October 11, 2023 - Israel-Hamas war news

Violence has risen in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since Israel declared its war on Hamas and continued to strike Gaza since Saturday, leaving a total of 29 Palestinians dead and 150 injured, the Palestinian health ministry said Wednesday.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers Wednesday in the village of Qusra, south of the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the head of the Qusra council, Abdelathim Wadi, told CNN. Several other people were injured.

Two of those killed by settler gunfire were adolescents, the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday, adding a total of nine people were injured.

Settlers "protected by Israeli forces" also opened fire on farmers in the town of Kafr al-Dik and the village of Marda, east of Nablus, the foreign ministry statement added.

Settlers, according to international law, are Israeli civilians living in illegal settlements in the West Bank and have been accused of carrying out acts of violence – physical assault, property damage, and harassment – against Palestinians.

Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli military forces erupted in several areas in the occupied West Bank amid a closure that was imposed by the military following Hamas' attack Saturday.

The closure includes checkpoints and roadblocks set up by the Israeli military at various entry and exit points – and limits the movement of Palestinians within the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel, according to several Palestinian residents who spoke to CNN on Wednesday. 

Palestinians living in the West Bank told CNN the closure has significantly impacted their daily lives, restricting their ability to travel for work, school, medical treatment, and other essential activities.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said earlier this week that the military was on high alert in the West Bank, adding it was preparing to thwart any potential attacks.

Two Palestinians were also killed in clashes with Israeli police in the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, the Red Crescent said in a statement, adding that paramedics were "prevented from entering Silwan to evacuate those who sustained gun wounds."

"The two bodies were taken away by Israeli forces," the statement said.

Officers shot dead two people who launched fireworks at a close range and threw stones at officers operating in the area, Israeli police said in a statement Tuesday.

One of the officers was hit by the fireworks, the statement added.

Israeli police on Wednesday raided the wake tent held by the family of one of the men killed, a resident of Silwan told CNN. 

Eleven teachers in schools in Gaza run by the United Nations and 30 students have been killed in the violence, the UN said Wednesday.

An additional three teachers and eight students were also injured, according to the UN.

As 1,000 houses in Gaza have been destroyed and 560 rendered uninhabitable, 220,000 people are seeking refuge from air strikes, the UN said.

As 1,000 houses in Gaza have been destroyed and 560 rendered uninhabitable, 220,000 people are seeking refuge from air strikes, the UN said.

There are 92 UN schools in Gaza filled with citizens as food and water supplies dwindle, with some staffers working 24 hours a day, the UN said. 

The UN is following up with global leaders about the crossing into Egypt and Secretary-General António Guterres has a pending phone call with the Israeli prime minister.

A survivor of the Nova music festival massacre described what happened as “animal slaughter” in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday.  

“It’s like they take all the animals to one place and shoot them all,” Sahar Ben-Sela said from a wheelchair in a Tel Aviv hospital, recounting in great detail how a "big panic" set in as the shooting started amid the attacks by Hamas this weekend.

“Even in the biggest, worst scene that we’ve seen in movies, I can’t explain how many bullets and missiles were flying around us,” he said. 

A police officer pointed Sahar and others to go inside a shelter, he said -- a call heeded by dozens of people.  But unfortunately, the attackers started dropping grenades into the shelter and shooting people “point blank," Sahar said. Many of them died.  

“I got hit… but couldn’t really understand what happened,” Sahar said.

The world, he added, should know that “it was a peace festival, and we did nothing to provoke them. We just [were] dancing and having fun.” 

At least 260 bodies were found at the site of the festival, a rural farmland not far from the border between Gaza and Israel, according to Israeli rescue service Zaka. Some attendees were seen in videos posted on social media being taken hostage by armed captors.

Israel's military said that of the at least 1,200 people killed in Israel following attacks by Hamas this weekend, at least 189 were Israeli soldiers, Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said at a news briefing Wednesday.

At least 1,100 people have been killed and 5,339 others wounded in Gaza since Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. 

The health ministry also warned on Wednesday that electricity outages will lead to the suspension of laboratory services and blood banks in at least 58 laboratories and blood banks, threatening the lives of thousands of people who need treatment.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ initial onslaught over the weekend when armed militants poured over the heavily-fortified border.

Israel has also ordered a “complete siege” on the enclave, including halting supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an updated statement, ruling out a "suspected infiltration" into Israel from Lebanon "as of right now." 

There is no major security incident in northern Israel, IDF chief spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

This comes after the IDF earlier said a report was received regarding a suspected "infiltration from Lebanon into Israeli air space." Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire were activated in most of northern Israel following the IDF's warning. 

“There was an error - whether technical or human error,” Hagari said at the press event.

Talks are underway to allow United States and Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip to exit the territory into Egypt ahead of any land invasion of the territory by Israeli forces, according to a senior Israeli official. 

Under the proposal being discussed, all US citizens would be permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing if they present their US passports, while the movement of other Palestinian civilians would be limited to 2,000 people a day, the official with knowledge of the negotiations told CNN on Wednesday.

Final approval of the arrangement would need to come from the Egyptians, who control the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. The Israeli official said it was “in Israel’s interests” for as many Palestinians as possible to leave Gaza.

Some context: Airstrikes in Gaza have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes — but there is little room to go. Across the Middle East, Gaza is among the smallest and most densely packed cities.

Americans in Gaza who spoke with CNN have expressed fear and frustration about feeling that they are trapped without any safe route out of the region that is being heavily bombarded by Israeli forces.

There were reports that the only route of Gaza — via Egypt — was closed Tuesday due to strikes, and the threat of an Israeli ground incursion is looming.

As thousands of rockets have rained down on Israel, the country has been relying once again on the Iron Dome system to protect its citizens.

The missile defense system is one of the most important tools in Israel’s arsenal and has saved countless civilian lives over various conflicts in the last decade, analysts say. It is highly effective. The Israel Defense Forces said the system boasted a 95.6% success rate during a rocket salvo fired by Islamic Jihad in May.

The Iron Dome is designed to shoot down incoming projectiles. It is equipped with a radar that detects rockets and then uses a command-and-control system that quickly calculates whether an incoming projectile poses a threat or is likely to hit an unpopulated area. If the rocket does pose a threat, the Iron Dome fires missiles from the ground to destroy in the air.

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The European Union's Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, wrote a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday, saying that there has been a "surge of illegal content and disinformation" on Meta platforms.

He asked Zuckerberg to be “very vigilant” to ensure compliance with the rules, act against illegal content and deploy proportionate and effective mitigation measures. 

Breton urged Zuckerberg to respond to his requests within 24 hours, reminding him that penalties may be imposed if he did not comply.