50 Palestinians killed in Jabalia refugee camp strike; Israel continues to bombard Gaza: Top developments on Day 26

As the fighting continues, here are the key developments on day 26 of the war.

1. 01

   Foreigners, wounded set to leave Gaza as Rafah crossing opens

   Dozens of people could be seen entering the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt today. It appeared to be the first time foreign passport holders have been allowed to leave the besieged territory since the start of the war.

   Hundreds have gathered at the crossing at different times in recent weeks, but have not been allowed out due to disagreements among Egypt, Israel and Hamas. Egyptian state-run media reported that more than 80 wounded Palestinians would be brought from Gaza to Egypt on Wednesday for medical treatment. Ambulances were seen entering the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side, and a field hospital has been set up in the nearby town of Sheikh Zuweid.

   Foreign passport holders leave Palestine’s Gaza through its Rafah border crossing on November 1, after an agreement was brokered allowing the movement of some foreigners and numerous critically injured civilians into Egypt pic.twitter.com/ijsg4RMefh

   — TRT World (@trtworld) November 1, 2023

   The Palestinian crossing authority said more than 400 foreign passport holders would be permitted to leave Gaza on Wednesday. Egypt has said it will not accept an influx of Palestinian refugees because of fears Israel will not allow them to return to Gaza after the war. (AP)

2. 02

   Communication blackout in Gaza. Again.

   Gaza has once again suffered a communication blackout, providers Paltel and Jawwal said Wednesday. In an email to The Associated Press, internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that Gaza “is in the midst of a total or near-total telecoms blackout consistent with” the weekend blackout.

   ⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show that the #Gaza Strip is in the midst of a new internet blackout with high impact to the last remaining major operator, Paltel; the incident will be experienced as a total loss of telecommunications by most residents 📉 pic.twitter.com/uYAFEHLH7x

   — NetBlocks (@netblocks) November 1, 2023

   Connectivity was previously cut from late Friday to early Sunday, coinciding with the entry of large numbers of ground troops into Gaza in what Israel at the time described as a new stage in the war. Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful early Wednesday.

   Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said the blackout has hampered its activities. Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for the group, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, said the blackout has made it “impossible to coordinate” its activities. She said they have been unable to reach the group’s team in Gaza hospitals since Tuesday evening. (AP)

3. 03

   50 Gazans killed in Jabalia refugee camp bombing

   Around 50 Palestinians were killed in the airstrikes on the camp, which Israel said targeted a senior Hamas leader and a command centre set up in civilian houses and an underground tunnel network. Photos and videos showed the aftermath of the strikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in which residents dug across large craters and rubble to locate survivors under the collapsed buildings.

   Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. (Reuters)

4. 04

   Israel says airstrike on refugee camp targeted Hamas operative

   Israel Defence Forces, in a statement, said that the airstrike on Gaza’s largest refugee camp had killed Ibrahim Biari and dozens of Hamas combatants who were in the same underground tunnel complex as Biari.

   🔴 IDF fighter jets eliminated Ibrahim Biari, Commander of Hamas' Central Jabaliya Battalion. Biari was one of the leaders responsible for the murderous terror attack on October 7th.

   The strike damaged Hamas’ command and control in the area and eliminated a large number of… pic.twitter.com/nfJImr5g50

   — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 31, 2023

   “He [Biari] was very important, I would say even pivotal in the planning and the execution of the October 7 attack against Israel from the northeastern parts of the Gaza Strip,” said IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, as per a Reuters report.

   “And I understand that is also the reason why there are many reports of collateral damage and non-combatant casualties. We’re looking into those as well,” Cornicus added.

5. 05

   Top-ranking UN official resigns over 'genocide' of Palestinians

   A top-ranking official in the UN Human Rights office has resigned over the organisation's inability to stop the "wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people".

   Craig Mokhiber, who worked as the director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a resignation letter dated October 28, wrote: "Once again we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes and the organisation we serve appears powerless to stop it."

   Director of NY office of @UNHumanRights Craig Mokhiber: "Once again, we are seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes, and the Organization that we serve appears powerless to stop it." pic.twitter.com/38RmnZ9tnJ

   — Ali Abunimah is now on bluesky (@AliAbunimah) October 31, 2023

   "The current wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist colonial settler ideology, in continuation of decades of their systematic persecution and purging, based entirely upon their status as Arabs … leaves no room for doubt," he said, terming the current war a "text book case of genocide."

6. 06

   19 members of Al Jazeera engineer’s family killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza

   The news became personal for a broadcast engineer working with Al Jazeera after 19 members of his family, including his father and two sisters, were killed in the Israeli air strikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza on Tuesday.

   Mohamed Abu Al-Qumsan, who works with the Al Jazeera bureau in Gaza, lost his father, two sisters, eight nephews and nieces, brother, brother’s wife, and their four children, his sister-in-law, and one uncle in the air strike. Israel has claimed that the strike was targeted at a senior Hamas leader and a militant command centre set up in civilian houses and an underground tunnel network in the camp premises. (Read more)

7. 07

   Bolivia severs ties with Israel, others recall envoys over Gaza

   Bolivia said it had broken diplomatic ties with Israel because of its attacks on the Gaza Strip, while neighbours Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors to the Middle Eastern country for consultations.

   Comunicado de prensa

   El Gobierno de Colombia expresa su más enérgico rechazo por las acciones de las fuerzas de seguridad israelíes en Gaza, en áreas densamente pobladas por civiles, lo que ha resultado en un saldo de más de 8000 víctimas, entre ellos cientos de niños y niñas.👇 pic.twitter.com/ZyBJFGZP8r

   — Cancillería Colombia (@CancilleriaCol) November 1, 2023

   The three South American nations lambasted Israel's attacks on Gaza and condemned the deaths of Palestinian citizens. The three countries called for a ceasefire, with Bolivia and Chile pushing for the passage of humanitarian aid into the zone and accusing Israel of violating international law.

   Other Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, have also called for a ceasefire. "What we have now is the insanity of Israel's prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva today. (Reuters)

8. 08

   US House Republicans' Israel-only aid bill opposed in Senate, by Biden

   US senators from both parties voiced doubts about House Republicans' plan to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting Internal Revenue Service funding, without providing aid to Ukraine, and Democratic President Joe Biden threatened to veto the bill were it to pass.

   In the first major legislative action under new Speaker Mike Johnson, House of Representatives Republicans unveiled a standalone supplemental spending bill only for Israel on Monday. This is despite President Joe Biden's request for a $106 billion package that would include aid for Israel and Ukraine and funding to boost competition with China in the Indo-Pacific as well as security along the US border with Mexico.

   It was a privilege to speak this evening with my friend @netanyahu. The House of Representatives stands with Israel and I reaffirmed our strong support. pic.twitter.com/pzoh2SuMBb

   — Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 27, 2023

   Republicans have a 221-212 majority in the House, but Biden's fellow Democrats control the Senate 51-49. To become law, the bill would have to pass both the House and Senate and be signed by Biden. (Reuters)

9. 09

   Palestinian death toll climbs to 8,500

   Israeli ground forces are attacking Hamas in Gaza City as the war that has killed over 8,525 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis continues to escalate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting calls for a ceasefire.

   The toll includes 3,542 Palestinian children. In Israel, about 300 soldiers and some 1,100 civilians were killed by the Hamas in the October 7 attack.

   Meanwhile, the Israeli military rescued one of the 240-odd hostages taken to Gaza after Hamas’ brutal incursion — the first rescue since the weeks-long war began.

10. 10

    As Israeli losses mount, Netanyahu vows victory in long Gaza war

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel's war in Gaza would be long but victorious, in a statement in which he also mourned mounting military losses.

    "We are in a tough war. It will be a long war," he said. "I promise to all citizens of Israel: We will get the job done. We will press ahead until victory." (Reuters)

11. 11

    Power outage looming as Gaza hospitals run out of fuel

    Two of Gaza's main hospitals — Al Shifa Medical and the Indonesian Hospital — faced a power outage as their generators rapidly run out of fuel.

    Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for Gaza health ministry, called on petrol stations owners in the enclave to urgently provide fuel as doctors worked around the clock to treat casualties with whatever supplies they have at hand.

    "We take it an hour at a time," Dr. Mohammed al-Run said. (Reuters)