. 7, the ministry of health documented several Israeli attacks on the health care sector in the Gaza Strip:

124 medical personnel killed
More than 100 wounded
50 ambulances attacked – 25 are no longer in service
12 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza are no longer in service due to fuel shortages and/or Israeli bombardment
46 out of 72 primary health care clinics are no longer in service for the same reasons above
24 hospital were requested to evacuate in the northern Gaza Strip (containing 2000 beds)

Near Hebron, Israeli forces killed another man during what they called a “counterterrorism” attack.