Tel Aviv: Israel on Tuesday bombed areas of southern Gaza where it had told Palestinians to flee to ahead of an expected invasion, killing at least 71 more people and taking the death toll in the beleaguered strip to 3,000. Senior Hamas armed commander Ayman Nofal was among those killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Tuesday. A member of the higher military council of Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, Nofal was in charge of the Central Gaza area in the armed wing.
"We just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative. Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence. Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the terrorist organization, he was involved in the planning of the abduction of Gilad Shalit. We won't stop until we eliminate Hamas," Israel Defence Forces posted on X, formerly Twitter.
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We just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence.
Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the… pic.twitter.com/t686L6gSuN
">We just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence.
Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the… pic.twitter.com/t686L6gSuNWe just eliminated Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2023
Nofal was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence.
Nofal directed many attacks against Israeli civilians and besides being one of the most dominant figures in the… pic.twitter.com/t686L6gSuN
Israeli strikes have killed at least 3,000 people and wounded over 12,500 others in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry. Nearly two-thirds of the dead were children, said Medhat Abbas, a Gaza Health Ministry official. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed buried under the rubble, alive or dead, he said.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 61 Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the occupied West Bank and 1,250 people were injured. The numbers are expected to surge significantly as the Israeli bombardment and mass killings in Gaza continue unabated and bodies are removed from under the rubble of their demolished homes and buildings.
The strikes have not stopped Hamas militants from continuing to barrage Israel with rockets launched from Gaza. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas hideouts, infrastructure and command centres. Israel has sealed off and bombed Hamas-ruled Gaza since the militant attack on southern Israel Oct. 7 killed over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and left about 200 captive in Gaza.
Meanwhile, mediators struggled to break a deadlock over delivering aid to millions of increasingly desperate civilians in the territory, which has been besieged and under assault by Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants. Flaring violence along Israel's border with Lebanon also led to concerns over a widening regional conflict that diplomats were working to prevent.
In Gaza, people wounded in the airstrikes were rushed to the hospital after heavy attacks outside the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, residents reported. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former health minister, reported 27 people were killed in Rafah and 30 in Khan Younis.
An Associated Press reporter saw around 50 bodies brought to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Family members came to claim the bodies, wrapped in white bedsheets, some soaked in blood. An airstrike in Deir al Balah reduced a house to rubble, killing nine members of the family living there. Three members of another family that had evacuated from Gaza City were killed in a neighbouring home. The dead included one man and 11 women and children. Witnesses said there was no warning before the strike.
Emergency teams struggled to rescue people while cut off from the internet and mobile networks, running out of fuel and exposed to unceasing airstrikes. On Monday Israeli warplanes struck the headquarters of the Civil Defense in Gaza City, killing seven paramedics. Another 10 medics and doctors have been killed on the job, health authorities said. More than 1 million Palestinians have fled their homes, and 60% are now in the approximately 14-kilometer (8-mile) long area south of the evacuation zone, the U.N. said.
More updates from the war:
1. U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
2. A shortage of drinking water continues across Gaza, leading humanitarian workers to warn of the risk of disease from drinking untreated water.
3. Overwhelmed doctors at the territory’s largest hospital struggle to care for patients as supplies of water, fuel and medicine run dangerously low.
4. Hundreds of civilians killed in the Hamas attacks have yet to be identified by Israeli forensics teams.
- US responds to Hamas hostage video
The United States has responded to Hamas' release of a hostage video by calling on the group to immediately release all hostages. “There should be no reason for them to have any hostages in the first place," said U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on American TV Tuesday.
Asked if he believed the woman in the video, identified as 21-year-old Mia Schem, was being treated OK, Kirby said she was “probably forced” to record the message. “There’s no question in my mind that that woman gave that video testimony under duress, probably forced to do it,” Kirby said on NBC’s “Today."
"It’s a propaganda video much more than it is proof of life or, certainly, proof of concept for Hamas. It’s despicable, deplorable that they would take these hostages and then advertise how well they’re treating them when they’re the ones who hurt them in the first place.”
Also read: 'They are taking care of me': Hamas release video of Israeli woman Mia Shem held hostage in Gaza
- Foreign passport holders wait in vain for Rafah crossing to open
For a third straight day, dual Palestinian nationals' hopes to leave the Gaza Strip were dashed as the border remained closed. Jameel Abdullah, a Swedish passport holder, said he had been told by his embassy to return to the border, but after waiting many hours he turned back toward Gaza where Israeli airstrikes continue to pound densely populated residential areas.
“We come to the border crossing hoping that it will open, but so far there is no information,” he said. “We plead with the Egyptian people to look at us with compassion because frankly we are in a very dangerous place. There is shelling all around us, and even if I wanted to return home (to Gaza), I would be risking my life.” The sound of bombs falling echoed in the distance as he spoke.
- WFP warns food is running out in Gaza
In addition to dire water shortages, Gaza is running out of food stocks with only a few days worth of supplies remaining in shops, the World Food Program says. Shops only have four or five days' worth of essential food stocks available, said spokeswoman Abeer Etefa. There is enough food in warehouses to last about two weeks, but these are difficult to access because they are located in Gaza City, where Israel has ordered residents to evacuate. Out of five mills in Gaza, only one is operating due to security concerns and the unavailability of fuel and electricity. Etefa said the primary challenge for WFP is being able to get food to shops amid the constant bombardment. Long lines have formed outside the few bakeries that are still able to operate.
- UN Human Rights Office condemns killing of fleeing civilians
The U.N. human rights office is decrying “appalling reports” that civilians who were trying to flee to southern Gaza were hit and killed by a military strike. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani urged Israeli forces to avoid “aerial bombardments, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks” and to “take precautions to avoid – and in any case, to minimize – loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”
She said those who managed to evacuate are now trapped in southern Gaza with scant access to shelter, food, water, sanitation and medicine. “Appalling reports that civilians attempting to relocate to southern Gaza were struck and killed by an explosive weapon, must be independently and thoroughly investigated as must all allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law,” she said.
Shamdasani also reiterated the call from the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to Palestinian armed groups “to immediately and unconditionally release all civilian hostages and to halt the use of inherently indiscriminate projectiles against Israel.”
- French President calls for an end to 'odious' hostage-taking
French President Emmanuel Macron said the situation of hostages is “absolutely odious and unacceptable” after Hamas’ military wing released a hostage video showing a dazed woman having her arm bandaged. The woman identified herself as Mia Schem, 21, a French-Israeli national. Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Albania, Macron said he watched the video and expressed “support and affection” to Schem’s family and all other hostages’ loved ones.
“To have taken hostages, both civilian and military, of all nationalities and to use blackmail at this time is absolutely odious and unacceptable,” he said. Macron said France is using contacts with Israeli authorities and also with Hamas “through friendly intermediary powers,” which he did not identify, to get the release of French and other hostages.
- Iran calls Israel's assault on Gaza ‘genocide’
Iran’s supreme leader Tuesday has insisted that his country will not stop Hamas, and repeated a call for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “If the crimes continue, Muslims will be impatient, resistance forces will be impatient, and nobody will be able to prevent them.”
“Bombardments should be immediately stopped, Muslim nations are angry,” said Khamenei. He reiterated Iran’s stance in calling Israel's assault against Hamas,” genocide” and urged the prosecution of the Israeli government for its killing of civilians in Gaza. He also urged the U.S. to “pay attention to its responsibility” in the war.
- President Joe Biden to visit Israel Wednesday
President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday to show support for the U.S. ally amid concerns the Israel-Hamas war could become a larger regional conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early Tuesday in Tel Aviv. Biden will then go to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
- Iran warns of possible preemptive action as Gaza ground offensive nears
Iran's foreign minister has warned that "preemptive action is possible" if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The comments by Hossein Amirabdollahian follow a pattern of escalating rhetoric from Iran, whose theocracy provides support to Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Also read: Mother of Israeli woman in Hamas hostage video appeals for her release
