Portal:Current events/2023 October 31

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Arab–Israeli conflict
  • Israel–Hamas war
    • 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
      • Eleven Israeli soldiers are killed and several others are wounded when hit by an anti-tank guided missile in northern Gaza. Seven of those killed were from the Givati Brigade. (The Guardian) (The Times of Israel)
    • Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes
      • 31 October 2023 Jabalia refugee camp airstrike
        • More than 50 people are killed and 150 others are injured by Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Reports indicate that the camp has been completely destroyed. (Reuters)
    • Amnesty International says that they have found that "the Israeli Army indiscriminately, and therefore unlawfully, used white phosphorous in an attack on Dhayra, in south Lebanon which "must be investigated as a war crime". (Amnesty International)
    • Fifty-seven medical facilities have been damaged, with 32 currently inoperable due to ongoing airstrikes or lack of fuel, as Israel continue to target hospitals and medical centers. (Al Jazeera)
    • The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says that an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is "absolutely imperative". (Anadolu Agency)
    • The Patriarchate of Jerusalem blames Israel for the bombing of its cultural centre in Gaza City, saying that the attack "represents a stark embodiment of Israel's unwarranted determination to destroy the civil infrastructure and social service centres, as well as shelters for civilians". (Al-Ahram)
    • The World Health Organization warns that Gaza is on the verge of a "public health catastrophe" due to overcrowding, widespread displacement, and severe damage to water and sanitation facilities, with only five percent of the normal water supplies accessible. (Al Jazeera)
    • UNICEF says that at least 940 children have been reported missing in Gaza. They also state that infant dehydration is a growing threat, with Gaza becoming "a graveyard of children". (Times Now)
    • UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell says that more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza every day. (Al Jazeera)
    • The Palestine Red Crescent Society reports continuous artillery and airstrikes near the al-Quds Hospital in northern Gaza. The hospital currently shelters hundreds of patients and more than 12,000 displaced civilians. (Al Jazeera)
    • The Palestinian Health Ministry says that 8,525 Palestinians, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli air raids. (Anadolu Agency)
    • The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says that 64 of its employees have been killed during the war. (VOA)
    • The Palestinian Prisoners Society says that Israeli forces arrested 60 Palestinians in the West Bank, adding that the "arrests are accompanied with torture and abusive attacks, as well as collective punishment and destruction of property". (Al Jazeera)
    • The death toll in the West Bank increases to 130 as five more Palestinians are killed by Israeli soldiers. (Al Jazeera)
• Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Israel intercepts three surface-to-surface missiles launched from Yemen, with at least one missile being shot down by its Arrow missile defence system. The Iran-backed Houthis claim responsibility for the launches. (Reuters via Ynet News)
• Mali War
  • Tuareg rebels from Platform claim control over a camp in Kidal, northern Mali, following the evacuation of MINUSMA troops. (AFP via France 24)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Crimea attacks
    • Ukraine launches airstrikes on Crimea, destroying a Russian S-300 missile system near Yevpatoria. (The Kyiv Post)

International relations

• International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
  • Foreign relations of Bolivia
    • Bolivia suspends diplomatic relations with Israel. (Reuters)
  • The Governments of Chile and Colombia recall their respective ambassadors to Israel as a response to Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. (ABC News)
  • Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly calls for a "temporary pause in hostilities" in Gaza, saying that "the humanitarian situation facing the Palestinian people, facing Palestinian women and children, is dire". (National Post)
  • Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong expresses concern over growing attacks by residents of settlements on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, saying that "such violence threatens to only inflame tensions and those responsible must be held accountable". (Al Jazeera)
  • Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi calls for an immediate stop to the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza caused by Israeli bombardment and the implementation of international law, while stressing the necessity of humanitarian aid. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption
  • The District Court of New Zealand in Auckland finds Whakaari's management guilty of insufficiently protecting visitors during the volcanic eruption that resulted in 22 deaths and 25 severe injuries. (AFP via VOA)
• 2022–2023 Bangladesh protests
  • Two people are killed and dozens are injured in anti-government protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (BBC News)
• Israel–Hamas war protests
  • Hundreds of demonstrators gather in front of the Israeli embassy in Manila, Philippines, to denounce the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)
  • Anti-war protesters interrupt a U.S. Senate Senate Appropriations Committee hearing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Protesters are removed by police. (The Hill)
• A man in his 70s is arrested in Seoul, South Korea, after stabbing and injuring two police officers in front of the presidential residence. (Reuters)
• At least 380 people are arrested across Puerto Rico during a crackdown against 12 gangs dedicated to the sales of drugs and weapons. (AP)
• An explosion occurs at a military base near the agrotown of Kalodziščy in central Belarus. The Ministry of Defence claims that the explosion was deliberately orchestrated. (Euroradio)

Sports

• Football Australia formally end their bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only confirmed bid before FIFA's deadline for declarations of interest expires. (BBC Sport)