US President #Biden just has arrived in #Israel for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister #Netanyahu.
A planned meeting with Arab leaders has already been cancelled.
V Reuters:
#Egypt 's president Sisi: "Forced displacement of #Palestinians cannot be implemented; If I call on the Egyptian people to reject the idea of displacing Palestinians then millions of Egyptians will heed this call"
V Haaretz:
'The #Palestinian Islamic Jihad #PIJ rejected the #Israeli military #IDF spokesman's statement that a failed rocket launch by the militant group in #Gaza was the source of the explosion at Al-#Ahli #Hospital on Tuesday night, claiming that "the angle of the impact and the intensity of the fire proves that it was an attack from the air", adding that "Israel is spreading [contradicting] versions [of events]". (Cont.)
#Israeli FM spox "Lior Ben-Dor said that the #hospital houses weapons and that the explosion occurred from where these were launched, while the army says that the explosion was the result of a failed launch by the Islamic Jihad."
The #PIJ also said that "just as #Israel has previously abdicated responsibility for crimes it committed, including the injury to journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, this is repeating itself now as well."
Extremely graphic content - survivors of the Ahli hospital blast talk
Survivors of the blast at the Al #Ahli #hospital in #Gaza have been speaking of the moments after the blast:
Fadel Naim, head of orthopaedic surgery says he found the hospital full of dismembered bodies and wounded people after hearing a huge explosion.
"People came running into the surgery department screaming 'help us, help us, there are people killed and wounded inside the hospital'," Naim tells Reuters.
(Cont.)
Extremely graphic content - survivors of the Ahli hospital blast talk
He tried to save whoever "could be saved, but the number was too great for the hospital team to be able to save... we saw them alive but we couldn't help them".
#Gaza resident Adnan al-Naqa tells AFP the "entire square was on fire, there were bodies everywhere, children, women and elderly people".
Fatima S.was in the hospital when the blast occurred, says she "felt" the fire", "I don't know how to describe it, a massacre"
Here is a quick recap of what Caroline Hawley and the BBC Verify team could establish looking at video and stills of the Al #Ahli blast and its aftermath.
L'pool and Egypt forward Mo Salah has called for "world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls" amid the ongoing #Israel - #Gaza conflict.
"There has been too much violence, heartbreak and brutality," he said in a video posted on X.
"All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop. Families are being torn apart.
"I am calling on the world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls.
"Humanity must prevail."
Recap:
US President Joe #Biden left Israel after a show of support - he will make a public address from the White House on Thursday evening
Egypt's president has agreed to open up the #Rafah crossing to allow in up to 20 trucks of #humanitarian aid into #Gaza
the huge blast that ripped through a crowded area at the Al-#Ahli hospital killed 471 people acc to #Palestinian health officials
Israel strongly denies any involvement the hospital explosion in Gaza
President #Biden backed #Israel's claim, saying it was supported by "data" he had seen from the US defence department
Israel was immediately blamed by #Hamas but the Israel Defense Forces #IDF said the blast was caused by a misfired #Palestinian militant rocket
A range of Arab countries joined Hamas in blaming Israel for the explosion, and some Arab leaders cancelled meetings with Biden
On Al #Ahli:
Initial evidence from the explosion at #Gaza's Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital yesterday appeared to be "inconsistent with an airstrike" and "far more consistent with a small projectile failing", says Nathan Ruser, an expert from ASPI .
Hard to attribute rhe cause of the blast without seeing details and remains of the munition used.
He told the #BBC the small crater at the scene of the explosion was inconsistent with an airstrike, as was the extent and type of damage to nearby cars
he said the "typical puff of concrete dust" often seen after airstrikes on Gaza was "absent".
Ruser said most of the damage at the scene appeared to have been caused by fire, which he said would be consistent "with a rocket that had a lot of fuel and propellant in it".
Ruser added that's it's "incredibly tricky" to get reliable information out of #Gaza.
He said both sides "have a track record of not necessarily providing the honest truth"
UK PM #Sunak stmt:
“Every civilian death is a tragedy. And too many lives have been lost following #Hamas ’ horrific act of terror.
"The attack on Al-#Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict."
BBC state dept corr Barbara Plett-Usher:
'Even more than Joe #Biden ’s emotional words of support, the photo of him hugging the #Israeli PM #Netanyahu has placed him solidly in #Israel ’s corner at the most explosive moment in its war with #Hamas
No matter who fired the rocket which killed hundreds of people at the Al-#Ahli hospital in #Gaza , this image will reinforce Arab anger not only towards Israel, but the US.'
(Cont.)
'Even though the US president has negotiated access for desperately needed aid into the besieged enclave, his visit will tie him to the results of Israel’s military campaign there.
Protesters in Arab capitals have already accused Washington of giving #Israel a green light.
Some are chanting “Death to America,” including in Bahrain, a close American ally and one of only two Arab states to explicitly condemn the #Hamas attack".'
Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One, #Biden has described#Egypt 's Sisi as "completely cooperative".
He spoke about #Israel's right to defend itself, saying “Israel has been badly victimised but the truth is they have an opportunity to relieve suffering of people who have nowhere to go … it’s what they should do".
“If you have an opportunity to alleviate the pain, you should do it."
Biden was defiant in vowing to get "people out" but he wouldn't share further details
He explained President #Sisi had agreed to open up the #Rafah crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of #humanitarian assistance into #Gaza.
Biden said: “If -Hamas confiscates them or doesn’t let it get through … then it’s going to end.”
“The bottom line is Sisi deserves a lot of credit.”
#Israel has said it "would not thwart" the delivery of food, water and medicine from Egypt for civilians in #Gaza as long as this aid did not reach #Hamas
Arab states continue to blame Israel for the explosion which left at least 471 people dead
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council vote calling for humanitarian pauses in Gaza, a move that was condemned by other members including Russia, China and the UAE
West Bank:
People who spoke to the BBC on Tuesday near Nablus said that violence against Palestinians had increased dramatically since Hamas ' assault on 7 Oct
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says it has documented dozens of attacks by Israeli settlers, incl several fatal shootings.
There are some 3 million Palestinians and 600,K settlers living in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967
Most of the intl community considers the settlements illegal under international law
V BBC Paul Adams:
' #Biden pledged $100m in #humanitarian assistance for the #Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
He restated his admin’s commitment to peace between #Israel and the #Palestinians, allowing the two peoples to live in security and dignity.
Israel, he said, did not live 'by the rule of terrorists' but by the rule of law. Israel, he said, needed to be clear about its objectives. That required “an honest assessment about whether the path you’re on will achieve those objectives".
Graphic content
V BBC Joel Gunther:
The sheer number of people killed by #Hamas in southern Israel has created significant delays in the identification of the dead.
It means some #Israeli families who believed their loved ones had been taken into #Gaza are only now learning they were in fact killed in the initial attack.
V BBC security corr Frank Gardner:
' #Iran has already threatened it will not stand by while #Palestinians are killed in #Gaza.
There are now reports in the Arab media that #Iranian-backed militias are moving westwards from #Iraq and #Syria into southern #Lebanon, closer to #Israel ’s borders.
Some of these fighters have had recent combat experience supporting the Syrian army against rebels.
Of all the various pro-Iranian militias in the region, Hezbollah in Lebanon is the most potent' (cont )
' #Hezbollah fought an inconclusive war with #Israel in 2006 and since restocked its supplies of rockets and missiles that are now thought to number around 150,000.
Some are long-range and precision-guided, enough to flatten whole ministries in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, if they can overwhelm Israel’s air defences.
If and when Israeli forces make a full-scale incursion into Gaza, there is a serious risk this could be the trigger for Hezbollah to open a new front from Lebanon.
In #Gaza's crowded Khan Younis, 90 people shelter in one house
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67138165
Inside an #Israeli 'war room' on the volatile #Lebanon border
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67147068
By Anna Foster
V Politico:
#Hamas says it’s closely coordinating war’s next moves with #Hezbollah in #Lebanon
Head of Hamas’ political bureau in Lebanon raises specter of a second front, saying Hezbollah is ‘geared for a major war.’
https://www.politico.eu/article/hamas-say-closely-coordinate-war-next-move-hezbollah-lebanon/
Morning from London and a recap:
Egypt's President al-Sisi has agreed to open up the Rafah crossing with Gaza to allow up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza. This comes after US President Biden's high-stakes visit to Israel. Biden has said the aid delivery could start arriving from Friday
There has been no mention of people being allowed to leave Gaza via Rafah. Asked by reporters on the possibility, Biden said: "We’re going to get people out, but I’m not going to go into any detail with you now"
#BBCNews - Family tell of heartbreak after #Israel kidnap live-stream
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67124745
#IDF says that it destroyed "hundreds of #Hamas terrorist infrastructures" over the past day.
In a post on X the IDF said it "continues to attack all the time throughout the #Gaza Strip", adding that it destroyed "anti-tank missile launch sites, tunnel shafts, intelligence infrastructures, operational headquarters and other headquarters".
It also claims that "over ten terrorists were also eliminated".
A US State Dept official who worked in an agency responsible for arms transfers to US allies has resigned over disagreeing to arms transfer to Israel
Josh Paul, director of congr. and public affairs at the Bureau of Pol-Mily Affairs, said on LinkedIn: "I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse." Cont.
Paul said while he recognised the "monstrosity" of #Hamas's attack on #Israel, he also believed Israel's response "will only lead to more and deeper suffering" for #Israelis and #Palestinians.
the #IDF says it killed Rafat Abu Hilal, the head of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees - the third largest armed faction in the #Gaza Strip after #Hamas and #Palestinian Islamic Jihad #PIJ.
The IDF says it carried out the airstrike on the southern Gaza city of #Rafah following information received from the Shin Bet intelligence service.
V #BBC Chris Mason:
'there is an "implied united front" between the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was in Israel on Tuesday, President Biden, who was there yesterday, and the UK PM visiting today.
They are part of what is known in diplomatic circles as "the #Quint " – the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
Pres Macron of France is expected in the region in the coming days.
The leaders of the Quint spoke shortly after Hamas’s slaughter in Israel earlier this month.'
Upon arrival in #Israel, Rishi #Sunak told reporters at Tel Aviv airport that the #Hamas attacks on 7 October were an "unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism", and he reiterated that the UK stands with Israel.
"I'm very much looking forward to my meetings later with the prime minister and president and I very much hope they'll be productive meetings," Sunak said.
' #Israeli President Isaac #Herzog Attacks #BBC In Meeting With Prime Minister Rishi #Sunak '
https://www.mediaite.com/uk/israeli-president-attacks-bbc-in-meeting-with-prime-minister-rishi-sunak/
"We have more than 1000 tonnes of food in Rafah," Aline Rumonge, the head of supply chains at the UN World Food Programme, has told the BBC.
'It would take around 60 trucks to transport that, it would be enough to feed just under half a million people for one week.'
"We were told that tomorrow some of the trucks can cross but we don't know, it's been like that for the last five days," she says, adding that "every minute counts for the people in Gaza".
What is the shelf life of some of this food if stored in trucks in the desert ?
Sounds good, i was just asking as some items do have a shelf life.
@zleap it tends to be powdered milk, protein, water, rice, pulses, maybe some cans - nothing that would go off