• It is the 30th day of the war: According to Hamas, over 9,700 Palestinians have died; 1,400 Israeli; 241 hostages in Gaza.
• Intense attacks on Gaza. IDF: “Gaza City surrounded, we will enter within 48 hours.”
• Khamenei meets Hamas-Haniyya leader in Iran.
• Netanyahu: “No to ceasefire until hostages return home.”
• The words and acronyms to understand the conflict: Here is the glossary.
• The history of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, explained here.
4:47 a.m. – Humanitarian assistance in Gaza, Kamala Harris will speak to partner countries
US Vice President Kamala Harris will speak with foreign leaders about the Biden administration’s efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. As the Guardian reports (citing the Portal agency), a telephone conversation is scheduled for Monday and will take place while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is carrying out diplomatic actions in the Middle East: after being in Iraq and the West Bank, now he is for talks with his counterpart Hakan Fidan in Turkey.
3:21 a.m. – UN organizations call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Major UN aid agencies and international charities have called for an immediate “humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza. We read this in a joint statement signed by, among others, the heads of Okha, Unicef, the World Food Program, the WHO, Save the Children and Care International. The note describes the situation in Gaza as “terrible” and “unacceptable.”
01:33 a.m. – The USA is also stationing a nuclear submarine in the Middle East
The US is flexing its muscles in the Mediterranean to deter the escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel: US Army Central Command announced on The Ohio class was stationed from Africa through the Middle East to Central and South Asia. The news comes two days after the Navy announced that two carrier strike groups – the Gerald Ford and the Dwight Eisenhower – launched aircraft and practiced missile defense during a three-day exercise in the Mediterranean.
00:58 – Jordan starts aid for Gaza. King Abdullah: “It is our duty”
King Abdallah of Jordan has announced that he will send urgent medical aid to the Gaza Strip using military aircraft: this is the first delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged area, which has so far only been supplied through the Rafah border crossing with “Egypt. “Our intrepid air force personnel sent urgent medical assistance to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza at midnight. It is our duty to help our brothers and sisters wounded in the war in Gaza,” said King Abdallah II of Jordan on X.
12:17 a.m. – WFP: Food supplies last for five days in Gaza
Current supplies of essential foodstuffs in Gaza last for about another five days. This is supported by the World Food Program, the United Nations agency that deals with food aid and is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. According to Cindy McCain, executive director of the WFP, the situation for the people of Gaza is “catastrophic” as not enough food is being sent to the war zone.
7:58 p.m. – Army: Gaza City will be surrounded within 48 hours
The Israeli military expects Gaza City to be completely surrounded within 48 hours and fighting to begin within the city. The IDF reports this.
7:37 p.m. – Gaza, militiamen against tanks: Hamas fighting techniques and Israeli countermeasures
(by Guido Olimpio) The Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza say it: The enemy is there, but it is difficult to see him because he uses his territory as best as possible. The Mujahideen take up positions in civilian clothes in a destroyed house, protected by a gate, behind a collapsed wall and “fire” RPGs, modified anti-tank guns with double loads. Then they retreat, entering through gaps in the walls or exploiting gaps created by cannon fire. Sometimes they dive into tunnels.
Some videos released by Hamas capture the final moments in which the guerrillas are able to attack the armored vehicles at close range, apparently without being detected by the soldiers trapped in the cockpits with limited visibility. Numerous experts have highlighted the Israeli side’s tactical error: sending “isolated” tanks between houses without infantry support favors the militiamen. An absence caused by the desire not to expose the foot soldiers and by the – excessive – reliance on the vehicles equipped with Trophy anti-missile equipment, cameras and other countermeasures. But nothing, they repeat, can completely replace the reflection and the soldier’s gaze. And it became clear at dawn on October 7th when the digital wall along the Strip was overcome because it was “blinded” and staffed by modest forces.