UNIFIL not planning to leave South Lebanon, Lebanese cabinet meets again: Day 13 of Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of Day 13 of the Hamas vs Israel conflict.

We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis, right here at L'Orient Today.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says its humanitarian aid trucks are “loaded and ready to go” into the Gaza Strip, but it remains unclear when deliveries will be allowed into the territory.

“We’re working with Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the Rafah crossing is opened; hopefully tomorrow,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference. The opening of the Rafah crossing has been continuously delayed since the beginning of the week.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says its humanitarian aid trucks are “loaded and ready to go” into the Gaza Strip, but it remains unclear when deliveries will be allowed into the territory.

“We’re working with Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the Rafah crossing is opened; hopefully tomorrow,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference. The opening of the Rafah crossing has been continuously delayed since the beginning of the week.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says its humanitarian aid trucks are “loaded and ready to go” into the Gaza Strip, but it remains unclear when deliveries will be allowed into the territory.

“We’re working with Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the Rafah crossing is opened; hopefully tomorrow,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news conference. The opening of the Rafah crossing has been continuously delayed since the beginning of the week.

Sixteen Palestinian journalists have been killed in the war in Gaza since Israel began bombarding the coastal enclave, the Palestinian journalists' union said Thursday.

Dozens of other journalists have been wounded in the conflict since it erupted on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants carried out a deadly attack on Israel that triggered a blistering Israeli bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

Commenting on the possibility of a spillover of the conflict between Hamas and Israel into Lebanon, the International Movement of Lebanese Business Executives stated Thursday that Lebanon cannot "withstand the shock caused by the launching of a new stone or the firing of a single bullet."

The Movement’s President, Fouad Zmokhol, emphasized that neither the people, businesses, economy, private sector nor the infrastructure of Lebanon can endure another shock. 

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says "We fear the worst" in ongoing Gaza war, based on "all the indications," reports Reuters.

"Citizens should be reassured by the fact that the government is working," said caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari after the cabinet’s meeting.

Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh explained that the emergency plan's main objective is to sustain the operation of the country's key infrastructure, including bridges, ports and the Beirut International Airport, in case the situation in Lebanon were to deteriorate.

Lebanon's cabinet approved the plan developed by the Ministries of Public Works, Transportation and Health in anticipation of a possible war in Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict between the Palestinian Hamas and Israel, according to the caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari.

UN relief chief says Gaza requires 100 trucks of humanitarian aid per day to enter via the Rafah crossing.

Israeli Ministry of Defense says a US shipment of armored vehicles has arrived.

In a post on X, the ministry said the vehicles are “being transferred to the [Israeli army] to replace vehicles damaged during the war."

UN Secretary-General Guterres calls for immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

The Rafah border crossing, the only access point to the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel, will open on Friday to allow humanitarian aid to pass into the Palestinian territory, a media outlet close to Egyptian intelligence announced on Thursday.

Quoting "sources," the AlQahera News channel stated Thursday that "Rafah will open tomorrow," without providing further details regarding the aid that will be allowed to pass. During the night, US President Joe Biden stated that he had obtained permission from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to allow "up to 20 trucks to cross"— a number deemed insufficient by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The 20 trucks of humanitarian relief that Israel has agreed to allow into Gaza is nowhere near what is required after the nearly two-week attack on 2.3 million people, says Tamer Qarmout from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, for Al Jazeera.

“The destruction requires a massive aid operation. Twenty trucks, this is a Walmart supply for a small town in the US or Canada that would last a day. It’s a sick joke.”

German Foreign Ministry calls on German citizens to leave Lebanon.

Five trucks of medical supplies are ready at the border between Gaza and Egypt, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, welcoming Israel's announcement that it will not block the entry of aid into the Palestinian territory.

"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. He said he hoped the supplies would be delivered as soon as the Rafah crossing opened, "hopefully tomorrow."

The delivery of aid is set to be the first after Israel said it would impose a "total blockade" on the narrow Gaza Strip that is home to 2.3 million people, cutting electricity supplies and halting flows of food and fuel, in response to a devastating attack from Hamas on Israeli territory on Oct. 7.

There have also been heavy Israeli air strikes in the war with Hamas. The UN has warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe."

WHO urges Israel to allow fuel into Gaza Strip, reports Reuters.

The Israeli army announced that it is responding to 20 rockets fired from Lebanon by targeting the launch sites.

Following the sound of alarm sirens in the Western Galilee, 20 rockets launched from Lebanon were detected, said an Israeli army spokesperson.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters "attacked the following positions of the occupying [Israeli] army: Jall Al-Alam, Al-Bahri, Zarayit, Shomera Camp, and an observation tower in Habib Al-Bustan, all located on the southern border, using appropriate and direct weapons. They were precisely hit, and a quantity of their technical and technological equipment was destroyed."

Sirens sounded in Israeli cities and communities along the Lebanese border, Haaretz reported.

Two rocket hits were detected in the Israeli southern city of Sderot, Haaretz reported. Rocket sirens were also heard in the southern city of Be'er Sheva.

Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters " launched a direct missile attack on the Zionist Manara site [Thursday] afternoon ... hitting it accurately."

David Petraeus, a former CIA director who also served as a top United States general in both Iraq and Afghanistan, suggested that an Israeli army ground offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip would go on for years and involve bloody urban fighting, Haaretz reported.

UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told L'Orient Today that an exchange of fire is currently ongoing in Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.

Haaretz and Sky News reported that sirens sounded in northern Israel.

Meanwhile, Al Jadeed reported that explosions were heard in Naqoura as a result of military operations carried out by the "resistance" and that Israel is retaliating through artillery firestrikes.

"At the moment, we are here, and nothing has changed in terms of our activity," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesman Andrea Tenenti told L'Orient Today. He was responding to the remarks made by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who warned against a withdrawal of the long-running UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, given the major escalation between neighboring Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

"We have no plans to leave, and we are continuing to monitor operations," added Tenenti. "We are operational 24/7, continuing our dialogue with the parties to de-escalate the situation, and our troops are monitoring the Blue Line."

When asked about the situation along the border between Lebanon and Israel, he responded: "The situation is still tense and volatile, with exchanges of fire occurring throughout the Blue Line."

The Israeli army says it has arrested 80 people in the occupied West Bank, accusing 63 of being Hamas members, according to Haaretz.

Israeli air raids have bombed a number of bakeries in Gaza, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds who were queueing to buy bread, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.

A WAFA correspondent said Israeli bombing destroyed five bakeries in different parts of the Gaza Strip, either directly or by targeting their surroundings.

This is not the first time Gaza bakeries have been targeted during the war.

The head of the municipality of Rmeish, Milad Al-Alam, told L'Orient Today that the town is preparing for potential escalation in the security situation in the region.

The municipality has “devised an emergency plan in case the security situation escalates into a major conflict.”

He added that their experience from the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel showed that, in such crises, preparation is key.

The municipality set up a field hospital located at the public school in the town, consisting of several rooms equipped with medicine and ready to receive non-critical injury cases, as well as the necessary supplies for treating emergency cases, providing initial first aid and treating minor wounds.

In recent days, the outskirts of Rmeish have been subjected to artillery shelling, which has led to the evacuation of many of its residents.

A Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson said 14 health facilities have stopped operating after running out of fuel to power their generators.

Four other hospitals were closed after being hit by Israeli bombing.

In a briefing with Israeli PM Netanyahu in Jerusalem, UK PM Sunak reiterated his support for Israel and made no mention of a ceasefire. “We want you to win,” he told his counterpart.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday chaired a crisis management meeting, which the cabinet tasked with developing a plan in anticipation of a possible war in Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict between the Palestinian Hamas and Israel.

Caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari told L'Orient Today that the discussions focused on potential coordination between Lebanese authorities and the UN to implement the plan in question. The cabinet, scheduled to meet at 4 p.m., will be briefed on the discussions to make the appropriate decision.

Three Palestinians were killed in the West Bank during clashes with Israeli forces, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported Thursday.

Since October 7, over 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, and over 1,100 have been injured. The number of deaths is higher in Gaza, according to Reuters. The Gaza Health Ministry stated that 3,785 have been killed by Israeli strikes since Oct.7

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Britain's Rishi Sunak on Thursday discussed the need to prevent any regional escalation in the conflict with Hamas, Sunak's Downing Street office said.

“Both leaders underscored the need to prevent any regional escalation in the conflict and the importance of restoring peace and stability to the region," Downing Street said after the pair met in Israel. 

The first woman elected to Hamas's political leadership has been killed in an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip, the militant group said Thursday.

Jamila al-Shantee, 64, was killed Wednesday evening in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, Hamas said.

She became the first woman to be elected to the movement's political bureau, composed of 20 members, following an internal ballot in 2021. Shantee had a long history in Palestinian politics, having been elected in 2006 to the Palestinian Authority's parliament.

The chamber has not met since Hamas ousted the PA from Gaza and took power in 2007, prompting Israel to intensify a crippling blockade imposed on the territory.

After a meeting with ambassadors assigned to Lebanon, caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib announced their agreement on the importance of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. the dispatch of aid, and the rejection of  resettling displaced Palestinians "in another country."

Bou Habib said those in attendance at the meeting agreed on "the need to put an end to the Israeli occupation," and that "the solution is to establish a Palestinian state."

The US Embassy issued a statement urging its citizens in Lebanon to 'make plans to depart as soon as possible', Reuters reported.

The UK PM's spokesperson announced that Sunak will travel to Saudi Arabia later on Thursday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, reported Reuters.

According to Reuters, the Gaza Health Ministry stated that 3,785 have been killed by Israeli strikes since Oct.7

The Israeli army continues to shell the southern Lebanese town of Mays al-Jabal, reported the official National News Agency (NNA).

BREAKING: Reuters reports that an Israeli air strike killed Jehad Mheisen, head of the Hamas-led National Security Forces, and members of his family in Gaza, citing Hamas media.

The National Security Forces(NSF) is the successor organisation to the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA), once the Palestine Liberation Organization's military in exile. 

During a visit to Israel on Thursday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Israeli President Isaac Herzog it was important to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, according to Reuters.

"Palestinians are victims of Hamas' actions. It is important that we continue to provide humanitarian access," Sunak said.

US officials told their Turkish counterparts that aircraft carriers have been placed close to Israel for the possible evacuation of civilians, a Turkish defense ministry official said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The US already send two aircraft carriers and their support ships to the eastern Mediterranean following Hamas's attack on Oct. 7.

 In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the US would likely commit "serious massacres" in Gaza, Reuters reported.

Erdogan said the US move hindered Turkish efforts to restore calm in the region.

"When we raise this issue with our US counterparts, they tell us that those aircraft carrier groups were sent there as part of non-combatant evacuation operations for civilians in the region," a Turkish defense ministry official told reporters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said that the deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups to the Eastern Mediterranean was "not meant as a provocation, it's meant as a deterrent."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will host Jordan's King Abdullah II for a summit in Cairo on Thursday, the presidency said, as violence in the neighboring Gaza Strip spirals.

Sisi and King Abdullah had been due to hold talks with US President Joe Biden and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan this week, but Jordan cancelled the meeting after a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital.

Their meeting comes on the same day that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected in Cairo.

Egypt and Jordan were the first Arab states to normalize relations with Israel, in 1979 and 1994 respectively and have since been key mediators between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Lebanon on Thursday morning as part of a surprise visit, a spokesperson at the German embassy confirmed L'Orient Today.

“The minister is in Lebanon for a few hours to inquire about the German contingent within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon [UNIFIL],” the spokesperson added.

According to Bild, a German daily, the minister's objective is to "get an idea of ​​​​the state of mind of the hundred German soldiers present" in Lebanon within UNIFIL.

The Israeli army announced that an anti-tank missile was fired towards an Israeli town near the Lebanese-Israeli border, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

Lebanese media outlets reported that two Kornet missiles were launched toward the "al-Manara" Israeli settlement, opposite to the towns of Mays al-Jabal and Houla in southern Lebanon.

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Machinery to repair roads has been sent through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip in preparation for the delivery of some of the aid stockpiled in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, two security sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Photo: A woman consoles another while one reacts in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 19, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/Reuters)

China said on Thursday criticized the United States' decision to block a UN resolution calling for a "humanitarian pause" in fighting between Hamas and Israel, with Washington criticizing a text that failed to mention Israel's "right to defend itself," AFP reports.

"China is deeply disappointed by the United States' obstruction of the Security Council's adoption of a draft resolution on the Palestinian question," a spokeswoman for Chinese diplomacy, Mao Ning, told reporters, according to AFP.

Photo: People search for victims and survivors following an Israeli strike on the town of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mohammed Faiq/AFP)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday described the attack launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 as an "unspeakable act of terrorism," as he arrived for a solidarity visit to Israel, AFP reports.

"I am in Israel, a nation in grief. I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today, and always," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding the word "solidarity" in Hebrew.

On his arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, he denounced an "unspeakable and horrific act of terrorism," following the Oct. 7 attack carried out by Hamas commandos from the blockaded Gaza Strip.

I am in Israel, a nation in grief.

I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism.

Today, and always.

סוֹלִידָרִיוּת pic.twitter.com/DTcvkkLqdT

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 19, 2023

The Israeli military said Thursday that the number of people confirmed held hostage in Gaza is at least 203, Reuters reports.

Britain advised its citizens on Wednesday against all travel to Lebanon.

"If already in Lebanon, we encourage British nationals to leave now while commercial options remain available, the British embassy said on X (formerly Twitter). 

?LEBANON TRAVEL ADVICE?

Advice is now against all travel to Lebanon.

If already in ?? we encourage British nationals to leave now while commercial options remain available.

? Latest travel alerts: https://t.co/Y61Bwsknnj

?Register Your Presence: https://t.co/R5VTJuaIWo https://t.co/KM8vtdNXPL pic.twitter.com/Drm6vZy5Re

— UK in Lebanon ???? (@ukinlebanon) October 19, 2023

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that the war between Israel and Hamas could probably last for months and could include a northern front with Lebanon, according to remarks published by The Times of Israel.

“It will take a long time. The war in the south  —  and if necessary in the north or elsewhere  —  could take months, and reconstruction will take years. Only when [reconstruction] is complete will we be victorious,” said the Israeli minister.

“Our goal is not just to defeat Hamas, but to promise that the south will, a hundred percent, be a paradise,” he added. “After the  war, after our victory on all fronts where we will fight, we will dedicate ourselves to this reconstruction,” he promised.

Israel's army chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, declared that "it won't be short, and we might even have to extend [the fighting] if another enemy joins us, but we know how to do it," in a reference to Hezbollah's repeated attacks on the northern border in recent days.

Photo: Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz attends a session at the plenum at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, Dec. 28, 2022. (Credit: Ammar Awad/Reuters/File Photo)

Australia updated its travel advice for Lebanon on Thursday, advising its citizens not to travel there due to the "volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further."

Australia also asked its citizens currently in Lebanon who wish to leave to "depart through the first available commercial option as soon as [they] are able to do so."

"Airports may pause operations with little notice due to increased security concerns. This may cause flight delays or cancellations for a sustained period," the updated travel advice reads.

Israeli bombardment hit several villages in the western part of Lebanon's southern border region early Thursday morning, including Ras al-Naqoura, al-Labuneh, and the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. 

NNA added that Israel also raided the vicinity of the town of Naqoura at dawn without causing casualties or material damage.

Israeli warplanes flew over the south and the city of Saida shortly after midnight, according to NNA.

Hezbollah announced on Wednesday night that two of its fighters had been killed, without specifying the date, location or circumstances of their killing.

According to Hezbollah, the two militants killed were Ali Muhammad Marmar and Taha Abbas, both of whom were from the town of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel remain engaged in limited clashes on the Lebanese southern border. Hezbollah has so far lost several of its militants since the start of these clashes while claiming it has killed several Israeli soldiers.

Photo: People take part in a demonstration organized by Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Oct. 18, 2023, following a strike that ripped through a Gaza hospital compound killing hundreds the day before. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)

The Israeli Army announced on Thursday that it assassinated Rafat Harb Hussein Abu Halal, the head of the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees group, in Rafah, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.

Abu Halal was killed in an airstrike carried out by Israel's Shin Bet security service, according to the army.

Al Jazeera reported that the Israeli army also said it has destroyed hundreds of Hamas infrastructure facilities in Gaza.

These included antitank missile launch sites, tunnel shafts,and intelligence infrastructures, among others.

The Israeli army added that a number of Palestinian fighters who led the Oct. 7 attack against Israel, as well as 10 other members of Hamas, were killed.

9. To conclude this morning's round-up, here is a recap of the casualties.

More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, most of them civilians, on the day of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

In retaliation, Israel has been relentlessly bombing Gaza, killing at least 3,478 people. The majority of them are civilians, including hundreds of children, according to local authorities.

It is not clear if this toll includes the victims of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

Additionally, more than one million residents of the Gaza Strip have fled to the southern part of the enclave due to the threat of an Israeli ground offensive in the north.

8. In this context, several countries are advising their citizens to avoid Lebanon or leave the country.

Some embassies started evacuating their non-essential personnel. 

7. Tensions remain high along the Lebanese-Israeli border, with the Israeli army and Hezbollah exchanging fire. 

Yesterday, several protests took place in the southern suburbs of Beirut and outside the US embassy in Awkar as part of a "day of anger" declared by Hezbollah following the attack at al-Ahli Hospital.

6. Today, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit Israel and several other Middle Eastern capitals to call for de-escalation of the conflict.

5. The strikes on al-Ahli Hospital have sparked significant anger across the Arab world.

Thousands of people protested on Wednesday in Lebanon, Cairo, Istanbul, near the Israeli embassy in Amman and in front of the French embassy in Tunis.

Palestinians also protested in the occupied West Bank, which has been under Israeli control since 1967, chanting "Free, free Palestine."

4. Israel claims to have "evidence" of the Islamic Jihad's responsibility for the strike on the al-Ahli Hospital.

An Israeli military spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, said that "it is not an Israeli bomb because there is no crater in the photos" during a press briefing late Wednesday night.

However, investigative fact-checking outlet Bellingcat stated that they were "able to identify what appears to be the impact crater, after analyzing footage and images of the aftermath."

According to the Islamic Jihad, the attack was caused by a bomb dropped by an Israeli military aircraft.

In a video authenticated by AFP, flames can be seen rising at night from what appears to be a building's courtyard.

3. This development at Rafah comes after a visit by Joe Biden to Israel on Wednesday, where he renewed his support for Israel and absolved them of responsibility for the deadly strike on the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night.

“Based on the information we have received so far, it appears that the strike on the Ahli Hospital was the result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza,” said Joe Biden, who stated he has compelling evidence from the Pentagon.

 Hamas has accused Israel of carrying out the strike.

2. The aid needs to be substantial, around 100 trucks per day, and it must be secured, said Martin Griffiths, emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations.

Water and food are in short supply for the 2.4 million residents of Gaza, who are also deprived of electricity due to the full siege imposed by Israel since Oct. 9 in the enclave.

Gaza has been under a land, sea, and air blockade since Hamas's election to power in 2007.

Here are the nine things you need to know to start the day.

1. US and Egyptian presidents announced on Wednesday evening that humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be allowed to transit through the Rafah crossing. 

US President Biden stated that he obtained permission from President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt to let up to 20 trucks cross at the Rafah crossing, which is the only one not controlled by Israel.

This aid is however unlikely to arrive before Friday due to road repairs required following Israeli bombings.

Israel, however, has a condition: the aid will not pass through its territory until the hostages held by Hamas are released.

Hamas claims to hold between 200 and 250 hostages.

Israel claims that Hamas holds 199 hostages.

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