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Gaza Authorities Say 700 Palestinians Killed in Overnight Israeli Strikes as Calls Rise for Aid to Civilians

A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 23, 2023, shows smoke and debris ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 23, 2023, shows smoke and debris ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Gaza Authorities Say 700 Palestinians Killed in Overnight Israeli Strikes as Calls Rise for Aid to Civilians

A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 23, 2023, shows smoke and debris ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Israeli city of Sderot on October 23, 2023, shows smoke and debris ascending over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

More than 700 Palestinians were killed overnight by Israeli air strikes, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Tuesday, the highest 24-hour death toll in Israel's two-week-old "total siege", as pressure grew for aid to be allowed into the enclave unimpeded.

The Israeli military said it had hit over 400 Hamas militant targets and killed dozens of its fighters overnight, but that it would take time to destroy Gaza's ruling Islamist group, whose deadly cross-border attack on Oct. 7 shocked Israel.

With international aid agencies warning of a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Israel to offer it support.

Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Israel in its war with Hamas but that it must not fight "without rules". Netanyahu said Israel would try to protect civilians as it worked to ensure they "will no longer live under Hamas tyranny".

United Nations agencies called "on our knees" on Tuesday for emergency aid to be allowed unimpeded into Gaza, saying more than 20 times current deliveries were needed to support its Palestinian population after two weeks of Israeli bombardment.

The World Health Organization, in the latest of increasingly desperate UN appeals, called for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" to allow safe deliveries of aid.

Doctors in Gaza say patients arriving at hospitals are showing signs of disease caused by overcrowding and poor sanitation after more than 1.4 million people fled their homes for temporary shelters under Israel's heaviest-ever bombardment.

But there appeared to be little prospect of a ceasefire any time soon in the bloodiest episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades.

Gaza's health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardments of the densely populated territory since Oct. 7, including 2,360 children. A total of 704 were killed in the previous 24 hours alone, it said.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said it was the highest 24-hour number of deaths in the two weeks of Israeli bombing.

After an air strike in Khan Younis, Abdallah Tabash held his dead daughter Sidra, refusing to let go as he held her bloodstained face and hair. "I want to look at her as much as I can," he said.

Israeli tanks and troops are massed on the border between Israel and the enclave awaiting orders for an expected ground invasion - an operation that may be complicated by fears for the hostages' welfare and militants heavily armed by Iran dug into a crowded urban setting using a vast network of tunnels.

The bombardments were unleashed in response to a shock cross-border Hamas assault into southern Israel in which gunmen killed over 1,400 people - mostly civilians - in a single day.

'I’ve been through hell’

Hamas on Monday freed two Israeli women who were among the more than 200 hostages taken during the rampage - the third and fourth to be released.

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, said she was beaten by militants as she was abducted and had difficulty breathing. "They stormed into our homes. They beat people. They kidnapped others, the old and the young without distinction," she said, seated in a wheelchair and speaking in barely a whisper to reporters.

"I've been through hell," Lifshitz said.

Inside Gaza, a group of hostages were led into what Lifshitz called a "spider's web" of damp tunnels and eventually reached a large hall where, under 24-hour guard, a doctor visited every other day and brought them medicines they needed.

"They treated us gently and met all our needs," she said.

‘Ready and determined’

Among the targets Israel said it hit overnight was a tunnel that allowed Hamas to infiltrate Israel from the sea, as well as Hamas command centers in mosques, it said. Reuters could not verify the report.

Wide areas of highly urbanized Gaza have been demolished by Israeli bombs, forcing more than half of its 2.3 million people to seek shelter elsewhere in the territory. Food, clean water, medicine and fuel are fast running out.

Residents said several people were killed or wounded when an Israeli missile hit a petrol station in Khan Younis, where people who fled the eastern side of the city were gathered to charge their devices and fill water canisters.

"They bombed them in their sleep," said Abdallah Abu Al-Atta, who lives by the petrol station.

More than 40 medical centers halted operations after they ran out of fuel or were damaged by Israeli bombing, the health ministry spokesman said.

‘No green light’

How soon Israel might launch a full-scale invasion of Gaza remains unclear. The Middle East's most powerful military faces a group that has built up a powerful arsenal with Iran's help.

World powers are concerned the conflict could ignite the entire region and some have urged Israel to exercise restraint, while affirming its right to self-defense.

The outcome is unclear: Palestinian hopes for an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory were already remote, with peace talks a distant memory, and Netanyahu's right-wing government expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Deadly clashes have worsened between the Israeli military and Palestinians in the West Bank, and resurged between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group along the two countries' volatile border.

Fears of regional escalation focus on Iran's network of proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Any wider conflagration would jeopardize security in a region key to global energy supplies.

US officials told Reuters the US military is taking new steps to protect its troops in the Middle East as concerns mount about attacks by Iran-backed groups, and it is leaving open the possibility of evacuations of military families if needed.

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Arab World

Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
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Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan has stressed the judiciary’s support for government efforts to bring weapons under state control based on a plan adopted by the Coordination Framework.

Zidan made the remarks during a meeting Monday with the new US chargé d’affaires in Iraq, Steven Fagin. A statement from the Supreme Judicial Council said the two discussed the judiciary’s role in supporting the government’s program to restrict weapons to the state.

The process will proceed under “a well-studied plan” adopted by the Coordination Framework, with a committee established by the alliance tasked with preparing it and announcing it once completed and at the appropriate time. The plan is intended to uphold Iraq’s positive relations with the international community and ensure compliance with the constitution and the law.

Legal and political sources have previously indicated that the Iraqi judiciary is determined to designate militias as terrorist organizations if they refuse to disarm by the deadline for the withdrawal of international coalition forces.

Coordination Framework leaders were also expected to hold their weekly meeting Monday to discuss several issues, foremost among them bringing weapons under state control, completing the government lineup and proposed amendments to the Popular Mobilization Forces law.

Coalition withdrawal

With the Sept. 30 deadline for the withdrawal of US-led international coalition forces approaching, uncertainty continues to surround key political and security issues, particularly efforts to disarm Iran-aligned factions.

Washington has repeatedly pressed Baghdad in recent months to resolve the issue, warning that failure to do so could expose Iraq to economic and political sanctions at a time when the country is already facing financial strains.

A source close to the Coordination Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government had softened its previously firm rhetoric on disarming the factions, while armed groups had become increasingly vocal in rejecting the demand.

The source attributed the shift to tense discussions within the Coordination Framework and between its leaders and al-Zaidi. The prime minister has repeatedly warned of the risks of failing to disarm and pointed to US demands, while some Framework leaders believe there is room to maneuver with Washington.

Conflicting statements by Framework leaders are also part of an effort to buy time, the source added, as the alliance faces pressure from two sides: Washington, which wants the issue resolved, and Tehran, which opposes disarmament.

State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki recently raised the possibility of distinguishing between heavy, medium and light weapons, questioning whether restrictions should cover all arms or only weapons capable of striking domestic or foreign targets.

His comments were widely interpreted as a shift toward opposing comprehensive disarmament, prompting his office director, Hisham al-Rikabi, to say they had been “misunderstood.”

Factions resist disarmament

Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada are among the most prominent Iran-aligned factions strongly resisting disarmament. Their demands have included the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq and placing Kurdish Peshmerga forces under the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Firas Elias, a political science professor at the University of Mosul, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sept. 30 was unlikely to mark a comprehensive handover of weapons.

Instead, he expects the deadline to begin a lengthy process involving the coalition’s withdrawal, a transitional period, the classification of factions and weapons, and the integration or redistribution of some fighters, alongside efforts to place heavy weapons, drones and missiles under state supervision.

The factions’ stringent conditions may indicate a shift from rejecting disarmament outright to negotiating the price of surrendering their weapons autonomy, Elias said.

The equation, he added, is moving from “weapons versus the state” to “weapons versus guarantees,” with factions setting demands Baghdad cannot fully meet so they can later concede some conditions while retaining part of their power and influence.

Arab World

New Battlefronts in Yemen Leave Houthis in Disarray

Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
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New Battlefronts in Yemen Leave Houthis in Disarray

Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)
Armed forces celebrate their advances in al-Jawf. (X)

The Yemeni army and the National Resistance made progress on the ground on Monday across fronts in the Taiz, al-Bayda, and al-Jawf governorates, amid successive collapses and retreats among the Houthis. Al-Jawf is witnessing tribal mobilization in support of government forces following their field advances.

Yemeni army media announced that government forces secured a tactical breakthrough on the al-Bayda front, successfully liberating the Hayd al-Khazzan and al-Falhan areas up to the al-Nasifa region. The development allows the forces an advantage to sever Houthi supply lines between the central and southern governorates.

The advance coincided with the establishment of control over all hills and plateaus overlooking the al-Zaher district.

The director of media for the al-Bayda governorate, Aref Al-Amari, confirmed that the armed forces have tightened their control over the strategic highlands overlooking al-Zaher.

He noted that forces are currently combing al-Nasifa in preparation for an advance toward the Dhi Naem area, a development that strengthens the position of government forces in the governorate.

Spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces Colonel Maeen al-Nuzaili said the forces are achieving progress and victories on the al-Jawf and al-Bayda fronts as part of operations "aimed at restoring state institutions and ending the Houthi coup."

He called on the group's operatives to abandon their positions with their light weapons to save their lives.

On the western front, the Joint Forces managed to secure a vital artery in al-Kadha connecting Taiz city to the western coast, following the defeat of Houthis stationed in the controlling highlands.

Government forces targeted massive Houthi military reinforcements west of Taiz city, leaving heavy losses in lives and equipment.

Comprising more than 21 military vehicles, they were heading to support the al-Barh and Maqbanah fronts.

Meanwhile, tribes were mobilizing in al-Jawf to support the armed forces against the Houthis. According to local sources, the tribes moved toward the al-Yatma district.

Arab World

Assad-era Syrian Reactor was Configured for Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Chief Says

The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023 (Reuters)
The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023 (Reuters)
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Assad-era Syrian Reactor was Configured for Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Chief Says

The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023 (Reuters)
The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the organization's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2023 (Reuters)

The Assad-era government in Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor that was configured to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday.

The “configuration” and the “technical features” of the nuclear reactor under construction in Syria during the leadership of ousted former President Bashar Assad were “very efficient in the production of fissile material that could be directly used for the fabrication of nuclear weapons,” IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said.

“Of course, that was never declared, that was always denied, so, and again, intentions cannot be judged, but that was a very serious proliferation concern that we had, and this has been difficult work,” he told reporters on the first day of a regular meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, in Vienna.

Syria was believed to have operated an extensive undeclared nuclear program under Assad that included a nuclear reactor built by North Korea in eastern Deir Ezzor province.

Following Assad’s ouster, the new government agreed to give IAEA inspectors access to suspected former nuclear sites.

During a visit to Syria in August, IAEA inspectors confirmed that “the cooling infrastructure which has now been uncovered is consistent with that of a nuclear reactor.” Grossi and a team of senior inspectors also visited a previously undeclared site in the country.

Syria notified the agency of the site’s existence in a July 17 letter and invited the IAEA “to cooperate with the Syrian authorities in the inspection and verification of the site and of any nuclear material to be potentially found.”

The IAEA said in its confidential report circulated to member states last Tuesday and seen by The Associated Press that this new site contained “natural uranium metal in the form of fuel rods with cladding.” The agency verified the material and confirmed “the presence of around 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal.”

Grossi said when the inspectors visited the site in August they had to “tear down walls” and go through “very difficult and narrow passages” to reach the nuclear material that had been hidden. The site had “boxes scattered all over the place,” he said.

Grossi said that “the important thing is that this material now is under safeguards” of the IAEA, adding that agency inspectors had managed to install cameras at the location, The AP reported.

Asked if the nuclear material will remain in Syria or be removed, Grossi said that this is “a matter that the Syrian government will have to decide.” He added: “We are not requesting them to do this or to do that. For us what’s important is that we know all the time where this (material) is until the last gram.”

Logan Mintz, a director for nuclear materials security at the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, said that natural uranium metal is not directly usable for a nuclear weapon but it could be “diverted to a covert weapons program that further processes it into plutonium for a nuclear weapon.”

She said that once deemed safe to move, the material could be “transported in certified containers” to a third country that can “safely and securely disposition it into a more chemically stable and more widely used form” for possible use in nuclear power plants.

“As with any transport of nuclear material, this movement would require robust security from theft or sabotage,” she said.