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

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says ground invasion into the Gaza Strip “would have disastrous consequences and lead to loss of life of catastrophic proportions”.

In a statement, she wrote it “would risk pulling the US into a rapidly-escalating broader regional conflict”.

“A ground invasion would make an untenable humanitarian disaster even worse. It would not only put the lives of more and more Palestinian civilians at risk, but also Israelis, the hundreds of hostages held by Hamas, and the hundreds of Americans trapped in Gaza.”

Rep. Omar's statement on a potential ground war in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ku1NNr47qn

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) October 27, 2023

Thousands of Jewish protesters held an emergency sit-in at the Gand Central Station concourse in New York City on Friday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We’re refusing to allow a genocide be carried out in our names. Ceasefire now! Never again for anyone,” Jewish Voices for Peace, one of the organisers, said in a statement on X.

IfNotNow, which was also at the sit-in, said, “As the Israeli government starves and bombs and invades the people of Gaza in the dark, the actions we take these next days and weeks will define our lifetimes.”

Jews calling for #ceasefirenow have taken over NYC’s grand central station in the name of Palestinians of Gaza we say not in our name. pic.twitter.com/PsU4f10QLV

— Rafael Shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) October 27, 2023

Both Unicef and Medecins sans Frontieres International (Doctors Without Borders) are no longer in contact with their colleagues in Gaza.

“I’m extremely concerned about their safety and another night of unspeakable horror for one million children in Gaza,” Unicef executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement.

"All humanitarians and the children and families they serve MUST be protected.”

In a statement by Doctors Without Borders, the medical aid charity said they were “deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza. We have lost contact with some of our Palestinian colleagues on the ground.”

“We are particularly worried for the patients, medical staff and thousands of families taking shelter at Al Shifa Hospital and other health facilities.”

It added, “We call for the unequivocal protection of all medical facilities, staff and civilians across the Gaza Strip.

All humanitarians and the children and families they serve MUST be protected. pic.twitter.com/CAshJKDmf2

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 27, 2023

Good evening MEE readers, 

After hours of intense bombardment, information coming out of Gaza has been reduced to a trickle. Heavy Israeli air strikes have cut all communications in the besieged enclave, leaving Palestinians silenced. 

The death toll of Palestinians stood at 7,300 earlier today, but that figure could be higher. Medics in the enclave have lost touch with the outside world.

Here’s what you need to know from the past few hours: 

• Israel's military said on Friday it was expanding its aerial and ground activity in Gaza. Hamas’s armed wing said it “foiled an Israeli ground incursion into Beit Hanoun and the east of Bureij”, adding that violent clashes with Israeli forces were ongoing.
   
• The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a non-binding resolution, brought forward by Jordan, calling for an “immediate ceasefire”. It was supported by 120 members, while fourteen voted against (including Israel and the US) and 45 abstained.
   
• Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal claimed that Israel was planning to flood Hamas tunnels with a type of nerve gas or chemical weapon. Two days ago, MEE reported that Palestinian groups expected Israel to flood tunnels with a type of nerve gas or chemical weapon under the surveillance of US forces.
   
• Internet observatory Netblocks and Palestinian telecommunications company Jawwal both confirmed that communications had been cut in Gaza. “The intense bombing in the last hour caused the destruction of all remaining international routes linking Gaza to the outside world,” Jawwal said
   
• The World Health Organisation, the Palestinian Red Crescent and many other organisations have completely lost all contact with their teams in Gaza. The Red Crescent said it may no longer be able to provide emergency medical services as a result.
   
• Protests have broken out in several cities in the occupied West Bank, including Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah and Tulkarm, after Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza
   
• Israel has threatened to bomb Gaza's municipality building, a historic two-century old structure that houses the city's administrative documents and archives.
   
• Palestinian officials strongly denied the Israeli military's claims that Hamas was using Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza as a command centre, inviting journalists to inspect the medical facility. A senior Hamas figure also warned that Israel’s accusations were a “prelude” to it targeting the hospital, which is currently sheltering around 40,000 Palestinians

For updates around the clock, follow MEE's live blog and our social media platforms on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

There has been a ground incursion into Gaza by Israeli forces for the past few hours.

Two US officials told CBS News there appears to be a rolling start to the ground invasion in Gaza by Israeli military forces.

Late Friday, Hamas reported clashes with Israeli forces within Gaza, following Israel's announcement of an expanded ground campaign against the group in the region.

"We are confronting an Israeli ground incursion in Beit Hanoun [in the northern Gaza Strip] and in east Bureij [in the centre] and violent engagements are taking place on the ground," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

The US Embassy in Lebanon has advised Americans to depart the country at once due to ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.

“The State Department recommends that US citizens in Lebanon leave now while commercial flights remain available due to the unpredictable security situation.”

“You should have a plan of action for crisis situations that does not rely on US government assistance. The best time to leave a country is before a crisis if at all possible."

The US government added that there is “no guarantee” they will evacuate private US citizens and their family members.

Protests have broken out in several cities in the occupied West Bank, including Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah and Tulkarm, after a communications blackout and intensified Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip. 

Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, put out a strong statement on Friday condemning Israel's cutting off of communications and the bombardment of Gaza. 

Tayeb described the blackout and "blocking of all sources of facts and information" as "blind terrorism and a clear violation of all legal and humanitarian conventions and norms". 

"The world must condemn it and take decisive measures to stop it immediately. History will not be kind to all those who failed to defend the innocent Palestinians, and all those who supported the continuation of this Zionist terrorism," he said. 

Al-Azhar is the highest seat of learning in the Sunni Islamic world. 

"It is the duty of the Arab and Islamic nation and all the free people of the world to come together to find an immediate solution to save this oppressed people, against whom a human massacre is being carried out, the likes of which human history has never known," Tayeb added.

After hours of intense Israeli bombardment, information coming out of Gaza has been reduced to a trickle, leaving Palestinians in Gaza silenced.

Middle East Eye lost all contact with its staff inside the enclave as explosions from Israeli air strikes lit up the sky over Gaza City.

The Palestinian phone service provider, Paltel, said in a statement that the relentless bombardment had destroyed "all remaining connections between Gaza and the outside world”, leading to the complete interruption of communications services.

The service outage comes as Palestinians brace for an anticipated Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Read more: Air strikes pummel Gaza, severing phone and internet services

Israel's UN ambassador has vehemently rejected a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. 

Gilad Erdan said the UN no longer held any legitimacy or relevance, and accused those who voted in favour of preferring to support "the defense of Nazi terrorists" instead of Israel.

"This ridiculous resolution has the audacity to call for truce. The goal of this resolution truce is that Israel should cease to defend itself to Hamas, so Hamas can light us on fire," he told members of the General Assembly following the vote.

The non-binding resolution called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce”, and demands all parties comply with international humanitarian law.

It was voted for by 120 members, while fourteen voted against and 45 abstained. 

Hamas’s armed wing said that they had “foiled an Israeli ground incursion into Beit Hanoun and the east of Bureij”, according to Al Jazeera on Friday.

The al-Qassam Brigades added that violent clashes with Israeli forces were ongoing.

Beit Hanoun is a city in the northeastern part of the enclave, while the Bureij refugee camp is in the central Gaza Strip.

“Cutting off communications from the Gaza Strip is an attempt to cover up the crimes of the occupation without any oversight or accountability,” said Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, who added that Israel was trying to “create an image of victory”.

The World Health Organisation has lost touch with its staff in Gaza, according to its director general. 

"We have lost touch with our staff in Gaza, with health facilities, health workers and the rest of our humanitarian partners on the ground," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X.

"This siege makes me gravely concerned for their safety and the immediate health risks of vulnerable patients. We urge immediate protection of all civilians and full humanitarian access." 

It comes after Israel conducted intense, continuous air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday and cut internet connectivity and telecommunications in the enclave. 

The Israeli military has told Reuters and AFP that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists currently working in the besieged Gaza Strip. 

In a letter written to the two international news agencies, the military said it was "targeting all Hamas military activity throughout Gaza" and that its bombardment could cause damage to surrounding buildings.

"Under these circumstances, we cannot guarantee your employees' safety, and strongly urge you to take all necessary measures for their safety," it said. 

In response to the letter, Reuters said in a statement: "The situation on the ground is dire, and the [Israeli military's] unwillingness to give assurances about the safety of our staff threatens their ability to deliver the news about this conflict without fear of being injured or killed."

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 27 journalists have been killed since the war began (22 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese).  

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Friday that Gaza will be "very different" after the war. 

"We are beefing up the pressure on Hamas. We're increasing the pressure that they're under. Our military operations are underway," Regev told Fox News. 

"They will continue to be on the receiving end of our military blows until we have dismantled their military machine and dissolve their political structure in Gaza. When this is over, Gaza will be very different." 

Jordan's resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce was supported by 120 members of the UN General Assembly. 

Fourteen members voted against the resolution, including Israel, the US, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, and Fiji. 

Forty-five abstained, including the UK, Australia, Canada, Ukraine, Tunisia, Japan, India and Germany.

The non-binding resolution called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce”, and demands all parties comply with international humanitarian law and “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of essential supplies and services into the Gaza Strip. 

A Canadian amendment that called for the resolution to condemn Hamas and "the taking of hostages" was not carried. It received 85 votes in favour, 55 against, with 23 abstentions - failing to receive the two-thirds majority required.

You can see the full breakdown of the votes in the image in the tweet below: