After about ten hours without alarms, sirens were sounded in communities near the Gaza Border this morning. The IDF and the National Emergency Management Authority have announced the activation of a plan to evacuate the residents of 28 settlements close to the border with Lebanon. Overnight, the IDF attacked military infrastructure of Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to five anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon at military positions on the border.
In an interview on US television network CBS’s "60 Minutes" program, US President Joe Biden backed Israel’s response to the slaughter and hostage taking by Hamas in its attack on October 7, saying that the most important thing was to put an end to such cruelty and force those who carried it out to bear responsibility, but added that it would be a "big mistake" for Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip, and that "there needs to be a Palestinian Authority; there needs to be a path to a Palestinian state."
The number of the murdered and fallen since the start of the war stands at some 1,300. The IDF has notified 155 families that family members have fallen into captivity in the Gaza Strip. 3,526 wounded have been treated in Israel’s hospitals; 355 are still hospitalized, 95 of them in severe condition.
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reports that about 2,750 residents have been killed and 9,700 injured since hostilities began.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Israel Katz, who is a member of the security cabinet, said this morning, "I supported the agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden on the supply of water to the southern Gaza Strip, because this was also in line with Israel’s interests. I adamantly oppose lifting the siege and permitting the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip on a humanitarian basis. Our obligation is to the families of those murdered and captured, and not to the murderers of Hamas and those who assisted them."
According to an Israeli source, the IDF continues to try to persuade the Palestinian population to leave the northern Gaza Strip and move to the south. "We are witnessing a despicable propaganda campaign by Hamas, which is trying to prevent any movement of the population southwards."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 16, 2023.
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