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Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza including underground targets amid war

In a statement, it said many of the 14,000 people seeking shelter there are Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Hamas-Israel war

Fire, smoke, airstrike, rockets, Israel- Palestine, Gaza, Hamas

Fire and smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City | Photo: AP/PTI

AP Jerusalem

Here's what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:

PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT SAYS ISRAELI STRIKES DAMAGED PARTS OF A GAZA HOSPITAL

Gaza City: The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli strikes Sunday damaged sections in the jam-packed Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, after receiving two phone calls from the Israeli military to evacuate.

A video the Red Crescent posted on X, formerly Twitter, of the hospital following the strikes shows rooms covered in debris and dust and the windows blown out. People covered their noses and mouths, panicking as they tried to leave the hospital with their children.

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The PRCS-run hospital administration said that evacuating the hospital was impossible, as its hundreds of patients included children in incubators and wounded people in the intensive-care unit. In a statement, it said many of the 14,000 people seeking shelter there are Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Hamas-Israel war.

Israeli strikes targeted areas around the hospital throughout Sunday. The director-general of the World Health Organization said that it would be impossible to evacuate hospitals without endangering people's lives.

ISRAEL SAYS IT KILLED HAMAS MILITANTS NEAR EREZ CROSSING

Tel Aviv: Israel's military said Sunday that ground forces killed a number of Hamas militants as they were exiting a tunnel near the Erez crossing, which used to be the sole pedestrian passageway out of the coastal enclave into Israel before it was destroyed in the fighting. It was unclear how many militants were killed by Israeli forces.

Videos of the ground operation released by the military showed tanks traversing small, sandy hills and bulldozers clearing mountains of debris. Hamas has a sprawling network of tunnels underneath Gaza where it is believed to be stockpiling weapons, food, and other supplies.

ICC CHIEF PROSECUTOR VISITS EGYPT-GAZA BORDER

Cairo: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, visited the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza on Sunday, a senior Egyptian official said.

The official said Khan inspected the crossing and briefed on the damage caused by Israeli airstrikes to the Palestinian side. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

Khan's office has opened an investigation into potential war crimes by Israel in Gaza in the 2014 war. He is scheduled to talk about his trip to the Egyptian border with Gaza in a news conference in Cairo Sunday evening.

THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN KILLED IN THE CONFLICT SOARS

Jerusalem: The number of children killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of the Hamas-Israel earlier this month has exceeded the number of children killed in armed conflict every year globally since 2019, international charity Save the Children said Sunday.

In a statement, the charity cited numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry of at least 3,195 children killed in the war that was sparked following a surprised Hamas attack on Oct. 7. It also mentioned the deaths of 33 children in the occupied West Bank and 29 children killed in Israel.

The numbers are harrowing and with violence not only continuing but expanding in Gaza right now, many more children remain at grave risk, Save the Children Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory Jason Lee said in a statement. One child's death is one too many, but these are grave violations of epic proportions. A cease-fire is the only way to ensure their safety.

UN SECRETARY GENERAL REITERATES CALL FOR HUMANITARIAN CEASE-FIRE

Kathmandu: UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres has warned that the world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes in Gaza, with over two million people denied the essentials of life and subjected to relentless bombardment,

I urge all those with responsibility to step back from the brink, he told reporters at a meeting with Nepal's prime minister in Kathmandu on Sunday. We must join forces to end this nightmare for the people of Gaza, Israel and all those affected around the world.

The UN chief reiterated his appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the unconditional release of all hostages and delivery of aid at scale to Gaza.

Guterres again condemned Hamas' appalling attacks on Israel on Oct 7, stressing that there is no justification, ever, for the killing, injuring and abduction of civilians.

The secretary-general reiterated that all parties to conflict are required under international humanitarian laws to protect civilians and provide them with food, water, medicine and other essentials, stressing that those laws cannot be contorted for the sake of expedience.

The number of civilians who have been killed and injured is totally unacceptable, Guterres said.

ISRAEL DROPS LEAFLETS ON GAZA, ASKING CIVILIANS TO SURRENDER

Tel Aviv: Israel's military, which has said repeatedly that it is not at war with civilians in Gaza but rather with Hamas, dropped leaflets on the Gaza Strip Sunday asking civilians to surrender.

Written in Arabic, the leaflets told civilians to lay down all their weapons, put their hands up, wave white flags and follow instructions from the Israeli military.

Hamas leaders are exploiting you, the flyers read. They and their families are in safe places, while you die in vain.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: Oct 30 2023 | 7:59 AM IST

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