Emergency Manager's Weekly Report

Oct 17, 20235 min read

Hamas attack on Israel Situation Report #5

· The Israel Defense Force (IDF) over the last 48-hours has reported the following:

o IDF destroyed a Hamas military headquarters and a bank utilized by Hamas.

o Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon have been struck by the IDF after an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel. Two IDF reservists and a civilian were injured in this attack.

o Ayman Nofal, a senior Hamas operative has been eliminated. He was the Commander of Hamas’ Central Brigade in Gaza and the former Head of Military Intelligence. He was also involved in the planning of the abduction of Gilad Shalit.

· The UN is reporting that at least 199 Israelis and foreign nationals are still being held by Hamas.

Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights:

Israel

· As of October 16th, the Magen David Adom (MDA) reported one fatality and three people injured.

· United Hatzalah are working with Israeli security forces and treating injured civilians and military personnel.

· On October 16th, the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) has ordered the evacuation of residents of northern Israel who live in the area up to 2 kilometers from the Lebanese border to state-funded guesthouses:

o The evacuation plan will be implemented by the heads of the local municipalities, the Ministry of Interior and the NEMA.

o The 28 communities included in the evacuation plan are: Ghajar, Dishon, Kfar Yuval, Margaliot, Metula, Avivim, Dovev, Ma’ayan Baruch, Bara’m, Manara, Yiftach, Malkia, Misgav Am, Yir’on, Dafna, Arab al-Aramshe, Shlomi, Netu’a, Ya’ara, Shtula, Matat, Zari’t, Shomera, Betzet, Adamit, Rosh HaNikram, Hanita and Kfar Giladi.

Occupied Palestinian Territories

· As of October 16th, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported 971 fatalities and 3,456 people injured.

· The PRCS also has supported 8,000 Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) who were displaced to the Al-Quds Hospital, Khan Yunis, and the PRCS main headquarters.

· The number of IDPs in Gaza is estimated at about one million, including about 352,000 IDPs staying in United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools in central and southern Gaza.

· The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs stressed the need for a humanitarian suspension of hostilities enabling the delivery of aid.

· The United States announced that they are developing a plan with Israel to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza, including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.

· The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the Rafah crossing remains closed and significant humanitarian aid has been piling up in Egypt.

· The European Union (EU) has allocated 50 million Euros in emergency funding for Palestine.

· The EU has organized a Humanitarian Air Bridge from Egypt to Gaza. One flight is currently pending, and one flight has delivered 54 tons of humanitarian supplies.

· Healthcare and Public Health Update:

o As of October 15th, WHO has documented 111 attacks on healthcare and 12 healthcare workers have been killed in the line of duty.

o Over 3,500 patients in 35 hospitals are at immediate risk due to the Israeli evacuation order or lack of adequate supplies.

o UNRWA is running eight Primary Health Clinics in the middle and southern areas.

o Medical supplies at UNRWA clinics are at critical levels and without a resupply will likely be exhausted in the coming month or sooner.

o WHO is in the process of identifying Emergency Medical Teams for deployment.

· Water Infrastructure Update:

o The average water consumption for all needs (drinking, cooking, and hygiene) is currently estimated at three liters per day per person in Gaza.

o Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services, including today’s shutdown of Gaza’s last functioning seawater desalination plant. 

o One line of water was opened today for three hours only in the South of the Gaza Strip, feeding limited water to only half of the population of Khan Yunis (nearly 100,000 people).

· Fuel and Power Restoration Status:

o WHO on October 17th, delivered locally stored fuel to Gaza’s largest hospital (Shifa), enabling the operation of generators for a few more days. Other hospitals are operating at a bare minimum capacity.

o 600,000 liters of fuel are needed in Gaza per day to operate water and desalinization plants. UNRWA moved on October 16th some of its existing but very limited fuel supplies that it already had inside Gaza.

o Gaza has been under full electricity blackout for the seventh consecutive day.

o On October 16th, the Israel Ministry of Defense restored electricity to the Kfar Gaza.

Foreign Nationals Repatriation Efforts

· The United States has been evacuating U.S. citizens by cruise ship and commercial flights.

o A total of 4,000 seats have been made available on U.S. government-chartered flights for U.S. citizens and their family members.

· The EU has organized seven flights transporting 700 EU citizens.

Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL):

· UNRWA has confirmed that 24 of their facilities across the Gaza Strip have been impacted because of airstrikes and bombardment. The actual number is likely to be higher.   

· The UN Human Rights Office and UNRWA have reported that civilians attempting to relocate to southern Gaza were struck and killed by an explosive weapon.

· On October 17th the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza was struck. This hospital was hosting hundreds of patients and IDPs:

o The IDF has stated that the hospital was struck when an Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel misfired and exploded. Raw footage is available here.

o This hospital was one of the 20 hospitals that IDF has ordered to be evacuated.

Dis-Information Highlights:

· Social media video of laser intercepting rockets over Israel:

o Social media users falsely claim video shows Iron Beam air defense laser intercepting rockets over Israel.

o One such video posted to X (formerly Twitter) shows footage from a video game called Arma 3. This video has received some 30,000 likes and reposts and 5.7 million views.

· Egypt declares war on Israel:

o This false claim is coming from various social media posts. One such post was made on Facebook on October 16th.

o The video is nine minutes long and said that the Egyptian government has deployed troops, armored vehicles and tanks to the Gaza border and armed Egyptians have "infiltrated" Israel.

Sources:

· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #11

· UNRWA Situation Report #7 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, 17 October 2023

· DG ECHO response to situation in the Middle East - DG ECHO Daily Map | 17/10/2023

· Israel Ministry of Defense Twitter Page

· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page

· Magen David Adom Twitter Page

· United Hatzalah Twitter Page

· WHO in occupied Palestinian territory Twitter Page

· WHO Emergency Medical Teams Initiative Facebook Page

· Palestine Red Crescent Society Twitter Page

· U.S. Department of State Twitter Page