Sirens wailed all day long warning of rockets/missiles/drones from Hamas in the south — over 7,400 since Hamas came through the fence on October 7th— and Hezbollah in the north, Israel responded kinetically to both, targetting 8 Hezbollah cells today; 769 of those murdered by Hamas on the 7th have been identified; 212 Gaza hostages have been confirmed and their families notified; 200,000 Israelis internally displaced as Israel orders civilians away from the worst of the fighting, just as they did Gazan civilians.Led by Biden, Western leaders stress Israel’s right to self-defense, say it must protect civilians
The standard Yes, but.
IDF launches further strikes in south Lebanon, targets Hezbollah posts and fighters
The IDF says it struck a number of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a “military compound” and observation post. The Israel Defense Forces says military aircraft also targeted “a terror cell” along the border and destroyed armaments possessed by the operatives.
Iranian FM speaks with heads of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Nat’l Security Minister Ben Gvir slams Israel agreeing to ‘continuous aid to Gaza’ without freeing of hostages
IDF continues to strike Hezbollah squads in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces says it has carried out strikes against two more Hezbollah squads in southern Lebanon before they could carry out attacks on Israel. The IDF says one of the cells, in the Mount Dov area, planned to launch rockets, and the second cell, near the northern town of Mattat, planned to launch an anti-tank guided missile.
The strikes mark the sixth and seventh Hezbollah cells that the IDF has hit today.
IDF says it is striking dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza
Herzog reveals to Sky News: Hamas had instructions on how to produce chemical weapons
President Isaac Herzog reveals in an interview with Sky News that Hamas had planned to use cyanide agents against Israeli civilians.
Herzog shows off materials recovered from USB drive on the body of a Hamas terrorist in Israel which was copied from al-Qaeda and included “detailed instructions on creating chemical weapons,” including “precise instructions for preparing a device for dispersing cyanide agents,” the President’s Office says.
“This is material which was found on the body of one of those sadistic villains. It’s al-Qaeda material, official al-Qaeda material,” Herzog tells the TV network. “When dealing with ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Hamas, this is what we’re dealing with. And in this material, there were instructions, how to produce chemical weapons.”
President Isaac Herzog on Sky News reveals materials found on a USB fob on the body of a Hamas terrorist in Israel with "instructions how to produce chemical weapons" including preparing a device for dispersing cyanide agents. pic.twitter.com/NcZePRn8Ia
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) October 22, 2023
Israel confirms it allowed entry of humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza today
The military’s liaison to the Palestinians confirms that Israel allowed the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via Egypt today, following requests by the Biden administration.
“At the request of the American administration and in accordance with the instructions of the political echelon, humanitarian aid from the United Nations containing only water, food, and medical equipment was brought into the southern Gaza Strip today, through the Rafah crossing in Egypt,” the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says in a statement.
“All the equipment was checked by Israeli security officials before entering Gaza,” COGAT adds.
A defense source says that Israel will allow the entry of food, water, and medical supplies — but not fuel — to enter southern Gaza from Egypt, for Palestinian civilians of the area and those who have evacuated there, as long as it does not reach the Hamas terror group.
“Any other supply attempt that is not coordinated and approved by Israel, will be thwarted,” the source warns.
IDF publishes aerial images of Hamas rocket launchers near schools, mosques
Attached is an aerial photo of a missile launcher located next to a U.N. building: pic.twitter.com/IgbEVuSGPp
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 22, 2023
Hundreds rally at UN in Geneva to demand release of hostages in Gaza
The protest on the square outside the UN’s Palais des Nations headquarters in Geneva is organized by the Voice for Freedom coalition, bringing together several Christian Zionist organizing committees.
Blinken says US concerned about ‘Iranian proxies’ attacking Americans, Israel
One soldier killed, 3 wounded following Hamas attack on soldiers near Gaza, says IDF
According to the IDF, Palestinian terrorists launched an anti-tank guided missile at an Israeli tank and engineering vehicle operating on the western side of the border fence, near the southern community of Kissufim. The operation was part of the military’s searches for bodies of missing Israelis, and to clear the area for Israel’s upcoming ground offensive.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
The IDF says one of its tanks shelled the terror cell in response.
US envoy says ‘continuous flow’ of aid to Gaza will start tomorrow
CNN: US pressuring Israel to delay Gaza ground invasion to allow for hostage talks
IDF says it is still clearing explosives, weapons from around Gaza border
The Israeli military says Combat Engineering Forces are still working to clear the area near the border with the Gaza Strip of explosives and weapons left behind by Hamas terrorists from the October 7 onslaught.
The Israel Defense Forces says members of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit located a child’s school bag near the southern community of Kissufim, which had been carried by a Hamas terrorist. Inside the bag, the forces found a seven-kilogram explosive device and a remote detonator.
The IDF says Yahalom forces found more than 1,000 firearms, 2,000 grenades, 1,000 RPGs, and 1,200 other explosive devices. Some of the explosives were safely detonated by the forces after being found, while others were collected for further inspection.
Egypt reports ‘minor injuries’ in accidental Israeli cross-border shelling
Gallant: This war may take months, ‘but in the end there will be no Hamas’
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel’s upcoming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip may last three months, but it will be the very last one if Israel succeeds in eliminating the Hamas terror group.
10,000 attend pro-Israel rally at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
Police say around 10,000 people have gathered at Brandenburg Gate for the demonstration in solidarity with Israel and in opposition to antisemitism, though organizers put the figure at 25,000.
The IDF says a missile was launched from Lebanon at an open area near Arab al-Aramshe, causing no injuries or damage.
Police chief praises Israel’s Arab citizens for ‘exemplary behavior’ in past two weeks
Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai says that Israel’s Arab citizens have behaved in an exemplary manner since the start of the war with Hamas in Gaza on October 7.
Shabtai tells a meeting of the Knesset National Security Committee that he must praise the “exemplary behavior” of Israel’s Arab minority, noting that there have been “zero incidents” of internal clashes over the past two weeks.
Shabtai says the police are in contact with local leaders, and are prepared in case the situation changes.
Last week, Shabtai said in a clip uploaded to the police’s Arabic-language TikTok account that if Arab Israelis want to identify with Gaza “I can send you there on a bus.”
Large rally in central London calls for return of hostages in Gaza
The event comes a day after some 100,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian rally in London yesterday, at which there were reportedly chants of “jihad.”
Today’s rally draws a huge crowd, that fills the central London square.
Empty strollers in central London highlight plight of babies and children held hostage in Gaza
Protesters leave empty strollers in London’s Parliament Square in a call for the return of the Israeli hostages held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Each stroller contains the photo of one of the at least 30 babies and children confirmed snatched by terrorists during the October 7 massacre.
Some 1,400 people were killed in the onslaught, and 200-250 are being held captive in the Gaza Strip.
More than 5,400 people in Israel wounded since start of war, says Health Ministry
The Health Ministry says that 5,431 people in Israel have been wounded since the start of the war with Hamas in Gaza on October 7.
Currently, the ministry says, there are 302 people hospitalized for their injuries, of whom 43 are seriously wounded, 172 moderately wounded and 87 lightly wounded.
Over 7,400 rockets fired into Israel since start of war, says government
Terror groups have fired more than 7,400 rockets into Israel since October 7, says a government representative.
According to Government Press Office figures, the Iron Dome intercepted over 1,100 of these rockets, 550 misfired and fell inside Gaza, and more than 400 directly hit Israel.
The figures did not account for several thousand rockets, many of which may have fallen in open areas, although the government did not immediately qualify the discrepancy. The IDF has declined to provide figures on rockets since the start of the war.
Israel says it is still trying to avoid new war front along Lebanon border
As exchanges of fire continue to intensify between terror groups in Lebanon and Israeli forces, an Israeli government spokesperson says that Israel is still trying to avoid opening a northern front in its ongoing war.
21 children in 13 families orphaned following Hamas attack, says Welfare Ministry
The Welfare Ministry says that at least 21 children in 13 families have been left with no parents after they were murdered by terrorists during Hamas’s onslaught against southern Israel on October 7.
One of those is a 4-year-old girl held hostage in Gaza. Another young girl’s mother was murdered and her father is being held captive, the ministry adds.
Social workers with the ministry are working to identify all such children and provide them and their guardians with all the resources necessary.
Man seriously wounded by rocket impact in Netivot, say medics
More than 200,000 Israelis are displaced internally due to war, says government
More than 200,000 Israelis are internally displaced, says a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Half of that number were ordered to evacuated from 105 communities near the Gaza and Lebanon borders, while half left areas close to the front of their own volition, says Eylon Levy during a media briefing to reporters.
IDF says terrorists fired from Gaza at troops near Kissufim
The Israel Defense Forces says Palestinian terrorists “opened fire” at troops operating on the western side of the Gaza border fence, near the southern community of Kissufim. The IDF says one of its tanks shelled the terror cell in response.
Hamas earlier had claimed to have clashed with Israeli forces in the area, amid reports by Hebrew-language media of an anti-tank guided missile attack from Gaza that caused several casualties.
IDF carries out airstrike on Hezbollah target after anti-tank missile attacks
The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out an airstrike against a Hezbollah position in southern Lebanon in response to anti-tank guided missile attacks on northern Israel earlier today. The IDF adds that two more missiles were launched in the last hour at northern Israel. The military says it is responding with artillery shelling against the source of the missile fire.
Police say bodies of 769 civilians killed in October 7 onslaught have been identified
Police say the bodies of 769 civilians killed in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught have been identified. Of those, 673 have been transferred to their families for burial. Many of the bodies have been burned, mutilated or destroyed, making identification extremely challenging.
“Thousands of police have been working shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are taking part in the tough work of identification,” police say.
IDF says families of 212 hostages notified that loved ones are being held in Gaza
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the military has so far notified the families of 212 hostages that their loved ones are being held in the Gaza Strip.
He says the number is not final as the military investigates new information on those missing. The number does not include Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, who were released by Hamas on Friday night.
Bodies of 3 Nepalese nationals killed in Hamas onslaught arrive in Kathmandu
Nepal repatriates the bodies of three of the 10 Nepali students who were killed during the devastating Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud and Israeli Ambassador Hanan Goder receive the bodies at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. The bodies will be flown to the students’ home district of Kailai.
Another body of a Nepali student is expected to be flown to Kathmandu later today.
One Nepalese student is missing and believed to be held captive by Hamas in Gaza, officials say.
Israeli authorities have so far handed over four bodies to the Nepalese Embassy in Tel Aviv. They are in the process of identifying the remaining six bodies, a statement from the embassy says.
More than 200 Nepalese nationals returned home from Israel on Oct. 13. As many as 265 Nepali students were in Israel attending a program launched by the Israeli government.
Some 2,500 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea on October 7, killing some 1,400 people and seizing 200-250 hostages of all ages under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities. The vast majority of those killed as gunmen seized border communities were civilians — men, women, children and the elderly.
IDF says it killed 2 Hamas commandos in overnight Gaza border strike
The Israel Defense Forces says it killed two members of Hamas’s Nukhba commando forces in an airstrike near the Gaza border fence last night. The military says other Hamas terrorists were also killed in the same incident, but does not elaborate further. The Nukhba unit led the murderous October 7 assault on southern Israel.
At the same time, fighter jets struck dozens of Hamas sites in the Strip, the IDF adds. The targets hit overnight include Hamas assets in multi-story buildings, tunnel shafts, weapons storage sites, command centers, and mosques used as war rooms by the terror group, according to the IDF.
IDF says it hit Lebanon terror cell planning missile attack on Israeli town
The Israel Defense Forces says it has struck a terror cell in southern Lebanon that was planning to carry out an anti-tank guided missile attack against the northern community of Avivim. The IDF publishes a video of the strike.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has been carrying out daily missile attacks from Lebanon against IDF positions and towns in northern Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.
Hezbollah is supposed to have 150,000 - 200,000 missiles stockpiled against their very seriously, overwhelmingly deadly attack on Israel in aid of Iran’s final conquest of the only Jewish state, but they are doling them out one at a time? The IDF has clearly has those mighty Shiite Lions of Islam totally spooked.
Israel to evacuate another 14 communities close to Lebanon border amid repeated rocket/missile attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions
Syria says Israel hit Aleppo and Damascus airports, putting them out of service
Syrian state-run news agency SANA says Israel carried out airstrikes against the Aleppo and Damascus airports earlier this morning, damaging the runways and putting them both out of service.
In the Damascus strike, one civilian worker was killed and another was wounded, SANA says.
Aleppo International Airport was allegedly targeted by Israel on October 14 and October 12, while Damascus International Airport was allegedly hit only on the 12th.
Both airports have been struck numerous times over the past year, as Israel is believed to be stepping up efforts to prevent the shipment of advanced weapons from Iran to its various Middle East proxies, chief among them Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.
US activates air defense systems across Mideast, citing ‘escalations’ by Iran and its proxies
