IDF says no operations in northern Gaza from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time
Palestinian citizens inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli airstrikes on October 14, 2023 in Gaza City, Gaza. Many Gazan citizens have fled to the south following warnings from the Israeli government to do so.
Ahmad Hasaballah | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Israel Defense Forces said Sunday in a message addressed to residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza that it won’t carry out any military operations from 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) to 1 p.m., renewing its call for people to move southward.
“Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we’ve urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM,” the IDF said in a post via X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Your safety and that of your families matters. Please follow our instructions and head southward,” it added.
The United Nations has criticized Israel’s military for issuing an evacuation order to 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, saying it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
— Sam Meredith
Death toll in Gaza crosses 2,300
More than 2,300 people have been killed and another 9,000 injured in Gaza, according to the local health ministry’s latest update.
In Israel, at least 1,300 have been killed and 3,300 wounded, according to public broadcaster Kan.
— Christine Wang
Blinken to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh at 7:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. ET), a U.S. official said.
The meeting comes as Blinken is scheduled to depart for Egypt later in the day, where he is expected to discuss a tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage through the Rafah border crossing.
— Christine Wang
UN agency calls for protection of civilians in its shelters, including those in northern Gaza
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East called on Israeli authorities to protect all civilians in its shelters across the Gaza Strip, including those in northern Gaza and Gaza City.
The UNRWA warned that despite Israel’s order to evacuate the north, many people will not be able to flee, particularly pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
“UNRWA shelters in Gaza and northern Gaza are no longer safe. This is unprecedented,” it said.
“This war should be no exception, protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including United Nations buildings, applies to this conflict too.”
Israel has ordered roughly 1 million residents in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south ahead of an anticipated ground offensive.
Palestinians fill water bottles and take them home as a UN report states that more than 2 million people struggle with water shortage, in Khan Younis, Gaza on October 14, 2023.
Mustafa Hassona | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Separately, the UNRWA warned that 2 million people are at risk as water runs out in Gaza and called for humanitarian supplies to be let in. It said its newly relocated base in the south is also running out of water as it takes in refugees, thousands of whom it said followed the evacuation order.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said fuel needs to be brought in immediately to guarantee safe drinking water.
“If not, people will start dying of severe dehydration, among them young children, the elderly and women. Water is now the last remaining lifeline. I appeal for the siege on humanitarian assistance to be lifted now,” he said.
— Christine Wang
IDF renews calls for residents to evacuate to southern Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces reiterated its call for residents to evacuate to southern Gaza, in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier, the military posted another video listing other acts committed by Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group “has shown the world time and time again what they are capable of.”
“Now the IDF is prepared to counter with an even greater force. There is no place in the world for terrorism,” it said.
The posts come as Israel is expected to commence a ground offensive in Gaza.
— Christine Wang
Israel Defense Forces says its preparing for ‘wide range’ offensive
Israel continues to deploy soldiers and armored vehicles along the Gaza border in Zikim kibbutz of Ashkelon, Israel on October 14, 2023.
Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said it was “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans” which will include “an integrated and coordinated attack from the air, sea and land” against Hamas.
The IDF added that it had already completed its mobilization of hundreds of thousands of servicemen for the counteroffensive, according to a statement translated by NBC News.
Israeli soldiers prepare armed drones stationed close to the Palestinian Gaza Strip enclave, from a field near the southern Israeli city of Sderot, on October 14, 2023, as fighting between Israel and the Hamas movement continues for the eighth consecutive day.
Thomas Coex | AFP | Getty Images
“IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed all over the country and are prepared to increase readiness for the next stages of the war — with an emphasis on a significant ground operation,” the statement added.
Israeli soldiers in an armoured vehicles drive along a street near northern town of Kiryat Shmona close to the border with Lebanon on October 9, 2023.
Jalaa Marey | AFP | Getty Images
Deal to allow Americans out of Gaza through Rafah gate faces obstacles, officials say
The tentative agreement to grant Americans in Gaza safe passage into Egypt through the Rafah gate continues to face significant obstacles to implementation, U.S. officials told NBC News.
Previous discussions between Egypt, the U.S., Qatar and Israel looked set to allow Americans across the border crossing during a five-hour window Saturday, but NBC reports the deadline came and went without any immediate sign of success. One official told NBC the parties are continuing to negotiate.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to land in Cairo on Sunday and the deal is set to be a key issue on his agenda.
While sticking points remain, the State Department has urged the estimated 500 to 600 Americans in Gaza to move south, warning that if the crossing opens, the window could be brief.
— NBC News, Christine Wang
