Israel-Palestine war: First week ends with over 2,500 Palestinians, 1,400 Israelis killed
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The Palestinian Red Crescent has said it will not stop doing its work despite Israel’s assault on Gaza.
In a statement on Facebook, the society said its medics would continue doing their “humanitarian work”.
“We won’t leave people to face death alone,” it added.
The organisation also called on the world to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
In a statement put out on Instagram, the society said that it did not have the means to evacuate those in hospitals or the elderly and disabled.
Their statements came amid an Israeli move to force the population of northern Gaza to the south.
“There are no safe areas in the whole of the Gaza Strip.” The statement read.
It continued: “Humanity is on the line. The world must intervene to stop this catastrophe unfold in the next few hours. War is not the answer. Killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure is not the answer. All parties must abide by the laws of war and protect the civilian population.”
It further called on other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to call on their governments to allow humanitarian access.
Palestine’s Ministry of Health says that three Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in a violent crackdown by Israeli forces.
So far, 66 Palestinians have been wounded across the West Bank by Israeli fire.
Israeli forces have shot dead two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
Earlier today, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in Nablus and another was seriously wounded in Hebron, in a large-scale and violent crackdown on Palestinians.
Heavily deployed Israeli forces are also harassing and beating Pallestinians in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israeli army forces have shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to medics.
The ministry of health states that five Palestinians have been injured in Jerusalem, while in Jenin and Hebron Israeli police continue to harass and target Palestinians.
Egyptian Nobel Peace prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has posted a scathing statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which he summarises the prevailing sentiment in the Arab world.
In the post, the Egyptian talks about the anger many Arabs feel towards not only Israel’s assault on Gaza but their recognition of the West’s double standards and the impotence of international law.
“The prevailing mood amongst the majority of Arabs today is visceral anger and despair rekindling feelings of injustice and humiliation that date back to the Iraq war and numerous past tragedies in the region,” he starts, continuing that for Arabs:
“The current war is part of Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ to transfer Palestinians to Jordan and Sinai and liquidate the Palestinian question.
“The war is fundamentally a religious war, a belief confirmed by utterances of some US officials.”
He also mentions that there is resentment towards the Arab elites who have been “co-opted” by the West.
A message from the “Other Side” :
— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) October 13, 2023
The prevailing mood amongst the majority of Arabs today is visceral anger and despair rekindling feelings of injustice and humiliation that date back to the Iraq war and numerous past tragedies in the region;
this anger has cancelled any…
Israeli settlers opened fire at worshippers leaving Friday prayer in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Footage by Btselem human rights organisation showed a settler shooting a Palestinian at point-blank range. The Palestinian man has been severely wounded.
Egyptians are taking part in a large-scale pro-Palestine protest in the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, voicing their support for Palestinians in Gaza.
The protesters are chanting for a “free Palestine,” and are echoing sentiments shared by the Al Azhar institution earlier this week, calling on Palestinians to “die on your lands as knights, heroes and martyrs, rather than leave your land for colonisers.”
The protests come after Palestinians called for a global show of support today, as Israel ordered for the forced transfer of Palestinians in north Gaza to the south.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in Jordan meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas said that he “rejects the forced displacement” and that such events amount to “a second Nakba.”
Abu Ubaida, the Izzideen al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson, addressed Palestinians in a speech on Friday afternoon, urging Palestinians to remain steadfast and not respond to Israeli calls to leave their homes.
“Israel is removing Palestinians from their homes and lands for a second time, and we have responded to the Zionist crimes by targeting them and Ben Gurion,” he said, and that “the only direction we are migrating is back to our rightful lands.”
“Displacement and exile is not for us, Israel is carrying out psychological warfare through the threats and their dark history, which shows they carry out crimes and killings as a form of collective punishment,” he added.
Abu Ubaida also urged Palestinians to “be patient and steadfast, victory will be ours.”
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, Naim Qassem, said that Israel’s killing of civilians “is not war, because they are not killing people who kill them, Israel is killing civilians.”
Speaking in a televised conference from Lebanon’s capital, he said that “Israel is not brave enough to face Palestinian fighters, what they are doing is carrying out crimes and destruction. They are killing humanity,” he added.
The former leader of the UK’s opposition Labour Party has warned that Gaza faces being “wiped off the face of the earth” and that British politicians would have to reckon with their support for what amounts war crimes by Israel.
His comments stand in stark contrast to his successor Keir Starmer, who has backed Israel’s right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza, an act that amounts to collective punishment and is a war crime under customary international law.
Corbyn’s comments are available in their entirety below:
Israeli forces are shooting tear gas and harassing Palestinian worshippers on their way to al-Aqsa, in the Wadi al-Joz neighbourhood of occupied east Jerusalem.
Heavily armed Israeli police on horseback stopped worshippers from walking towards the holy site and beat young men who were on their way to Friday prayers.
MEE’s correspondent on the ground says there is a tense atmosphere in the Old City as Israeli forces are deployed in large numbers, carrying out meticulous checks on every person.
Israeli army drones have dropped leaflets on Gaza residents telling people to flee immediately to the south of the besieged enclave.
The letter is addressed to Gaza residents, and says that “Gaza has become a battlefield” after a “terrorist organisation started a war against Israel.”
“You must immediately evacuate your homes and go south of Wadi Gaza. You must not return to your homes until further notice,” it added.
“Public shelters in Gaza City must also be evacuated. It is forbidden to approach the security wall, and anyone who does will be at risk of death,” the leaflet says.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says that it is now unable to assist people in their shelters, as they have reached capacity.
“Over 170,000 people are in our shelters that we are no longer able to work in,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “We’re unable to assist them,” she added.
Around 1.1 million people in north Gaza have been ordered to leave in a 24-hour window by Israel, with no guarantees of their return.
Rights and humanitarian organisations have already moved their staff from the north amid heavy Israeli bombardment.
Salim Ayoub, a 65-year-old from Gaza tells Middle East Eye that “what is happening now is a repeat of what happened in 1948.”
“I sat down and discussed this with my children, and we have decided not to leave. We will not be leaving north Gaza and going to the south because we do not want to be made homeless again,” he added.
Israel has given Palestinians in north Gaza 24 hours to forcibly leave their homes with no guarantee of their return.
Palestinians say they refuse to leave and give up their land, regardless of what happens.
