5:43 PM ET, October 31, 2023
Israel launched an attack on a Gaza refugee camp on Tuesday. Keep up to date with the latest developments in the war
From CNN staff
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Tuesday’s strike in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza.
Anas Al-Sharif/Reuters
An Israeli attack The densely populated Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza killed scores of people and caused catastrophic damage, according to eyewitnesses and medics in the enclave.
Israel Defense Forces called for a strike The attack targeted the Hamas commander. The Israeli military said later Tuesday that it had taken out Ibrahim Biari, one of the ringleaders of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said.
However, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassim said that Hamas strongly denied that one of its leaders was in the camp. He accused Israel of trying to justify what he described as a “heinous crime against innocent civilians, children and women in Jabalya camp.”
Here’s what you need to know about the strike and other news from Israel and Gaza today:
Effects of strike: The interior ministry in Gaza said 20 houses were completely destroyed in the Jabalya refugee camp.
“Hundreds” of dead and injured people Arriving at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, its director, Dr. Atef al-Kahlood told CNN that many people were still inside the rubble. Another doctor, Dr. Mohammed Alran described a “scene unimaginable to anyone” at the hospital – “hundreds of charred bodies” and “patients and wounded on the floors, beds, corridors and reception area” of Gaza’s biggest hospital, he said.
Death toll rises again in Gaza: At the very least 8,485 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to an earlier update Tuesday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, based in Ramallah in the West Bank, citing data from Hamas-controlled Gaza. It added that more than 21,000 people were injured. The ministry said 73% of the deaths were women, children and the elderly. Amid Israeli ground operations, the country’s military said it had killed “approximately 50 Hamas terrorists” in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Aid trucks pour into Gaza: At least 66 trucks crossed the border into Gaza in the past 24 hours – the largest single day delivery of aid to the enclave so far.
According to the White House. America is trying to get
100 trucks per day US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday that they must enter Gaza. Before October 7, there were
450 trucks enter Gaza every day, Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, said at a press conference last week. But U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Tuesday that he had made no announcement about the opening.
Rafah Crossing to the public. “Even in the last few hours we have made good progress,” he noted.
About 400 Americans and their family members are trapped in Gaza: About 1,000 people are trying to leave the enclave, Blinken told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, adding that he and the State Department are “actively paying attention to this.”
Protests at US Senate hearings: Blinken’s opening remarks at a Senate committee hearing Tuesday were quickly and repeatedly interrupted
The protesters called for a ceasefire In Gaza. Minutes into the speech, Blinken was interrupted by a man who shouted “ceasefire now” and “save the children of Gaza”. Other protesters in the audience had their hands, painted red, in the air. Capitol police said a dozen protesters were arrested during the congressional hearing.
The United States insists on protecting Palestinian citizens: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday he had “made it clear again” to Israeli leaders that they needed to be assured.
Protection of Palestinian citizens. “Now, we fully understand that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. And we mourn the loss of the Palestinian people,” Austin said in opening remarks to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
