Israel’s military ordered hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to evacuate ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The directive came Friday on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning it received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza. Palestinians and some Egyptian officials fear that Israel ultimately hopes to push Gaza’s people out through the southern border with Egypt.
Here's what's happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
LEBANESE STATE MEDIA SAYS ISRAELI SHELLING HAS KILLED 2 IN CHEBAA
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says Israeli shelling of a Lebanese border village killed a man and his wife.
The shelling occurred during an exchange of fire along Lebanon’s border with Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops.
National News Agency said Khalil Hachem and his wife, Rabad Akoum, were killed in the shelling of the Lebanese border village of Chebaa.
Hezbollah said its fighters struck several Israeli military positions in the disputed Chebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills in the afternoon. It added that hours later, Hezbollah gunmen fired rockets and shells toward an Israeli position in the area inflicting damage.
ISRAELI MILITARY ANNOUNCES IT IS PREPARED FOR ‘COORDINATED’ OFFENSIVE
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has prepared a “coordinated” offensive in the Gaza Strip involving air, ground and naval forces.
In a statement on its website Saturday night, the army said it is “preparing to implement a wide range of offensive operative plans.”
Israel has ordered roughly half of Gaza’s population to evacuate their homes ahead of an expected ground offensive in response to a brutal cross-border Hamas attack.
Israel has not said when the offensive will begin.
HAMAS OFFICIAL SAYS PALESTINIANS WILL NOT MIGRATE TO EGYPT
BEIRUT — A top official with the militant Hamas group says the people of Gaza will not migrate from the strip to Egypt.
In a televised speech Saturday, Ismail Haniyeh said that “all the massacres” will not break the Palestinian people.
“There will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt,” he said, adding that “our decision is to stay in our land.”
Haniyeh said Israel suffered a “strategic strike” and that last week’s attacks by Hamas that have killed more than 3,200 are an indication the end of Israel's occupation is near.
Haniyeh said the aim of Hamas is to liberate the land and set Palestinian prisoners free, and that the blockade in Gaza be lifted.
HEAD OF GAZA'S LARGEST HOSPITAL SAYS 35,000 PEOPLE ARE SHELTERING IN HOSPITAL COMPLEX
GAZA CITY, Gaza — Medical officials say an estimated 35,000 have crammed into the grounds of Gaza City’s main hospital, seeking refugee ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive.
Mohammad Abu Selim, general director of Shifa Hospital, confirmed that massive crowds had thronged the building and the courtyard outside. Shifa is the largest hospital in the entire Gaza Strip.
“People think this is the only safe space after their homes were destroyed and they were forced to flee,” said Dr. Medhat Abbas, a Health Ministry official. “Gaza City is a frightening scene of devastation.”
The Israeli military has ordered roughly half of Gaza’s population, including all of Gaza City, to evacuate as it prepares to send in ground forces.
Israel has been bombing Gaza into rubble for the past week, killing more than 2,200 and counting in response to a cross-border Hamas attack.
SCHOLZ AND NETANYAHU DISCUSS NEED TO AVOID REGIONAL INVOLVEMENT IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has talked again with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the current situation in Israel following last week’s attack by Hamas.
During their phone conversation on Saturday, both leaders “agreed on the need to avoid a regional conflagration and, in particular, the intervention of Hezbollah in the conflict,” the German government said in a statement, adding that Scholz briefed Netanyahu about his latest diplomatic efforts in this regard.
The German statement said that Netanyahu told Scholz about Israeli efforts to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip which the Israeli leader said were being hindered by Hamas.
Scholz reiterated “Germany’s full solidarity with the people of Israel in these difficult hours and underscored that Germany stands unwaveringly by Israel’s side.”
THOUSANDS TURN OUT IN LONDON IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS
LONDON — Thousands of demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday to show their support for Palestinians and demand that Israel stop bombing civilians in the Gaza Strip as the latest Israel-Hamas war heightens tensions around the world.
Protesters waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Free Palestine” and “Stop the bombing” crowded into the streets outside the headquarters of the BBC for a 1 1/2-mile (2.4 kilometer) march that was scheduled to end at about 3 p.m. near the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street.
The Metropolitan Police Service deployed more than 1,000 officers to police the event after an increase in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas militants attacked Israel last weekend.
Police have restricted marchers to a designated route through central London, warning that anyone who strays from it will be arrested. Similar precautions are in place near the Israeli Embassy.
IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER CALLS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR IS ‘SYMBOL OF POWER OF ISLAM’
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday the recent attack on Israel will lead to victory for the Palestinians, the official IRNA news agency reported.
“Part of the currents is indication of incredible power of Islam in Palestine and God willing, the move that began in Palestine will move forward and will be lead to full victory of Palestinians,” he said.
Speaking in a meeting with visiting leader of Nigeria’s Shia community Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, Khamenei called the ongoing war in Gaza “one of symbols of power of Islam.”
Khamenei urged world of Islam to help the Palestinians.
Earlier on Tuesday Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, rejected allegations about his country’s role in Hamas' attacks against Israel and vowed to continue supporting the Palestinian territories.
THAI DEATH TOLL IN HAMAS ATTACKS RISES TO 24
BANGKOK — Officials in Thailand say the death toll of Thai nationals killed in Hamas' attack in southern Israel has increased to 24, after the Israeli authorities reported three additional fatalities.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kanchana Patarachoke said at a press briefing Saturday that the number of known injured Thais has climbed to 16 with the number of those believed held hostage remaining at 16.
The number of victims from Thailand is relatively high because there are about 30,000 Thai workers in Israel, mostly employed as agricultural laborers. Some 5,000 have been working in the area affected by the violence.
The Thai Foreign Ministry says 7,058 nationals have registered for voluntary repatriation back home while 83 have indicated their intention to remain in Israel.
BLINKEN HAS SOUGHT CHINA’S HELP TO PREVENT SPREAD OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to seek China’s help in preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken called Wang on Saturday from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to ask China to use whatever influence it has in the Middle East to keep other countries and groups from entering the conflict.
Miller would not say which countries and groups the U.S. believes Beijing has influence with but China is known to have close trade and political ties with Iran, which in turn supports Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Miller declined to characterize Wang’s response, but said the U.S. believes it and China have a shared interest in Middle East stability.
RUSSIAN DEATH TOLL IN ISRAEL RISES TO 16
LONDON — Russia’s embassy in Israel said Saturday that the number of Russian citizens killed since Hamas launched its attacks against Israel a week ago had risen to 16. Eight Russian citizens are missing, according to embassy press secretary Marina Ryazanova.
“According to the Israeli side, as of 13:00 on October 14, the number of dead citizens of the Russian Federation who also had Israeli citizenship increased to 16 people, Ryazanova said. “The updated lists of missing persons provided by the Israeli side include eight Russian citizens.”
At least one Russian citizen is being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
UN SAYS THE PAST WEEK WAS THE DEADLIEST IN THE WEST BANK SINCE 2005
JERUSALEM — The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance, or OCHA, confirmed to The Associated Press that this week was the deadliest in the West Bank since the U.N. started recording in 2005.
In the week since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last Saturday, 54 Palestinians have died in the West Bank with 16 killed on Friday. The U.N. says attacks by Israeli settlers have surged there since the Hamas assault.
EGYPTIAN, GERMAN DIPLOMATS MEET TO DISCUSS DETERIORATING SITUATION IN GAZA
CAIRO — Chief diplomats of Egypt and Germany held talks Saturday on the deteriorating “humanitarian and security” situation in Gaza amid ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups, an Egyptian official said.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Cairo for talks that focused on the conflict.
Both officials understand “the necessity of immediate cessation of escalation,” said Ahmed Abu Zaid, spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry.
UNICEF CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASE-FIRE AND HUMANITARIAN ACCESS INTO GAZA
BEIRUT — The U.N. children’s agency is calling for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip, saying hundreds of thousands of children and their families have started fleeing northern Gaza.
UNICEF said children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following days of hostilities and cuts to all supply routes.
“The situation is catastrophic, with unrelenting bombing and a massive increase in the displacement of children and families. There are no safe places,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
UNICEF said its staff have continued to respond to the critical needs of children across the Gaza Strip, but access is becoming increasingly difficult and dangerous.
The agency said UNICEF staff will stay in southern Gaza to continue to provide support for children in need.
HOSPITAL PATIENTS SPENT PART OF THE NIGHT ON THE STREET IN GAZA, MEDICAL AID GROUP SAYS
CAIRO — Patients and medical staff of Al Awda Hospital in Gaza spent part of their night on the street “with bombs landing in close proximity,” following Israel’s orders to evacuate the facility, the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said.
Scott Hamilton, a spokesman for the aid group, which is known as MSF, said some of the medical staff and all patients have been moved to another location.
“But the situation remains extremely complicated and chaotic,” he told The Associated Press. “We call on Israel once again to cease the indiscriminate bloodshed, withdraw their ultimatum.”
RAFAH CROSSING TO OPEN TO ALLOW FOREIGNERS TO EXIT, EGYPTIAN OFFICIALS SAY
CAIRO — Egyptian officials said the southern Rafah crossing would open later Saturday to allow foreigners to exit.
UNRWA SAYS DRINKING WATER FOR GAZA IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
BEIRUT — The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees says hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced over the past 12 hours in the Gaza Strip.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, warned that the Gaza Strip is running out of clean water and fuel is urgently needed in order to have safe drinking water.
Lazzarini said in statement that more than 2 million people are at risk as water runs out adding that “it has become a matter of life and death.”
Lazzarini said Gaza’s water plant and public water networks have stopped working and people are now forced to use dirty water from wells, increasing risks of waterborne diseases.
“Nearly 1 million people have been displaced in one week alone,” he said adding that at the U.N. base in the southern Gaza Strip — where UNRWA has moved its operations — drinking water is also running out.
He called for lifting the blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza adding that if drinking water is not available, people will start dying of severe dehydration, among them young children, the elderly and women.
EGYPTIAN AND TURKISH LEADERS CALL FOR END TO VIOLENCE AND DELIVERY OF AID
CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt on Saturday discussed the war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza with Turkey’s chief diplomat.
A statement from the Egyptian presidency said el-Sissi and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan agreed that the ongoing escalation threatens the region’s “stability and security, which requires intensive international efforts to immediately cease violence.”
The statement said el-Sissi and Fidan expressed concerns about Israel’s “collective punishment” of the Palestinians in Gaza and called for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged strip.
US NEGOTIATING FOR THE TEMPORARY REOPENING OF BORDER CROSSING
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A senior State Department official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday the U.S. has been trying to negotiate with the Israelis, Egyptians and Qataris on opening the Rafah border crossing to allow foreigners to leave Gaza.
The official said the plan was to open the crossing from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. But the official said it isn’t clear if Hamas will allow convoys to get there unimpeded.
He said U.S. officials have been reaching out to Americans known to be in Gaza to let them know.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the negotiations.
— Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Riyadh.
ISRAEL SAYS IT HIT MILITANTS TRYING TO CROSS FROM LEBANON
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army said Saturday that it had struck militants trying to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon.
The Israel Defence Forces released infrared footage on Friday showing what they say are the strikes on militants attempting to cross the Israel border from Lebanon. It was not clear which group the alleged militants belonged to. On Friday, Hezbollah said its fighters fired several rockets at four Israeli positions along the border and the Israeli army said it had attacked Hezbollah targets with drone strikes.
“The Lebanese government bears responsibility for every attack launched from Lebanon towards our sovereignty. Anyone who tries to cross the border into our lands will be killed,” the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
An Israeli shell landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on the border in south Lebanon on Friday, killing Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injuring six other journalists.
Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told The Associated Press Saturday, “We are aware of the incident with the Reuters journalist and we are looking into it.”
He did not confirm that the journalists had been hit by Israeli shells, but called the incident “tragic,” adding, “We’re very sorry for his death.”
JAPAN SENDS EVACUATION PLANES TO STAND BY IN DJIBOUTI
TOKYO — Japan on Saturday dispatched three defense planes to a military base in Djibouti in East Africa to have them on standby in case of the need to airlift Japanese nationals from Israel and Gaza.
The Self-Defense Force’s Joint Staff said a KC-767 transport and refueling plane left the Komaki Air Base in central Japan on Saturday, while two C-2 transport aircraft left Miho Air Base in western Japan.
Japan maintains a base in Djibouti as part of an anti-piracy mission. The three planes are expected to arrive as early as Sunday to be on stand by in case a plan to evacuate Japanese nationals by a charter flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai becomes difficult due to safety reasons.
The government is reportedly considering options to evacuate Japanese nationals by land if necessary.
EGYPT ERECTS BLAST WALLS AT THE CLOSED RAFAH CROSSING
CAIRO — Egyptian authorities have erected “temporary” blast walls on Egypt’s side of the Rafah crossing point with Gaza, two Egyptian officials said.
The crossing point has been closed since earlier this week after Israeli airstrikes hit close to its Palestinian side.
The officials said the blast walls were erected as part of “precautionary measures” Egypt has taken in recent days over growing concerns about a mass exodus of Palestinians.
One of the officials said the walls will be removed once a deal is reached with Israel to spare the crossing from its airstrikes.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.
Palestinians were fleeing in a mass exodus after Israel’s military told people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion.
— Associated Press writer Ashraf Sweilam contributed.
IRANIAN MINISTER MEETS WITH HEZBOLLAH, PROMISES BACKING
BEIRUT — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says militant groups in the region are “fully ready” to respond to any move by Israel.
The minister spoke in Beirut at the end of a tour that took him to Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran enjoys wide influence and where tens of thousands of Iran-backed fighters are deployed.
Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Saturday that he met Hezbollah’s leadership, adding that “the resistance (Hezbollah) is in excellent condition and in full readiness to respond to criminal acts by the Zionist entity.”
He added that “the resistance will decide if the war will expand or new fronts are to be open.”
During his visit to Beirut, Amirabdollahian met Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and they discussed the war.
“We will do all we can to stop the Zionist crimes in Gaza," Amirabdollahian said.
SUPPLIES FOR GAZA ARRIVED IN EGYPT AWAITING REOPENING OF RAFAH CROSSING, WHO SAYS
CAIRO — A plane carrying medical supplies for Gaza from the United Nations health agency landed Saturday in el-Arish airport in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, awaiting the reopening of the Rafah crossing point. That’s according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization.
“We’re ready to deploy the supplies as soon as humanitarian access through the crossing is established,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Egypt has designed el-Arish airport to receive supplies from aid agencies and foreign governments to deliver them to Gaza. Rafah was forced to close earlier in the week after Israeli airstrikes hit close its gate on the Palestinian side.
Adhanom also pleaded for Israel to reconsider its decision to evacuate 1.1 million people to the southern part of Gaza, saying, “It will be a human tragedy.”
US AIR FORCE DEPLOYS FIGHTER AIRCRAFT TO MIDDLE EAST
JERUSALEM — The United States Air Force said overnight that it had deployed F-15E fighter aircraft in the Middle East to support its operations backing Israel after Hamas’ unprecedented attack Oct.7.
Already, there’s more attack and support aircraft in the region over tensions with Iran as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION SLAMS ISRAEL'S TREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS
JERUSALEM — The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued a blistering statement Saturday expressing what it describes as “its absolute rejection and condemnation of Israel, the occupying power’s calls for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people.” The OIC broadly reflects the thinking of Saudi Arabia’s rulers.
The Jeddah, a Saudi Arabia-based organization, also called for humanitarian corridors to be opened into Gaza, which is under an Israeli siege blocking food, water and medicine.
Analysts say U.S.-led negotiations to have the kingdom diplomatically recognize Israel have likely stalled after Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 incursion in Israel and Israel’s devastating military campaign that followed, which have left more than 3,200 dead.
ISRAEL MUST GIVE RESIDENTS MORE TIME TO EVACUATE GAZA, EU OFFICIAL SAYS
BEIJING — The European Union’s foreign policy chief said Saturday that the Israeli military needs to give more time for 1 million people to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of any military action.
Josep Borrell, speaking to news media during a visit to China, welcomed the warning to evacuate but said the tight time frame could create a humanitarian crisis given the lack of shelters and transportation.
Palestinians were fleeing in a mass exodus after Israel’s military told people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion.
SOUTH KOREAN AND OTHER ASIAN NATIONALS EVACUATE FROM ISRAEL
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean military plane evacuating 220 South Korean and other Asian nationals from Israel has departed Tel Aviv and was expected to land in South Korea later Saturday, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.
The people transported on the KC-330 military transport plane included 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese nationals and six Singaporean nationals, the ministry said.
About 470 South Koreans remain in Israel, most of them long-term residents who have chosen to stay. No South Korean casualties have so far been reported from the violence in Israel and Gaza.
16 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN WEST BANK, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported 16 Palestinians killed Friday in the occupied West Bank, bringing to 51 the total number of West Bank Palestinians killed since Oct. 7, when Hamas waged its brutal assault on Israel.
The United Nations says attacks by Israeli settlers have surged there since the Hamas assault.
RELATIVES OF ABDUCTED ISRAELIS PLEAD FOR WORLD'S HELP
UNITED NATIONS — Relatives of Israelis abducted during Hamas militants’ attack the previous weekend pleaded Friday at the United Nations for the world’s help getting their loved ones home.
Speaking by video from Israel, Yoni Asher told diplomats at an Israel-organized event that he hadn’t slept or eaten since his wife and two small daughters vanished Oct. 7 while visiting his mother-in-law in the country’s south.
“I don’t know if I got any more tears left,” he said. “I’m exhausted, and I just want to approach whoever can hear me in the international community. Please bring back my baby girls.”
Hamas fighters took 150 hostages during Saturday’s surprise assault.