Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #14 [EN/AR/HE]

KEY POINTS

• Intensive bombardments continued as hostilities entered the fourteenth day in Gaza, with an additional 352 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours (as of 17:00). This brings the cumulative fatality toll in the Gaza Strip to 4,137, with 70 per cent of the fatalities being children and women, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. More than 1,000 people are reported missing and presumed to be under rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery.

• About 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are estimated in Gaza, with more than 544,000 sheltering in 147 UNRWA-designated emergency shelters (DES) in increasingly dire conditions.

• The complete siege of Gaza continues for the tenth consecutive day. The Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings remained closed, preventing the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicines and fuel.

• Today (20 October), during his visit to the Rafah Crossing, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for the immediate opening of the Rafah crossing for the entry of assistance, alongside a humanitarian ceasefire. He also stressed that “the barbaric attack by Hamas needs to be condemned […but …] cannot be a pretext for a collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

• At least 30 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed or damaged since the start of the hostilities, according to the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.

• The full electricity blackout, compounded by the ban on the import of fuel to run backup generators, enters its tenth consecutive day, with devastating consequences on the access to health care and drinking water. Increasing water consumption from unsafe sources elevates the threat of infectious disease outbreaks.

• Palestinian armed groups’ indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population centres continued, with no new Israeli fatalities reported (as of 21:00). Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October. Israeli media reported that, as of 20 October, the names of 767 of these fatalities have been released; of those for whose age has been provided, 22 are children.　　

• At least 201 people have been held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimates. The Secretary-General has called upon Hamas to release the hostages immediately and unconditionally. As this Update is being finalized, media reports indicate that two hostages were released.

• In the West Bank, in the past 24 hours (as of 21:00), Israeli forces killed another three Palestinian children during clashes. This brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 82, including 25 children.

• At least 74 Palestinian households, comprising 545 people, over half of whom are children, have been displaced from 13 herding/Bedouin communities in Area C of the West Bank since 7 October, amid intensified settler violence and access restrictions.