At least 40 Palestinians were killed during the fresh overnight Israeli raids inside Gaza on early mornings of Thursday, October 19. This has taken the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza so far to more than 3,480. More than 13,000 Palestinians have been injured in Israeli attacks so far.
Israeli occupation forces also killed seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday. The total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood has reached 69.
Amid the news that Egypt has agreed to open Rafah borders with besieged Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian aid, Israeli warplanes targeted the border town and nearby Khan Younis in the overnight bombings destroying several residential buildings and killing dozens of civilians, reports say.
In the meanwhile, US president Joe Biden made a high-profile visit to Israel and extended complete support of his country to Israeli bombings in Gaza. Biden also confirmed Egypt’s agreement to open its border for humanitarian supplies during his visit.
However, there was no movement reported in the supply of aid through Rafah until Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, the US also vetoed yet another UN Security Council resolution demanding humanitarian pauses in Gaza. This was the second such US veto in the span of two days which has allowed Israel to continue its bombings of Palestinian civilians without any consequences.
The US was the sole vote against the resolution drafted by Brazil. The draft resolution had condemned Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 while asking for a ceasefire in Gaza to allow humanitarian assistance.
During his visit Biden also voiced his support to the Israeli claims that the attack on Al-Ahli Arab hospital was not carried out by Israel and it was done by the “other party”.
An Israeli air strike on the hospital on Tuesday killed at least 500 Palestinian, mostly injured and their relatives. The attack has led to large scale protests all across the world.
The UN Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) also reported that at least six Palestinians were killed when an Israeli bomb struck one of its schools in Khan Younis which was sheltering thousands of Palestinians displaced in Israeli bombings.
The UNRWA also warned on Wednesday, that nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are being forced to drink dirty water due to water supply being disrupted in the besieged territory. Israel has imposed a complete blockade on the supply of fuel and food since October 9. It has caused all power stations in Gaza to shut down due to lack of fuel and has also stopped water supply.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded at least 136 attacks on health care workers and infrastructure in besieged Gaza between October 7 and October 17 which killed 493 people and injured 382.
Meanwhile, popular mobilizations against the Israeli war in Gaza continued on Wednesday with thousands of people taking to the streets of several places such as Tunis, Amman, Kuwait city, Lebanon and in other parts of the world condemning Israeli attacks on Al-Ahli Arab hospital and Israeli genocide in Gaza in general.
