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Israel-Hamas war: Clashes at Israel’s border with Lebanon amid fears of further escalation
Israel is also continuing its bombardment and siege of Gaza where the only cancer hospital will have to stop running due to fuel shortages.
Tom Gillespie
News reporter @TomGillespie1
Tuesday 17 October 2023 12:57, UK
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Israel’s military says it has killed four people who tried to cross into the country from Lebanon to plant an explosive – as fears grow the war could expand into a wider conflict in the region.
An Israeli Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson has said they would “highly recommend” Hezbollah closely watches “what is happening to Hamas” as a UN peacekeeping force said skirmishes between the two sides have escalated.
The IDF spokesperson has urged the Lebanese militant group to be cautious of “crossing the threshold”.
The Israeli military carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight as part of the latest violence between the two sides.
It came before an Iranian Revolutionary Guards deputy commander warned Israel that “another shockwave” is on the way if its “atrocities” in Gaza do not end, according to Iran’s state media.
“The resistance front’s shocks against the Zionist regimes will continue until this ‘cancerous tumour’ is eradicated from the world map,” Fars News Agency has reported Ali Fadavi as saying.
Gaza cancer patients to be left without healthcare services
Meanwhile, large parts of the only cancer hospital in Gaza will stop running due to fuel shortages.
Dr Sobhi Skik, director general of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, said the remaining part will stop running within 48 hours.
This means all cancer patients in Gaza will be without the services they need.
Israel imposed a total siege on the Palestinian territory after Hamas’s surprise attack on 7 October. The siege means no food, electricity, fuel or medicine can enter Gaza as it faces bombardment from Israeli airstrikes.
Palestinian children sit amongst the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike
Image:
Palestinian children sit amongst the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike
The World Health Organization (WHO) says 115 health facilities have been attacked in Gaza during the conflict and warned of a long-term humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
The WHO also said it had supplies ready for Gaza near the Rafah crossing at the border with Egypt.
The crossing had been expected to be open to allow humanitarian aid in on Monday – but it remained closed.
The United Nations human rights office has warned that Israel’s siege of Gaza and its evacuation order could amount to the international crime of the forcible transfer of civilians.
Other key developments
• British girl missing with sister after Hamas attack confirmed dead
• US President Joe Biden expected to visit Israel on Wednesday
• Violence rising in West Bank as number of Palestinians killed reaches 61
• Israel strikes parts of southern Gaza where it told Palestinians to flee
• At least 49 Palestinians killed in strikes on Khan Younis and Rafah
• Director in charge of Rafah crossing killed – Arab media reports
• Israel says it may do ‘something different’ to ground offensive
• All hospitals in Gaza to run out of fuel in 24 hours, UN agency says
• UN operation in Gaza ‘on verge of collapse’
• Senior US general in Israel for talks with country’s military
• 581% increase in antisemitic attacks across UK
Israel-Gaza latest: Hamas ‘releases first video of hostage’
NUMBER OF DEATHS
There have been 2,808 deaths and 10,850 injuries in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
There have been 61 Palestinian deaths and 1,176 injuries in the West Bank, according to a UN body.
There have been 1,300 Israeli deaths and 4,121 injuries, Israeli officials have said.
Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah come after the weekend ended with the Lebanese militant group’s fighters launching attacks on Israeli military posts and a northern border village.
Israel retaliated with strikes in Lebanon before evacuating 28 towns within 2km of the border yesterday.
Iran warns of response from ‘leaders of the resistance’
Meanwhile, Iran told Israel it should expect “pre-emptive action” in the coming hours in response to its strikes on Gaza.
The country said “all options are open” to the so-called resistance front to respond to Israel’s “war crimes”.
Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said: “The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy… in the coming hours, we can expect a pre-emptive action by the resistance front.
“Leaders of the resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza.”
Iran’s foreign minister did not expand on what he meant by resistance front, but the term Axis of Resistance can refer to a loose alliance among Iran, Palestinian militant groups, Syria, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and other factions.
Read more:
Analysis: America’s influence in the Middle East is being put to the test
Families in fear after children taken hostage by militants
Satellite images show homes and infrastructure destroyed by Gaza
Doctor in Gaza hospital pleads for help as electricity runs low
View of the destruction at Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes on the enclave, October 14
Image:
Destruction at Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, following Israeli strikes
Biden to send ‘crystal clear message’ to Israel’s enemies
The US president is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow and reaffirm the country’s solidarity with Israel, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said.
Announcing the travel plans, Mr Blinken said the president’s visit comes at a critical moment, where he will make clear that “Israel has the right and the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and prevent future attacks”.
Mr Biden will also reiterate the “crystal clear message” to any state or non-state trying to “take advantage” of the current situation and attack Israel: “Don’t.”
It comes after around 2,000 US troops will be ready to deploy within 24 hours – instead of the usual 96 hours – to the Israeli region, which could provide assistance such as medical aid if needed, a US official said.
After meeting with Israeli officials, Mr Biden is expected to travel to Amman to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, and Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Explainer:
What is the Rafah border crossing and who controls it?
Gaza hospitals
Image:
Hospitals have come under attack in Gaza
A Palestinian girl, wounded in Israeli strikes, lies on a bed at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
Image:
A Palestinian girl, wounded in Israeli strikes, lies on a bed at a hospital in Khan Younis
‘Keep civilians out of harm’s way’
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens, Mr Blinken said the US and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid to reach civilians.
Few details were given, but the plan would include “the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way”, he said.
It comes as a blockade of aid remains in place at Egypt’s Rafah crossing, contributing to fears that citizens could starve and hospitals would run out of electricity.
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Israel is also set to brief the US leader on its war aims and how it will conduct operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties, and enables humanitarian assistance to get to Gaza without benefitting Hamas.
The country’s leaders are planning for a ground offensive on Gaza, which is expected to be by land, sea and air.
Work between the US and Israel will also focus on securing hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October, Mr Blinken said.
The Israeli military said 199 captives were being held in the besieged territory, which includes some Americans and Britons.
A Hamas official demanded earlier on Monday that 6,000 Palestinian men and women detained in Israel’s jails be released in exchange for hostages in Gaza.
