11:57
Iran calls on Muslim countries to cut off trade ties with Israel
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran, is calling on Muslim countries to end their trade relations with Israel due to its offensive in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. “Muslim governments must block oil and food exports to the Zionist regime and not cooperate economically with Israel,” the Iranian number one said during a speech in Tehran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran considers Israel its archenemy, and support for the Palestinian cause has been a constant of its foreign policy since the 1979 revolution. Iran welcomed the unprecedented attack by the Islamist movement Hamas in Israel on October 7, while stressing that it was not involved. “The Muslim world must not forget that in the history of Gaza, the United States, France and the United Kingdom were the ones who opposed the oppressed Palestinian nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.
In recent weeks, American forces and their allies stationed in Iraq and Syria have been the target of dozens of drone and missile attacks. Washington accuses Tehran of playing a vicarious role in these attacks. In late October, Iran suggested that these attacks were “a response” to aid provided by the United States to Israel in its war against Hamas that began on October 7, and called on Washington to “cease” its support for Israel. Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, quoted by the official Irna agency, warned on Wednesday that “certain European countries that are helping Israel” should “be careful not to incur the wrath of Muslims.”
11:24
At least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank
At least four Palestinians have been killed in new Israeli army operations in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry. The West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has been hit by intensifying violence since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health, three people were killed in an operation in Jenin and another in Tulkarem.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it had “carried out counter-terrorism operations in the Jenin camp.” The West Bank is the site of numerous Israeli army operations, abuses by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population, and Palestinian attacks on settlements and Israeli forces. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 125 Palestinians have been killed by fire from Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since October 7.
10:53
The first ambulances with wounded people from Gaza arrive in Egypt
The first ambulances carrying wounded people from the Israeli-bombed Gaza Strip have entered Egypt, an Egyptian official told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. Televisions close to Egyptian intelligence broadcast live the arrival of these vehicles on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s only opening to the world that is not in Israel’s hands.
An ambulance crosses the barrier at the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip before crossing into Egypt, November 1, 2023. — © MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
10:32
Hamas announces the deaths of seven hostages “including three foreigners” in the bombing of Jabaliya
Hamas’s military branch announced that seven hostages, including “three foreign passport holders,” were killed in the Israeli bombing of the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. “Death of seven civilian detainees, including three foreign passport holders, in the Jabaliya massacre yesterday,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades wrote in a message on Telegram.
10:30
Reporters Without Borders takes ICC action for “war crimes” against journalists
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announces that it has referred the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes against journalists in Palestine and Israel. “RSF filed a war crimes complaint with the ICC Prosecutor’s Office on October 31, 2023. It details the cases of nine journalists killed and two injured in the performance of their duties since October 7,” said a press release from RSF. The court is not obliged to deal with the matter.
10:29
Benjamin Netanyahu promises “victory” despite “painful losses” of soldiers
The Israeli prime minister promised that the war with the Palestinian Hamas would end in “victory” for Israel, despite “painful losses” of soldiers. “We are in a difficult war and it will last a long time,” Benjamin Netanyahu said a few hours after announcing the deaths of 11 Israeli soldiers in 24 hours in fighting in the Gaza Strip. “I promise the citizens of Israel we will do our work and continue until victory.”
10:26
Israel accuses ICRC and WHO of giving terrorists “carte blanche”.
The Israeli government is attacking the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). He accuses these two institutions, founded in Geneva, of “giving carte blanche to terrorists around the world.” On Tuesday evening, the Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva denied on social networks the allegations of the two organizations, which believe that the Jewish state is specifically targeting health centers in Gaza. Hospitals “should never be used as protective shields,” she says.
The Israeli mission condemns Hamas’s “systemic use” of these infrastructures to “carry out terrorist acts and protect themselves from the consequences.” The radical Islamist group reportedly uses tunnels under hospitals to move around and avoid Israeli reprisals in the area. The Jewish state is taking aim at the ICRC and WHO’s refusal to condemn this situation. “International law is not something where someone can choose the menu,” emphasizes the Israeli mission. And she says that using a hospital to reach an enemy destroys the protective infrastructure.
09:22
The first foreigners and dual nationals cross the Rafah terminal towards Egypt
Dozens of foreigners and dual nationals left the Gaza Strip for Egypt this Wednesday through the Rafah border crossing, which opened to people for the first time on the 26th day of the war between Israel and Hamas.
They were allowed to enter the terminal at around 7:45 a.m. GMT (8:45 a.m. in Switzerland) after Egyptian authorities announced the extraordinary opening to allow the passage of nearly 90 injured Palestinians and nearly 450 dual nationals and foreigners.
08:51
The “foreign” contingent in Gaza
According to foreign law firms, there are nationals of 44 countries and 28 foreign agencies, organizations or NGOs in the Gaza Strip.
08:30
Foreigners are allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt today
Today, the first group of people with foreign passports will leave the Gaza Strip and cross the Rafah border crossing towards Egypt. At least that’s what an official from the Egyptian authorities in charge of the border post told AFP.
In Egypt, intelligence-linked televisions show live a line of ambulances arriving at the Rafah border crossing, while 81 injured Palestinians are due to be transferred to Egyptian hospitals today, according to Egyptian and Palestinian officials.
08:23
The Israeli Foreign Ministry:
Bolivia’s decision to cut diplomatic relations with Israel is a capitulation to terrorism and the Ayatollah regime in Iran.
The Bolivian government severed diplomatic relations with Israel on Tuesday “as a sign of rejection and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.” Chile and Colombia also recalled their ambassadors from Israel on Tuesday in protest.
06:09
Nine Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday
Israel announced this morning that nine of its soldiers lost their lives and two others were seriously injured in Gaza on Tuesday. The Jewish state says the total number of deaths in the army ranks since October 7 is 326.
05:37
Riyadh “strongly condemns” the bombing of the Jabaliya camp
Search for survivors in the ruins of a building in the Gaza Strip, October 31. — © MAHMUD HAMS / AFP
Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s attack on a refugee camp in Gaza that killed dozens of people and said Israel targeted a Hamas commander. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the inhumane attack by Israeli occupation forces on the Jabaliya refugee camp in the besieged Gaza Strip, which killed and injured a large number of innocent civilians,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X (formerly Twitter).
04:57
“Total” internet and telephone blackout in Gaza
Palestinian telecommunications operator Paltel announces cuts to telephone and internet lines in the Gaza Strip. “We regret to announce to our compatriots in our beloved country a complete interruption of communications and Internet services,” Paltel said on the social network X (formerly Twitter). Communications and the internet were already disrupted in the Gaza Strip on Friday as Israel launched heavy attacks on the Palestinian territory, depriving its 2.4 million residents of contact. They were gradually restored starting Sunday.
04:11
Chile summons its ambassador to Tel Aviv
Chile has summoned its ambassador to Tel Aviv to protest against the military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Ministry said. He justifies this summons with “the unacceptable violations of Israeli humanitarian law.” Santiago “strongly condemns and observes with great concern” the Israeli military operations and denounces “collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population.” Chile is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world. He condemned the Hamas attack, defended the two-state solution and is among the countries calling for a ceasefire.
03:34
War is helping to increase “repression” in Iran, says UN expert
The Middle East context encourages “repression” in Iran by diverting attention from internal critics of the regime, said the UN special rapporteur on human rights in that country, Javaid Rehman. The independent expert, who has a mandate from the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, believes the Islamic Republic is facing a loss of credibility since the unprecedented protest sparked by the death of high school student Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Iranian leaders “ “We have already planned to increase repression,” says Javaid Rehman, but given the “current crisis, they feel even stronger because they believe that they have succeeded in diverting attention from internal criticism and internal repression by becoming, or claiming to be, vocal defenders of the Palestinian movement.
03:25
Israel and the United States are reportedly considering creating a peacekeeping force in Gaza
Israeli and American authorities are considering different plans for the future of the Gaza Strip “if Israeli forces succeed in ousting Hamas,” according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the discussions. Officials would therefore consider the possibility of “temporary surveillance of the Gaza Strip by the countries of the region with the support of American, British, German and French troops,” with the participation “ideally” of Arab countries “such as Saudi Arabia or Saudi Arabia.” United Arab Emirates’. Another option would be to create “a peacekeeping force modeled on the one that monitors the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel,” the Multinational Observer Force in Sinai. A third option being discussed “would be to temporarily place Gaza under United Nations supervision,” the agency continues. The US State Department denied that such discussions had taken place.
However, the various anonymous sources insisted that “the talks were just beginning and that many things could change,” adds Bloomberg, who recalls that Israel has repeatedly reiterated its intention not to occupy the Gaza Strip and at the same time claims: “that Hamas’ continued power is unacceptable.”
03:24
Tuesday day
Here you will find our continuous monitoring of the day of October 31, 2023.