Portal:Current events/2023 October 16

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamic terrorism in Europe
  • 2023 Brussels shooting
    • Two Swedish nationals are killed and another is injured during a shooting in Brussels, Belgium. The perpetrator, Tunisian Abdesalem Lassoued, an Islamic State sympathizer, flees the scene. (Reuters)
• Islamist insurgency in the Sahel
  • Mali War
    • The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, initiates a withdrawal from two camps in Aguelhok and Tessalit, Kidal Region. (AFP via Al-Ahram)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • 2023 Israel–Hamas war
    • Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
      • The World Health Organization says that 21 hospitals in Gaza have been ordered to evacuate by Israel, warning that this "may amount to a violation of international humanitarian law". (Financial Times)
      • Israel begins evacuating 28 communities located within two kilometers of the border with Lebanon amid clashes with Hezbollah. (Fox News)
      • Hundreds of Americans are evacuated by sea from Haifa, Israel, to Cyprus. (The Jewish Chronicle)
    • Journalists killed in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
      • Muhammad al-Najjar, a member of the Board of Directors of the national authority for the documentation and prosecution of crimes committed by the Israeli government, is killed in an Israeli airstrike, along with 16 members of his family. (Al Jazeera)
      • Eleven Palestinian journalists have been killed by the Israeli military and more than 20 others have been injured, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. (The Express Tribune)
    • Kidnappings during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
      • Hamas releases the first video of a hostage on Telegram since the war started, a 21-year-old Israeli woman from Shoham who was kidnapped during the Re'im music festival massacre. In the video, the woman claims to be receiving medical treatment from her captors. (The Jerusalem Post)
    • October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
      • The World Health Organization announces that there are only 24 hours of water, electricity, and fuel remaining in Gaza. (CBS News)
      • Medical Aid for Palestinians says that hospitals in Gaza are currently facing a "catastrophic" shortage of medical supplies with the United Nations also reporting that at least four hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer operational because of Israeli bombings. (Al Jazeera)
      • The chief of the UN agency for Palestine, UNRWA, announces it can no longer deliver assistance to the hundreds of thousands of people in need in Gaza. (The Washington Post)
      • Sameh Shoukry, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, announces that US-backed efforts to re-open the Rafah border crossing have failed, citing Israel's refusal to guarantee the safety of incoming aid convoys and outgoing foreign nationals. (Reuters) (CNN)
      • The United Nations reports that more than 400,000 Palestinians are sheltering in UN schools and buildings in the Gaza Strip and that fourteen UNRWA personnel have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. (Al Jazeera)
      • Palestinians protest in several cities across the West Bank calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
      • The UNRWA retracts its statements concerning looting by Hamas affiliates, clarifying that they have confirmed no theft had taken place, after a prior announcement that men claiming to be from Hamas stole fuel and medicine from their offices in Gaza. Subsequently, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid claims to have received additional confirmation from sources within the United Nations that such theft did, in fact, occur. (Jewish Chronicle) (CBS News) (Times of Israel)
    • At least six civilians are killed and eight others are injured in airstrikes near Khan Younis and at least seven people, including five emergency workers, are killed in Israeli airstrikes on two civil defense facilities in Gaza City. (Al Jazeera)
    • At least four people, including three children, are killed as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the UN Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
    • Hamas forces launch missiles at the two largest Israeli cities, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, saying that this was in response to Israel's "targeting of civilians". (BBC News)
    • Israeli military forces carry out raids in multiple areas in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron, arresting around 600 people. Most are held without charges under "administrative detention", where the individuals are not told the reasons for their arrest. (Al Jazeera)
    • Hamas Shura Council member Osama Mazini, who was in charge of negotiation affairs concerning the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, is killed in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip. (Israel National News)
  • A report by a UN-mandated investigative body has found that Israeli forces used "lethal force without justification" when they shot and killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank last year. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• China–Philippines relations
  • Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
    • The Philippine military demands that China stop "dangerous and offensive" actions in the South China Sea after a People's Liberation Army Navy ship performed "aggressive maneuvers" near the disputed Thitu Island last week. (Reuters)
• International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  • Colombia–Israel relations
    • Colombia requests the departure of the Israeli ambassador following Colombian President Gustavo Petro's remarks criticizing Israel's actions. In response, Israel suspends security exports to Colombia. (AFP via RFI)
  • Israel–Pakistan relations
    • Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani condemns the Israeli bombing on Gaza, equating the actions with genocide. (Al Jazeera)
  • Israel–United States relations
    • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Israel and reaffirms American support for Israel. (BBC News)
  • Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit calls for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza and for aid to be allowed into the enclave. (Times of Israel)
  • The China International Development Cooperation Agency announces that they will provide emergency humanitarian aid to the UN Palestine agency and the Palestinian Authority. (Reuters via The Standard)
  • Around 25,000 people demonstrate in Cotabato, Philippines, to express solidarity with Palestinians and to condemn Israel's air raids on the Gaza Strip. (AFP via The Straits Times)
• Japan–Russia relations
  • Russia suspends imports of Japanese seafood due to concerns over wastewater discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. (AFP via The Jordan Times)

Law and crime

• Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
  • Former Bank of China chair Liu Lian'ge is arrested on allegations of corruption. (AFP via The Manila Times)
• 2023 Israel–Hamas war protests
  • Around 49 anti-war protesters calling for U.S. President Joe Biden to press for a ceasefire are arrested outside the White House by U.S. Secret Service members. (Axios)
• Australia's internet safety commissioner fines American technology company X Corp. for AU$610,500 (US$385,000) for inadequately addressing child sexual abuse content on Twitter. (AFP via The Manila Times)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Indonesian presidential election
  • The Constitutional Court of Indonesia rules that regional leaders under the age of 40 can run for president or vice president, thus allowing President Joko Widodo's son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as a Vice Presidential candidate in the next presidential election. (The Jakarta Post)

Sports

• 2026 Winter Olympics
  • The Italian Olympic Committee announces that bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events will not be held in Italy due to the high costs of rebuilding the Eugenio Monti Olympic Track in Cortina d'Ampezzo. (BBC News)
• 2028 Summer Olympics
  • The International Olympic Committee approves the inclusion of cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash, and baseball/softball at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. (Sky Sports)