Tensions in demonstration near US embassy in Awkar: Day 12 of the Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for joining our LIVE coverage from day 12 of the Hamas-Israel war. We will be back tomorrow with more news updates.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it carried out two attacks earlier this afternoon in Al-Malkiyya, the Israeli-occupied Shebaa farms and Ruwaysat Al-Alm.

In Al-Malkiyya, they claimed to have used "various types of rocket and machine gun weaponry" and that they caused "injuries to several soldiers and the destruction of a significant portion of their technical equipment.”

In the other two attacks, they claim to have "used rocket projectiles and various weapons, including 57mm weapons," which also caused casualties.

We tried to contact United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to verify the statements made by Hezbollah, and we are awaiting their response.

Hezbollah said in another statement that its fighters have targeted the Taihat site on the southern border for the second time today "using appropriate weaponry."

Three hours ago, Arabic spokesperson for the Israeli Army Avichay Adraee said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the Israeli Army “destroyed two sites inside Lebanon that were monitored in an attempt to launch an anti-tank missile into Israeli territory” and that it also “attacked a site from which an anti-armor shell had been fired a short while ago towards the town of Metulla … The Jabal Ross area was bombed, as our forces returned fire towards the sources of fire.”

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin called for "Lebanese Hezbollah to cease its attacks from southern Lebanon into Israel,” according to a press release by the US Department of Defense.

These statements were made during a phone conversation on Tuesday with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

He “underscored the importance of humanitarian aid deliveries to civilians in Gaza," according to the statement.

Here are the key points made by US President Joe Biden during his trip to Tel Aviv:

• Biden announced Israel's agreement to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt, with inspections and a focus on delivering aid to civilians, not to Hamas militants.

• He compared the recent attack in Israel, which claimed approximately 1,400 lives, to the 9/11 attacks in the United States and urged against being consumed by rage.

• Israel cut off essential supplies to Gaza after the attack, but shortly after Biden's statement, they said that food, water and medicine would resume flowing.

• There were conflicting claims about the responsibility for a hospital blast in Gaza, with Israel denying involvement, claiming it was a missile misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group.

• Biden stated that his Defense Department's data suggested the blast was not caused by the Israeli military.

• He pledged additional humanitarian assistance of $100 million for Gaza and the West Bank.

• His planned visit to Jordan to meet with Arab leaders was canceled due to the hospital explosion.

• Biden reaffirmed US support for Israel and the need to find ways to help innocent Palestinians caught in the conflict.

• The possibility of improved relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors has dimmed with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

• Protests erupted across the region following the hospital blast, leading to the cancellation of the planned summit in Jordan.

"Unfortunately, violent protesters damaged private property in the surrounding neighborhood of the embassy, but embassy personnel and facilities remain secure and undamaged ... We thank the Lebanese security forces for their prompt response to ensure safety and secure the area," said the spokesperson of the US Embassy Jake Nelson in a statement.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan criticized the United Nations Security Council on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday for failing to pass a resolution for a humanitarian pause in the conflict between Hamas and Israeli forces.

"The United Nations Security Council, which has become even more ineffective, has once again not fulfilled its responsibility," Erdogan said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"The heinous attack against the al-Ahli Arabi Hospital yesterday has brought the massacre in Gaza to another level," he added.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland told the Security Council on Wednesday that the risk of expansion of the Hamas-Israel conflict is “very real, and extremely dangerous," according to Reuters.

“I fear that we are at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not of the Middle East as a whole,” said Wennesland.

TESTIMONY: Momin Faiz, a photojournalist in Gaza told L’Orient Today that "many people are still swarming into al-Ahli hospital trying to search for their missing loved ones.”

“Currently there are tens of thousands of people seeking refuge in al-Shifaa hospital in Gaza, and they no longer feel safe there after al-Ahli hospital was targeted last night,” he explained.

“People are in a state of terror and shock, especially as the strip runs out of food products and water and fears of starvation are on the rise among citizens,” he added.

“All around us we see pure terror as the Israeli bombs are either flying overhead or bombing us. We don’t have a minute to catch our breath. They killed so many civilians that we have resorted to mass graves as we are running out of space to bury our loved ones. We are burying 70 people in one grave,” he said.

National Security Council (US President's forum regarding national security and foreign policy) spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that “While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday.”

No further context or specifics of the alleged evidence were added to the post.

The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for humanitarian access to Gaza, the protection of civilians and condemning Hamas' attack on Israel, Reuters reported.

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Lebanon is closely following the developments of current events in southern Lebanon, as it calls on all citizens to adhere to the travel ban decision and immediately leave Lebanese territory if they are there, according to a post on the Saudi embassy in Lebanon's X (formerly Twitter) account.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah, where they discussed the current military escalation in Gaza and surrounding areas, the Kingdom's Foreign Ministry said on X (formerly Twitter).

The Saudi Foreign Minister affirmed "the Kingdom's firm position towards the Palestinian cause and supporting efforts aimed at achieving comprehensive and just peace that guarantees the Palestinian people's access to their legitimate rights," according to Reuters.

US President Joe Biden, wrapping up a rapid trip to Israel on Wednesday to offer assurances following an attack by Hamas, said the United States would do everything it could to ensure the country was safe, according to Reuters.

Biden told Israelis not to be consumed by rage and said the vast majority of Palestinians were not affiliated with Hamas, that Palestinian people are suffering as well.

In remarks after meeting Israeli leaders, Biden said he would ask Congress for an "unprecedented" aid package this week.

The president referred to the Nazi Holocaust of World War II, saying that Israel had the backing of its friends.

"We will not stand by and do nothing again. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever," he said.

The United States urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Earlier, he said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tough questions during their meeting on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, where they discussed humanitarian needs, security assistance and information on unaccounted Americans.

"I asked tough questions as a friend of Israel. We will continue to deter any actor wanting to widen this conflict," said Biden in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters attacked Israeli soldiers “and a surveillance and reconnaissance system in the town of Talet Tuhayyat on the southern border of Lebanon, with guided missiles causing several casualties among the [Israeli] enemy, killing soldiers and wounding others.”

TESTIMONY: United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) spokesperson in Gaza Adnan Abu Hasna told L’Orient Today on Wednesday that “no place is safe in Gaza after the massacre at al-Ahli hospital. People were swarming into UNRWA schools last night but it was very chaotic. We didn't know if they were survivors from the hospital or not,” he said.

Abu Hasna said that UNRWA schools in Gaza are “currently hosting over half a million people. More people are trying to also seek refuge within our schools as they are designated as safe shelters [according to international law], but we no longer have the capacity to take in more people.”

He noted, however, that schools are not safe in Gaza.

“A few days ago Israel bombed an UNRWA school,” he said.

“We are also running out of canned food and bread so we don’t know how we’ll be able to manage to sustain the people here in the upcoming few days,” he said.

TESTIMONY: Momin Faiz, a photojournalist in Gaza who went to the al-Ahli hospital after it was bombed on Tuesday night, told L’Orient Today on Wednesday that he “saw dead bodies of dead little children scattered across the ground. I saw limbs of people all over the floor. I have no words to explain how the humanitarian situation currently is in Gaza."

“Survivors at the hospital were having panic attacks,” he said before losing signal.

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Kiryat Shmona municipality ordered its residents to lock themselves in their homes due to anti-tank fire from Lebanon, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

Death toll of French citizens killed in attacks in Israel rises to 24, according to Reuters.

Tense demonstration near US embassy in Awkar: At least one protester was injured, according to images from our reporter Emmanuel Haddad. A young man's nose was bleeding and taken care of by paramedics. A fainting woman was evacuated by a group of demonstrators. Others attacked buildings on the slope leading up to the embassy. One of them is on fire. "God is great!" shouted the demonstrators.

The army quickly charged the protestors, beating several of them with batons.

(Image credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

Tense demonstration now near US embassy in Awkar: Lebanese University students Nour, Ali and Sahar are among the demonstrators. Nour and Sahar told our journalist Emmanuel Haddad that they want to see Palestine liberated, no matter what. Ali, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), told Haddad that he wants to see the Shiite party attack Israel. The three demonstrators tried to get closer to the barbed wire, but another burst of tear gas pushed them back. Some demonstrators retreat into adjacent alleyways. The police use water cannons against the protesters.

(Image credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)

Tense demonstration now in Awkar: According to our reporter Emmanuel Haddad, hundreds of young people on scooters are driving back and forth, carrying Hezbollah, Amal movement and Palestinian flags. Their eyes are reddened by tear gas. Residents are trying to flee. In an ambulance stationed nearby, demonstrators are being treated. In the distance, repeated tear-gas fire can be heard.

Mounched, red-eyed and bare-chested demonstrator, holds up a Palestinian flag. "We forced our way through the barriers and that's when they pushed us back and started firing tear gas," he told L'Orient Today. At the end of the street, a cloud of tear gas plagued some young people demonstrating. They were quickly pushed back by a water cannon stationed near the embassy.

(Image credit: Screengrab/Emmanuel Haddad)

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said in a statement that the continued attack on Gaza "could ignite a fire that could consume the entire region."

Israeli military said it responded to shots fired at its military posts in Zar'it along the Lebanese border on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

The United States issued terrorism-related sanctions on Wednesday targeting nine individuals and one entity linked to Hamas, according to a notice posted on the US Department of Treasury's website as reported by Reuters.

TESTIMONY: “The situation is disastrous in every sense of the word,” Omar Al Qatta, a photojournalist in Gaza told L'Orient Today Wednesday.

“I went this morning to the hospital al-Ahli to take photos and video testimonies of the survivors, and I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said.

“I was taking photos of children’s toys that were left behind by the young victims who had either died, gotten injured, or fled away from the hospital after it was struck,” he said.

Within the hospital there is a small church where "Muslims had taken refuge, thinking that it would be spared by Israel, as it’s a sacred place of worship, but it was also completely destroyed,” he added.

“I don’t know what to say, there aren’t words to explain how horrible this massacre is,” he concluded.

"We tried to save whoever could be saved but the number was too great for the hospital team" — doctors tell a Reuters journalist about the horror they lived last night. Read their accounts here. 

Image: People inspect the area of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Al-Masri/Reuters)

BREAKING: Hezbollah announces the killing of Ali Adnan Shokeir, another one of its fighters, who is from the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal. The party did not specify when and where he was killed.

Gaza casualty update: At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and 12,000 wounded in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza Health Ministry announced in a statement today, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, a Health Ministry spokesman says 471 Palestinians were killed in what he called an "Israeli massacre" at Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital yesterday evening, Reuters reports.

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, amid a crowd of demonstrators, doctor Souhail Berjaoui speaks on behalf of the Association of Islamic Doctors of Lebanon.

"Palestine is bleeding, murdered and crying," he chants, according to our reporter Sally Abou AlJoud. "The hearts of the children of Gaza will not stop beating. From the sea to the river, we are here to call on all doctors in the Arab world to help the Palestinians in the face of this calamity," he continues.

"At your command, Gaza! As you wish, Palestine!" replies the crowd.

"Death to the United States, death to America", shout demonstrators, as the shairman of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safieddine, comments on US President Joe Biden's statement exonerating Israel of any responsibility for the bombing of Gaza's al-Ahli hospital. In the background, on a billboard, a photo of a seriously wounded child from Gaza is displayed.

"No to American and Israeli crimes," shouts the crowd in chorus, fists raised.

(Image credit: Joao Sousa)

'In the next few days, we will respond to this new lie,' Hezbollah executive council head tells demonstration

At a demonstration in Haret Hreik, an area in Beirut's southern suburbs, the head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safieddine, commented on the bombing that killed Palestinian civilians in a Gaza hospital yesterday.

Here are his main statements:

- "What happened yesterday is not the first massacre in 12 days. The enemy [Israel] commits massacres of entire families, in images we see on television."

- "The targeting of the hospital was premeditated. There was no mistake, as evidenced by the warnings issued before the strike."

- "Biden did not apologize. Netanyahu told him that Israel did not target the hospital, and he believed him."

- "In the next few days, we will respond to this new lie".

- "There are tens of thousands [of supporters] who are ready, finger on the trigger, and who will go to martyrdom."

- "To Biden, Netanyahu and the hypocritical Europeans we say: Beware, beware. Any mistake you make with our resistance will be met with a thunderous response stronger than your own."

Thousands of demonstrators gathered again today in front of the French Embassy in Tunis, expressing their anger against the deadly strike on the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza which left hundreds dead. “The dismissal of the ambassador is a duty,” chanted the demonstrators, who accuse France, as well as the United States, of being “allies of the Zionists” in the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, AFP journalists reported.

Dozens hurt in anti-Israel protests in Istanbul: official

Dozens of people, including police officers, have been injured during anti-Israel protests in Istanbul after a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, authorities say, according to AFP.

Sixty-three people including 43 police officers were hurt during the protests outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul late on Tuesday, AFP cites the governor's office as saying, adding that the governor's office also said a 65-year-old man had a heart attack during the protests and later died in hospital.

Large crowds joined the demonstrations in Istanbul and the Turkish capital Ankara, shouting pro-Palestinian chants.

Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey "as soon as possible" amid fears of reprisal attacks.

Thousands protest in Jordan capital outside Israel Embassy, AFP reports.

Hamas says in a statement that the US is "blindly biased to Israel," after Biden appeared to blame a blast at a hospital on Palestinian militant group Hamas, Reuters reports.

The World Health Organization has urged against any attacks on health-care centers, a day after a Gaza hospital strike that killed at least 200 people.

"We call ... at a minimum to stop any attacks on health-care facilities," the head of the WHO's European branch, Hans Kluge, told AFP in an interview, listing it as a top priority.

"Number two [is] to protect civilians and children, and number three [is] to get humanitarian access from Rafah inside Gaza, because all our supplies are based there already but there is no border opening yet," he said.

Kluge said the WHO was "very, very worried" about the situation.

Turkey is in talks with the Palestinian militant group Hamas to secure the release of hostages it seized in Israel and took to Gaza, but there "is nothing concrete" for now, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was cited as saying today, Reuters reports.

Fidan said yesterday that Ankara was discussing the release of foreigners, civilians, and children held by Hamas, and added "many countries" had asked for Turkey's help in facilitating the release of their citizens.

"Talks, work on the prisoner swap continue. There are talks and meetings held through intelligence units, but, in the heat of the first days, it was not possible to create a framework for this," Fidan told representatives from Turkish media this week, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

In the southern Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, a compact crowd is forming in Choura Square, reports our journalist on the ground, Sally Abou AlJoud. Waving Hezbollah flags and with keffiyehs around their necks and Palestinian flags painted on their faces, a thousand demonstrators, almost all dressed in black, called for the "death of Israel" and shouted slogans in praise of Palestine.

"From Beirut to Gaza, one nation that won't die. Death to Israel," they chanted, as partisan chants rang out. "We are at your command, Nasrallah [leader of Hezbollah]," they repeated in chorus. Among the demonstrators are doctors and health care workers, mainly from al-Rassoul al-Aazam Hospital in the southern suburbs.

(Image credit: Joao Sousa)

"Suspending the water supply to a community under siege is contrary to international law. But we can't accept that," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tells the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, AFP reports.

That was the EU's position when it came to Ukraine, where Russian forces besieged communities and cut off water, and it should be the same when it came to Gaza, he added.

"It is clearly stated that depriving a human community under siege of a basic water supply is contrary to international law — in Ukraine and in Gaza.

"And if we are unable to say so, for both places, we lack the moral authority necessary to make our voice heard," Borrell said.

British foreign minister James Cleverly is expected to travel to the Middle East soon, including visits to Egypt and possibly Qatar and Turkey, a British source says, Reuters reports. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Joe Biden that the Gaza war “will be of another type because Hamas is an enemy of another type,” Reuters reports.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, reports our correspondent in the region Michel Hallak. Waving Palestinian flags, they chanted slogans of solidarity with Gaza and condemned the "heinous crimes" committed by the Israeli army.

At a press conference held at the Beirut Press Club, Hamas official Osama Hamdan vehemently condemned the "genocide" taking place in Gaza, in reference to the bombing of a Gaza hospital yesterday that left hundreds of civilians dead.

Osama Hamdan also called on Arab countries and "free countries" with Israeli diplomatic representations to "expel the ambassadors and declare a boycott against the Hebrew state." He also urged all the people of the region and countries supporting the Palestinian cause to "mobilize next Friday and Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza" and to denounce "the massacres" that have taken place. Lastly, the Hamas representative called on the Palestinian Authority to lodge an immediate complaint with international bodies to "bring to trial the genocide committed in Gaza, including the attack on the hospital" in the Palestinian city.

Sit-ins in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip were organized today by hospitals in Akkar, in northern Lebanon, our correspondent in the region, Michel Hallak, reports.

In Halba, staff of the Rassi government hospital gathered at the entrance to the establishment to denounce yesterday's bombing targeting the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Administrative and medical staff at another hospital in the area observed a similar sit-in.

In Qobeiyat, staff at Our Lady of Peace hospital also gathered to denounce the attack on the Gaza hospital, which left hundreds of civilians dead.

(Image courtesy of our correspondent Michel Hallak)

China has said it is "shocked by and strongly condemns" the Gaza hospital strike, AFP reports.

Yesterday's strike on a Gaza hospital is a "tragedy," Vladimir Putin said today during an official visit to China, adding that he hoped for a swift end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"It's a horrible event, hundreds of dead and wounded. It's a humanitarian catastrophe. I really hope that this will be a signal that this conflict must be brought to an end as soon as possible," said the Russian president at a press conference.

Voices from South Lebanon: 'They killed kids. If I had a gun, I think I would have shot them.'

In Sour, a resident in her 40s comments to our reporter Lyana Alameddine on the bombing of the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. “I'm a Christian; it's not a matter of religion. When we see what happened yesterday, we can only cry. I was filled with rage. They killed kids. If I had a gun, I think I would have shot them. I think there will be a response. There must be. Otherwise, it would be hypocrisy—a lie. I no longer trust any politician.”

Next to her, another woman adds, “You will see, it [Hezbollah] will show us that we can trust it.”

Image: A view shows the site of Israeli strikes on a bakery in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters)

Image: Palestinians run for cover during an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)

A Jewish school complex in the center of Rome was evacuated today after a bomb threat, police in the Italian capital said, AFP reports.

A spokeswoman said police and dog units were on site alongside the bomb squad, while the streets around the school were blocked off, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Following last night's horrific strike on a Gaza hospital, Hezbollah has called for widespread participation in a "day of anger" today.

Protests are taking place across the country. Our reporters and editorial team are mobilized in the field and in our newsroom to cover developments live.

Stay informed and up-to-date by joining our WhatsApp group. Click here to join.

Israel has told its citizens to leave Turkey immediately amid fears of reprisal attacks after a deadly strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, AFP cites a consular spokesperson as confirming to the news agency.

"All Israelis staying in Turkey must leave as soon as possible," Israel's National Security Council announced late yesterday.

"I can confirm that the travel warning of the National Security Council to Turkey has been raised to 4, the highest level," the spokesperson reportedly told AFP. 

"Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at al-Ahli hospital," British foreign minister James Cleverly wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk. Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail." 

Dozens of people demonstrated in front of the Rafik Hariri Governmental Hospital in Beirut at 12 p.m. in solidarity with Palestinians a day after the bombing of the Gaza hospital. Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad had asked hospital employees across Lebanon to observe a minute's silence at 12 p.m. in solidarity with those suffering and killed in Gaza.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is participating in a sit-in in solidarity with the Palestinians outside the Health Ministry in Beirut, a day after a deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza.

Hamas has only brought “suffering” to the Palestinians, says US President Joe Biden, quoted by AFP.

(Image credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Image: A view of the West Bank city of Ramallah shows deserted streets following a call to strike in support of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Biden tells Netanyahu that hospital strike seems to have been "done by the other team."

Netanyahu to Biden: the “civilized world” must unite against Hamas. 

“The Americans cry with you,” Biden tells Netanyahu during his visit to Israel.

(Image credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Demonstrations are underway in South Lebanon, reports our correspondent in the region, Muntasser Abdallah.

In Saida, demonstrators marched from Martyrs' Square to Place de l'Étoile to express their solidarity with Palestinians in the wake of the bombing of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, which left hundreds dead.

Protesters also began gathering outside the South Hospital in Nabatieh.

Israel and the Palestinian authorities accuse each other of being responsible for the hospital bombing.

(Image: Sent by correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)

Pope Francis urges taking side 'of peace,' doesn't mention Gaza hospital bombing

Pope Francis deplored the "desperate" situation in Gaza this morning as he urged the faithful to take "only one side" in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the side "of peace," Reuters reports.

Speaking during his weekly audience in St Peter's Square, Francis did not mention the deadly Gaza hospital strike, for which Israelis and Palestinians are blaming each other.

"War does not solve any problem, it only sows death and destruction, increases hatred, multiplies revenge. War erases the future," he said.

"I urge believers to take only one side in this conflict, that of peace, but not with words but with prayer and total dedication," Francis added.

The pope pleaded for all possible efforts "to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe", and announced special prayers for peace in St Peter's Basilica at 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) Oct. 27.

He said Oct. 27 would be a "a day of fasting, prayers, penance", and invited all Christians, followers of other religions and those who care for world peace to join in.

Displacing Gazans to Egypt risks leading "to the displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan," Egypt's President Abdul-Fattah al-Sissi wars, according to AFP.

The US military thwarted an attack targeting its forces in Iraq early this morning, intercepting two drones before they could strike, Reuters cites two US officials as saying. It is the first such attack on US forces in Iraq in more than a year.

The officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, reportedly declined to say who was suspected of the attack, but Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups amid soaring tension in the region over the Israel-Hamas war.

Shortly after Biden's arrival in Israel, rocket sirens sounded in Kissufim, near Gaza, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reports.

Image: Mourners walk near to the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

US President Joe Biden has landed in Tel Aviv, Reuters reports.

Descending from the plane amid a large security contingent, Biden embraced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog on the tarmac, Reuters correspondent said, adding that they spoke briefly before departing in a convoy. 

The US State Department last night raised its travel alert for Lebanon to "do not travel," citing the security situation related to rocket, missile and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah. 

'We need violence on all sides to stop': WHO chief

"The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control," the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says on X. "We need violence on all sides to stop."

"Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives," he added. "We need immediate access to start delivering life-saving supplies."

Image: People salvage belongings in the damaged al-Ahli hospital complex on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Dawood Nemer/AFP)

An Israeli military spokesperson has told journalists that there is no structural damage to buildings around the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital and no craters consistent with an airstrike, Reuters reports. Reuters adds that the spokesperson accused Hamas of inflating the number of casualties from the explosion and said it could not know as quickly as it claimed what caused the blast.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called Mahmud Abbas to offer condolences for al-Ahli hospital deaths, the State Department says, according to AFP.

“Nothing excuses a strike on a hospital full of civilians,”  President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen has said, according to AFP.

Image: People inspect the area of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Al-Masri/Reuters)

The Israeli army has published aerial photos on X (formerly Twitter) which, it claims, show no sign of an attack by Israeli aircraft on al-Ahli hospital, which wsa bombed in Gaza yesterday, AFP reported. Hamas and the Palestinian authorities have accused Israel of being behind the strike, which killed over 200 people. The Israeli army has blamed it on a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad, which denied these accusations.

Image: People react at the area of al-Ahli hospital, where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other, in Gaza City, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed al-Masri/Reuters)

A civilian employee of the Israeli army and four soldiers were lightly injured by anti-tank fire in the Shtula region, near the border with Lebanon, reports Israeli news outlet Haaretz. Earlier in the day, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacking a Merkava tank in an Israeli position and claimed to have inflicted casualties on the tank's crew.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed horror at images of yesterday's explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.

"Innocent civilians were injured and killed. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims," Scholz wrote on X, adding, "It is important that this incident is investigated very carefully."

Scholz is expected in Egypt on Wednesday, where he is set to meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, following his visit to Israel.

Demonstrations planned for today in response to the bombing that claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians in a Gaza hospital yesterday evening:

- At 10 a.m., a solidarity demonstration in the Rafik Hariri Government Hospital courtyard

- At 11 a.m., a demonstration planned by Hezbollah in Nabatieh in front of Al Janoub hospital

- At 12 p.m., a sit-in in front of the headquarters of Escwa (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) in Beirut

- At 1 p.m., A Hezbollah-organized solidarity demonstration in front of the Baalbek government hospital

- At 2 p.m., a rally is planned in Harat Hreik, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, organized by Hezbollah

- At 3 p.m., a demonstration, also organized by Hezbollah, will take place in front of the government Serail in Hermel, in the Bekaa

- At 4 p.m., Hezbollah will hold an “angry rally” near the US Embassy in Awkar

- At 5 p.m., the Union of Photojournalists of Lebanon will hold a demonstration of "solidarity with injured journalists targeted by the Israeli enemy" in front of the American University Hospital in Hamra

- At the end of the day, after the sunset prayer, a demonstration of support for Gaza is planned in front of the mosque of Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb, organized by the "Future Movement" in Tarik al-Jdideh in Beirut. Organizers request that only Palestinian and Lebanese flags be used.

Image: People take part in a protest outside the Israeli Consulate to show solidarity with Palestinians, in Istanbul early on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Umit Turhan Coskun/AFP)

A reminder of the death toll in this conflict: Since the start of the conflict, Israeli strikes in Gaza have already claimed more than 3,000 lives, the majority of them civilians, including hundreds of children, according to local Palestinian authorities, quoted by AFP. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the start of the war, most of them civilians on the day of the Hamas attack, which also kidnapped 199 people, according to the Israeli army. Israel also announced that it had recovered the bodies of 1,500 Hamas fighters after their incursion.

Russia's Foreign Ministry says that yesterday's strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians is a shockingly dehumanizing crime and that Israel should provide satellite imagery if it was not involved, Reuters reports.

Palestinian officials said an Israeli airstrike hit the hospital while Israel blamed the blast at al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied responsibility.

"We qualify such a felonious deed as a crime — as an act of dehumanization," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Radio Sputnik.

Zakharova said that there was a clear attempt by some to absolve themselves of responsibility and that it was not enough to simply make comments in the media on such an incident so Israel and the United States should provide satellite imagery.

"Please be so kind as to provide satellite images, and it would be nice if American partners did it," Zakharova said. 

Hezbollah said this morning that it targeted an Israeli Merkava tank at around 4 a.m., claiming the attack inflicted human casualties.

Following the claim, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraae said that they received reports about an anti-tank missile being fired in their direction in the area of Shtula in northern Israel and that the Israeli army had retaliated toward the origin of the fire with artillery rounds.

For a summary of international reactions to the strike on the Ahli hospital, click here.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is "horrified" by hundreds of people killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital, strongly condemning the action.

Guterres, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, said he condemned the Hamas attacks against civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 but that "those attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of Palestinian people."

Before flying to the Chinese capital to attend the forum, Guterres said he had appealed to Hamas for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and to Israel to allow immediate unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for the most basic needs of the people of Gaza.

He called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and made appeals to "ease the epic human suffering."

Here's what you need to know to start the day:

-At least 200 people were killed yesterday evening in a strike blamed on Israel on the grounds of a hospital in Gaza City. Last night, the Gaza Heath Ministry said that "hundreds of victims are still in the rubble."

- Hamas has accused Israel of bombing the hospital. The Israeli army accuses Islamic Jihad of perpetrating the attack. Islamic Jihad has called Israel's accusations "lies." According to Islamic Jihad, Israel ordered the hospital to evacuate under threat of bombing and it was a bomb dropped by an Israeli army plane that caused the tragedy.

-The strike sparked numerous condemnations of Israel from Arab countries, and demonstrators took to the streets across the region's capitals. In Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, clashes broke out yesterday evening between demonstrators calling for the departure of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his security forces.

- Expected in Israel today, American President Jo Biden will “postpone” a planned stop in Jordan, the White House said, expressing its “deep condolences” to the hospital victims. Jordan had previously announced the cancellation of a summit in which Biden was to participate in Amman with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, and Abbas.

- Hezbollah has called for a "day of anger" to be observed today to condemn the deadly attack on the hospital, a "massacre" for which it says Israel bears responsibility. The United States yesterday evening authorized the departure of non-essential personnel, as well as their families, from its embassy in Beirut in the face of the deterioration of security conditions in Lebanon. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the US Embassy in Awkar, in the northern suburbs of the capital Beirut, where they chanted "death to America" ​​and "death to Israel," according to reports by AFP correspondents.

-Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia denounced a “violation of all international laws and standards” and Israel’s continuation of “attacks against civilians” in the wake of the hospital bombing.

-These developments come as the Israeli army bombards the Gaza Strip daily, vowing to eliminate Hamas. These strikes, which have caused the displacement of a million people according to the UN, many of whom have found refuge in hospitals, have already left more than 3,000 dead, mostly civilians, including hundreds of children, according to local authorities.

- The World Health Organization (WHO) had on Monday identified the targeting of 111 medical infrastructures in bombing of Gaza and said that 12 health care professionals had been killed and 60 ambulances targeted.

- Water and food are also in short supply for the 2.4 million Gazans, who have also been deprived of electricity, after the siege imposed by Israel on Oct. 9 on the small Palestinian territory, already subject to a land, sea and air blockade since Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007.

-More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since the start of the war, most of them civilians on the day of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.  Hamas is also holding 199 people hostage, according to the Israeli army.

- Intense negotiations involving several countries, particularly Turkey, are underway to try to free the hostages. According to Hamas, more than 20 of them have been killed in Israeli strikes.

- In the south of Gaza, to which hundreds of thousands of residents fled following a call for the evacuation of the north launched by the Israeli army, the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only exit from Gaza not governed by Israel, remains closed. Cairo called on Israel on Tuesday to "stop targeting the surroundings" of the crossing, after four strikes on it this week, and to allow humanitarian aid to enter "as quickly as possible."

-While the Israeli army has deployed tens of thousands of troops around the Palestinian territory, and north along the border with Lebanon, nearly 500,000 Israeli civilians have also been evacuated to keep them away from the combat zones, according to the army.

- Tension is high on the border with Lebanon, where there are daily exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. Hezbollah has announced that five of its fighters have been killed in southern Lebanon since the conflict with Hamas began.

Hello,

We resume live coverage of events related to the Hamas-Israel war in the wake of the bombing yesterday of a hospital in the Gaza Strip that killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians.