A Region on Fire
Issue 21 - October 17, 2024
Failure of International Efforts to Reach a Ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon
The Israeli army announced the assassination of Yahya Sinwar, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, in Rafah, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Gaza: Jabalia Exterminated
For the 13th day, the Israeli army continues the invasion of Jabalia, imposing a suffocating siege and starvation, in addition to the nonstop and heavy bombardment causing mass destruction.
The Israeli bombing targeted a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), sheltering displaced people west of Jabalia camp in northern Gaza. The result was 28 Palestinians died and 160 were injured when fires broke out in the tents of the displaced in the school courtyard. According to a report issued by the Palestinian government in Gaza, this massacre raised the total number of shelters and displacement centers targeted by Israel to 192 centers, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
The spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that hospitals in northern Gaza are in urgent need of large quantities of blood, and this is contingent on Israel's approval to allow the entry. The three hospitals in the northern governorate—Indonesian Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, and Al-Awda Hospital—are partially operating due to the lack of full medical staff caused by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the area.
Famine Threatens Gaza Residents with Expectations that 91% of the Population Will Face Severe Food Insecurity
Experts from 16 UN agencies and non-governmental organizations conducted an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment. The assessment indicated that the war, which has lasted for more than a year in Gaza, has destroyed livelihoods, reduced food production, and significantly restricted commercial and humanitarian supply lines.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the report's findings, which indicate that the widespread displacement and restrictions on humanitarian aid flows mean that people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
The Killing of Yahya Sinwar
The Israeli army confirmed on Thursday the death of the Head of Hamas' Political Bureau Chief Yahya Sinwar, along with two commanders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on Wednesday, October 16, in an unplanned clash. His death was confirmed after DNA verification. Immediate reactions to Sinwar's killing first came from the United States and France, with both countries considering it a window to release the hostages held by Hamas and a possible agreement on ceasefire. Hamas leadership has not reacted yet.
Battlefield Developments in Lebanon
Evacuation warnings are expanding to various Lebanese regions
The Israeli army continued to issue warnings to Lebanese residents to evacuate their homes in Bekaa and Mount Lebanon, as well as issuing over six evacuation warnings to residents of the south, particularly in the areas of Tyre and its surroundings. All these areas were heavily bombed within less than an hour after the warnings were issued. The percentage of land evacuated has reached 30% of Lebanon's total area, and a quarter of the Lebanese population were forced to relocate.
Security and diplomatic sources confirmed that reports of a bomb in a building in central Beirut housing two embassies (Including the Norwegian) and the offices of Al Jazeera, which had been evacuated, were false.
The spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Thursday that an unidentified drone approached one of UNIFIL’s ships off the southern coast of Lebanon. He added that UNIFIL used counter-electronic measures to deal with the drone, causing it to crash and explode spontaneously.
In the past 24 hours, 96 airstrikes and shelling in various areas of Lebanon were recorded, mostly concentrated in the south and Nabatieh, bringing the total number of attacks to 10,246 since the start of the aggression.
Intense Israeli airstrikes continued without warnings in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, targeting the Islamic Health Authority center in the town of Burj ash-Shamali, while clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army raged in the border towns. Hezbollah continued to bombard northern Israel with dozens of rockets. According to Israeli news sites, wounded soldiers were transported to hospitals in Haifa and Tel Aviv.
The Israeli army said in a statement on Thursday that five of its soldiers were killed and others wounded during fighting in southern Lebanon. According to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN), the soldiers were killed after entering a multi-story house, where they were ambushed and shot directly by Hezbollah fighters at close range. The report added that nine soldiers were critically injured.
Political Positions in Lebanon
French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro met with the Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri to discuss the agenda of the international conference that France will host on October 24 to support Lebanon, their conversation focused mainly on the assistance for the Lebanese Armed Forces.
The Lebanese Minister of Defense reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to the presence of UNIFIL forces in the south and emphasized its cooperation with the Lebanese army in fully implementing Resolution 1701.
“Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc” MP Hasan Fadlallah confirmed that the Israeli army has not yet totally controlled any village in southern Lebanon. Speaking to reporters from Parliament, he noted that Hezbollah's leadership is coordinating with the Speaker of Parliament regarding efforts to reach a ceasefire and emphasized that there is no option but resistance, asserting that victory is inevitable.
Humanitarian Response in Lebanon
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Lebanese Minister of Health Firas Abiad stated that "Israel is targeting health and emergency teams in Lebanon," noting that a quarter of the population has become displaced and warning of a potential outbreak of epidemics among them. He stressed that "the health sector in Lebanon remains resilient."
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that the risk of a cholera outbreak in Lebanon is "very high" after confirming the first case of the bacterial infection amid the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The organization highlighted the risk of cholera spreading among the hundreds of thousands displaced since Israel escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah and launched ground operations aimed at pushing Hezbollah fighters away from its northern border.
The Lebanese Red Cross announced that two paramedics were injured during a rescue mission coordinated with UNIFIL in the town of Jwaya. In addition, Civil Defense evacuated four Civil Defense centers in the south and the redeployment of personnel and equipment to the Lebanese army barracks in Zahrani due to the dangerous situation in the region.
The Minister of Education issued a decision organizing the registration process for students, urging them to go to public schools that have opened their doors or to the nearest shelter to register their names.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported the casualties in the past 24 hours, recording 45 martyrs and 179 wounded, bringing the total since the start of the aggression to 2,412 martyrs and 11,285 wounded.
The number of designated shelters has reached 1,096, of which 900 have reached full capacity.
The number of displaced persons in designated shelters stands at 190,882 (44,121 families).
The General Security Directorate reported the crossing of 333,893 Syrian citizens and 132,074 Lebanese citizens into Syrian territory.
A plane from Saudi Arabia and another from the UAE arrived in Lebanon carrying humanitarian and medical aid.
The British Embassy in Lebanon announced that the "Disasters Emergency Committee," which includes 15 British Charity organizations, launched an urgent humanitarian appeal in the Middle East to raise funds to help people devastated by the conflict. Fourteen British charities, members of the committee, responded to the appeal, working in Gaza and Lebanon, with eight of them also working in the West Bank.
International Positions
Egypt and Spain jointly called for a "comprehensive de-escalation" in Gaza and Lebanon and urged increased international efforts to stop the escalation to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian situation. They emphasized the importance of "opening the path towards peace based on the two-state solution."
The High Representative of the Europe Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated that the situation in the Middle East is a humanitarian catastrophe and that the U.S. decision to give Israel one month to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is insufficient, as many will die during this time. He called on the EU Council to strongly condemn the Israeli attacks on UNIFIL in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told “Le Figaro” that Israel will destroy all the military infrastructure that Hezbollah has built over two decades.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon is vital to ending the war in the region and should be strengthened, not withdrawn from the combat zones, as Israel has demanded.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced its opposition to the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as actions aimed at escalating tensions and expanding the conflict.
Human Rights Watch called on Israeli authorities to stop their "destructive campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)." In a statement, the organization urged Israel to "withdraw the proposed legislation in the Knesset aimed at preventing UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories." It added that "the proposed legislation would undermine UNRWA's ability to provide humanitarian aid, education, and other essential services regionally, and would threaten aid to Gaza." The statement also noted that "the use of starvation as a weapon is a war crime," and called on governments, including the United States, which has not yet resumed its funding to UNRWA, to publicly support and fully fund UNRWA and demand that Israel withdraw the proposed bill.
Three international organizations called on Israel to allow the evacuation of Al Jazeera journalists Ali Al-Attar and Al-Wahidi from Gaza for treatment after they were wounded by Israeli fire and airstrikes. The Committee to Protect Journalists stated that it had not yet received an Israeli response to the request for the journalists' evacuation.
