Day Twenty-Six Of Swords Of Iron

12:30 pm
Citing “increased risk,” the Hyatt O'Hare will no longer host the  American Muslims for Palestine convention.

A Hamas official says they will repeat attacks on Israel “twice and three times.”

11 am
Last night, a fire was set and swastikas spray-painted in the Jewish section of the Central Cemetery in Vienna.

10:30 am
BBC News Arabic will shortly start an emergency radio service for Gaza with “with the latest information plus safety advice on where to access shelter, food and water supplies.”

Michigan Governor Whitmer canceled a planned appearance at a fundraiser for the HUDA Clinic after a pro-Palestinian group announced they would protest.

The IDF updated its KIA list to include: Sgt. Adi Danan, 20, from Yavne; Staff Sgt. Halel Solomon, 20, from Dimona; Staff Sgt. Erez Mishlovsky, 20, from Oranit; Staff Sgt. Adi Leon, 20, from Nili; Cpl. Ido Ovadia, 19, from Tel Aviv; Cpl. Lior Siminovich, 19, from Herzliya; Staff Sgt. Roei Dawi, 20, from Jerusalem; 2nd Lt. Pedayah Mark, 22, from Otniel; Staff Sgt. Roi Sargosti, 20, from Ramat Hanegev Regional Council; Staff Sgt. Itay Yehuda, 20, from Rishon Lezion; and Staff Sgt. Shay Arvas, 20, from Holon; plus Lt. Ariel Reich, 24, from Jerusalem and Cpl. Asif Luger, 21, from Yagur.

9 am
A Cornell University student is in custody for allegedly making death threats to Jewish fellow students.

Virginia AG Opens Investigation into Pro-Palestinian nonprofit.

8:30 am
The name Israel is now missing from online maps of the region appearing in China.

Two hundred-plus Columbia University professors “appalled,” “horrified” about campus antisemitism after some colleagues posted support for Hamas.

FBI Director says to Senate that 60 percent of all religion-based hate crimes have targeted Jewish people, calls level “historic.”

Republican senators renew calls to ban TikTok in the US, concerned that it is promoting pro-Hamas content as well as that it a spying and propaganda tool.

Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor promoted Israel-Hams War mis- and disinformation in a recent appearance with Tucker Carlson.

6 am
The Rafah border border crossing is open for evacuation of Palestinians requiring hospital treatment and foreign passport holders. It is not known how long it will remain open.

4:13 am
Israel accused Bolivia of “aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organization” after Bolivia broke diplomatic ties with Israel on Oct. 31. Israeli FM spokesperson Lior Haiat wrote on social media: "The government of Bolivia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Israel is a surrender to terrorism and to the Ayatollah’s regime in Iran. By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organization, which slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis and abducted 240 people, including children, women, babies and the elderly. Israel condemns Bolivia’s support of terrorism and its submission to the Iranian regime, which attest to the values the government of Bolivia represents. Since the change of government in Bolivia, relations between the countries have been devoid of content."

On Oct. 31, a Bolivian government minister said “We demand an end to the attacks on the Gaza Strip which have so far claimed thousands of civilian lives and caused the forced displacement of Palestinians.”  Chile and Colombia have also recalled their ambassadors from Israel.

The IDF deployed missile boats in the Red Sea. On Oct. 31, it intercepted a surface-to-surface missile and “hostile targets” in the Eilat region, which were later claimed by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists, who are backed by Iran. The IDF stated on Telegram social media: "In accordance with the situational assessment and as part of defensive efforts in the area, yesterday, Israeli Navy missile boats arrived in the area of the Red Sea."

Eilat is Israel’s southernmost city, which borders Egypt and Jordan. It also came under fire recently from a long-range missile attempt from Gaza.

According to Reuters, Qatar mediated an agreement between Egypt, Hamas and Israel, in coordination with the US, to open the Rafah crossing today to allow foreign passport-holders and some critically injured civilians out of Gaza.

Australian consular officials have sent emails to citizens in Gaza advising them to travel to Rafah amid reports that the crossing may soon open to them. The email tells them to “seize this opportunity to depart Gaza” provided that they “deem it safe to do so”.

At least 330 UK Labour councillors have signed a letter urging Labour leader Keir Starmer to back a ceasefire in Gaza, despite Starmer’s attempts to reassure the party over the issue. Starmer said he will not support calls for a ceasefire at this time. The Labour councillors, two-thirds of whom The Guardian understands are not Muslim, have criticized their party’s refusal to back the policy, which they say is “harming communities across the UK”. The councillors called on Starmer to “unequivocally condemn” all acts of violence against civilians.

Today, Saudi Arabia roundly condemned a deadly Israeli bombing of Gaza’s largest refugee camp, Jabalia, that reportedly killed dozens of people.

Israel said it had targeted a Hamas tunnel complex under the densely populated Jabalia on Oct. 31, killing local battalion commander Ibrahim Biari. According to AFP, 47+ corpses were recovered at Jabalia. Saudi Arabia denounced the strike “in the strongest terms possible”, decrying the “inhumane targeting” of the refugee camp “by the Israeli occupation forces”. The attack, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said, had “caused the death and injury of a large number of innocent civilians”.

Today, Pakistan’s interim prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, denounced Israel's airstrikes on Jabalia and urged other countries to end the bombing.  “Yesterday’s air raid on Jabalia camp, where hundreds of lives were lost, including women and children, was a stark reminder of ongoing Israeli brutalities and war crimes in Gaza,” Kakar said in a statement. Kakar said that “such reprehensible acts can never be condoned or forgotten. The world must act now to end this carnage”

According to internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, Gaza “is in the midst of a total or near-total telecoms blackout consistent with” the weekend blackout. Connectivity was cut from Oct. previously cut from Oct. 27-29, which coincided with arrival of Israeli ground operations in a new stage in the war. According to The Guardian, attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful today. Aid agencies claim the blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese has spoken with Israeli PM Netanyahu for the first time since the war started. Albanese told a press conference after the call that his government is concerned about civilian lives in Gaza, and that while he believed Israel has a right to defend itself, “how it defends itself matters”.

On November 1, police removed anti-Zionist Jewish activists at the local office of deputy prime minister, Richard Marles. The picketers who protesting against the Australian government's stance to the war. The group called on the government to withdraw diplomatic, economic and military support for Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Hamas claims that generators in Al Shifa Medical complex and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza will run out of fuel in a few hours.

“To our good people in the beloved country, we are sorry to announce that communications and internet services have been completely cut off in Gaza,” the Palestine Telecommunications Company (Paltel) tweeted on X. Last week, Hamas accused Israel of causing the shutdown last week in order to "perpetrate massacres" in Gaza. Service was briefly restored over the weekend. Telecom provider Jawwal had blamed Israel‘s “heavy bombardment” of the territory for the blackout.

The Biden administration took its quest for emergency military aid for Israel and Ukraine to Congress on Oct. 31 to overcome House Republican reluctance to pass a $106 billion package deal while cutting key parts of the White House’s domestic policy. In a committee briefing that was interrupted several times by demonstrators, Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin told the Senate that aid to Israel and Ukraine were linked and should not be decoupled, as demanded by Republicans who want to support Israel but oppose further aid to Ukraine.

On Oct. 31, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)  introduced a bill proposing that aid be limited to $14.3 billion for Israel and linked to budget cuts for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which the Biden administration has beefed up as part of its Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation would also make no provision for continuing to help Ukraine as it tries to repel Russian forces.

President Biden spoke with Jordanian King Abdullah II and “discussed urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions,” the White House statement said. It added that the two leaders “agreed that it is critical to ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced outside of Gaza” and that Biden had “confirmed unwavering US support for Jordan and His Majesty’s leadership.” 

Blinken spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Oct. 31 to reiterate US support for Israel’s right to defend itself and to call on Israel “to take feasible precautions to minimise harm to civilians,” the State Department’s Miller said in a separate statement.
 

4:07
Natalie Raanan, an American teenaged girl, was released by Hamas after having been abducted by the terrorists on Oct. 7 has now returned to the US in Chicago.

Summary:

On Oct. 31, the government of Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel following IDF ground operations and airstrikes in Gaza. Colombia and Chile have recalled their ambassadors.

IAF sorities destroyed residential blocks and killed dozens of Gazans at Jabalia in northern Gaza, according to Hamas. Six airstrikes or more struck Jabalia near Gaza City on Oct. 31. Médecins Sans Frontières said it was “horrified” by the news. Israel said if killed Hamas military commander Ibrahim Biari, who was linked to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in the airstrikes. Israel said Hamas had seized control of various civilian buildings at Jabalia.

Hamas says at least 8,525  Gazans, including 3,542 children, have been killed in bombardments in Gaz.

On Oct. 31, State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller said: "While I can’t make an announcement today, we do think we’ve made very real progress on this as I said in just the past few hours.” 

Qatar “strongly condemned” the Israeli strike on Jabalia, warning that this “dangerous escalation” that would “undermine mediation and de-escalation efforts”.

Two French children have been killed in the north of the Gaza Strip,  according to the French foreign ministry, which repeated its call for a humanitarian pause on the part of Israel to allow foreign nationals to flee Gaza.

The IDF reported new clashes with Hamas on Oct. 31 around Gaza City, where IDF armor and infantry struck entrances to Hamas's extensive tunnel network and rocket launch positions. Hamas responded with machine guns and rockets. Since Oct 30, the IDF struck 300+ targets, including Hamas military sites and killing "numerous" terrorists, including Nisam Abu Ajina, who commanded Hamas's Beit Lahiya battalion.

The IDF had "significant” achievements during ground operations in Gaz but is “paying a heavy price”, said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Two Israeli soldiers had been killed.

The US and Israel are considering the possibility of a multinational force that could include American, UK, French troops in the Gaza Strip, in the event that Israeli forces are successful in ousting Hamas, according to a report. US and Israeli officials have also reportedly discussed a second option that would establish a peacekeeping force or a third option that would see Gaza put under temporary UN oversight.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they have launched a “large number” of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel. Houthi spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement on Oct. 31 that this operation is the third targeting Israel, with more to come.

UN refugee agency UNRWA says the war has claimed the lives of 67 of its employees. The agency operates 150 shelters that are harboring 670,000+ displaced people. About 8,000 people are sheltering at a logistics base at Rafah.

UN Secretary-General Guterres repeated his demand for a ceasefire, urging all parties to respect international law. He said he was “dismayed by reports that two-thirds of those who have been killed are women and children.”

However, Israeli PM Netanyahu’s government has ruled out a ceasefire and said the campaign to eradicate Hamas could last months. Israeli forces sought to avoid civilian casualties and encouraged civilians to relocate to “protected areas” in the south where they could receive food, water and medicine, said Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be opened today for  injured Palestinians to complete their treatment in Egyptian hospitals. Eighty-one Gazans with serious injuries will enter Egypt to receive treatment, the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza said.

Secretary of State Blinken will visit Israel on November 3 to meet with PM Netanyahu and other officials. In October, Blinken visited Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

4:05 am

November 1, 2023