As the conflict between Israel and Gaza enters its 20th day, these are the main developments.
Here is the situation on Thursday, October 26, 2023:
Latest developments
Israeli air raids killed several family members of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, on Wednesday.
Israel’s Army Radio said it carried out a “relatively large” ground incursion into Gaza overnight. The army claimed it killed “many” fighters, and destroyed military infrastructure and antitank positions.
Competing US and Russian draft resolutions on the Israel-Gaza war have failed to pass the United Nations Security Council, either due to vetoes from permanent members, or insufficient votes in favour. Frustration between member states seems to be growing over disagreements on principles of self-defence and navigating humanitarian assistance.
Air attacks in Khan Younis have killed at least 18 people and injured several others, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Human impact and fighting
US President Joe Biden is receiving backlash from American Muslims for questioning the accuracy of the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which has now crossed 6,500. The Israel and Palestine director of Human Rights Watch responded, saying the death toll is reliable.
Israeli bombardment on Palestinian journalist Duaa Sharaf’s house killed Sharaf and her child in the early hours of Thursday, according to Wafa.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday that it intercepted a surface-to-air missile fired from Lebanon towards an army drone.
Overnight strikes across Tal al-Hawa in the south ignited a huge fire.
With 130 newborns already at risk of incubators shutting down, ICUs in Gaza no longer have water for some of them, according to Dr Mohammed Qandeel from Nasser Hospital.
An Oxfam report says starvation is being used as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.
(Al Jazeera)
Diplomacy
A summit of European Union leaders on Thursday will call for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s war on Gaza.
In the US House of Representatives, a pro-Israel resolution brought to the floor by Speaker Mike Johnson passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed a “pathway for a permanent peace”. The two leaders have been holding regular phone calls and discussing urgent safe passage for foreign nationals wishing to leave Gaza, according to the White House.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met the Israeli ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen. The minister called for fighting to be temporarily suspended in Gaza and for more humanitarian assistance to be delivered to the enclave.
UN Chief Antonio Guterres said his comments at the UNSC debate have been misinterpreted as “justifying acts of terror by Hamas”.
Escalation in the occupied West Bank
Ramping up overnight raids in the West Bank, Israeli forces have arrested more than 1,200 Palestinians across the occupied territory since October 7.
Armoured Israeli vehicles are again patrolling Nablus and Hebron overnight.
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera correspondent Charles Stratford said arrest attempts in Hebron seem to be focusing on female activists, including university students and a “well-known writer and political analyst”.
