On 1 November at 11:00, the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened for the movement of people, allowing the evacuation of about 81 wounded Palestinians to an Egyptian field hospital, alongside some 345 foreign passport holders. This is the first time since 10 October that Rafah has opened for the movement of people. The Erez crossing with Israel remains closed.
On 1 November, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship hospital in Gaza city reportedly ran out of fuel and was forced to stop most of its activities, rendering 70 cancer patients at serious life risk. Today at 20:00, the Al Hilo Hospital, also in Gaza city, was reportedly struck by shelling; the hospital had absorbed and replaced Shifa hospital’s maternity ward, which is being used now to treat the wounded. Currently, 14 out of 35 hospitals with inpatient capacities across Gaza are not functioning.
The 26th day of hostilities witnessed the continuation of Israeli ground operations, primarily in northern Gaza and the outskirts of Gaza city, alongside intense bombardments. Between 31 October (noon) and 1 November (14:00), 280 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, bringing the reported fatality toll since the start of the hostilities to 8,805, of whom about two-thirds are children and women, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza. On 31 October, 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza during the ground operations, according to Israeli official sources.
Gaza city and northern Gaza have been largely cut off from the rest of the strip as a result of the Israeli ground operations and related clashes with Palestinian armed groups. Delivery of humanitarian aid from the south to about 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north has come to a halt.
On 1 November, as of 14:00, ten trucks carrying water, food and medicines had entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing, bringing the total number of trucks entering since 21 October to 227. The entry of fuel, which is desperately needed to operate life-saving equipment, remains banned by the Israeli authorities. Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, which prior to the hostilities was the main entry point for goods, remains closed. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, stated on 1 November that the “trucks which have crossed into Gaza so far following painstaking negotiations offer some relief but are nowhere near enough.”
Between 03:00 and 11:15 on 1 November, Gaza’s telecommunication and internet services were cut for the second time in six days, leaving the civilians in grave danger amid heavy Israeli bombardments from air and land.
As of 1 November, more than 1.4 million people in Gaza were internally displaced, with over 690,400 sheltering in 149 UNRWA facilities. In recent days, tens of thousands of IDPs, who were previously staying with host families, have relocated into public shelters, seeking food and basic services. This has increased pressure on already overcrowded shelters. The average number of IDPs per UNRWA shelter is nearly four times their intended capacity.
Indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population continued over the past 24 hours, with no fatalities reported. Overall, about 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to the Israeli authorities, the vast majority on 7 October.
According to the Israeli authorities, 240 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals. Media reports indicate that about 30 of the hostages are children. So far, four civilian hostages were released by Hamas, and one female Israeli soldier was rescued by Israeli forces. On 1 November, Hamas claimed that seven hostages had been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Jabalia Refugee Camp. This follows their earlier claim that another 50 hostages had been killed in similar circumstances.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator called on 1 November to “the warring parties to agree to pauses in the fighting,” adding that “this is the only viable option to get relief items into Gaza right now … alleviating people’s suffering and reducing the risk of civil disorder.”
In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including one child, between the afternoon of 31 October and noontime on 1 November. This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 7 October to 128, including 35 children, alongside one Israeli soldier killed by Palestinians.
In the night between 31 October and 1 November, Israeli forces arrested at least 70 Palestinians, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, bringing the total number of those arrested since 7 October to at least 1,830, according to Palestinian sources. UN’s Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has received consistent and credible reports of widespread cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees. Two Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody since 7 October.
