Portal:Current events/2023 November 2

November 2, 2023 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Arab–Israeli conflict
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  - 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    - Siege of Gaza City
      - Israeli troops and tanks continue to encircle Gaza City with heavy clashes reported on the city's outskirts. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad say they are using "hit-and-run attacks" from tunnels to halt the advance. (Reuters)
  - 2023 Israel–Lebanon border clashes
    - Hezbollah launches a drone attack on an IDF barracks in Shebaa Farms. (Reuters)
    - Hamas cells in Southern Lebanon launch around a dozen rockets at Kiryat Shmona, causing widespread damage and wounding at least two civilians. (The Times of Israel)
  - War crimes in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
    - Jabalia refugee camp airstrikes
      - 31 October 2023 attack on Jabalia
        The UN Human Rights Office says Israeli attacks on the refugee camp may be "disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes". (Al Jazeera)
        
        UNICEF and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres describe attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp as "horrific and appalling". (Al Jazeera)
        
        The number of victims of the Israeli bombings of the refugee camp exceeds 1,000. The number includes the 195 confirmed killed, the 120 still missing and at least 777 wounded. (Al Jazeera)
    - Blockade of the Gaza Strip
      - The Indonesia Hospital is forced to run on its backup generator after the main generator stalled after running out of fuel. (PTV) (Al Jazeera)
      - The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Gaza's only medical facility serving cancer patients, is forced to shut down after running out of fuel. Sixteen of the Gaza Strip’s 35 hospitals and more than 50 of Gaza’s 72 primary healthcare clinics are now out of service. (Al Jazeera)
    - UNICEF estimates that more than 3,500 children have been killed during the war, saying "children have endured too much already, the killing and captivity of children must stop". (The Courier)
    - Israel strikes an UNRWA schoolyard in the Al-Shati refugee camp where thousands of displaced people are taking shelter. The strikes come after five Palestinians were killed in an earlier raid targeting areas around the school. (Al Jazeera)
    - Eleven bakeries in Gaza have been destroyed in airstrikes during the war, according to the UN relief agency. Six of the destroyed bakeries were in Gaza City, two in Jabalia, two in the Middle Area and one in Khan Younis. (Al Jazeera)
    - Craig Mokhiber, the UN human rights official who stepped down over concerns the UN was failing to act on a "textbook genocide", says that "usually the most difficult part of proving genocide is intent, but that this was not the case with Israeli leaders, who "explicitly and publicly stated their positions on the public record". (Al Jazeera)
  - At least 9,061 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, including at least 3,760 children. (The Business Standard)
  - Two Palestinians are killed and six wounded in Israeli raids in Qalqilya and Ramallah in the West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
  - Three Palestinians from Birzeit University are arrested in raids in Ramallah, including the head of the student organisation. (BNN)
  - At least 60 people are detained overnight across the West Bank. The total number of Palestinians detained since the war started exceeds 1,800. About half of them are being held in administrative detention. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Now and Then (Beatles song)
- English rock band the Beatles release their "last song". Originally written and recorded by John Lennon, it was later completed by surviving bandmates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with overdubs, as well as guitar tracks by George Harrison. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

2023 Israel–Hamas war, Agriculture in Israel
- Israel's agricultural sector is suffering "significant damage" due to an exodus of thousands of foreign workers. More than a quarter of about 30,000 foreign workers have left the country and about 20,000 Palestinian agricultural workers have not been allowed to enter Israel. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2023–24 European windstorm season
- Storm Ciarán impacts northwestern Europe, killing at least two people and causing mass disruption to transport. Widespread damage from 100mph winds are reported in the Channel Islands, while 1.2 million French households are left without electricity. (The Independent) (Reuters)

International relations

Italy–Ukraine relations
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni states that European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin, saying that "we need a way out" during a phone call in which she thought she was talking with a senior African Union official, but was actually speaking to Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus. (The Telegraph)
Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a law formally withdrawing Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Russia maintains that it will not resume nuclear weapons testing unless the United States does. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2023 Israel–Hamas war protests, Human rights in the United States
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urges higher education institutions to respect free speech and resist calls to investigate or disband student organisations rallying on behalf of Palestinian rights, warning against politically motivated efforts to police speech on campus, which could "destroy the foundation on which academic communities are built". (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

The reanalysis of skeletal remains in Spain suggests large-scale warfare occurred in Europe about 5,000 years ago during the Neolithic period. (The Guardian) (Nature)