Israel-Hamas war live updates: Freed hostage describes Hamas ordeal

October 24, 2023
MediaIntel.Asia

Gaza residents endure sleepless nights amid airstrikes and no power A destroyed home in Khan Younis today. Mohammed Dahman / AP In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, airstrikes have become a way of life. "I don't know how to sleep," Mohammed Abuakar, 22, told NBC News. "The situation is not good. There is very heavy bombing." "There is no electricity or water. The internet is very weak too," he said in messages via WhatsApp. Share this -
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Death toll in Gaza spikes to nearly 5,800 Friends and relatives pray by the bodies of the dead at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on Tuesday. Hatem Moussa / AP JERUSALEM — Health officials in Gaza said today the death toll has risen to 5,791 people, just a day after it had surpassed 5,000. More than 2,300 of the deaths were children, the officials said. The enclave that's home to more than 2 million people has been under a complete blockade for more than two weeks, with humanitarian organizations warning its healthcare system is on the brink of collapse. Share this -
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Israeli president says 'Lebanon will pay the price' if Hezbollah drags country into war Hezbollah fighters stand guard on a building roof top to protect their supporters during a pro-Palestinian protest in Beirut on Oct. 13. Hussein Malla / AP file Israel President Daniel Herzog said that the country does not want to expand the war by fighting with Hezbollah, but warned it was Lebanon that would suffer if fighting in the north escalates. "But if Hezbollah will drag us into all, it should be clear that Lebanon will pay the price," Herzog said. "Lebanon cannot be a sovereign member of the international community, its citizens carrying a Lebanese passport but when it comes to attacking Israel, they are not responsible." The remarks were made in a sit-down with the visiting French president, who has a strong diplomatic relationship with Lebanon. Macron expressed solidarity with Israel, describing the Oct. 7 ambush by Hamas as an awful attack. Macron said he has sent "very clear messages" to Hezbollah warning the group not to join the war. Share this -
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UNRWA 'struggling to comprehend' loss of 35 colleagues in Gaza The director of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), Thomas White, said the group is struggling to comprehend the loss of 35 staff members in Gaza since Oct. 7. The agency has previously said that many of the staffers who were killed were teachers in UNRWA schools. Share this -
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Macron proposes 'international coalition' against Hamas France's leader has proposed creating an international against Hamas and the larger existential threat of terrorism. "This fight against terrorism is obviously a matter of existence for Israel but it's a matter of existence for all of us," Macron said at a news conference with Netanyahu. "This is why we discussed together. ... I consider this is an international coalition to fight against terrorist groups that we have to build." Macron in Jerusalem today. Christophe Ena / AP Macron's remark is an echo to the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, a federation of 86 member states that was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS. Netanyahu responded to Macron by describing Hamas as a part of the "Axis of Evil," which former President George W. Bush used to describe North Korea, Iran and Iraq in his 2002 State of the Union speech. Netanyahu is using the term to describe Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, an Islamist group based in Yemen. Share this -
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Gaza's health chief says aid 'throws dust in the eyes' The aid coming into Gaza is "throwing dust in the eyes" of residents and falls short of meeting the needs of the 2 million people who have been under Israel's blockade for more than two weeks, the director-general of Gaza’s health ministry said. People unload boxes of medicine at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis yesterday. Mohammed Dahman / AP "Until now, we have not received a single piece of the aid that is being talked about entering the Gaza Strip," Munir Al-Bursh said. His comments come after the first convoys of aid trucks crossed into Gaza from Egypt over the weekend. NBC News reached out to the United Nations, which has been coordinating the distribution of aid, for comment. Share this -
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'I went through hell': Released hostage says she was beaten with sticks One of the two Hamas hostages released yesterday has told reporters at a hospital in Tel Aviv that she went through "hell" when she was seized by militants who attacked her kibbutz. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, described the ordeal of being taken hostage but also her time in captivity, where she said she was treated well. She spoke at the hospital, sat in a wheelchair alongside her daughter and surrounded by members of the media. Yocheved Lifshitz at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv today. Ariel Schalit / AP "I went through hell," said Lifshitz, who was released along with Nurit Cooper, 79. "We never thought and never knew that we could reach a situation like this." She detailed how she was put on a motorcycle to be taken into Gaza, beaten with sticks, and then taken through a network of tunnels. But Lifshitz said she received medical care in captivity and was treated well. Share this -
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Chinese foreign minister speaks with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Israel not to neglect civilian safety in the process of defending itself, while telling his Palestinian counterpart that China “deeply sympathizes” with his people. “All countries have the right to self-defense, but they should abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians,” he said yesterday in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing today. Ken Ishi / Pool via Getty Images Separately, Wang told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China “deeply sympathizes with the difficult situation of Palestine, especially the people of Gaza” and that China would continue to provide humanitarian aid. China, like Russia, has not explicitly condemned Hamas over the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, driving a further wedge between the two countries and the United States. The Israel-Hamas war is likely to be a topic of discussion as Wang visits Washington from Thursday to Saturday. He will meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in what could be a prelude to a meeting next month between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which would be their first in a year. Share this -
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4 Palestinians killed in arrest raids in the West Bank, U.N. agency says In an escalation of violence, at least 95 Palestinians, including 28 children, have been killed by military activity or settler violence in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The last few weeks have been the deadliest period for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2008. Mourners carry the bodies two Palestinian men killed in the Israeli occupied West Bank on Monday. Zain Jaafar / AFP - Getty Images Four people were killed between Sunday and yesterday, OCHA said, during two search-and-arrest operations in Ramallah and Nablus. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified two of the dead as Muhammad Nidal Yaqoub Alyan, 22, and Mahmoud Saif Ahmed Nakhla, 20. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Authority said 85 were arrested in a targeted campaign in the West Bank by dawn yesterday. There have been 1,215 arrests in the West Bank since the Oct. 7 attack. Share this -
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Two released hostages recovering at Tel Aviv hospital The two elderly hostages who were released by Hamas yesterday have been recovering at the Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv. The hospital said in a video statement that the medical condition of the two women was "fine" and they had a reunion with their family members. "Right now, for them and for the family members, it’s a very, very exciting situation. We are happy that they are here with us," the hospital's spokesperson said. Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, were released by Hamas for what the militants said were humanitarian reasons. Their elderly husbands remain in captivity, according to Israeli officials. Share this -
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France's Macron arrives in Israel in show of solidarity French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Israel today in a show of support, following visits by President Joe Biden and several European leaders in recent days. His office said Macron's objectives for the visit include de-escalating violence, pleading for a humanitarian truce and releasing hostages. Christophe Ena / AFP - Getty Images In a post on X, Marcon said he met with the families of the French-Israeli victims, killed or kidnapped by Hamas, adding that France is "linked to Israel" by mourning. Meanwhile, France's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, reported yesterday that France saw 588 incidents of anti-Semitism since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, as he vowed to fight the spike with "total determination."
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Israel should not have 'unconditional greenlight' to kill, Qatar emir says Jacquelyn Martin / Pool via AP file DOHA — Qatar’s ruling emir has urged the international community not to grant Israel “unrestricted authorization to kill” Palestinians in its fight against Hamas, in what he called a dangerous escalation that threatens global security. “We say enough. Israel shouldn’t be granted an unconditional green light and unrestricted authorization to kill,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said in an annual speech to open the Gulf Arab state’s advisory Shura council, his first public comments since Qatar began its most recent efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas. The Palestinian health ministry said the Gaza death toll had topped 5,000 in two weeks of Israeli air strikes in response to Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which the Islamist militant group killed more than 1,400 people and captured more than 200 hostages. "We do not accept double standards and acting like the lives of Palestinian children aren’t accounted for, as if they don’t have faces or names," Sheikh Tamim said. Share this -
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Horrors of war hitting Israel, Gaza as war continues ISRAEL/GAZA BORDER — In Israel workers are trying to identify hundreds of unrecognizable bodies two weeks after the massacre by Hamas while in Gaza the death toll is increasing rapidly, making it difficult to name the dead. Share this -
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More than 400 targets hit in Gaza overnight, IDF says, as Gaza death toll rises A destroyed building in Gaza today. Hatem Ali / AP JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said it struck more than 400 targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours, and killed several Hamas commanders and numerous operatives preparing attacks on Israel. "In a wide-scale operation to dismantle Hamas’ terrorist capabilities, the IDF struck dozens of Hamas gunmen setting up to fire rockets and carry out terror attacks against the Israeli home front," the IDF said in a release Tuesday. It added that its fighter jets struck "dozens of terror infrastructure and Hamas staging grounds," and a tunnel that gave the militants quick access to the coastline. Amid the intensified bombardment, the death toll in Gaza continues to rise. According to Gaza health authorities, more than 5,500 people have been killed and about 17,000 injured. Share this -
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