Israel disconnects with Gaza
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has announced that Israel has cut off all contact with Gaza, and that Palestinian workers will no longer be employed in the country.
“Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza,” it stated in a post on X.
The Security Cabinet has also planned on cutting down all funds for the besieged enclave from the Palestinian Authority funds.
Israel is severing all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza. Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 2, 2023
US drones fly over Gaza to track captives
According to Al Jazeera, two US officials told the Reuters news agency that surveillance US drones have been flying over Gaza to search for hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
The surveillance has reportedly been going on since more than a week now.
US officials believe the 10 Americans who remain “unaccounted” may be among the 200 plus hostages in Gaza.
Gaza workers in Israel
Gisha, an Israeli NGO, published a statement on the Israeli cabinet’s decision on Friday to return Palestinian workers in Israel since October 7 back to Gaza.
Gisha, HaMoked and other human rights groups had submitted “Letters, petitions and individual inquiries to Israeli authorities regarding hundreds of Gaza residents, including both workers and people who had entered Israel with permits to receive medical treatment, who were present in Israel on October 7 and had since been unlawfully, secretly detained by Israeli authorities”.
They are reportedly detained in Israeli military bases in the occupied West Bank, disconnected from the world and without access to legal representation.
“Israel refused to disclose the names and whereabouts of all the people it was holding, as well as the legal grounds for their detention. We have reason to believe that the holding conditions in these facilities were extremely dire, and that detainees were subjected to extensive physical violence and psychological abuse, as well as being held in inhumane conditions,” the statement said.
1,200 children still buried under rubble
Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra reported on the latest statistics: 1,200 children are still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, 136 paramedics have been killed, 25 ambulance vehicles have been completely destroyed, and 126 hospitals and another 50 medical centres have been targeted.
Tear gas aimed at worshippers in Al-Aqsa
Al Jazeera correspondents have reported that Israeli forces have used tear gas against Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem’s Wadi al-Joz neighbourhood after stopping them from Friday prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Cross-border fire between Israel-Lebanon border continue
The Israeli army claims to have killed a group of Hezbollah fighters on Thursday in Lebanon and targeted one of their sites.
The army reportedly struck in response to an attack from Lebanese territory towards a military position in northern Israel near the border.
Credits: Al Jazeera
