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1. US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he has “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using” for the death toll in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, where the health ministry says over 6,500 have been killed in Israeli attacks. Biden was asked at a White House press conference whether the death count, which the ministry says includes some 2,700 children, meant Israel was ignoring US appeals to reduce civilian deaths in its bombardment of the coastal enclave.
2. Following Russia and China’s veto of a US-authored UN resolution condemning Hamas’ attacks on Israel, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan argued that these nations might have responded more forcefully if they had experienced a similar massacre. Erdan said “In Israel, we are fighting for our very survival…If any of your countries endured a similar massacre, I am certain that you would act with much greater force than Israel.” “There would be no question in your mind that such a barbaric slaughter requires a broad military operation against the terrorists who committed such inhumane atrocities to eradicate their terrorist capabilities in order to make sure that such atrocities can never happen again,” he added, referring to Russia. The two countries on Wednesday vetoed the US-authored draft resolution on the Middle East at the UN Security Council, TASS reported.
3. Israel may postpone a planned ground offensive in Gaza amid growing calls for a pause in fighting. The decision was reportedly taken after a request by the US and will also allow the supply of humanitarian aid to war-hit civilians. The US will reportedly use this time to rush missile defences to the region to protect its troops. The update came even as the US and Russia lead rival calls at the UN for a pause in fighting to allow aid into Gaza. Numerous countries including the US, UK and Russia have called for a halt to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Political and ideological differences however remained in focus on Wednesday with countries taking varied stances on the matter. The United States for example is seeking short pauses to allow the entry of aid while Russia advocates a wider ceasefire.
4. President Joe Biden expressed his opposition on Wednesday to retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. “It has to stop. They have to be held accountable. It has to stop now,” Biden said at the start of a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was being honoured with a state visit to Washington.
5. Japan has called on Israel to temporarily suspend fighting in Gaza for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, its foreign ministry said, as per a Reuters report. This was brought up in a meeting between Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Israel’s ambassador to Japan.
6. Russia has warned that the Israel-Hamas war could spread beyond the Middle East, as critical humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, is still held-up, Reuters reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East and said it was wrong that innocent women, children and old people in Gaza were being punished for other people’s crimes. “Our task today, our main task, is to stop the bloodshed and violence. Otherwise, further escalation of the crisis is fraught withgrave and extremely dangerous and destructive consequences. Andnot only for the Middle East region. It could spill over farbeyond the borders of the Middle East,” said Putin in a meeting with Russian religious leaders of different faiths, according to a Kremlin transcript.
7. Joe Biden has called for a “path toward peace” being forged once the Israel-Gaza crisis concludes. The US President once again expressed support for the two-state solution in the conflict-riddled region and “an integration of Israel among its Arab neighbors,” Reuters reported. Biden added that US support for Israel’s defense was ironclad, but the parties needed to think about a way forward in the region once the Gaza crisis was resolved.
8. Florida is ordering state universities to ban a pro-Palestinian student organization from campuses for “illegally supporting Hamas”. “It is a felony under Florida law to ‘knowingly provide material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization,’” State university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said to university presidents. Among the student groups in question include ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ and ‘Palestine Legal’.
9. The United Nations has warned that the Gaza blockade has depleted their fuel supply and may force it to “sharply cut” relief work in the region, AP reported. The warning came as hospitals in Gaza struggled to treat masses of wounded with dwindling resources.
10. A strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Wednesday killed several family members of one of Al Jazeera TV’s chief correspondents, Wael Dahdouh. Strikes elsewhere destroyed homes and businesses and left many digging through the debris. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed and 17,439 others wounded. In the occupied West Bank, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed and 1,650 wounded in violence and Israeli raids since Oct. 7, AP reported. 

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Updated: 26 Oct 2023, 07:59 AM IST