Israel-Palestine Conflict LIVE: Over 3,600 Killed As War Enters 5th Day; India Sets Up 24-hr Control Room to Monitor Situation

Israel’s strike on Gaza killed four Paramedics, said the Palestinian Red Crescent as reported by AFP.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a visiting delegation of US senators on Wednesday condemned the “indiscriminate attack” by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel after a meeting in Seoul, Yoon’s office said.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas is worse than ISIS and tweeted a picture blood stains can be seen on a wall in the room.

Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip struggled to find any safe area Wednesday, as Israeli strikes demolished entire neighbourhoods, hospitals ran low on supplies and a power blackout was expected within hours, deepening the misery of a war sparked by a stunning and deadly assault by Hamas militants.

Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris. The bombardment raged on even though militants are holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired missiles on Israel Wednesday drawing retaliatory Israeli fire, after three of its members were killed earlier this week amid soaring border tensions.

The exchange of fire came as Israel massed troops and heavy armour around Gaza in its retaliatory campaign against Hamas militants in a conflict that has left hundreds dead on both sides.

Afghanistan’s acting president-in-exile Amrullah Saleh, who spoke to News18 exclusively from an undisclosed location, said the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel will be “inspirational for other terror groups and even lead to repetition”. This is Saleh’s first-ever interview in almost two years to any media publication around the world. READ MORE

In view of the ongoing developments in Israel and Palestine, a 24-hour Control Room has been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs to monitor the situation and provide information and assistance. The contact details of the control room are as under:

1800118797 (Toll free) +91-11 23012113 +91-11-23014104 +91-11-23017905 +919968291988 situationroom@mea.gov.in

The Indian Embassy in Israel has issued a helpline number along with an email ID to contact, in case of any emergencies.

Emergency Helpline/Contact: +972-35226748; +972-543278392

Email: cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in

The IDF carried out a targeted airstrike at the Islamic University in Gaza City, which it said was an important Hamas operational center, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, Jerusalem Post reported.

Sirens sounded in the city of Ashkelon in Israel, says IDF

Israel’s ambassador to India Naor Gilon spoke exclusively to News18 in which underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first few world leaders to show support to Israel after the Gaza attack on October 7. He underlined that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had updated PM Modi about the situation in the country, but said “it’s better to keep the details of the meeting because we don’t want to expose any of our intentions for the coming weeks”.

With the Indian government evacuating its nearly 18,000 citizens in war-torn Israel, ambassador Gilon said he does not have “full figures” but there are no Indian casualties reported so far. READ MORE

Israel shelled south Lebanon Wednesday following rocket fire from the border area, Lebanese state media said, the latest exchange on Israel’s northern border as it battles Hamas militants in Gaza.

“The area around Dhayra is being bombarded by enemy artillery, while the area around Yarin is being hit with phosphorus shells,” Lebanon’s National News Agency said, earlier reporting “two rockets fired from Lebanese territory”.

The Israeli military said that “in response to the anti-tank missiles that were launched at… soldiers a short while ago, the IDF (army) is currently striking in Lebanese territory”.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired missiles on Israel Wednesday in retaliation for the killing of three members earlier this week amid soaring tensions as Israel battles Gaza militants.

Hezbollah “targeted a Zionist (Israeli) position… facing Dhayra village, with guided missiles,” in a “firm response to Zionist attacks… which led to the martyrdom of a number of brothers,” the group said in a statement.

At least eight journalists were killed and two others went missing in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, aa.com reported quoting the Palestinian enclave’s press office on Wednesday.

The Israeli attack on Gaza started after Hamas’s surprise offensive in Israel on Saturday.

As per the statement, the slain journalists were Said al-Tavil, Muhammed Subh, Hisham en-Nawacihe, Ibrahim Lafi, Muhammed Cergun, Muhammed es-Salihi, Esad Shemlah and Selame Mime. Two other journalists, Nidal al-Vahidi and Heysem Abdulvahid, were unaccounted for.

Gaza’s government says the area is facing a humanitarian disaster, calls on international community to halt Israel’s attacks, reported The Spectator Index.

Gaza’s power authority says its sole power plant will fun out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies. Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas’ bloody rampage over the weekend. All of Gaza’s crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied. The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.

China is seeking to work with Egypt to help ease the Israel-Hamas war that erupted after a deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group, its Middle East envoy has said as he urged a ceasefire.

Zhai Jun spoke by phone on Tuesday with Egypt’s assistant minister for the Palestinian territories, according to a readout of the conversation published by Beijing.

“China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with Egypt, push both parties of the conflict to cease fire and stop violence as soon as possible,” Zhai said.

• In 1967, Israel made a pre-emptive strike against Egypt and Syria, launching the Six-Day War. Israel has occupied the West Bank, Arab East Jerusalem, which it captured from Jordan, and Syria’s Golan Heights ever since.
• In 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions along the Suez Canal and Golan Heights, beginning the Yom Kippur War. Israel pushed both armies back within three weeks.
• Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and thousands of Palestinian fighters under Yasser Arafat were evacuated by sea after a 10-week siege. In 2006, war erupted in Lebanon again when Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers and Israel retaliated.
• In 2005 Israel quit Gaza, which it had captured from Egypt in 1967. But Gaza saw major flare-ups in 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021 that involved Israeli air raids and Palestinian rocket fire, and sometimes also cross border incursions by either side.
• As well as wars, there have been two Palestinian intifadas or uprisings between 1987-1993 and again in 2000-05. The second saw waves of Hamas suicide bombings against Israelis.

(Credit: Reuters)

The conflict pits Israeli demands for security in what it has long regarded as a hostile region against Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own. Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the modern State of Israel on May 14, 1948, establishing a safe-haven for Jews fleeing persecution and seeking a national home on land to which they cite deep ties over generations.

Palestinians lament Israel’s creation as the Nakba, or catastrophe, that resulted in their dispossession and blocked their dreams of statehood. In the war that followed, some 700,000 Palestinians, half the Arab population of what was British-ruled Palestine, fled or were driven from their homes, ending up in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel, a close U.S. ally, contests the assertion it drove Palestinians from their homes and points out it was attacked by five Arab states the day after its creation. Armistice pacts halted the fighting in 1949 but there was no formal peace. Palestinians who stayed put in the war today form the Arab Israeli community, making up about 20% of Israel’s population.

(Credit Reuters) 

A two-state solution, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, and refugees are at the core of the dispute.

• Two-state solution: an agreement that would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Hamas rejects the two-state solution and is sworn to Israel’s destruction. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarised so as not to threaten Israel.
• Settlements: Most countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel occupied in 1967 as illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and Biblical ties to the land. Their continued expansion is among the most contentious issues between Israel, the Palestinians and the international community.
• Jerusalem: Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which includes sites sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, to be the capital of their state. Israel says Jerusalem should remain its “indivisible and eternal” capital. Israel’s claim to the eastern part of Jerusalem is not recognised internationally. Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – without specifying the extent of its jurisdiction in the disputed city – and moved the U.S. embassy there in 2018.
• Refugees: Today about 5.6 million Palestinian refugees – mainly descendants of those who fled in 1948 – live in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. About half of registered refugees remain stateless, according to the Palestinian foreign ministry, many living in crowded camps. Palestinians have long demanded that refugees should be allowed to return, along with millions of their descendants. Israel says any resettlement of Palestinian refugees must occur outside of its borders.

(Credit Reuters)