Israel’s military initiated intensified strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza on Sunday, October 22 ahead of a planned ground invasion, as the Pentagon stated it was bolstering defenses in the Middle East over “escalations” by Iran and its allies. The Israeli death toll stands at over 1,400 deaths, with over 5,400 wounded, while deaths in Gaza have surpassed 4,600 deaths, and the number of wounded was reported at over 15,000.
On a second front, Israel stated it had killed “terror operatives” from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in an air strike on a mosque in the West Bank’s Jenin. The strike hit the Al-Ansar mosque, which “was used by the terrorists as a command center to plan the attacks and as a base for their execution,” the Israeli military said.
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced the evacuation of 14 additional communities near the northern border, an additional front they have to secure, while they had already relocated 28 communities, after declaring the evacuation of the city of Kiryat Shmona just last week.
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Journalists reported that trucks carrying aid crossed the Rafah border passage from Egypt into the besieged and heavily bombarded Gaza Strip for the second consecutive day. On the previous day, 20 trucks had been sent containing medical aid, food and water to the Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli military stated that one of its tanks had “accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian post” near the border with Gaza as the army bombards the Palestinian enclave.
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The United States warned Iran or its allies against any “escalation” in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas, two top US officials said on Sunday, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region.
Katyusha rockets were fired at an air base in western Iraq which hosts US and other international forces, and one blast was heard inside the base, two army sources said.
President Joe Biden held a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to visit Tehran on Monday, according to reports in Russian state-owned media, while Macron and the Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte are scheduled to travel to Israel on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
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