Emergency Manager's Weekly Report

Oct 15, 20235 min read

Hamas attack on Israel Situation Report #4

· The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are reporting the following:

o At least 120 civilians remain hostages of Hamas. However, on October 12th IDF rescued 250 hostages.

o As of October 13th, over 6,000 rockets were fired from Gaza and a total of 2,687 targets have been struck in Israel.

o The IDF has eliminated Ali Qadi one of the planners of Hamas attack on Israel.

o In the western sector of the Lebanese border, Hezbollah fired ant-tank missiles, surface to air missiles and launched drones at Israeli forces. The missiles and drones were shot down.

o On October 12th, IDF discovered an ISIS flag that was left behind by Hamas fighters.

· The United States of America is reporting the following:

o The President announced that the US is working with the United Nations and the governments of Israel, Egypt, and Jordan to surge support to ease the humanitarian consequences of Hamas’s attack, create conditions needed to resume the flow of assistance, and advocate for the upholding of international law.

o The U.S. Department of Defense reported the following:

ü The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has begun moving to the Eastern Mediterranean to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war.

ü On October 12th, the 354th Fighter Squadron arrived in the region.

ü The 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrived on October 13th in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

o The U.S. State Department reporting the following actions:

ü On, October 13, the State Department authorized the departure of family members of U.S. government personnel and some non-emergency personnel on a case-by-case basis from U.S. Embassy Jerusalem and U.S. Branch Office Tel Aviv.

ü A “Do Not Travel” Advisory is in place for Gaza and “Reconsider Travel” Advisory remains in place for Israel.

ü The State Department is working on evacuating U.S. citizens in Gaza.

ü Chartered flights have been arranged to transport U.S. citizens in Israel. These flights will be leaving on October 15th and provide transport to the closest safe locations but not back to the United States.

Civil Protection and Humanitarian Assistance Highlights:

· Israel reports that there are over 1,300 fatalities and over 3,000 injured as of October 13th.

· The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is reporting 745 fatalities and 2,939 injured.

· The Israeli city of Sderot will be completely evacuated within 24 hours, and many have reportedly left Ashqelon and other Israeli towns.

· Magen David Adom (MDA) has treated 12 patients due to the ongoing Hamas attacks over the last several days.

· As of October 13th, the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority has responded to 267 incidents since the start of the conflict. Most of these incidents were in Southern Israel.

· A total 23 American volunteer firefighters arrived in Israel on October 14th to augment the Israel Fire and Rescue Authority throughout the country.

· Humanitarian situation in Gaza:

o For the fourth consecutive day, Gaza has had no electricity, pushing vital services, including health, water, and sanitation to the brink of collapse and worsening food insecurity.

o People across Gaza have severely limited access to clean drinking water. As a last resort, people are consuming brackish water from agricultural wells, triggering serious concerns about the spread of waterborne diseases.

o All hospitals in Gaza are believed to have about 48 hours of fuel to operate backup generators. The shutdown of generators would place the lives of thousands of patients at immediate risk.

o The World Food Programme (WFP) has reached 522,000 displaced people with food and cash assistance in Palestine since October 9th.

o WFP is appealing for the creation of immediate safe supply corridors through all borders into Gaza to replenish critical stocks that are running dangerously low.

· Civilian evacuation of Northern Gaza:

o IDF on October 12th ordered civilians in the Northern part of Gaza (Gaza City area) to evacuate to Southern Gaza within 24-hours. This involves about 1.1 million people. Residents will be allowed to return following the conclusion of Israel military operations.

o As of October 14th, Hamas has been discouraging and preventing the evacuation of civilians from Northern Gaza. This includes discouraging abiding by these orders and blocking roadways.

o So far tens of thousands of people have fled the area and prior to the order at least 400,000 people have already been internally displaced.

o The PRCS has announced that they will not evacuate the Al-Quds Hospital and Gaza emergency medical center. IDF has sent numerous warnings to evacuate the Al-Quds Hospital immediately.

o The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is calling on Israel to protect all civilians who have been sheltering in UNRWA shelters in Gaza.

o The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the Israeli government has issued repeated orders to evacuate 22 hospitals in Gaza:

ü These hospitals are treating more than 2,000 patients. Many of these patients are critically ill and medically fragile.

ü These hospitals are still receiving an influx of injured patients even after the order to evacuate was issued.

Violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL):

· The PRCS as of October 12th, is reporting 12 violations of IHL against the society (personnel killed and injured and damage to vehicle, equipment, and facilities).

· On October 12th, a United Hatzalah volunteer was killed by Hamas.

· The International Committee of the Red Cross has advised all combatants that media professionals are protected under IHL:

o As of October 14th, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 12 journalists have been killed, two are reported as missing and eight have been injured.

Dis-Information Highlights:

· Alleged use of Phosphorus munitions by Israel:

o This claim has been circulated by a verified X user (atWarMonitors) and stated that internationally banned phosphorus munitions were used in the vicinity of Al Karama Towers in the Gaza Strip on October 10th.

o The attack near the Al Karama Towers was confirmed by Israel but the use of these munitions has not been verified.

o Details are available here.

· Video of Boy grieving his Dead Sisters:

o This Video was posted on X by the anonymous account (atTalibanPRD) on October 11th.

o This video shows a small boy covered in dust and crying for his dead sisters.

o The video has more than half a million views and some 3,000 interactions.

o The video is that of a Syrian boy filmed after the bombing of Aleppo in 2014.

o Details are available here.

Sources:

· Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #8

· WFP Palestine Emergency Response External Situation Report #2 (14 October 2023)

· Israeli Defense Forces Twitter Page