On 11th October, the total death toll in the Israel-Hamas conflict, including Hamas Terrorist Attack on Israel and Israel’s counterattack on Gaza, crossed 2,400. Both sides have claimed almost equal numbers of dead, including children, elderly and women.
As per reports, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) said over 1,200 people have died since the 7th October attack, including 155 soldiers. Around 150 civilians and soldiers were taken hostage by the Hamas terrorists. On the other hand, Gaza authorities have claimed that around 1,200 people have died, including nine medics of the Red Crescent in the Israeli counterattack.
The death toll on the Gaza side is expected to increase once the rubble of the buildings demolished by Israeli air strikes gets cleared. Despite facing the largest counter-strike by Israel, Hamas is not backing down and continuously firing rockets at Israel. The rockets coming from Gaza led to the temporary closure of Ben Gurion Airport. It also affected the civilian life in Ashkelon.
Humanitarian groups claim there is a shortage of medicine and food in Gaza
Israel has closed all the entry points to Gaza, leading to food, fuel and medicine shortages. The humanitarian groups working in Gaza claimed that due to the blockade, they faced difficulty getting their hands on medicine and food. The sole power plant of Gaza is also shut down due to fuel shortage.
While Gaza authorities claimed they were facing humanitarian disaster, the Israeli government has no plan to back out of its decision to completely degrade Hamas’ military potential.
Israel to shift to remote learning for students
Amid the ongoing war, the students in Israel have been unable to attend school since last week. However, the education ministry has announced they would soon shift to remote learning, possibly from 15th October. As the ministry is planning to shift to remote learning, there is a possibility that Israel expects the war to continue for some time. In a post on X, the ministry said, “Starting next Sunday, all students will return to distance learning, including the kindergartens. The schools will move to a format of regular and continuous learning, through lesson plans adapted to both the possibility of distance learning and the possibility of physical learning in the schools. Learning will focus on emotional and social aspects to strengthen the students’ personal resilience.” (translated using Google Translate)
החל מיום ראשון הקרוב כלל התלמידים ישובו ללמידה מרחוק, כולל גני הילדים
— משרד החינוך (@edu_il) October 11, 2023
בתי הספר יעברו למתכונת של למידה סדירה ורציפה, באמצעות מערכי שיעור המותאמים הן לאפשרות של למידה מרחוק והן לאפשרות של למידה פיזית בבתי הספר.
הלמידה תתמקד בהיבטים רגשיים וחברתיים לחיזוק החוסן האישי של התלמידים
Hamas called for “global Jihad” and “Financial Jihad”
Israel is also planning to start ground operations soon to clear out the Gaza Strip of Hamas terrorists. Meanwhile, Hamas’s top leaders called for “global Jihad” in Arab and Islamic countries on 13th October (Friday) and urged Muslims around the world for donations (Financial Jihad) to continue the war against Israel.
Israel-Hamas war
On 7th October (local time), the terrorist organisation Hamas launched a brutal terror attack on Israeli soil. Over 1200 people were killed in the attack. Paragliders and vehicle-borne Hamas terrorists wielding automatic weapons barged inside the border walls and attacked civilians, residential communities, and even a music festival in Southern Israel. In response to the brutal terrorist attack on Israel that killed over 1000 civilians and wounded over 2,500 others, Israel has declared war on Hamas and has been pounding the Gaza Strip with bombs for 3 days now.
The US and other NATO nations have declared support for Israel. Hundreds of Israelis and foreign nationals are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas. Hamas has massacred civilians brutally after attacking a music festival, and family homes in Southern Israel. Social media posts have surfaced where Hamas terrorists are seen killing children, women, and the elderly. The exact number of hostages is unknown.