GAZA LIVE BLOG: New Massacres in Gaza | Ancient Church Bombed | Lebanon Front Heats Up | Global Palestine Solidarity on the Rise – DAY 13

October 19, 2023 Blog, News, Videos
Israeli airstrikes on besieged Gaza continue. (Photo: Supplied)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Protests continued in the Middle East and all around the globe, demanding an immediate ceasefire. But neither Israeli bombs nor US, Western support for Israel stopped. Gaza entered the 13th day of its bloodiest war against Israel. Whole families have perished, and women and children – according to UN reports – represent nearly 70% of all victims of what many international experts refer to as genocide. 

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Click below for previous blogs: DAY ONE, DAY TWO, DAY THREE, DAY FOUR, DAY FIVE, DAY SIX, DAY SEVEN, DAY EIGHT, DAY NINE, DAY TEN, DAY 11, DAY 12.

Palestinian Ministry of Health: The number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Israeli war on Gaza rose to 3,859 killed, and over 13,500 wounded. In the West Bank, 60 were killed and more than 1,250 wounded. However, the killing of 500 Palestinians in an Israeli strike at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday, in addition to the killing of many other Palestinians in the Strip will raise the casualty count dramatically on Wednesday.

LATEST UPDATES BELOW:

Friday, October 20, 6:35 am

VIDEO: Activists broadcast videos on social media of a demonstration in front of the federal building in San Francisco, California, to denounce the Israeli occupation’s targeting of civilians in Gaza.

ALJAZEERA: The Israeli occupation forces stormed at dawn Friday the city of Nablus in the West Bank from several directions.

OPEN LETTER: 411 employees in the offices of members of the US Congress sent an open letter urging lawmakers to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

CNN: US officials said that the first humanitarian aid convoys to the Gaza Strip are likely to cross through the Rafah crossing on Saturday.

REUTERS: Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki warned of growing uncertainty in the Japanese and global economy due to the conflict in the Middle East.

COMMITTEE FOR CHURCH AFFAIRS IN PALESTINE: The Higher Presidential Committee for the Follow-up of Church Affairs in Palestine said that targeting one of the buildings of St. Porphyrios Church in the Gaza Strip is a war crime, adding to the ongoing series of occupation crimes against Palestinian civilians and places of worship.

Friday, October 20, 3:03 am (+GMT3)

MINISTRY OF HEALTH (GAZA): Many Palestinians have been reportedly killed and wounded in a devastating Israeli attack that destroyed an ancient Greek Orthodox church in Gaza late on Thursday night. The church of St. Porphyrius, the original structure of which believed to have been built around 425 CE, has been greatly damaged, and many casualties have been rushed to hospitals when Israeli bombs came raining down on Palestinian civilians sheltering inside.

REUTERS: Biden will ask Congress for $14 billion in additional support to Israel.

ALJAZEERA: The Israeli occupation forces launched a series of air raids on the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

ISRAELI MILITARY: The Israeli army spokesperson told CNN that ground military activities are one of the options we have regarding Gaza.

‘Likely Targeting Israel’: US Says It Intercepted Houthi Missiles, Drones

Friday, October 20, 1:30 am (GMT+3)

LEBANESE ARMY: Israeli forces have targeted a team of journalists with machine guns in the vicinity of the town of Houla in southern Lebanon.

SHEHAB NEWS AGENCY: Israeli occupation forces are shelling the Bureij refugee camp in Central Gaza with artillery and heavy machine guns. Quoting Shehab, Aljazeera Net says that the heavy smoke resulting from the bombs had a particularly bad stench.

PALESTINIAN SOURCES: Israeli military launched a large detention campaign throughout the West Bank, including areas south of Nablus and in the Hebron Governorate.

‘Blood Libel’: Israel Pressures BBC to Call Hamas ‘Terrorist Organization’

Thursday, October 19, 11:30 pm (GMT+3)

AJA: Anti-tank missiles were fired from inside Lebanon towards northern Israel.

HANIYEH: We warned everyone that the war on Gaza could turn into a regional battle if the aggression and destruction continued.

Mogadishu on Steroids’: Former CIA Chief Warns against Land Invasion

Thursday, October 19, 11:00 pm (GMT +3)

PENTAGON: The Pentagon announced that the destroyer USS Carney shot down 3 missiles and a number of drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen.

GAZA INTERIOR MINISTRY: At least two Palestinians were killed, and many others wounded, as a result of the Israeli bombing of the Greek Orthodox Church, where displaced people were taking shelter.

Thursday, October 19, 10:00 pm (GMT +3)

REUTERS: Reuters reported – citing security sources – that an attack with drones and missiles targeted the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq, and explosions were heard inside it.

AJA: US Senate adopted a draft resolution supporting Israel with the support of 97 members without any opposing vote.

GAZA MINISTRY OF INTERIOR: 10 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli bombing that targeted a house in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

TASS: The Russian “TASS” agency quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that Israel’s right to self-defense does not mean granting it a license for collective and indiscriminate retaliation.

US STATE DEPARTMENT: Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is not part of its current policy aimed at supporting “Israel’s right to defend itself.”

AXIOS: The American “Axios” newspaper quoted Israeli officials as saying that the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) is planning to send tens of thousands of artillery shells (intended for Ukraine) to Israel.

AJA: Israeli forces are shooting around while civilians, including 6 journalists, are trapped near the Israeli Al-Abad site in the vicinity of the town of Houla in Lebanon.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: The Al-Quds Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement – announced that it bombed Ashkelon, Sderot, Zikim and Nahal Oz with missile attacks in response to the Israeli occupation’s massacres against civilians in Gaza.

ABU OBEIDA: The enemy is at its worst and the resistance is controlling the field.

Thursday, October 19, 9:00 pm (GMT +3)

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: An Israeli soldier from the Musta’rab unit was killed during clashes in the Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS: There is a risk of genocide against the Palestinians given the statements of Israeli leaders and their allies.

Thursday, October 19, 8:00 pm (GMT +3)

GERMANY: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that there is a real humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and we must put an end to it.

JORDAN: Jordanian Foreign Minister said that things do not seem to be heading toward calm and that his country’s priority is to stop the war immediately.

ISRAELI BROADCASTING CORPORATION: Israel evacuated its embassies in a number of countries in the region, including Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt and Turkey.

AJA: The Israeli government approved an assistance plan to evacuate the residents of the city of Ashkelon.

Thursday, October 19, 7:00 pm (GMT +3)

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ceasefire to provide humanitarian relief to the Gaza Strip.

EGYPT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt rejects the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and the displacement of Palestinians to neighboring countries.

Thursday, October 19, 6:30 pm (GMT +3)

PALESTINIAN MINISTRY OF HEALTH: The number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Israeli war on Gaza rose to 3,859 killed, and over 13,500 wounded.

GERMANY: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that reducing or withdrawing international UNIFIL forces from Lebanon would be the wrong signal at this time.

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in Lebanon said that it fired 30 rockets from southern Lebanon toward the Western Galilee, most notably Nahariya and Shlomi.

AJA: Volleys of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli sites and cities.

ISRAELI ARMY: 10 Israeli soldiers have been injured, one seriously, in the explosion of a device in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm.

Thursday, October 19, 5:00 pm (GMT +3)

PALESTINIAN MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Six people have been killed in Israeli military raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp, near Tulkarm.

AJA: Israeli raids targeted the Shujaiya neighborhood in the Gaza Strip.

AJA: Al Jazeera’s correspondent said that sirens sounded a short while ago in the city of Nahariya, northwest of Israel, for the first time since the beginning of the ongoing war for the 13th consecutive day on the Gaza Strip.

AJA: Al Jazeera’s correspondent said that sirens sounded in Beersheba and large areas in the Negev.

ISRAELI ARMY: The Israeli army said that its forces are currently attacking sources of gunfire that targeted its positions on the Lebanese border.

AJA: Sirens sounded a short while ago in the towns of Shomrah and Evin Menachem, near the Lebanese border, and in Shlomi, Al-Bassa, and Hanita in the Western Galilee.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: The Tulkarm Battalion in the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, said that it was able to detonate explosive devices in bulldozers and occupation vehicles on the Manshiya axis and that it achieved direct hits.

Thursday, October 19, 4:00 pm (GMT +3)

ISRAELI MEDIA: An American plane arrived in Israel carrying a shipment of armored vehicles for the Israeli army.

ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that the goal of the current war on the Gaza Strip is to wipe out the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) from existence, noting that there will be losses.

GAZA INTERIOR MINISTRY: 70% of the Palestinians killed and injured as a result of the Israeli aggression on the Strip were women and children.

WAFA: Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli occupation forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp, near Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank.

Thursday, October 19, 3:00 pm (GMT +3)

IRAQ: Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein called for standing up to the plan to deport the people of the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian Sinai.

Thursday, October 19, 2:00 pm (GMT +3)

GAZA MINISTRY OF HEALTH: The number of Palestinians killed and wounded in the Israeli war on Gaza rose to 3,785 killed, and over 12,000 wounded.

ISRAELI ARMY: An exchange of fire took place between Israeli occupation soldiers and Palestinian fighters near Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

GAZA MEDIA GOVERNMENT OFFICE: The Government Information Office in Gaza announced the killing of the Commander of the National Security Forces in the Strip, Major General Jihad Muheisen, and his family in an Israeli bombing of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, said that its fighters bombed a crowd of Israeli enemy soldiers near Al-Sarij Gate, east of Khan Yunis.

PALESTINIAN MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Israeli occupation has so far warned 24 hospitals in Gaza to evacuate, including Al-Shifa Hospital.

Thursday, October 19, 1:00 pm (GMT +3)

AL-QASSAM: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced that it had directed a new missile attack at Ashkelon.

UK PM SUNAK: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he came to Israel to support it and stand with it against what he described as terrorism.

AJA: The Egyptian presidency announced the holding of a “bilateral summit” today, Thursday, between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II in Cairo.

GERMANY: German Chancellor Olaf Schulz warned of another escalation in the conflict in the region, and demanded the release of what he described as “hostages” held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Thursday, October 19, 12:00 pm (GMT +3)

GAZA MEDIA GOVERNMENT OFFICE: at least 5 bakeries in different areas in the Gaza Strip, which led to dozens of victims.

DIRECTOR OF AL-KUWAITI HOSPITAL: The director of the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Gaza, Suhaib Al-Hams, told Al Jazeera that the Gaza Strip’s hospitals are suffering severely and the health situation is catastrophic in full view of the world.

US: Egypt has agreed to reopen the Rafah border crossing with Gaza to allow aid to be delivered to the Palestinians.

Thursday, October 19, 11:00 am (GMT +3)

ISRAELI ARMY: The number of deaths in the Israeli army rose today, Thursday, to 306 soldiers and officers, since the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7.

HAMAS: Hamas appreciated Russia’s position, which was keen to ensure that the UN resolution included a clear call for a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, as well as an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Gaza.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: New Massacres in Gaza | Lavrov: Region at Risk | Lebanon Front Heats Up | Global Palestine Solidarity on the Rise – DAY 13

AJA MEDICAL SOURCE: 121 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Wednesday evening

PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTRY: Three hospitals are completely out of service, and 25 were partially damaged in the Gaza Strip.

AJA: The director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir Al-Balah, south of the Gaza Strip, Iyad Al-Jabri, said that the strategic stock of medicines and medical supplies has ended.

AJA: Israeli occupation forces stormed the Aqabat Jabr camp, southwest of Jericho, and arrested a number of Palestinians.

HAMAS: The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) appreciated the final statement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and called for its practical translation in order to stop Israel’s aggression.

BRITISH EMBASSY IN BEIRUT: The British Embassy in Beirut urged its nationals to leave Lebanon

GERMANY: Today, Thursday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock began a new round that includes: Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon, in light of the current situation in the Gaza Strip.

AJA: The Legislative Council in Gaza mourned MP Jamila Al-Shanti, who was martyred in an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip last night. Al-Shanti was the first woman to be elected to the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Israel, as part of a tour that includes several countries in the Middle East, to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza.

Thursday, October 19, 9:00 am (GMT +3)

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESS: Russia will provide 27 tons of food aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip via Egypt

AJA: Dozens of Palestinians killed and injured from Israeli bombing of various areas in Gaza.

Thursday, October 19, 8:00 am (GMT +3)

MEDVEDEV: Resolving the conflict in the Middle East is only possible by establishing a Palestinian state

REUTERS: Russian FM Lavrov said that there is a serious risk that the conflict in Gaza will turn into a regional conflict, adding that Russia is in contact with Turkey on this matter.

CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping assured Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly that Beijing will work with Egypt to achieve stability in the region.

Thursday, October 19, 7:00 am (GMT +3)

US STATE DEPARTMENT: The US State Department had raised the level of travel warning for Lebanon to level four, which advises American citizens not to travel to the listed destination.

UK: The British Foreign Office advised its nationals not to travel to Lebanon, while encouraging Britons currently there to leave immediately.

WASHINTON POST: A US State Department official resigned due to President Joe Biden’s administration’s handling of the Israeli war on Gaza.

AJA: Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the occupied West Bank in one night .

BRITISH NEWS AGENCY: The flags of Palestine and Israel will not be allowed to enter English Premier League stadiums starting next week.

Thursday, October 19, 6:00 am (GMT +3)

AJA: A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli army gunfire in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm.

UK: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that he will visit Israel on Thursday, before heading to other countries in the region,

Thursday, October 19, 5:00 am (GMT +3)

AJA: A young Palestinian was killed by Israeli army gunfire in the Dheisheh Camp in the city of Bethlehem.

GAZA INTERIOR MINISTRY: Several people were killed and others wounded as a result of the Israeli occupation bombing of a house in Jabaliya.

AJA The occupation forces storm various areas in the West Bank and launch a campaign of arrests among the ranks of the Hamas movement. A young Palestinian was killed near Ramallah.

Thursday, October 19, 4:00 am (GMT +3)

HEZBOLLAH: The head of Hezbollah’s executive body, Hashem Safi al-Din, said, “Today we are thousands of times stronger… We say to you, to Biden, to Netanyahu, and to the malicious Europeans… You must be careful.

ARAB PARLIAMENT: Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip is a “war crime and crimes against humanity.”

BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE: UK FM will travel to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar to discuss preventing the spread of the conflict in the region.

AJA: Israeli forces arrested Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip in Bethlehem.

Thursday, October 19, 3:00 am (GMT +3)

PA: The Palestinian Authority asked the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the bombing that targeted Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.

HEZBOLLAH: Israeli army conducted an aerial aggression using drones on empty targets in southern Lebanon, among the targets is a memorial of martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani.

ISRAELI ARMY: We destroyed a Hezbollah military convoy in a camp in southern Syria.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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