Military and Diplomatic Highlights: · The Israel Defense Force (IDF) provided a two-week summary of activities: o Over 6,900 rockets have been fired from Gaza and over 550 of these rockets misfired. o Over 1,000 Hamas terrorists have been neutralized. This includes dozens of senior leaders of Hamas. · The Israeli Ministry of Defense reported that as of October 20th, the 45th plane carrying military supplies landed in Israel. The latest flight was carrying: o About 1,000 tons of ammunition o Military ambulances o Medical equipment · The Israeli government has advised that Israeli citizens abroad are under threat and should avoid travel to the following counties: o Türkiye o Egypt (and Sinai) o Jordan o United Arab Emirates o Bahrain o Morocco o Malaysia o Bangladesh o Indonesia o Maldives · Update on Hamas Hostages: o There remains over 200 Israeli citizens and foreign nationals that are being held. o On October 20th, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assisted in the release of two American citizens. They have been identified as Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Shoshana Raanan. ü The IDF received these two individuals at the border and moved them to central Israel to be reunited with family members. o The U.S. State Department reported that 10 Americans remain unaccounted for in this conflict. Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights: Israel · There are now over 1,400 fatalities and over 4,600 injured. · Rockets are continuing to be launched at Israeli population centers from Gaza. · On October 20th the National Emergency Authority announced the activation of a plan to evacuate the residents of Kiryat Shmona to state-funded guest houses. This evacuation will be managed by the local authority, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Defense. Occupied Palestinian Territories · As of October 20th, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is reporting 1,433 fatalities and 4,515 people injured. · There are about 1.4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Gaza, with more than 544,000 sheltering in 147 UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) designated emergency shelters in increasingly dire conditions: o At the shelters there are about 70 people per classroom. o Overcrowding, lack of privacy, limited availability of water and sanitation facilities are causing increased psychological distress. o Tensions amongst IDPs are increasing, including reports of violent disputes in shelters. o To improve conditions and reduce overcrowding at the Khan Younis Training Centre, where 17,000 IDPs are sheltering, UNRWA distributed 80 tents. o UNRWA has not established any new camps in the Gaza Strip. · The Israeli government continues to order the evacuation of the Al-Quds Hospital: o This hospital is under the control of the PRCS and currently has 500 patients and 12,000 IDPs. o The PRCS and the World Health Organization have repeatedly stated that the patients and IDPs cannot be safely evacuated to southern Gaza. · The World Food Programme (WFP) as of October 19th, has only been able to reach 168,000 (IDPs) in 42 UN-designated shelters with fresh bread through four contracted bakeries. · Humanitarian Aid Convoy: o On October 21st the first joint convoy entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. o This convoy of 20 trucks was made up of UN agencies and the Egyptian Red Crescent Society. o This convoy included the following supplies: ü Potable water ü 60 metric tons of emergency food ü Medical supplies to meet the needs of over 300,000 people for three months. ü Trauma medicines and supplies for 1,200 people and portable trauma bags for on-the-spot stabilization of up to 235 injured people. ü Medicine and treatment for 1,500 people with chronic diseases. · At least 30% of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed or damaged. · The Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings remained closed. · Since October 7th , the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported at least 74 Palestinian households have been displaced from 13 herding communities in the West Bank. This displacement is due to the following: o Intense settler violence o Access restrictions o Properties being burned Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL): · As of October 21st, 17 UNRWA personnel have been confirmed killed. This number is likely to rise. · The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 22 journalists have been killed. Sources:
· UNRWA Situation Report #10 on the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), 21 October 2023 (New)
· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #14
· Israeli Prime Minster Twitter Page
· Israel Ministry of Defense Twitter Page
· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page
· OCHA for Occupied Territories Twitter Page
· WHO in occupied Palestinian territory Twitter Page
· UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Twitter Page
· ICRC Twitter Page
· Palestine Red Crescent Society Twitter Page
· U.S. Department of State Twitter Page
· Committee to Protect Journalists Twitter Page
· PolitiFact Twitter Page
Resources PolitiFact, How to avoid misinformation about the war in Gaza and Israel (New) https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/oct/12/social-media-is-flooded-with-out-of-context-videos/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1697818843 GSC OpT Gaza Strip Damage Affected Areas (20 October 2023) (New) https://reliefweb.int/map/occupied-palestinian-territory/gsc-opt-gaza-strip-damage-affected-areas-20-october-2023 ADL, We Stand with Israel Website https://www.adl.org/stand-with-israel Monetary Donations: Before you donate please review the organization’s track record by using CharityWatch and Charity Navigator.
· Palestine Red Crescent Society
· Magen David Adom
· United Hatzalah
· UN Crisis Relief, Occupied Palestinian Territories
· UN Agency for Palestine Refugees
· American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc.
· Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center
· Sderot Foundation
· Soroka Medical Center
· American Friends of Rambam Hospital in Haifa
· Syrian American Medical Society Foundation
· American Near East Refugee Aid
· Doctors Without Borders
· IsraAID
· Jewish Agency for Israel
· Jewish Federations of North America
· Middle East Children's Alliance
· Palestine Children's Relief Fund
· Save the Children
· World Central Kitchen (New)
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