From BBC

Summary

1. The UN’s top humanitarian official says aid is “barely trickling” into Gaza, after days of warnings over rapidly depleting fuel supplies in the Strip
2. Martin Griffiths says civilians must be protected and have the essentials to survive. Israel disputes the extent of the fuel crisis – and accuses Hamas of stockpiling vital reserves
3. UN aid agencies say they have begun to significantly reduce their operations in Gaza because they have almost exhausted their fuel reserves
4. Israel has not launched its expected ground invasion of Gaza – but says a raid overnight in the north was “preparation for the next stages of combat”
5. Meanwhile, Hamas says about 50 hostages being held in Gaza have been killed as a result of Israel bombarding the Strip in retaliation to Hamas’s 7 October attack
6. More than 1,400 were killed in the initial attacks on Israel by Hamas, and Israel says more than 220 people are still being held hostage in Gaza
7. The Hamas-run health ministry says 7,000 people have been killed since Israeli air strikes on Gaza began – an increase of 500 since Wednesday

EVN Rafah residents wait in long queues for bread

Civilians in Rafah, in Gaza’s south, have been waiting in long queues for bread as fuel shortages are forcing the closure of bakeries.

Yesterday, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 10 bakeries in Gaza had been struck and destroyed, while three have shut due to the lack of fuel.

Charity ActionAid says starvation “is being used as a weapon of war” with bakeries being the target of “indiscriminate bombing”.

Quote Message: With over two million people in urgent need of food, it is completely barbaric to see bakeries under bombardment. Those who survive the bombings may die from starvation instead.” from Riham Jafari Advocacy and communication coordinator, ActionAid Palestine

With over two million people in urgent need of food, it is completely barbaric to see bakeries under bombardment. Those who survive the bombings may die from starvation instead.”Riham JafariAdvocacy and communication coordinator, ActionAid Palestine

Twelve more trucks carrying aid crossed into the Strip this morning, bringing the total since 21 October to 74 – but none carrying fuel.

While the UN agency that helps Palestinians in Gaza says it’s been able to extract more fuel from reserves in Gaza, it will be primarily used to filter and purify water.

Civilians in Rafah, in Gaza’s south, have been waiting in long queues for bread as fuel shortages are forcing the closure of bakeries.

Yesterday, the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 10 bakeries in Gaza had been struck and destroyed, while three have shut due to the lack of fuel.

Charity ActionAid says starvation “is being used as a weapon of war” with bakeries being the target of “indiscriminate bombing”.

Quote Message: With over two million people in urgent need of food, it is completely barbaric to see bakeries under bombardment. Those who survive the bombings may die from starvation instead.” from Riham Jafari Advocacy and communication coordinator, ActionAid Palestine

With over two million people in urgent need of food, it is completely barbaric to see bakeries under bombardment. Those who survive the bombings may die from starvation instead.”Riham JafariAdvocacy and communication coordinator, ActionAid Palestine

Twelve more trucks carrying aid crossed into the Strip this morning, bringing the total since 21 October to 74 – but none carrying fuel.

While the UN agency that helps Palestinians in Gaza says it’s been able to extract more fuel from reserves in Gaza, it will be primarily used to filter and purify water.

Families of Israeli hostages protest for their release

EPACopyright: EPA

In Tel Aviv, relatives of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas in Gaza held another protest tonight calling for their immediate release.

Outside the Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv, they chanted: “Bring back our brothers. Bring back our children”.

Family members demanded their government do more to bring the hostages home, while holding signs with the names and photos of people believed to be kidnapped by Hamas.

The Israeli military says that 224 people are being held hostage by Hamas.

EPACopyright: EPA

Hamas official ends BBC interview when questioned over killing of civilians

Hugo Bachega

Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon

Today, I interviewed Ghazi Hamad, a long-time Hamas member and spokesman, who was in Beirut.

Sitting down with a representative of a group that many governments deem a terrorist organisation was not a decision taken lightly. But it was a chance to ask, face to face, about the attacks Hamas carried out in Israel on 7 October in which it killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 people hostage.

Hamad refused to acknowledge that his group had deliberately targeted civilians, despite the overwhelming evidence, including footage from body cameras worn by the fighters. He said the attack had been a “military operation” intended to target only military personnel.

I repeatedly asked him how that could possibly have been an attack on military targets only when hundreds of civilians had been killed, including people at a music festival and in their own homes, with their families. He then abruptly interrupted the interview and walked away.

Before that, Hamad suggested Hamas was open to negotiations over the civilian hostages it is holding in Gaza. But, he said, there needed to be certain circumstances for that to happen, without specifying which.

Hamas official ends BBC interview after being questioned over killing of civilians in Israel

Israelis feel time is running out for hostages

Paul Adams Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

This afternoon, a spokesman for Hamas said that around 50 hostages had been killed during more than two and a half weeks of Israeli airstrikes.

It’s impossible for us to verify this, but it’s likely many of the hostages are being held in the very tunnels that Israel’s air force has been bombarding.

When Yechovet Lifshitz spoke to the media after her release from Gaza earlier this week, she spoke of being held underground in a “spider’s web” of damp tunnels.

This is not the first time Hamas have claimed that hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. The group is acutely aware of the anguish the hostage crisis is causing.

The Israel Defense Forces said “no comment” in response to today’s claims.

In Tel Aviv tonight, there was another anguished protest by Israelis demanding their government do more to bring hostages home. There’s mounting impatience.

“No more excuses,” they chanted. “Bring back our brothers. Bring back our children.”

They feel that time is running out.

Hamas publishes names of 7,000 people it says have been killed in Gaza

Paul Adams Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

The Hamas-run ministry of health in Gaza has published a detailed list of 7,028 people it says have been killed since Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip began on 7 October.

The document, 212 pages long, contains what the ministry says are the names and ages of each victim. It includes 6,747 registered names and refers to 281 unidentified bodies.

It says that 2,665 children have been killed. Most of the unidentified bodies are those of children.

The BBC is not currently able to verify the accuracy of the document.

Its publication appears deliberately designed as a riposte to US President Joe Biden, who yesterday cast doubt on the ministry’s numbers.

It includes a daily breakdown which shows a steady escalation in deaths, from 256 on 7 October to 481 on 25 October.

There are three days when the number of people killed exceeded 600, with the most number of people killed in a single day (24 October) currently standing at 756.

France says number of its citizens killed in Hamas attacks rises to 35

The French foreign ministry says the number of French citizens who have been killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israel has risen to 35, up from 31. 

The ministry said nine nationals were still missing, with some of those being held hostage by Hamas.

“We are doing everything we can to secure their release,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said they are in contact with all the families of the French people “who have disappeared or are being held hostage”.

What does new analysis tell us about the Gaza hospital blast?

Getty Images

Nine days after the explosion at the car park of Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, the exact cause of the blast is still contested.

The Hamas-controlled Palestinian authorities in Gaza accused Israel of hitting the hospital with an air strike. 

Israel said a misfiring rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group was to blame, which they deny.

Within 24 hours of the blast – which happened at 19:00 local time on 17 October – the BBC Verify team had assessed video footage, pictures and other materials in an effort to understand what might have happened, and we have continued to look closely at the evidence.

There are three areas which have been a focus since the blast: the lack of weapon fragments, the crater and damage at the scene, and video footage of a projectile rising over Gaza which was central to Israel’s description of what happened.

You can read the what we have found looking at the evidence here.

Hamas says about 50 hostages killed since Israeli bombardment began

A spokesman from Hamas’s military wing says approximately 50 hostages held by its fighters in Gaza have been killed as a result of Israel bombarding the Strip, following Hamas’s brutal attacks on 7 October.

Abu Obeida did not provide any further details. The BBC is of course unable to verify this number or any details they’ve provided independently.

Israel’s military has identified 224 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Read more about who the hostages are here.

For much more on this story and video go to BBC