UN secretary general calls for immediate humanitarian ceasefire The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has told the Cairo peace summit that the time has come for “action to end this godawful nightmare” and called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. “I appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire now,” he said. Yesterday, he said, he saw food trucks lining up at the Rafah border on one side, while there were “empty stomachs on the other”. He says he is grateful to Egypt for their role in enabling today’s convoy, but that people in Gaza need much more. “Nothing can justify” the assault by Hamas, he said, but added that these attacks can never justify the “collective punishment” against the Palestinian people. The Geneva conventions must be upheld, he said, and called for immediate aid for Gaza and immediate unconditional release of hostages. A two-state solution is the only hope for peace, he said. “The time has come for action. Action to end this Godawful nightmare.” The leader of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, has called for further aid to be released into Gaza and for an immediate ceasefire. In a response to a warning from doctors of premature babies in Gaza currently in “imminent danger if fuel does not reach hospitals soon,” Yousaf wrote: “How can this be justified? What crime have these babies committed? This is why collective punishment must be called out and condemned. Let aid in, including fuel. Otherwise, these images should haunt us for the rest of our lives. A ceasefire is needed and needed now.” A massive pro-Palestinian rally took place in Los Angeles today where spectators say at least 50,000 showed up to protest against the ongoing war. Images posted online showed demonstrators holding signs that read, “Ceasfire now!” as well as “End Israeli occupation.” Other demonstrators chanted, “No peace on stolen land! Justice is our demand!” The organizer of Web Summit has announced his resignation following backlash over his online posts in which he criticized Israel’s policies. On Saturday, Paddy Cosgrave, the head of one of the tech industry’s leading events, told Agence France-Presse: “Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event.” “I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused,” added the co-founder of the tech mega gathering created in 2009 in Dublin but held in Lisbon since 2016. A spokesperson for the organisation said that Web Summit will “appoint a new CEO as soon as possible” and added that the 2023 summit will proceed in Lisbon as planned. This year’s summit, to be held next month, is expected to bring more than 70,000 participants. However, several major companies including Google and Meta have announced that they are boycotting the event due to Cosgrave’s remarks. Cosgrave had tweeted that he was “shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many western leaders & governments” in support of Israel. “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” he wrote on 13 October. An increasing number of pro-Palestinian voices have been censored in recent weeks with conferences being cancelled and media appearances suppressed. Here are some images coming through the newswires of aid trucks entering from Egypt into Gaza from earlier today: The first Palestinian American to serve as a congressman on the US Capitol is mourning the loss of several family members who were killed at the Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza that was reportedly struck by Israel. Writing on X, Justin Amash shared the loss of his relatives, saying: I was really worried about this. With great sadness, I have now confirmed that several of my relatives … were killed at Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza, where they had been sheltering, when part of the complex was destroyed as the result of an Israeli airstrike. Diana Ramirez-Simon Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to the Hamas claim that it wanted to release more hostages on humanitarian grounds but that Israel had declined to receive them. From Reuters: Abu Ubaida, a spokesmanperson for Hamas’s armed wing, said it informed Qatar of the group’s intention to release the two additional people on Friday, the same day it freed Americans Judith Tai Ranaan and her daughter Natalie. In a later statement, Abu Ubaida said Hamas was ready to free the two people on Sunday “using the same procedures” involved in the release of Judith and Natalie. The Palestinian group captured around 210 people during its deadly assault in southern Israel on 7 October. Qatar, which helped mediate Friday’s release, had no immediate comment. In a brief statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “We will not refer to false propaganda by Hamas.” The statement added: “We will continue to act in every way to return all the kidnapped and missing people home.” 130 premature babies in "imminent danger due to lack of fuel" in Gaza, doctors warn Doctors in Gaza have warned that 130 premature babies are in “imminent danger due to a lack of fuel”. “The world cannot simply look on as these babies are killed by the siege in Gaza,” Melanie Ward, the chief executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said in a statement. “We call on world leaders to demand that Israel urgently allows fuel in to Gaza’s hospitals,” she added. According to MAP, there are only six neonatal units at hospitals in Gaza, including Shifa and Nasser hospitals. Another humanitarian organization, Mercy Corps, has joined other organizations in calling for further and urgent release of aid into Gaza following today’s initial release. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna said: It is welcome news that an initial convoy of 20 trucks bringing food, water and medicine from Egypt has crossed into Gaza – the first since the conflict’s outbreak – but this falls far short of what will be needed to meet the alarming levels of need … Truckloads of supplies still sit within mere miles on the other side of the Rafah crossing as people in Gaza get their first trickle of aid today. The UN, Egypt, Israel and all others negotiating the terms of aid deliveries must immediately determine a way for safe, sustained and scalable aid access and delivery. Only then can the aid community working in Gaza begin to respond to this worsening humanitarian catastrophe. US president Joe Biden, has said that the US “remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas”. In a statement released on Saturday, Biden said: “The opening of this essential supply route was the result of days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels.” He went on to express thanks to the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United Nations. “We will continue to work with all parties to keep the Rafah crossing in operation to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza, and to continue working to protect civilians, consistent with obligations under international humanitarian law,” Biden added. Russia plans to hold another UN Security Council meeting regarding the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, Russia’s deputy UN envoy said on Saturday. “We will definitely convene a new meeting of the Security Council. As practice has shown, no one but us dares to do so,” Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s UN deputy permanent representative said, Agence France-Presse reports. Polyansky did not mention when Russia would hold the meeting. “Regarding a resolution, I don’t know how fast we’ll get to the next state of trying to pass a resolution,” he said. Earlier this week, Russia’s resolution on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas failed due to opposition from four council members including the US, which criticized the draft for not mentioning Hamas. A Hamas spokesperson said on Saturday that the group had planned to release two more hostages “for humanitarian reasons” but that Israel refused, Reuters reports. Abu Ubaida, a spokesperson for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades, said in a statement that it had informed Qatar on Friday of Hamas’s intention to release the two hostages, Reuters adds. Here is the statement from the international humanitarian organization Care on the entry of aid into Gaza today. Hiba Tibi, the Care West Bank and Gaza country director, said: My team and I welcome the news of the arrival of 20 aid trucks as this is the first time in two weeks that any basic supplies have entered the Gaza Strip, where approximately 2.3 million people – half of them children – currently reside in dire conditions … But much more is required. To give you an idea of the scale, the United Nations speaks of a minimum of 100 trucks needed per day. We need safe access for essential humanitarian aid, including water, food, fuel and medical supplies. We need the water taps to be turned on again, as thousands of families are now drinking salty and contaminated water and the risk of waterborne diseases is increasing by the hour. We need the electricity supply to be re-established, to power hospital generators on which the lives of the wounded, of babies in incubators, and of patients on dialysis depend. With medical care on its knees, the injured and the sick who cannot be treated locally must be allowed to leave safely for hospitals outside the strip. And finally, there needs to be a sustained halt to the violence. Aid cannot be distributed under the bombs. Time is not a luxury the people of Gaza have. A top Hezbollah official has vowed that the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon is already “in the heart of the battle” and vowed that Israel will pay a high price whenever it starts its ground offensive in Gaza. The comments by Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, came as Israel launched drone strikes in southern Lebanon with Hezbollah firing back at Israel with rockets and missiles. “Do you believe that if you try to crush the Palestinian resistance, other resistance fighters in the region will not act?” Kassem said in a speech Saturday during the funeral of a Hezbollah fighter, Reuters reports. “We are in the heart of the battle today. We are making achievements through this battle.” Israel to “increase the attacks from today,”, says Israeli military spokesperson Israel says it plans to intensify its attacks on Gaza starting Saturday night, Reuters reports. Speaking to reporters on Saturday in response to a question about a possible ground invasion into Gaza, the Israeli Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said: We will deepen our attacks to minimize the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war. We are going to increase the attacks from today. Reuters reports that Hagari repeated his calls for Gaza residents to evacuate south. “Israel and Ukraine’s success is vital to our national security,” US president Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday. “History has taught us that when terrorists and dictators don’t pay a price, they cause more death and destruction.” The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has issued a statement on the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying: “Today’s entry … is a welcomed glimpse of hope but this minuscule aid represents a drop in the ocean.” We call on the international community to secure the continued flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza including through the Israeli-controlled crossings. Furthermore, without fuel entering the Gaza Strip to support generating electricity, thousands of Palestinian lives are at risk of death in hospitals. Ambulances will no longer be able to save lives. Bakeries will no longer be able to provide bread. It shall also leave the population without potable water, and risking the outbreak of diseases. The Qatari foreign minister said on Saturday that Qatar is coordinating with the US and other international partners to release hostages and reduce escalation in Gaza. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani spoke to his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, in a phone call on Saturday, Reuters reports.