JERUSALEM, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – The Gaza conflict raged for a 28th day on Friday after the October 7 attacks when Hamas militants stormed the border, killing 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 240, Israeli officials say.
Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Palestinian territory and sent in ground troops, with the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza saying 9,061 people have been killed, including 3,760 children.
Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
– Israel says Gaza City encircled –
Israeli ground troops on Friday encircled the Hamas stronghold of Gaza City, following days of expanding ground operations in the besieged territory of 2.4 million inhabitants.
“Israeli soldiers have completed the encirclement of the city of Gaza, the centre of the Hamas terror organisation,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists late Thursday.
Shortly afterwards, Hamas’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said Gaza would be a “curse” for Israel and that its invading soldiers would go home “in black bags”.
– Blinken in Israel –
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday, in a trip focused on measures to minimise harm to civilians in the bombarded Gaza Strip.
Prior to his departure, Blinken said he would seek “concrete measures” from Israel to ensure that harm to Palestinian civilians is reduced.
A group of UN-mandated human rights experts said Thursday “time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”, which Israel called Hamas “propaganda”.
– More Gaza evacuations –
More foreign passport holders and dual nationals crossed into Egypt on Thursday, the second day the Rafah crossing was opened to people seeking to flee Gaza.
The health ministry in Cairo said 21 wounded Palestinians and “344 foreign nationals, including 72 children” entered Egypt.
Cairo said it would help evacuate “about 7,000” foreigners and dual nationals with passports issued by more than 60 countries.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 20,000 wounded people were still trapped in Gaza.
– Hezbollah chief to speak –
Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is set to break weeks of silence since the Israel-Hamas war began, in a speech that could impact the region.
Nasrallah’s highly anticipated speech will be broadcast as part of an event in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Friday, in memory of fighters killed in Israeli bombardments.
On Thursday, the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah with a “broad assault”.
The Iran-backed militant group said four of its fighters died in the strikes, after announcing it had attacked 19 Israeli positions simultaneously.
Earlier, a barrage of rockets wounded two people in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border, medics said.
– West Bank bloodshed –
Unrest has increased in the occupied West Bank in tandem with the war in Gaza, with two Palestinians killed early Friday by Israeli fire in the city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Israeli army said its forces were “conducting counterterrorism activities” in the northern West Bank city.
On Thursday, three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and an Israeli man was killed in a Palestinian shooting attack, according to first responders.
Around 130 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with troops or Jewish settlers across the West Bank since October 7, according to the ministry.