Israel-Hamas war live: Netanyahu says Israel’s siege ‘just getting started’; Hamas threatens hostage executions

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 187,518 people have fled their homes in Gaza, with 137,427 currently sheltering in UNRWA schools.

In a “flash update”, the UN office writes:

By [Monday] afternoon, over 187,518 people in Gaza are believed to have fled their homes, with UNRWA hosting 137,427 in 83 schools, some of which operated as emergency shelters. The number of IDPs represents the highest number of people displaced since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014, which was the deadliest escalation recorded in Gaza since 1967. Additionally, it is estimated that over 41,000 IDPs, whose homes have been destroyed or damaged, are hosted by relatives and neighbours. During the night of 9 October, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders to Palestinian communities in the Middle Area of Gaza and in Khan Yunis, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people who have been told to relocate into the centre of Gaza city amid ongoing hostilities.

Israeli airstrikes and land shelling continued overnight and throughout the day for the third consecutive day. Destruction of infrastructure and streets has hindered the movement of civil defense and medical teams to reach victims.

Palestine’s health ministry has released a statement claiming Israeli defence forces “targeted” ambulances in southern Gaza. Four ambulances have been “put out of service” the ministry claims:

The Israeli occupation forces targeted 4 ambulances in the Abasan area, east of Khan Yunis. The Ministry said that this aggressive targeting caused damage and put these cars out of service.

The Ministry indicated that these aggressive actions threaten the lives of citizens and hinder the work of medical teams in providing necessary health care to the injured. It appealed to the international community to intervene immediately to stop these aggressive attacks and protect health facilities.

Now from that Associated Press interview with exiled senior Hamas official Ali Barakeh.

Barakeh said Hamas is ready to fight a long war with Israel, saying it has an arsenal of rockets that will last a long time. He also said that the hostages taken by Hamas will be used to secure the release of Arabs detained in Israeli jails and Palestinians in US jails.

“We have prepared well for this war and to deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of the long war,” Barakeh told the AP. “We will bring life to a stop in the Zionist entity if the aggression does not stop on Gaza.”

Barakeh, who was Hamas’ representative in Lebanon for years and is now in charge of coordinating with other Palestinian factions, said his group will use the scores of Israelis it captured in the raid to secure the release of all Arabs detained in Israeli jails and even some Palestinians imprisoned in the United States on charges of funding Hamas.

“There are Palestinians held in America. We will ask for their release,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to.

In 2009, a court in Dallas sentenced two founding members of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the largest US Muslim charity, to 65 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars to Hamas. Three other men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years for conspiracy.

Janine Israel

Meanwhile U2 have paid tribute to the hundreds of “beautiful kids” killed at the Supernova music festival in Israel by altering the lyrics to one of their biggest hits at a concert in Las Vegas on Sunday.

During their performance at Sphere, where the Irish rock band are in the midst of a 25-show residency, frontman Bono reworded the lyrics to U2’s 1984 breakthrough song Pride (In the Name of Love), referring to those killed by Hamas fighters as “stars of David”.

Before launching into Pride (In the Name of Love), Bono said: “In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence.

“But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us … and those beautiful kids at that music festival.”

The Associated Press has interviewed a senior Hamas official who said only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about the wide-ranging incursion launched into Israel, but that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, spoke to The Associated Press in his Beirut office as Israel bombarded Gaza and vowed a total blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

Barakeh said the attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that even the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing. He denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack or gave the go-ahead at a meeting last week in Beirut.

“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said, adding that no one from the central command or the political bureau of Hamas was in the Lebanese capital last week.

He said even Hamas was shocked by the extent of the operation, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” saying it had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.

“We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

“His claim that Hamas has only planned a small operation is belied by the fact that an estimated 1,000 fighters took part in the incursion, attacking by land, sea and even motorised paragliders,” the Associated Press reports.