AGI – The latest news from Monday, October 16, on the war between Israel and Hamas, in real time:
The live broadcast:
1:51 p.m. Joe Biden will be in Israel on Wednesday – American President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday. This was reported by Israeli sources, Haaretz newspaper reported. The hypothesis that Biden is preparing a trip to Israel is strengthened by the news that, according to US media, the American president canceled a planned trip to Colorado and opted to stay in Washington to attend meetings on national security to concentrate. Biden was invited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although no official decision has yet been made. Netanyahu is currently meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has returned to Israel after days of diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.
11:53 a.m. Eleven Palestinian reporters killed in Gaza raid – 11 Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip. This was reported by the Portal agency, citing the Palestinian Journalists Union. The total death toll in Gaza is at least 2,750 dead and 9,700 injured, according to the local health ministry.
11:46 a.m. Paris covered in thousands of photos of Hamas hostages – Paris woke up to thousands of photos of people kidnapped by Hamas in the bloody Oct. 7 terror attack and calls for their release. Walls, bus stops, fences of construction sites in the French capital are covered with posters: the initiative was conceived and launched by Jewish youth movements as a sign of solidarity and closeness to the families of the hostages, to make their stories known and not forget the victims .
11:08 a.m. China calls for “ceasefire” and dialogue table – “A ceasefire is imperative” between Israel and Hamas and that Israelis and Palestinians be “brought back to the negotiating table,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, receiving Russian diplomatic chief Sergei Lavrov in Beijing. This was reported by the Portal agency.
10:54 a.m. After touring in 6 Arab countries, Blinken is back in Israel – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has returned to Israel, another stop on his hectic tour of Arab countries to prevent the conflict between the Jewish state and Hamas from spreading throughout the region.
10:43 a.m. Israel: 199 hostages are in the hands of Hamas – The Israeli army has announced that 199 people were kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in its bloody attack on October 7. And it is a new, higher number compared to the previous count, which reported 155 people kidnapped.
8:56 a.m. Israel denies ceasefire in southern Gaza Strip: “There is none at the moment” – Israel denied reports that it had agreed to stop the fire in southern Gaza to allow the opening of the Rafah crossing, allowing aid to enter Gaza and citizens with foreign passports to leave. “There is currently no ceasefire on humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip and the departure of foreigners,” said a blunt statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau’s office. The Portal news agency quoted two Egyptian security officials as saying Israel had agreed to stop firing from 9 a.m. thanks to an agreement with Egypt and the United States. Al-Arabiya had also claimed that the ceasefire would last for five hours starting at 9:00 a.m. local time.
6:31 a.m. New Israeli attacks on Gaza, “several victims” – A “huge fireball” was reported in Gaza after “multiple airstrikes” by the Israeli army that killed several people in the last few hours. This was reported by Al Jazeera’s correspondent, adding that two of the attacks hit disaster management offices and claimed at least seven lives. Targets were also hit in Khan Younis, but television was unable to determine the number of casualties.
6:22 a.m. 1 million displaced people in Gaza – More than a million people have been forced to leave their homes in the northern Gaza Strip since Israel began bombing Hamas. The UN reports it. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to provide immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and reiterated calls on Hamas to release the hostages immediately and without preconditions. “At this dramatic moment when we are on the brink of collapse in the Middle East, it is my duty as UN Secretary-General to launch these two powerful humanitarian appeals. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave are struggling to find food, water and security in the face of the expected Israeli ground offensive. A week of intense air raids caused the destruction of entire neighborhoods. As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced today after a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip “will be opened” to allow for the arrival of humanitarian aid for Palestinians trapped in the enclave to facilitate. “We are setting up a mechanism, working with the United Nations, Egypt, Israel and others, to provide assistance to those who need it,” the US diplomatic chief said.
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