Israel-Palestine live: Week three ends with over 7,000 Palestinians killed

Thousands protested in Midtown, Manhattan on Friday night calling for a ceasefire in Palestine and Israel, in a rally organised by Jewish Voices for Peace amongst other groups.

Massive. #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/TXd3SQvfYW

— Daniel Altschuler 🦋 (@altochulo) October 20, 2023

Protesters braved the rain and called for an end to US financial and military backing for Israel, the same day US President Biden presented a $105bn security package to Congress.

This was Manhattan's second pro-Palestinian rally of the day.

Earlier on Friday, supporters of the Palestinian cause gathered to pray Jummah outside City Hall and voiced their concerns over Israel's war crimes. 

US President Joe Biden announced a $105bn national security plan encompassing military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Israel on Friday.

As part of the plan, $14.3bn in aid would be for Israel to bolster its air and missile defence system.

From the $14.3bn, $10.6bn would go to the Defense Department and $3.7 billion to the State Department to strengthen Israel's military and enhance US embassy security.

Separately, the national security plan includes $9.15bn in aid for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other humanitarian needs. It includes support for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and surrounding areas.

Biden's request to Congress comes during a time when a new speaker of the house is yet to be elected.

A doctor in Ontario, Canada was suspended from work, threatened, and doxed after he shared pro-Palestinian views on his social media, CBC reported.

On 10 October, Ben Thomson, a nephrologist at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, wrote on X: "No babies were beheaded, there have been no confirmed reports of rapes. You repeat this nonsense out of racism.

"In the meantime, Palestinians are experiencing genocide and war crimes and you are silent. History will judge you very badly."

On 12 October, the hospital posted a statement on its Facebook and X accounts saying it is "addressing social media posts from a few physicians and staff that do not reflect our views or values as an organisation".

According to CBS, he was suspended for one month without pay. His address was also leaked online, and people wrote threatening messages under his post. 

Good evening Middle East Eye readers.

Today marks the 14th day of war, which started on 7 October.

So far at least 4,137 people, mainly women and children, having been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Here are some of the key developments from today:

• Hamas has released two American captives

• Al-Quds Hospital has been warned by Israel to move all patients and Palestinians who sought refuge there

• Aid trucks remain stuck on the Egyptian side at the Rafah border crossing, which Israel has struck on Friday for the fifth time

• Analysis by rights groups casts doubt on Israeli explanation for hospital bombing, though France has come out in support of the Israeli narrative

We at Middle East Eye are doing our best to continue providing you with up-to-date information around the clock. Internet connectivity in Gaza has dropped by nearly half as of Friday, and we only have intermittent contact with our correspondents there.

In addition to our live blog, you can also find our coverage across Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube. 

Israel has released the first images of American captives Judith and Natalie Raanan, after they were freed by Hamas:

French President Emmanuel Macron hopes that the release of captives could lead to similar initiatives for French nationals held by Hamas.

Macron said on Friday that France would be sending medical humanitarian assistance to Egypt as part of the US-Egypt effort to get aid into Gaza.

According to France's foreign ministry, 28 French nationals were killed during the 7 October attacks in Israel and seven are still missing, some held captive in Gaza.

An investigation by Channel 4 News has cast doubt on the authenticity of a discussion between two Hamas operatives in which they assigned blame for the al-Ahli Hospital blast to Islamic Jihad.

The discussion, shared by the Israeli army on Wednesday, purported to be a recording of one Hamas official telling another that the hospital's destruction had come about as a result of a failed rocket firing by the group:

However, an analysis of the recording carried out for the channel research group Earshot said that "though this audio analysis cannot categorically state that the audible dialogue is fake, we can say that the level of manipulation required to edit these two voices together disqualifies it as a source of credible evidence".

The analysis bolstered an earlier claim by a number of Arab journalists to the channel that the recording was "fabricated" because the "language, accent, dialect, syntax and tone – none of which is, they say, credible".

French military intelligence said on Friday it believed there was no evidence that an Israeli strike had caused the explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, which killed at least 471 Palestinians.

"The most probable hypothesis is that a Palestinian rocket exploded with a charge of about five kilos," according to the Directorate of Military Intelligence, which added there was "nothing to indicate... an Israeli strike".

Biden said on Friday that the release of Judith and Natalie Ranaan had been secured by the US and thanked Qatar for their partnership in the effort.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said the release came after days of "continuous communication" with all parties.

Israel says the two were on their way to a military base in central Israel after they were released at the Gaza border.

The mother and daughter released are US citizens from the state of Illinois.

The two captives released by Hamas on Friday have been identified as Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie.

The two, who have American citizenship, are currently in the custody of the International Red Cross after Hamas announced their release.

According to their rabbi, the two are residents of Evanston, Illinois and had come to Israel in October to celebrate a relative's 85th birthday.

A new analysis by researchers and rights groups has suggested the blast that destroyed al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City came from an Israeli artillery shell, disputing claims that it was a misfiring Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.

An investigation by Forensic Architecture, Earshot and Palestinian rights group Al-Haq looked at the evidence left in the wake of the explosion, which left hundreds deads.

In a tweet, Forensic Architecture said the new analysis "casts significant doubt on [Israeli] claims that the source of the deadly explosion was a Palestinian-fired rocket travelling west to east".

They said their "analysis of the crater size suggests a munition larger than eg a Spike or Hellfire missile commonly used by [Israeli] drones".

"It is more consistent with the impact marks from an artillery shell—but without additional material evidence, we cannot make a definitive assessment," they said.

Israel has warned al-Quds hospital in Gaza to evacuate, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Friday.

The charity said that Israeli forces had warned them to "immediately evacuate" the hospital, which currently houses over 400 patients and 12,000 displaced civilians.

"We call on the world to take immediate and urgent action to prevent a new massacre like the one that occurred on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital," they said in a statement.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called for Israel to stop its strikes on the Gaza Strip.

"I repeat my call for the Israeli leadership to never expand the scope of its attacks on civilians and to immediately end its operations amounting to genocide," Erdogan said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Turkey has offered to help mediate the conflict and has sent aid for Gaza which is stuck at the Rafah crossing on Gaza's border with Egypt.

Hamas said on Friday it had released an American captive and her daughter following mediation with Qatar.

In a statement, Hamas' Qassam Brigades said that they had released the two for "humanitarian" purposes.

"In response to Qatari efforts, Qassam Brigades released two American citizens - a mother and her daughter - for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless," said Abu Ubadia, the spokesperson for the group's paramilitary wing.

Israeli media also confirmed the release. Middle East Eye contacted the US State Department for comment, but has so far received no response.

CNN reported the captives had been handed to the Red Cross and were "on their way out".

Greta Thunberg has deleted a photo she took of her holding a placard in support of Gaza after social media users said a toy in the picture was antisemitic.

The Swedish environmental activist posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a series of pictures taken with other activists in support of Palestinians in Gaza as well as for climate justice.

One of the pictures featured an octopus squishy toy, which led some pro-Israel profiles to accuse her of antisemitism, as the octopus has been used in antisemitic propaganda since the 19th century.

Following the criticism, Thunberg deleted the post and released a message clarifying why:

"It has come to my knowledge that the stuffed animal shown in my earlier post can be interpreted as a symbol for antisemitism, which I was completely unaware of. The toy in the picture is a tool often used by autistic people as a way to communicate feelings," she tweeted.

"We are of course against any type of discrimination, and condemn antisemitism in all forms and shapes. This is non-negotiable. That is why I deleted the last post."