9:14 p.m. ET, October 29, 2023
UN warns of “growing hunger and desperation” in Gaza. What you should know as Israel’s ground operation continues
From CNN Staff: The UN warns that “civil order” in Gaza is deteriorating after weeks of siege and bombardment, with people breaking into warehouses for essentials to survive.
Here are today’s top headlines:
More about the warehouse collapses: The United Nations World Food Program said in a news release Sunday that some of its aid supplies had been looted in Gaza and warned of “growing hunger and desperation.” The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East said earlier Sunday that “thousands” of people broke into some of its warehouses and distribution centers in the central and southern areas of the strip, taking “wheat flour and other basic survival items such as.” Hygiene products.”
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday: The United Arab Emirates, currently the only Arab country with a seat on the UN Security Council, will seek a binding resolution from other Security Council members for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the fighting, sources said. Earlier this month, the United States vetoed a draft resolution in the UN Security Council that called for a humanitarian pause.
Gaza’s second largest hospital suffers significant damage: Israeli airstrikes have caused “significant damage to hospital wards and put residents and patients at risk of suffocation” at Al-Quds Hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Sunday, accusing Israel of “deliberately” carrying out the airstrikes next to Gaza’s second-largest hospital. City “with the aim of forcing medical staff, displaced persons and patients to evacuate the hospital.” The organization said it received a warning from Israel on Sunday to immediately evacuate the hospital before a possible bombardment, which according to According to the World Health Organization, it is “impossible” without endangering the lives of patients.
Israel appears to have advanced over two miles into the Gaza Strip: In the video taken on Saturday, troops can be seen placing an Israeli flag on the roof of a resort hotel in Gaza. CNN geolocated the video in an area just over two miles from the Gaza-Israel border. The video is one of the first glimpses into the locations and actions of Israeli ground forces during expanded ground operations in Gaza. A communications blackout in Gaza has significantly hampered the flow of information from the Strip, although providers said on Sunday that service was gradually being restored.
Iran says Israel has ‘crossed red lines’ in Gaza: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Sunday that Israel’s actions “could force anyone to act.” There are concerns that Israel’s heavy military deployment in Gaza will open more fronts. There are already crossfire battles on Israel’s northern border and on the border with southern Lebanon – independent of Israel’s fighting with Hamas further south, which is concentrated around Gaza. But a rise in clashes with Hezbollah has sparked fears that the powerful Lebanese paramilitary group could become actively involved in the conflict. The US national security adviser warned of an “increased risk” that the war would escalate into a larger Middle East conflict.
Aid trucks arrive from Egypt to Gaza: The Palestinian Red Crescent said it received ten aid trucks through the Rafah border crossing. The trucks contained “food supplies and medical supplies.” The total number of trucks received so far is 94, although fuel has not yet been approved. Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders said it had sent 26 tons of medical supplies by air to Egypt to support emergency medical relief in Gaza.
Death toll in Gaza continues to rise: The death toll in Gaza has risen to 7,960, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said on Sunday, citing data from sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave. The ministry said more than 20,000 people were injured. Nearly three-quarters – 73% – of those killed were from vulnerable populations, including children, women and the elderly, the ministry’s report said, adding that the total number of deaths included 116 medical workers.
Video shows destruction of a mosque and houses in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip: A video obtained by CNN from a Gaza-based journalist shows the aftermath of the destruction of a mosque and adjacent houses in Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday. There is great destruction at the site of an air raid, people are searching for survivors in the rubble.
US urged Israel to restore connectivity in Gaza: After telephone and internet connections were cut late last week, civilians, aid organizations and journalists were left without a way to communicate with the outside world. Service appeared to be gradually restored on Sunday. “We firmly believe that restoring those communications was a critical thing,” said U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. “Because aid workers need to be able to communicate, civilians need to be able to communicate, and of course journalists need to be able to document what is happening in Gaza to report to the world.”