- Israeli attack sparks global condemnation, angry protests around Muslim world
- WHO says it has no supplies or equipment left in Gaza warehouse
GAZA: The death toll from the barbaric airstrike on a Gaza hospital rose to 471 while total number of killing from Israeli bombardment on the enclave reached 3,478, deepening tensions in the Middle East with The World Health Organisation has said it has no supplies or equipment left at its Gaza warehouse and hospitals are relying on their last reserve of supplies.
The Israeli attack sparked global condemnation and angry protests around the Muslim world.
In the meanwhile US President Joe Biden who is in Israel, pledged solidarity with Tel Aviv in its war against Hamas and backed its account that a blast that killed huge numbers of Palestinians at a Gaza hospital had been caused by Palestinian fighters.
Gaza death toll reaches 3,478: Health Ministry
At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip since fighting between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, says Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.
Another 12,065 Palestinians have been injured, with 70 percent of the victims being women, children, and the elderly, the ministry said.
At least 1,300 others also remain missing under the rubble, including 600 children.
Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said: “I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion of the hospital in Gaza yesterday, and based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”
“But there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we’ve got a lot, we’ve got to overcome a lot of things,” Biden added.
“The world is looking. Israel has a value set like the United States does, and other democracies, and they are looking to see what we are going to do.”
Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital, with the Palestinian Authority’s health minister accusing Israel of causing a “massacre”.
The catastrophe has inflamed the region. Palestinian ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra said rescuers were still pulling bodies from the rubble.
Al Jazeera carried footage showing a frantic scene as rescue workers scoured blood-stained debris for survivors. Rescuers and civilians were shown carrying away multiple victims in body bags. A Gaza civil defence chief gave a death toll of 300, while health ministry sources put it at 500.
Biden’s complex diplomatic mission to the Middle East was supposed to calm the region and shore up humanitarian efforts for Gaza, but after the strike, Jordan cancelled a planned summit with the US president, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Abbas also cancelled plans to meet Biden, as Palestinian security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse anti-government protesters in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah as popular anger boiled.
Protests also took place at Israel’s embassies in Turkey and Jordan and near the US embassy in Lebanon, where security forces fired tear gas toward demonstrators.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians was a shocking crime, adding that Israel should provide satellite images to prove that it was not involved in the attack.
Humanitarian aid
The Israeli military urged Gaza City residents to relocate southward on Wednesday, saying there was a “humanitarian zone” with aid available in Al-Mawasi, 28 km (17 miles) down the coast of the Palestinian enclave.
“The IDF calls on #GazaCity residents to evacuate south for their protection,” said a social-media post by the military.
Speaking to reporters as Biden flew to Tel Aviv, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Biden would put “tough questions” to Israeli leaders but did not give details.
Biden will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet seeking to get a sense of Israel’s plans and aims, Kirby said. He also aims to get humanitarian aid into Gaza, where millions of Palestinians are surviving with scant food, fuel and water due to Israel’s siege.
“He’ll be asking some tough questions, he’ll be asking them as a friend, as a true friend of Israel, but he’ll be asking some questions of them,” Kirby said.
It was unclear what Biden could accomplish during his visit. Kirby said the US president planned to speak with Abbas and Sisi on his way back to Washington.
“This sort of murky but horrific event makes diplomacy harder and increases escalation risks,” said Richard Gowan, UN director at International Crisis Group.
Biden has previously said the United States does not want the conflict to flare up into a wider war.
Iran has warned Israel of escalation if it failed to end aggressions against Palestinians.
The US State Department told Americans not to travel to Lebanon after exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon’s south.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified” by hundreds of people killed in Tuesday’s strike on the hospital.
Guterres appealed to Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and to Israel to allow immediate unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for Gaza.
WHO says it has no supplies or equipment left in Gaza warehouse
The World Health Organisation has said it has no supplies or equipment left at its Gaza warehouse and hospitals were relying on their last reserve of supplies.
In a post on X, it said four out of 35 hospitals were not functioning.
Yesterday, WHO team in Gaza handed over anesthesia medication and cortisone which they procured from the local market to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The medicines are enough to support 50 surgeries requiring general anesthesia and 500 patients in critical condition.… pic.twitter.com/md4d3WQwdr— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) October 18, 2023
“Health workers are having to make impossible choices to ration what little they have left in supplies, incl. operating without anaesthetics,” WHO said.
‘Nobody knows’: Palestine Red Crescent Society chief on Gaza aid
The director general of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Marwan Jilani, has said “nobody knows” whether humanitarian assistance would get into the besieged Gaza Strip.
“There are preparations, yes,” he told Al Jazeera when asked about the aid deliveries.
“We are getting ready so that whenever this border crossing opens, we will be using this opportunity to get critical relief for the people inside Gaza, especially for the patients, the hospitals, and the people at large,” Jilani added.
UN Security Council has ‘not fulfilled its responsibility’ in Gaza: Erdogan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the United Nations Security Council for its failure to pass a resolution in favour of a pause in Israeli forces’ continued attacks on Gaza so that aid could reach civilians.
In a post on X, Erdogan said Turkish efforts to establish calm in the region had been hindered by the “wholesale punishment” being given to the Palestinians, cutting off aid supply as well as the deployment of US aircraft carriers in the region.
Cidde’de yapılan İslam İşbirliği Teşkilatı İcra Komitesi Olağanüstü Toplantısı’nın İsrail’in artan zulmü karşısında İslam âleminin kararlılığını, Filistin halkıyla dayanışmasını ve Filistin davasına desteğini somut bir şekilde göstermesi bakımından takdirle karşılıyorum.…
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 18, 2023
“The United Nations Security Council, which has become even more ineffective, has once again not fulfilled its responsibility,” Erdogan said.
“Western countries, which leave no stone unturned when it comes to human rights and freedoms, have taken no steps other than adding fuel to the fire,” he added.
Bahraini police crackdown on pro-Palestine protest
Bahraini police appear to have cracked down on a small demonstration in Manama in support of Palestinians in Gaza, a video on X (formerly Twitter) posted by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights shows.
The handful of activists gathered in front of the cordoned-off Israeli embassy were calling for Bahrain to break off diplomatic ties with Israel and to expel its ambassador, the rights group said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Beirut sprayed with water cannon, teargas
Lebanese security forces used teargas and water cannon to repel scores of protesters demonstrating near the US embassy in Beirut against Israel’s attack on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians, Reuters reports.
Demonstrators were prevented from reaching the embassy’s boundary by barricades blocking roads hundreds of metres (yards) from the mission in a north Beirut suburb.
Some protesters waved Palestinian flags while others hurled stones at the security forces, who pushed them back with water cannon and volleys of teargas.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in The Hague urge ICC action
Several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside The Hague headquarters of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urge it and the international community to take action against what they call “genocide” against Palestinians, Reuters reports.
“We are against killings of any (parties), however when it comes to Gaza the world is always (turning) a blind eye. We came here to say enough is enough,” Rafat Alkayyali, 50, said, adding that he came to the ICC to protest because he believes in international law.
Protesters carried signs that said: “Justice for Palestine — Stop the Genocide” and “How many children will die until Israel is prosecuted”.
Delhi University students burn Israeli flags to protest atrocities in Gaza: journalist
Indian journalist Alishan Jafri has shared a video on X that shows students of Delhi University burning Israeli flags to protest atrocities in Gaza.
Delhi University student protestors set ablaze Israeli flags to protest the atrocities in Gaza.pic.twitter.com/4lqZ2Yi0GI
— Alishan Jafri (@alishan_jafri) October 18, 2023
The clip was not independently verified.
Saudi Arabia urges citizens to depart Lebanon ‘immediately’
Saudi Arabia has called for all its citizens to leave Lebanon “immediately” as tensions mount along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, Reuters reports.
The Gulf kingdom’s embassy in Beirut said it was “closely following the developments” in southern Lebanon, where at least 18 people have been killed in exchanges of fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
After a rocket strike on a Gaza hospital killed hundreds on Tuesday, Hezbollah called for a “day of rage”. Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to protest the strike.
The Saudi embassy statement said citizens remaining in Lebanon should “exercise caution and stay away from places where gatherings or demonstrations are taking place”.
Kuwait this week also warned its citizens against travelling to Lebanon.
UN relief chief, Egyptian FM discuss aid access to Gaza
United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths held a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss the dire need for humanitarian conditions in Gaza and aid access to the Palestinian people.
French court rules pro-Palestinian protests should be banned case by case
France’s highest administrative court has said pro-Palestinian protests must be banned on a case-by-case basis, while upholding the validity of an instruction from the French interior minister banning all pro-Palestinian protests.
In a note sent to regional police authorities, dated Oct 12, the interior minister had ordered that “pro-Palestinian protests, because they are likely to generate disturbances to public order, must be banned”, Reuters reports.
The appeal on the blanket ban instruction was brought by the organisation Comite Action Palestine, arguing that a total and absolute ban is not justified and encroaches on freedom of expression and assembly.
The Conseil d’Etat upheld the validity of the note but said that local authorities could not ban a protest based solely on the note or the fact that a protest is in support of Palestinians.
‘Imagery, intercepts’ show Israel not behind Gaza strike: White House
US intelligence based on aerial images and intercepted communications shows Israel was not to blame for a strike on a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds, the White House has said.
“While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on social media.
UN agencies send humanitarian supplies to Egypt
UN agencies have sent supplies to meet the huge needs of children and families in Gaza to Egypt near the crossing to Gaza, the Unicef has said.
“We need an immediate humanitarian pause to ensure unhindered and safe delivery of life-saving supplies,” it said on X.
Biden announces $100m for humanitarian assistance in Gaza, West Bank
US President Joe Biden has announced $100 million for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
In a post on X, he said the money would support over a million displace and conflict-affected Palestinians.
I just announced $100 million for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank.
This money will support over 1 million displaced and conflict-affected Palestinians.
And we will have mechanisms in place so this aid reaches those in need – not Hamas or terrorist groups.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 18, 2023
‘You are not alone,’ Biden tells Israel
President Joe Biden has said that he has come to Israel with a sole message for its close ally: “You are not alone.”
In a statement posted on X, the US president vowed to stand with the Israel “forever”.
Aid to be allowed into Gaza via Egypt
Israel would let aid enter Gaza via Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced, saying only “food, water and medicine” will be allowed into the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
“In light of (US) President (Joe) Biden’s demand, Israel would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt,” AFP reports quoting the prime minister’s office as saying.
The statement noted that aid to civilians in the southern Gaza Strip would be allowed “so long as these supplies do not reach Hamas”.
Saudi FM meets Iranian counterpart, discusses current military escalation in Gaza
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, where they discussed the current military escalation in Gaza and surrounding areas, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on X.
The Saudi foreign minister “affirmed the Kingdom’s firm position towards the Palestinian cause and supporting efforts aimed at achieving comprehensive and just peace that guarantees the Palestinian people’s access to their legitimate rights”, it added.
US vetoes UN Security Council resolution calling for humanitarian pause in conflict
The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and the Hamas group to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the past couple of days as the United States tries to broker aid access to Gaza. Twelve members voted in favour of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.
Washington traditionally shields its ally Israel from any Security Council action.
The draft resolution urged Israel — without naming it — to rescind its order for civilians and UN staff in Gaza to move to the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli troops kill two Palestinian teens in West Bank amid Gaza anger
Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank after protests against Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The deaths brought the toll of Palestinians killed in the latest flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence to at least 64 in the West Bank.
A statement from the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said Israeli forces shot a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old in the village of Shuqba west of Ramallah. It did not elaborate.
Residents told Reuters that the two boys were trying to light tyres in protest against Israel when they were shot.
Protest in Lahore tomorrow against Israel’s war crimes
Activist Ammar Ali Jan has urged people to participate in a protest organised at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk tomorrow against Israel’s war crimes.
Biden says US ‘data’ shows Israel not behind Gaza hospital strike
President Joe Biden says he had seen “data” from the US Defense Department backing his assertion that Palestinian fighters, not Israel, were to blame for a devastating strike on a Gaza hospital, AFP reports.
Asked by reporters in Tel Aviv what made him sure that Israel was not responsible for the strike that killed hundreds on Tuesday, Biden replied, “The data I was shown by my defense department”.
OIC condemns Israel’s ‘state terrorism’, calls it a ‘war crime’ that must be punished
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has condemned Israel’s “state terrorism” against the Baptist hospital in Gaza, which was hit by a strike on Tuesday night.
In a statement, OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha urged the international community to compel Israel to adhere to international law and UN resolutions.
Hundreds protest in occupied West Bank
Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets in the occupied West Bank against last night’s strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds.
Hundreds of protesters in Nablus, many draped in Palestinian flags and some holding Hamas banners, chanted slogans against Israel and its ally the United States, AFP reports.
“Free, free Palestine,” they chanted.
Others derided Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. “Down, down with Abbas,” they shouted.
An AFP correspondent in Nablus said Palestinian security forces fired tear gas at protesters as they marched out of the city centre.
Pakistan united on Palestinian cause: Bilawal
Former foreign minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said Pakistan stands united on the Palestinian cause and urged the caretaker government to do whatever it can to help Palestine.
At a rally in Karachi, he said PPP workers have gathered across the country today in solidarity with their Palestinian brethren.
“You were not alone yesterday, you are not alone today, you won’t be alone tomorrow, you won’t ever be alone as long as Pakistan exists,” Bilawal promised.
Turkey to declare 3 days’ mourning over Gaza hospital strike
Turkey will declare three days’ mourning over a deadly strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed hundreds, a Turkish official told AFP.
Türkiye olarak Filistinli kardeşlerimizin yaşadığı büyük acıları yüreğimizde hissediyoruz.
Çoğu çocuk ve masum sivillerden oluşan binlerce şehidimize duyduğumuz saygının bir gereği olarak ülkemizde 3 günlük millî yas ilan edilmiştir. pic.twitter.com/HDtVVfVUly
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 18, 2023
“Turkey will declare three days national mourning,” the official who wished to remain anonymous said.
Ozlem Zengin of Erdogan’s ruling AKP party said that the national mourning would be declared under a presidential decree. “It is important to show at what level we perceive this issue,” she was quoted as saying by the private NTV broadcaster.
Pope Francis urges ‘everything be done’ to avoid ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza
Pope Francis has said “everything possible” should be done to avoid a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, where the situation is “desperate”.
In a post on X, he said the possible widening of the conflict is disturbing.
“Let the weapons be silenced; let the cry for peace be heard from the poor, from the people, from the children!” he said.
Biden must cease US unreserved support for Israel’s actions in Gaza: Amnesty International
Amnesty International has called on US President Joe Biden to address the “injustices and impunity at the root of the current crisis so that both Palestinians and Israelis can enjoy human rights in peace and security”.
It has also demanded that Biden “must cease US unreserved support for Israel’s actions in Gaza”.
At OIC meeting, FM Jilani calls on world to hold Israel accountable for war crimes
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and demanded an immediate end to its “campaign of terror” in Gaza.
Jilani led the Pakistan delegation to the urgent open-ended Ministerial Meeting of the Executive Committee of the OIC held in Jeddah. The meeting was co-convened by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis in Gaza, according to the Foreign Office.
In a press release afterwards, the FO said Jilani strongly denounced the Israeli aggression and inhumane blockade of Gaza that has resulted in death, destruction and displacement.
“He condemned yesterday’s massacre of innocent civilians in the vicious Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza and underscored that the Israeli occupation forces were in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, and their indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” it said.
The FO said Jilani emphasised that Israel must bring an immediate end to its “campaign of terror” with an immediate ceasefire, lifting the siege of Gaza, and rescinding the forced evacuation of Palestinians from their homes. He also underlined the urgency of humanitarian corridors for rapid, secure and unrestricted humanitarian and relief supplies to Gaza.
Biden administration staffers feel ‘stifled’ discussing horrors in Gaza: report
Several US officials have said they feel “stifled” about having a full debate on what is happening in Gaza, particularly Israeli restraint on Palestinians, according to a HuffPost report.
Staffers of the Bident administration, most of whom work on national security issues, told the news outlet that they and their colleagues worry about “retaliation at work for questioning Israel’s conduct amid the US-backed Israeli campaign” on Gaza after the Oct 7 Hamas attack.
HuffPost said the fear was especially intense among officials with Muslim backgrounds.
“On Sunday, presidential personnel office chief Gautam Raghavan organised a call with close to a dozen current and former high-level Muslim appointees to discuss their concerns. Some staffers said they felt unsafe voicing their opinions around colleagues, according to a person on the call, which has not been previously reported,” the report said.
A career civil servant described the tension between their commitment to challenging rights abuses and their job.
Meanwhile, the report said White House officials are planning to hold a “listening session with Muslim, Arab and Palestinian staff to hear from them directly” in the coming days.
Actor Ushna Shah pens open letter asking Pakistanis not to forget Gaza
Actor Ushna Shah wants us to keep talking about Palestine and advocating for Palestinians, both online and in person.
Decrying that Gaza stands on the precipice of erasure, Shah said, “Heartbreakingly, children are inscribing their names on their palms, in anticipation of being caught in a bombing. Gaza’s poetic goodbye to its twin city, Barcelona, is a haunting reminder that we could be witnessing the end of an entire people.”
She called on Pakistanis to advocate for Palestinians and keep the fight going.
Thousands in Tunisia protest against Israel outside French embassy
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in Tunisia outside the French embassy and condemned Western support for Israel, a day after a deadly strike at a hospital in Gaza killed at least 500 people.
Some protesters waved Palestinian flags while others demanded the ambassador be expelled, accusing France of being among the Western “allies of the Zionists”, AFP reports.
A second protest is due to be held outside the US embassy in Tunis at 1pm (1200 GMT), with rallies also expected in provincial towns and cities, organisers said.
Protesters raise a doll depicting a baby as they chant slogans during an anti-Israel demonstration outside the French embassy headquarters along the Avenue Habib Bourguiba in the centre of Tunis. — AFP
FM Jilani meets Kuwaiti counterpart, expresses ‘grave concerns’ over crisis in Gaza
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is in Jeddah to attend an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, met his Kuwaiti counterpart and expressed “grave concerns” over crisis in Gaza.
“We agreed on urgent need for a ceasefire, de-escalation, & timely provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” Jilani said in a post on X.
Germany’s Scholz vows action after Molotovs thrown at Berlin synagogue
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to fight anti-Semitism on German soil after attackers hurled two Molotov cocktails at a Jewish synagogue in Berlin early today.
Police in the German capital said they are probing the attack in the Mitte district of the city. There are no reports of injuries or damage.
The attack, at around 3:45am, comes amid a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“Two unidentified people came on foot and threw two burning bottles filled with liquid in the direction of the synagogue on Brunnenstrasse,” a commercial and residential street, police said in a statement.
The strike on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City last night killed at least 500 Palestinians, according to the Gazan health ministry.
The images emerging in the aftermath are haunting.
Children in Gaza are drinking dirty water: UNRWA director
“Water has run out for 2 million people [in Gaza]. Little children are drinking dirty water,” UNRWA Communication Director Juliette Touma has said.
In an interview with CNN, she said the situation in Gaza is dire and stressed that humanitarian assistance should immediately be allowed inside the Palestinian enclave.
Touma also called on “all the parties that have influence” to open access to Gaza and lift the Israeli siege.
Biden says will work with Israel to spare civilians
President Joe Biden has said the United States would work with Israel to prevent civilian deaths as it pounds Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising to make efforts, AFP reports.
“We will continue to have your back. As you work to defend your people, we will continue to work with you and partners across the region to prevent more tragedy for innocent civilians,” Biden said after meeting Netanyahu’s war cabinet in Tel Aviv.
EU ‘cannot accept’ Israel illegally halting water to Gaza: Borrell
The European Union “cannot accept” Israel stopping water supplies to Gaza’s population, which “clearly” violates international law, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said.
“Suspending the water supply to a community under siege is contrary to international law. But we can’t accept that,” he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, AFP reports.
That was the EU’s position when it came to Ukraine, where Russian forces besieged communities and cut off water, and it should be the same when it came to Gaza, he added.
“It is clearly stated that depriving a human community under siege of a basic water supply is contrary to international law — in Ukraine and in Gaza. And if we are unable to say so, for both places, we lack the moral authority necessary to make our voice heard,” Borrell said.
WHO urges against healthcare centre attacks
The World Health Organisation has urged against any attacks on healthcare centres, a day after a Gaza hospital strike that killed almost 500 people.
“We call… at a minimum to stop any attacks on healthcare facilities,” the head of the WHO’s European branch, Hans Kluge, told AFP in an interview.
China ‘shocked by and strongly condemns’ Gaza hospital strike
China’s foreign ministry has said it was “shocked by and strongly condemns” a strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds, calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.
“China is shocked by and strongly condemns the heavy casualties caused by the attack on a Gaza hospital,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said, adding: “China calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the war”.
‘Help us, help us!’: A doctor’s account of the hospital attack
The scenes of destruction from the hospital were horrific even by the standards of the past 12 days, which have confronted the world with relentless images, first of Israelis slaughtered in their homes and then of Palestinian families buried under rubble from Israel’s retaliatory strikes.
“People came running into the surgery department screaming, ‘Help us, help us, there are people killed and wounded inside the hospital!’” said Dr Fadel Naim, Head of the hospital’s Orthopedic Surgery Department.
“The hospital was full of dead and wounded, dismembered bodies, and dead,” he told Reuters. “We tried to save whoever can be saved but the number was too big for the hospital team to be able to save… We saw them alive but we couldn’t help them and they were martyred.”
“This place created a safe haven for women and children, those who escaped the Israeli bombing,” another doctor at the hospital, Ibrahim Al-Naqa, told Reuters. “We don’t know what the shell is called but we saw the results of it when it targeted children and ripped their bodies into pieces.”
Scottish first minister offers sanctuary to Gazans
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has offered sanctuary to Palestinians, in a rare gesture coming from the Western world.
Water is running out in Gaza: UNRWA
Tamara Alrifai, from the UN Relief and Works Agency, has said water in Gaza is running out and people, especially babies, are dehydrated.
In an interview with CNBC, she said the safest way for aid to reach the people of Gaza was by establishing a “humanitarian cessation of hostilities”.
Israel tells citizens to leave Turkey ‘as soon as possible’
Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey immediately amid fears of reprisal attacks after the deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, a consular spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
“All Israelis staying in Turkey must leave as soon as possible,” Israel’s National Security Council announced late on Tuesday.
“I can confirm that the travel warning of the National Security Council to Turkey has been raised to 4, the highest level,” the spokesperson told AFP.
Thousands joined protests in Istanbul and the capital Ankara outside Israel’s diplomatic missions to condemn the attack. Turkish police detained five protesters for attempting to sneak into the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, the governor’s office said.
Providing aid to Gaza a matter of ‘life or death’: UN relief chief
“Providing aid to the people of Gaza — wherever they are — is a matter of life or death,” said United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.
In a post on X, he said doing the same in a sustained, unimpeded and predictable manner is a humanitarian imperative.
Iran calls for Islamic countries to sanction Israel
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should sanction and implement an oil embargo on Israel, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors, a statement issued by Iran’s foreign ministry quotes Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian as saying.
An urgent meeting of the OIC, co-convened by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is under way in Jeddah for Islamic countries to discuss the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Egypt ‘did not close’ Gaza crossing to aid, Sisi says
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt “did not close” the only border crossing with Gaza not under Israel’s control, blaming Israeli bombardments for it not operating, AFP reports.
“Developments on the ground and the repeated bombings by Israel of the Palestinian side of the crossing have prevented operations,” Sisi told reporters.
Aid convoys have been waiting for six days on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, which has been bombed four times by Israel since the Oct 7 Hamas blitz.
Biden backs Israel account of Gaza hospital strike
US President Joe Biden, who is on a solidarity visit to Israel, has backed the ally’s account that Palestinian fighters caused a devastating hospital strike in Gaza, AFP reports.
“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden said as he opened a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
“But there’s a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things,” the US president said.
Biden added that he is encouraging Netanyahu to ensure “life-saving capacity to help the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this”.
World reacts to air strike on Gaza hospital killing hundreds
A strike resulted in the deaths of at least 500 Palestinians at the crowded Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday, according to the health ministry in the besieged enclave.
The strike, which Palestinian officials said came from Israel, was denied by Tel Aviv. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead blamed “barbaric terrorists” for the attack.
US President Joe Biden said in his official statement that he was “outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “horrified by the loss of life at Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza”, he said in a post on his official X account.
UN chief ‘horrified’ by Gaza hospital strike
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was horrified after the deaths of hundreds of people in a strike on a hospital in Gaza.
“My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law,” he said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza today, which I strongly condemn. My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 17, 2023
In another post, he called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East to ease the epic human suffering”.
“Too many lives — and the fate of the entire region — hang in the balance,” Guterres said.
PM Kakar says Israel must be held accountable for ‘war crimes’
Reacting to the strike which killed hundreds of people at a hospital in Gaza, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar demanded that Israel be held accountable for its “war crimes”.
“Targeting a hospital, a sanctuary for those in need, is an indefensible act of inhumanity. International humanitarian law give protection to hospitals and medical personnel,” he said.
He demanded an end to “indiscriminate targeting” and urged the international community to act swiftly to stop the violence and hold those accountable responsible.
The massacre of innocent civilians in vicious Israeli attack on Al-Mamadany Hospital in Gaza is inhumane and indefensible. It is a grave violation of international law and humanitarian law. Israel must be held accountable for its war crimes as it continues its unrelenting… https://t.co/PdZojYbaEK
— Anwaar ul Haq Kakar (@anwaar_kakar) October 18, 2023
Kakar, who is in Beijing for the third Belt and Road Forum, also mentioned interacting with the UN secretary general. “I urged him that global community should ask Israel to stop killing innocent Palestinians,” he said.
In a subsequent post, he said that Israel must be “held accountable for its war crimes as it continues its unrelenting bombardment and siege of Gaza that has resulted in death, destruction and displacement”.
“The backers of Israeli occupation need to reconsider their policies which provide impunity to Israeli authorities in carrying out their campaign of terror against the people of Gaza,” he said.
PM Kakar discusses situation in Gaza with UN chief in Beijing
Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar discussed the situation in Gaza with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Beijing.
According to a statement released by the PM’s Office, Kakar urged UN to play its role in stopping Israeli atrocities against the oppressed Palestinians.
‘No excuse for hitting a hospital’ in Gaza: EU chief
European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday there is “no excuse for hitting a hospital full of civilians” in Gaza, AFP reports.
The European Commission president told EU lawmakers the “facts need to be established” on the overnight strike on the Gaza hospital. Von der Leyen said “all those responsible must be held accountable”.
European Council President Charles Michel posted on social media that there was “no conceivable reason to strike a facility with innocent civilians and medical staff” and said such an attack “is not in line with international law”.
He too called for accountability.
Modi ‘shocked’ at hospital attack, calls for accountability
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is “deeply shocked at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza”.
In a post on X, he said: “Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and prayers for speedy recovery of those injured. Civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. Those involved should be held responsible.”
Pakistani NGOs beset by ‘visa denials’ in quest to help Gazans
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza becomes desperate after days of relentless bombing by Israeli forces, global aid organisations have said the time was “running out to save millions of people” in the Gaza Strip. Yet, no aid is being allowed inside the besieged enclave.
Like global aid agencies, non-governmental organisations in Pakistan are also ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, but they cite blockade and logistical issues as key challenges.
“All routes to Gaza are closed. It’s all sealed,” Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation told Dawn, adding his heart bleeds for the Palestinians.
UK university suspends students over Gaza rally
Students from the Palestine Society at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) have said the university had “suspended students following a rally in solidarity with Gaza”.
The SOAS Palestine Society posted to X saying, “URGENT: @SOAS University of London, renowned for its so called progressive politics, has officially begun taking steps suspending its own students following a rally in solidarity with Gaza. This is a clear act of political repression. Please read on and share widely.”
