Israel-Palestine live: Thousands in state of panic as Israel continues to strike hospitals

In a situation report released on Sunday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) said that over the past 48 hours, another five of its staff were killed in Gaza.

It also learned that two Unrwa staff members were killed on 24 October, bringing the total number of Unrwa workers killed in Israel's bombing of Gaza to 79. An additional total of 24 people have been injured.

Two Palestinians, including a child, have been killed by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Wafa also reported Israeli air attacks in al-Shati refugee camp and near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concerns about another connectivity outage in Gaza, amid continued Israeli bombing of the Strip.

"Without connectivity, people who need immediate medical attention cannot contact hospitals and ambulances," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director-general, said on X.

"All channels of communication must be restored immediately."

Ras Mubarak, a former Member of Parliament from Ghana, said in a statement shared with Middle East Eye: “Palestinians have every right under the Geneva Convention, under the UN charter to resist the occupation through arms.”

Mubarak said this is not the first time that a group took up arms against an occupation.

"They talk about trying to wipe out Hamas in Gaza? What about the senseless killing of the innocent in the West Bank, in occupied East Jerusalem?" he added.

Palestinian media outlets are reporting that at least 10 people have been killed after an Israeli air strike targeted al-Zawaida, an area in central Gaza.

That area of Gaza is seeing intense Israeli bombardments early on Monday, according to reports by Al Jazeera Arabic, even though the Israeli military has advised civilians to travel there to seek refuge.

US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer has said that more than 300 Americans, their families, and permanent US residents have been able to leave Gaza.

In an interview on Sunday with CBS' "Face the Nation", Finer said Washington is going to "continue to work out until every American who wants to leave is able to do so".

According to the Washington Post, there were around 400 Americans in Gaza who wanted to leave as of Thursday.

It has now passed 2am in the West Bank, and Israeli forces have begun another night of raids on Palestinian cities and neighbourhoods.

Israeli raids were reported in the Shuafat refugee camp located in East Jerusalem, in addition to the city of Nablus. Israeli forces also entered the city of Tubas, located north of Nablus.

The raid on the Shuafat refugee camp appeared to be large, with soldiers, military vehicles, and an Israeli plane having been reported flying over the area. Palestinian news outlets said Israel arrested several Palestinians during the raid on Shuafat.

The director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the current stockpile of essential food commodities for people in Gaza will only be sufficient for five more days.

"We need to be able to get our trucks in. It's not just food, it's water, it's, as you know, fuel is another one, medical supplies. And yet, we're getting a dribble in," McCain said.

The director of the CIA, William Burns, arrived in Israel on Sunday for discussions with leaders and intelligence officials, the New York Times reported citing US officials.

A US official briefed on the trip told the newspaper that Burns planned to "reinforce the American commitment to intelligence cooperation with partners in the region".

The CIA director will also travel to other countries in the region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also currently on a Middle East tour, arriving in Turkey on Sunday after visiting Iraq earlier in the day.

Jordan's King Abdullah said late on Sunday that the Jordanian air force air-dropped medical aid to its field hospital in Gaza.

Gaza's medical infrastructure is in dire need of assistance, with several hospitals having been targeted by Israeli air strikes. In addition to hospitals, 175 medical personnel have been killed along with 34 civil defence crew members.

And more than 54 ambulances have been damaged, with 31 totally destroyed in bombings.

The United States Central Command (Centcom), the military command for US forces in the Middle East, has said that a nuclear-powered submarine has arrived in the region, adding to its force posture that Washington has been building up in the region since 7 October.

The US has already dispatched two carrier strike groups, and fighter jets, and has surged its troops to the region as well - Washington has stated it has no intention of sending combat troops to fight alongside Israel in Gaza.

The US has more than 40,000 military personnel based in countries across the Middle East.

Good evening MEE readers, 

As the war nears the one month mark, Sunday evening saw yet more escalation in the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel imposed another total communications blackout, while intensely bombing several different parts of the enclave. 

Here's what you may have missed from the last few hours: 

• The Israeli military pummelled the Gaza Strip with air strikes and artillery, including in Gaza City, Jabalia and al-Shati refugee camps and the Shuja'iyya neighbourhood, among several other areas.
   
• The bombardment came as all internet and communications were cut in Gaza for the third time since the war began. The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had lost contact with its teams in Gaza.
   
• An Israeli air strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed four civilians, including three children. A Hezbollah lawmaker said Israel would "pay the price" for its crimes against civilians. 
   
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demanded an immediate ceasefire during a meeting in Ramallah with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US top diplomat also met Iraq's prime minister in Baghdad.
   
• Turkish police used teargas and water cannon to disperse a pro-Palestinian rally outside an air base which houses US personnel. Protesters toppled barricades and threw plastic chairs and rocks at police, who fired smoke bombs at the crowds.
   
• An Israeli minister said that dropping a nuclear weapon on Gaza was "an option". He later claimed his comments were "metaphorical", shortly before being suspended from government meetings indefinitely.
   
• Cabinet minister Benny Gantz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw reported comments in which he asked whether there was a need to check if a pre-war protest among army reservists pushed Hamas to carry out its 7 October attack. Netanyahu denied the reports. 
   
• Turkey and Egypt have agreed for around 1,000 cancer patients and other wounded civilians needing urgent care in Gaza to be sent to Turkey for treatment. 

We at MEE aren't going anywhere. We will continue providing you with live updates throughout the night. For up-to-date information around the clock, follow our live blog and our social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

The leader of a local council and 10 other councillors belonging to the Labour Party have resigned in the UK town of Burnley over Keir Starmer's stance on a ceasefire. 

Labour leader Starmer has repeatedly rejected calls to back a truce in Gaza, despite several senior figures in his party calling for an end to the war. 

"We just can't stand by watching and being part of a party that is not speaking out, or at the very least calling for a ceasefire," Burnley council leader Afrasiab Anwar told Sky News.

"Instead of talking of peace - all of our world leaders, including the leader of the Labour Party, are talking about humanitarian pauses. It's just nonsensical."

Labour has lost at least 50 councillors over its stance on the Israel-Palestine war, resulting in the loss of control of two local councils - Oxford and Burnley.

In a speech at Chatham House earlier this week, Starmer said: "A ceasefire always freezes any conflict in the state where it currently lies. And as we speak, that would leave Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on 7 October."

Israel continued its bombardment of various locations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday night, according to Palestinian media.

Eyewitnesses told Wafa news agency that the Israeli military shelled a house in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, killing and injuring several people. Shuja'iyya is one of the largest neighbourhoods in Gaza. 

Israeli artillery also shelled al-Shati refugee camp in western Gaza, Wafa added. 

Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist in Gaza, took to X to describe Sunday as "the deadliest night so far". 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to reports that he said there was a need to check if a pre-war protests among army reservists pushed Hamas to carry out its 7 October attack. 

"Hamas started a war against us because it wants to kill us, not because of an argument within us," the prime minister wrote on X. 

"Hamas made a mistake - and therefore will be eliminated. Only together will we win."