Current events: 2023-10-31

[Wikipedia Current Events]

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Arab–Israeli conflict
  • 2023 Israel–Hamas war
    • War crimes in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
      • Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes
        • More than 50 people - including a Hamas commander - are killed and 150 more injured by an airstrike against the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, with the camp reported completely destroyed. (Reuters)
      • Amnesty International says they have found that "the Israeli Army indiscriminately, and therefore unlawfully, used white phosphorous in an attack on Dhayra, in south Lebanon which "must be investigated as a war crime". (Amnesty International) (Al Jazeera)
      • Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry reports Israeli airstrikes continue to target hospitals and medical centers, intentionally hitting medical institutions. Fifty-seven institutions have been hit, while thirty-two are out of service because of being targeted or lack of fuel. (Al Jazeera)
      • An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is "absolutely imperative" in Gaza, said the UN human rights office, adding that "colleagues across the UN are talking about the need". (Anadolu)
      • The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has blamed Israel for the bombing of its cultural centre, saying the attack "represents a stark embodiment of Israel's unwarranted determination to destroy the civil infrastructure and social service centres, as well as shelters for civilians". (Ahram Online)
      • The World Health Organization warns that Gaza is on the brink of a "public health catastrophe" due to overcrowding, widespread displacement, and severe damage to water and sanitation facilities, with only five percent of the normal water supplies accessible. (Al Jazeera)
      • UNICEF says at least 940 children have been reported missing in Gaza, adding infant dehydration is a growing threat, adding that "Gaza has become a graveyard of children". (Times Now)
      • The UN Children's Fund's executive director says that more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza every day. (Al Jazeera)
      • Israeli airstikes target the vicinity of the European Hospital in southern Gaza. Meanwhile, the director of the Indonesia Hospital reported it was hit for the third time. (Al Jazeera)
      • The Palestine Red Crescent Society reports continuous artillery and airstrikes in the Tal al-Hawa in northern Gaza near al-Quds Hospital. The hospital currently shelters hundreds of patients and more than 12,000 displaced civilians. (Al Jazeera)
    • The Palestinian Health Ministry says 8,525 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids, including 3,542 children. (Anadolu)
    • Sixty-four employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees have been killed during the war. (VOA)
    • Israeli forces arrest 60 Palestinians in the West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said, adding that "arrests are accompanied with torture and abusive attacks, as well as collective punishment and destruction of property". (Al Jazeera)
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
    • Israel intercepts three surface-to-surface missiles launched from Yemen, with at least one missile being shot down by its Arrow missile defence system. The Iran-backed Houthis claim responsibility for the launches. (Reuters via Ynet News)
• Mali War
  • Tuareg rebels from Platform claim control over a camp in Kidal, northern Mali, following the evacuation of MINUSMA troops. (AFP via Barron's)

International relations

• International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  • A humanitarian agreement is urgently needed in the Gaza Strip, Canada says. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly called for a "temporary pause in hostilities", saying "the humanitarian situation facing the Palestinian people, facing Palestinian women and children, is dire". (National Post)
  • Australia expresses concern over growing attacks by residents of settlements against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
  • Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi calls for an immediate stop to the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza caused by Israeli bombardment and the implementation of international law, while stressing the necessity of humanitarian aid. (Al Jazeera)
  • Bolivia cuts diplomatic relations with Israel. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption
  • The District Court of New Zealand in Auckland finds Whakaari's management guilty of insufficiently protecting visitors during the volcanic eruption that resulted in 22 deaths and 25 severe injuries. (AFP via VOA)
• Crime in South Korea
  • A man in his 70s is arrested in Seoul, South Korea, after stabbing and wounding two police officers in front of the presidential residence. (Reuters)
• 2023 Israel–Hamas war protests
  • Hundreds of demonstrators gather in front of the Israeli embassy in Manila, Philippines, to denounce the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

• Football Australia formally end their bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only confirmed bid before FIFA's deadline for declarations of interest expires. (BBC Sport)

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