In view of the massive air strikes by the Israeli army, the health system in the Gaza Strip is “on the verge of collapse”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Time is running out to “prevent a humanitarian catastrophe” if fuel and life-saving medical and humanitarian supplies cannot be quickly brought into the Gaza Strip given the total blockade of the area, the WHO warns. “Ambulances cannot reach the wounded,” complains the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
+++ 03:56 Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of using phosphorus +++
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of using ammunition containing white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. The human rights organization says it has verified videos recorded in Lebanon on October 10 and in the Gaza Strip on October 11. They showed several airstrikes with white phosphorus over the port of Gaza City and two rural towns along the border between Israel and Lebanon. When asked, the Israeli military said it currently had no knowledge of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus in Gaza. It did not comment on the human rights organization’s allegations about the use of these weapons in Lebanon. Human Rights Watch’s reports cannot yet be independently verified.
+++ 03:27 Great Britain is increasing its military in the Mediterranean +++
Britain is increasing its military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. Two warships, helicopters and surveillance aircraft should support Israel and promote stability in the region, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said.
+++ 03:07 Baerbock sees “isolated cases” when it comes to exit problems +++
Foreign Minister Baerbock rejects accusations that she did not do enough to ensure that Germans left Israel quickly. “It’s always the case that there are individual cases where some people rightly say that it didn’t happen quickly enough,” she says in the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”. “But I also know what the German embassy on site did from day one.” She was in contact with the Icelandic Foreign Minister so that some German school classes could travel via Iceland on flights. The Green politician points to the difficult situation on site and the relatively high number of around 100,000 Germans and dual nationals in Israel. Here you can read more about it.
+++ 03:07 All kibbutzes hold funeral services +++
Five days after Hamas’ major attack on Israel, funeral ceremonies were held in all of the country’s kibbutz. The victims of the attacks were remembered and the Israeli national anthem was sung in more than 270 kibbutzes on Thursday evening. More than 200 of the approximately 1,200 dead on the Israeli side were killed in the kibbutzes Beeri and Kfar Aza, which are just a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip.
+++ 02:55 Bundeswehr is preparing for evacuations +++
The Bundeswehr, in coordination with the Foreign Office, is preparing to bring German citizens from Israel to Germany. The Bundeswehr said that preventative preparations should ensure that the Federal Government has made all the necessary logistical arrangements for rapid pickup by the Air Force in the event of a failure in civil flight operations from Israel. The measures now taken also include the deployment of joint crisis support teams from the Foreign Office and Bundeswehr soldiers to Israel and surrounding countries. If the situation worsens further, the Bundeswehr’s military evacuation unit would be ready.
+++ 02:18 Israel warns citizens abroad to be careful +++
Because of feared acts of violence by Hamas supporters against Jewish institutions this Friday, Israel is warning its citizens abroad to be vigilant. “It can be assumed that there will be protest events in various countries that could turn violent,” warn the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council. They also advise Israelis to stay away from demonstrations. After the terrorist attack on Israel and the subsequent air strikes by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist Hamas called on Tuesday for the mobilization of the Arab and Muslim world.
+++ 01:52 ICC: Are responsible for war crimes +++
The International Criminal Court (ICC) claims to be responsible for alleged war crimes committed by both sides in the Gaza conflict. This applies regardless of the fact that Israel is not a contracting state, says ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan. “It is appalling what is going on, what we are seeing on our television screens. There must be a legal process to determine criminal responsibility.”
+++ 01:28 Israel: Residential buildings used by Hamas shelled +++
In its counterattacks following the Hamas terror attacks, Israel’s army shelled residential buildings in the Gaza Strip that the military said were used by the militants. The army announced on Thursday evening that the affected five residential buildings were also used for terrorist activities by the Islamist organization ruling in the coastal enclave. In addition, a room from which Hamas monitors the activities of the Israeli armed forces was attacked. The army is attacking every position of the “murderers,” says military spokesman Daniel Hagari. Hamas has already lost control of large areas in the Gaza Strip.
+++ 01:07 Von der Leyen and Metsola want to visit Israel +++
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola want to visit Israel later today. Von der Leyen and Metsola want to meet with the Israeli leadership and express their solidarity with the victims of the Hamas attacks, the commission announced.
+++ 00:48 Two more Austrians dead after Hamas attack +++
The Austrian Foreign Ministry announces the death of two more Austrian-Israeli citizens. The death of a third dual citizen had already been confirmed the day before. The ministry announced on Thursday evening that the men had become “victims of Hamas’ brutal terror on Israel.” The whereabouts of two other Austrian-Israeli people remain unclear after the attack by the Islamist Hamas.
+++ 00:30 Turkish community: Don’t let Hamas exploit it +++
After the terrorist organization Hamas called for its worldwide support this Friday, the Turkish community is warning against complying. “Stay away from Hamas’ manipulation, it harms Muslims all over the world!” says chairman Gökay Sofuoglu to the “Tagesspiegel”. “We should take a clear stance together. I therefore appeal to all Muslims in Germany not to allow themselves to be exploited by Hamas.” Because of the terror in Israel and the expressions of solidarity in Germany, he is worried about “peaceful coexistence” in this country. The terrorist organization Hamas had also called on the Palestinians for a “general mobilization”. They were also supposed to protest at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. There is no statement from the Israeli military.
+++ 00:25 EU initiates investigations against X for disinformation +++
The European Union announces an investigation into the short messaging service X, formerly known as Twitter, in connection with disinformation. The EU Commission announced that it should be checked whether Tesla boss Elon Musk’s service complied with EU regulations against illegal and harmful content on the Internet. There is no statement from X. After the Hamas attack, there was criticism of the spread of, among other things, pro-Islamist content on social media.
+++ 00:11 Insider: US Defense Minister travels to Israel +++
According to an insider, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to visit Israel this Friday. He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and cabinet members, a high-ranking US official tells journalists. Austin will discuss Israel’s “operational planning and goals for this conflict.”
+++ 23:40 Police use tear gas at Palestinian demonstration in Paris +++
French police use tear gas and water cannons to break up a banned pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris. Despite a ban, several hundred people came together in the center of the city. They chanted “Israel murderer” and called French President Macron an “accomplice.” The radical Islamic group Hamas has called for demonstrations on Friday.
+++ 23:27 Palestinians report more than 1,500 deaths in the Gaza Strip +++
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports 1,537 deaths from Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip since Saturday. The number of injured is 6,612, it said. Terrorists on behalf of the Islamist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, carried out a massacre of Israeli civilians in border towns and at a music festival on Saturday. It was the worst bloodbath in Israeli history. More than 1,200 people were killed and at least 3,391 others were injured.
+++ 23:01 Berlin police take action against pro-Palestinian demonstrators +++
There were also pro-Palestinian expressions of sympathy at a registered demonstration against “neocolonialism” near the Foreign Office in Berlin. After participants showed Palestinian flags and shouted questioning Israel’s right to exist, the police intervened. There were scuffles with demonstrators. When asked, the police situation center pointed out that after the Palestinian Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, people or smaller groups in the city repeatedly showed their support.
+++ 22:29 Blinken announces meeting with Abbas +++
US Secretary of State Blinken wants to meet with Palestinian President Abbas. After his stay in Israel, Blinken announced in Tel Aviv that he would travel on to Jordan to meet Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Blinken will then also visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to speak with government officials, the US State Department said. Each of these meetings is about influencing the countries to prevent the conflict from spreading in the region and to achieve the release of the hostages in Gaza, says Blinken.
+++ 22:15 “Palestinians should stand firm”: Egypt keeps Gaza border closed +++
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is calling on the people of the Gaza Strip to persevere despite massive Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory. The residents must “stand firm and stay on their land,” says al-Sisi. However, Egypt feels obliged to ensure the provision of “medical and humanitarian assistance” and to guarantee the “legitimate rights” of the Palestinians “in this difficult time”. International calls had previously been loud for humanitarian aid and a humanitarian corridor, also to enable Palestinians to escape from a possible Israeli ground offensive.
+++ 21:55 USA organize charter flights for evacuation +++
Like other countries, the USA also wants to offer evacuation flights for its citizens from Israel. From Friday onwards, “the US government will organize charter flights for transport from Israel to locations in Europe,” said US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby in the White House. But the “details” are still being worked on. “We are all very aware of the limited availability of commercial flights out of Israel,” says Kirby. At the same time, US citizens signaled that they wanted to leave the country after the major attack by the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas.
You can read the events of the previous day here.