October 31, 2024 Middle East war news

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart about “opportunities for regional de-escalation,” according to a Pentagon readout on Thursday.

The phone call between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant comes as top US officials hold talks in the Middle East in a renewed push to resolve the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and to deter an Iranian response to Israeli strikes.

“He also reviewed steps Israel is taking and should continue to advance to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and prospects for a hostage release and ceasefire deal.”

Austin also said on the call that the US “remains fully prepared” to defend US personnel, Israel, and other partners in the region from Iran and Iranian proxies.

A Palestinian man walks past the rubble after Israeli forces withdrew from the area around Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza on October 26.

Critical medical supplies were destroyed when the third floor of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza was bombed on Thursday, the United Nations Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a news briefing.

The badly needed supplies had been delivered just five days ago by the UN in a joint mission with the WHO, Dujarric said.

Israel’s response: In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were “unaware” of a strike on Kamal Adwan Hospital but were continuing to review the incident. The IDF also said that Hamas had “embedded terrorist infrastructure and operates” inside the hospital.

Kamal Adwan is one of three minimally operational hospitals in northern Gaza and receives a large number of casualties from nearby Israeli military activity in Beit Lahiya and the Jabalya Refugee Camp.

While the Israeli military targeted the hospital in a dayslong siege last week, Gazan health authorities expressed a desperate need for supplies as injured people from neighboring areas poured into the facility.

A report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs earlier this week claimed that humanitarian access to northern Gaza, which the Israeli forces have cut off from the south, was significantly and consistently hindered throughout September.

Israel is at a “high level of readiness” for a response from Iran, an Israeli military source told CNN. But the source added that they are “still assessing the decision-making process in Iran” to determine if and when a retaliation will take place.

The source added that the recent Israeli strikes on Iranian missile production facilities and air defense installations have “created a dilemma for Tehran” as its capability to strike Israel and defend against future Israeli strikes has been degraded.

This comes after CNN reported Wednesday that Iran would carry out a “definitive and painful” response to Israel’s recent attack, citing a high-ranking source. The source on Wednesday did not provide an exact date for the expected attack but said it “will probably take place before the day of the US presidential election.”

Some background: The Israeli military said it hit “precise” military targets in Iran on October 25, strikes that were retaliation to the ballistic missile barrage launched by Tehran earlier this month. It was the first time Israel publicly acknowledged striking Iranian territory – marking a step toward a more direct confrontation with their longtime adversary. Although, Iran initially appeared to downplay the severity of Israel’s strikes.

Top US officials arrived in the Middle East this week with the goal of deterring further Iranian military action.

At least 13 people died and more than 30 others were injured after an Israeli airstrike struck two houses north of Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, staff at Al-Awda Hospital said in a statement Thursday.

The casualties included a paramedic and two journalists, the hospital said.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

Last week, at least 17 people were killed and 42 others were wounded when an Israeli airstrike hit a school in the camp where displaced Palestinians were sheltered, according to officials from Al-Awda. The Israeli military said it was targeting “Hamas terrorists” when it hit the school.

There has been “good progress” on efforts for full implementation of United Nations Security Council 1701 to bring an end to the conflict in Lebanon, but “we still have more work to do,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

“On Lebanon, let me just say that we are working very hard and making progress on reaching understandings of what would be required for the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” the top US diplomat said, noting that “this would be the basis of a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.”

“I can tell you that, based on my recent trip to the region, the work that’s ongoing right now we have making progress on those understandings. We still have more work to do, but that’s what’s necessary to get us to a diplomatic resolution, including through a ceasefire,” he said.

Blinken met last week with top Israeli officials as well as Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister. Top White House official Amos Hochstein was in Israel Thursday for discussions on Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a military ceremony near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel on October 31.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s “supreme objective” is stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, in a speech outlining his strategy as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Addressing Israeli soldiers graduating from a military officer course at a training base in southern Israel, Netanyahu said Iranian capabilities had been diminished following direct strikes and attacks on Iranian proxies.

“The brash words of the leaders of the regime in Iran cannot cover up the fact that Israel has greater freedom of action in Iran today than ever before. We can reach anywhere in Iran as needed,” the prime minister said.

“Halting the nuclear program has been – and remains – our chief concern. I have not removed, we have not removed and we will not remove our eyes from this goal.”

When striking Iran last week, Israel targeted missile manufacturing sites and aerial defense systems rather than nuclear facilities.

Netanyahu also used his speech to sound a note of caution, saying: “great challenges are still ahead of us and I do not underestimate our enemies at all.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on September 27.

In subtle but increasingly vocal ways, Israel’s military leaders are signaling that the country has achieved all it can militarily in Lebanon and Gaza, and it’s time for the politicians to strike a deal.

It comes as Lebanon’s prime minister says that a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel could be imminent. Both candidates for the American presidency have also made clear they do not want wars in Gaza and Lebanon to be on the agenda when they take office.

When the Israel Defense Forces’ top general sat down with officers in northern Gaza – who are waging one of the military’s fiercest operations since last year’s invasion – he went further than ever in suggesting the military phases of both conflicts should end.

“In the north, there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion,” Herzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff, said, referring to the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Gaza, he said, “if we take out the northern Gaza Brigade commander, it’s another collapse…. I don’t know what we’ll encounter tomorrow, but this pressure brings us closer to more achievements.”

What those achievements should be is the subject of much consternation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged “absolute victory.” His defense minister and longtime political tormentor Yoav Gallant has bristled at that goal. In August, he told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that the idea of “absolute victory” in Gaza was “nonsense,” according to Israeli media.

Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant during a discussion with troops in the IDF’s Armored Corps, deployed to Israel’s northern border: “The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one. In order to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities, we will employ all of our capabilities, and this includes you.” Today (30.09.24) Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant visited Israel’s northern border, where he met with troops serving in brigade 188 and the Golani brigade. Minister Gallant was briefed by commanders on the ground, about the readiness of troops for the possibility of expanding activities in the northern arena. The Minister also spoke to battalion and company commanders, who discussed their activities in Gaza and their deployment to the northern front. Excerpts from the Minister’s remarks: “The elimination of Nasrallah is a very important step, but it is not the final one. We will employ all the capabilities at our disposal, and if someone on the other side did not understand what those capabilities entail, we mean all capabilities, and you are part of this effort. We trust you to accomplish every mission at hand.” “Our goal is to ensure the [safe] return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. We are prepared to make every effort necessary to accomplish this mission. We will use all the means that may be required – your forces, other forces, from the air, from the sea, and on land. Good luck.” Photo credit: Ariel Hermoni Communications Office for the Minister of Defense: 03-6975750

Related article Israel’s military leaders signal their work in Gaza and Lebanon is done. Will Netanyahu listen?

Hamas would reject a deal that doesn’t lead to a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a Hamas official said, adding that a proposal currently under discussion is not acceptable.

“Hamas’ position is that the July 2 document is the foundation accepted by the mediators, and we do not accept any agreement that overlooks the issue of a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal,” Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a statement to CNN, referring to Hamas’ response to a proposal US President Joe Biden presented in May that called for a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.

“What is currently offered is partial and insufficient and does not meet Hamas’ demands,” he added, reiterating the group’s longstanding demands.

The United States and Israel have in recent days discussed a monthlong ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN earlier. The number of hostages who would be released under the proposal remains fluid, the sources said. The ceasefire would be shorter than the six-week first phase that was previously being discussed before talks last fell apart.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to refuse to give any concrete assurances of a pathway to a bigger deal to end the war, a source familiar with the talks told CNN this week.

A “direct hit” on the city of Metula in northern Israel near the Lebanese border killed five people, including four foreigners, David Azoulai, head of the Metula City Council, said in a statement Thursday.

One Israeli and four foreign farmers were killed, he said. Another foreign worker was critically injured and has been transferred to hospital, he said. It’s unclear what caused the hit, or where the foreign workers were from.

A video from Rambam Medical Center showed a severely injured person being brought to the emergency room.

Rambam Medical Center said in a statement that a foreign worker from the incident was brought to the trauma unit on Thursday. The individual, who has yet to be identified, “suffered severe shrapnel injuries across his body and is set to undergo emergency surgery.”

Hezbollah has been launching rocket attacks in the area over the past year. The group has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The prospect of Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel is “off the table” without the Palestinians being granted an independent state, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told CNN’s Becky Anderson in Riyadh.

“Normalization with the Kingdom of the Saudi Arabia is not just at risk (for Israel), it’s off the table until we have a resolution to Palestinian statehood,” he said. “I would say more than that, it’s not just the issue of normalization with the kingdom that is at risk, I would say the security of the region as a whole is at risk if we do not address the rights of the Palestinians.”

Prince Faisal was reiterating a policy laid out by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month, when he told the country’s Shura Council that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without a Palestinian state.

The Biden administration has made Israel-Saudi normalization one its key Middle East policy goals. The US and Saudi Arabia had engaged in discussions on the pact in 2023, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to fly to Riyadh on October 10 of last year to discuss the details, just three days before Hamas attacked Israel, derailing the effort.

Saudi Arabia and the US were negotiating a potential landmark defense agreement over the past year that was pursuant on Saudi normalization with Israel.

“There is one element of the bilateral agreements that we’re working on that is tied to normalization. … The Crown Prince made very clear what would be required for the kingdom to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. … Absent that we’re very happy to wait until the situation is amenable,” he said.

Smoke rises at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon on October 1.

American officials remain doubtful a final diplomatic push in the Middle East this week will result in a pause in fighting before Tuesday’s election, according to people familiar with the thinking, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits to see who the next American president will be.

The sense that Netanyahu is waiting out the US campaign season is a long-held view inside the Biden administration, but nonetheless remains strong as top envoys travel in the region to discuss prospects of bringing the violence to an end.

CIA Director Bill Burns was in Cairo on Thursday for discussions on Gaza and Lebanon, including a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

At the same time, US envoy Amos Hochstein and White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk are in Israel for talks on hostage and ceasefire issues along with a discussion of Iran, all centered on the US policy of “de-escalation backed by deterrence.”

But with the conclusion of a razor-thin US election in sight, there is little expectation the final drive toward concluding the wars in Gaza and Lebanon will result in immediate success.

Read more about the American ceasefire efforts in the Middle East.

People inspect the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 22.

At least one child has been killed and 10 have been injured every day in Lebanon since October 4, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday, as Israel continues its military campaign in the country.

Many other children, though unharmed physically, are deeply traumatized by the violence, it said, adding that many have shown severe signs of emotional distress, including separation anxiety, withdrawal, aggression and concentration problems.

Many children suffer from disrupted sleep, nightmares, headaches and loss of appetite, and without the stability of school, they lack spaces to play, learn and heal, it added.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell urged for an immediate ceasefire to protect children.

“War tears apart the safe and nurturing environments children need. When children are forced to endure prolonged periods of traumatic stress, they face severe health and psychological risks, and the consequences can last a lifetime.”

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said that 166 children killed and 1,168 injured since October last year.

CIA Director William Burns listens during a hearing in the Cannon Office Building on March 12, in Washington, DC.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met CIA Director William Burns in Cairo for discussions on Gaza and Lebanon, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement Thursday, as the US intensifies its push for a ceasefire agreement.

Sisi emphasized to Burns the urgent need for a ceasefire in Lebanon, the statement said. The talks also focused on efforts to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza, as well as humanitarian aid for the enclave.

Egypt’s spy chief Hassan Rashad also attended the meeting, the Egyptian presidency said.

CNN previously reported that a proposal being discussed by the United States, Israel and Qatar in recent days involves a monthlong ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of some hostages, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The proposal was made by the US, the sources said.

Qatari negotiators, who along with Egypt are the main interlocutors with Hamas, are currently discussing the limited proposal with Hamas, one of the sources said.

A Palestinian man walks past the rubble after Israeli forces withdrew from the area around Kamal Adwan Hospital on October 26.

The only operational hospital in besieged northern Gaza was hit by multiple Israeli attacks on Wednesday night, a medical official said on Thursday, as he reiterated his appeal to the international community to act to stop the bombardment.

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, is just one of two pediatricians who remain on the medical staff at the facility, which serves 100,000 people and where a constant flow of the wounded continues to arrive.

Abu Safiya has repeatedly described the dire conditions at the hospital in recent days following a weekslong Israeli siege of northern Gaza. On Thursday, he told CNN by phone that the bombing of the hospital’s third floor the night before had caused a fire that destroyed essential medical supplies provided by the World Health Organization just five days earlier.

CNN has asked the Israeli military for comment.

Aid entering Gaza has sunk to the lowest level since the war began last year, UN data shows – and the north of the enclave is particularly hard hit.

Senior US officials are heading to the Middle East in a renewed push by the Biden administration to resolve the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and to deter an Iranian response to Israel’s strikes last week.

White House officials Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk will be in Israel Thursday for discussions about Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, the hostages and “other regional matters,” a US official told CNN.

Separately, CIA Director Bill Burns will be in Cairo, the official and another source familiar said, while CENTCOM Commander Erik Kurilla is traveling to the region “to discuss regional defense,” the US official said.

The visits follow devastating Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Lebanon this week, including an attack in Beit Lahiya that the State Department called “horrifying.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek on October 30.

Israeli strikes near the city of Baalbek have killed 19 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Eleven people were killed and three wounded by a strike at Salibi farm, the ministry said, adding that the injured had been admitted to intensive care.

In the nearby town of Bednayel, eight people were killed, the ministry said.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.

Lebanon evacuation: Residents were fleeing Baalbek, home to the ruins of a Roman temple complex, after Israel issued evacuation orders on Wednesday, Lebanese media reported. The order was the first to cover the entire city during Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answers questions during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, on October 30.

Iran should not respond to Israel’s strikes on its territory this past weekend, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.

She was answering a question from CNN after the network reported that Israel’s recent strikes will be met with a “definitive and painful” response that will likely come before the US presidential vote, according to a high-ranking source earlier Wednesday.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller would not offer an assessment about what Iran “may or may not do,” but reiterated that the US believes “they should not respond.”

Miller would not say if the Islamic Republic had conveyed to the US an intention to respond before November 5.

A damaged sign is pictured at the headquarters of UNRWA, following an Israeli raid, in Gaza City, on July 12.

UN Security Council members have expressed “grave concern” over legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament that bans the main UN agency providing aid to Palestinians from operating in Israel.

In a Wednesday press statement, the members described the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as the “backbone” of humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The Israeli ban is expected to severely restrict UNRWA from operating in territories Israel occupies, including Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The move went ahead despite heated opposition from Arab members of the parliament, or Knesset, and strong international pressure from Western nations.

UNRWA provides “education, health, relief and social services programs and emergency assistance” the Security Council members noted. Until now, the agency has received special privileges as the main relief group operating in Gaza.

Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon responded to the Security Council members’ statement, saying, “UNRWA has failed in its mission” and alleging the agency has been a conduit for Hamas to carry out violence. UNRWA has always strongly denied such allegations.

Israel’s recent attacks on Iran will be met with a “definitive and painful” response that will likely come before the US presidential vote, a high-ranking source told CNN on Wednesday.

The remarks signal a departure from Iran’s initial attempts to downplay the severity of the strikes carried out by Israel on October 25, which marked the first time Israel has openly acknowledged striking Iranian targets.

Although the source did not provide an exact date for the attack, they said it “will probably take place before the day of the US presidential election.”

CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on the remarks.

In his initial response to last weekend’s strikes, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opted to give a more measured response, saying the strikes should “neither be exaggerated nor downplayed.”