WORLD BRIEFING: October 30, 2023
Israel - Gaza War
Latest casualty figures
Gaza
Killed: 8,306: Wounded: 21,048
West Bank
Killed: 119: Wounded: 1,960
Israel
Killed: 1,405: Wounded: 5,431
*Figures since October 7
About a thousand Palestinians have died in Gaza since Friday, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, bringing the overall death toll there to more than 8,000.
After two nights and a day of internet and phone service outages, Palestinian communications came back on Sunday. Across Gaza and beyond, Palestinians expressed relief as families were able to reach loved ones - NPR
“Hundreds and hundreds of patients" are stuck in hospitals in the north of Gaza, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says. Doctors say Israel told staff to evacuate Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City on Sunday but that moving patients - many of whom are in intensive care - is impossible. The Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli air strikes are continuing in the area - BBC
Meanwhile, an Israeli tank and armoured vehicle were seen on the main road running from north to south of the Gaza Strip, close to Gaza City. The Israeli military said they wouldn't comment on the location of their forces. Israel's military says it is expanding its ground offensive in the territory, saying troops killed "dozens of terrorists" during clashes overnight - BBC
A female Israeli soldier who had been kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 has been released during ground operations in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said Monday. “Overnight, the soldier PVT Ori Megidish was released during IDF ground operations,” the IDF said in a statement, adding, “the soldier was medically checked, is doing well, and has met with her family.” - CNN
Shani Louk, a 22-year-old German national believed to be among Hamas' hostages, was beheaded by the militants after being taken to Gaza, according to Israel's President Isaac Herzog. Louk's family said that they were informed by Israeli authorities of the 22-year-old's death. While the family didn't specify how or when Louk died, Herzog said the woman was beheaded after the October 7 attack - Newsweek
"We told everybody: support Israel. But you are not supporting Israel by supporting this war," Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, told the BBC, when asked about the backing many western states, key allies of Jordan, are now giving to Israel’s military operations. “We recognise the pain of Israel on 7 October,” he said. But he added “you support Israel by supporting peace and only peace will bring support to every Palestinian and every Israeli.” Asked what Jordan was saying to its allies, including the United States, he said “we're telling everybody what they need to hear. And we're telling everybody that if this war continues, it's dragging the whole region into a regional war whose consequences will be devastating for everyone….Violence will only make things worse. The amount of hatred that will come out of this amount of misery will not lead to peace.”
Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, says flights from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody, both in Russia’s Muslim-majority North Caucasus, will be temporarily redirected to other cities. The interior ministry said earlier that 60 people were arrested after an anti-Israeli mob stormed Makhachkala airport in the Dagestan region on Sunday as a plane arrived from Israel - Al Jazeera
Elsewhere
Here’s news that will certainly not be greeted well in Kyiv: “There are lots of things going on around the world that we have to address and we will. But right now what’s happening in Israel takes the immediate attention, and we’ve got to separate that and get it through. I believe there will be bipartisan support for that and I’m going to push very hard” - new House Speaker Mike Johnson on splitting the $106bn bill that included $61.4bn in aid for Ukraine
Renowned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been arrested and beaten after attending the funeral of Armita Geravand, according to her husband and fellow human rights campaigner Reza Khandan.
The Oct. 29 drone attack on the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodarsk Krai was organized by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing a law enforcement source - Kyiv Independent
Former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Saturday amid lagging poll numbers and financial challenges, pledging to help elect "principled Republican leaders" moving forward - CNN
Matthew Perry, the beloved actor who starred as Chandler Bing on "Friends," died Saturday at his Los Angeles home following an apparent drowning accident. He was 54.