Good afternoon. An outpouring of anger against Israel is sweeping the Middle East over an explosion at an Anglican-run Gaza hospital that has killed between 300 and 500 people, while Israel blamed Hamas and Islamic Jihad for the blast.
Protests have erupted across the Middle East, including several tense gatherings outside US, British and French embassies. Palestinian authorities, numerous regional states and Médecins Sans Frontières blamed Israel for the blast, but Israel denied responsibility – first blaming a failed Hamas rocket launch and then saying it was the result of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket barrage. Islamic Jihad rejected the Israeli allegation, and as noted by our correspondent Bethan McKernan, the scale of the blast appears to be outside the militant groups’ capabilities.
The blast has all but upended US president Joe Biden’s visit to the region, with a planned summit in Jordan cancelled. Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said “there is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war”.
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Five Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes with Israel | Skirmishes along the Israel-Lebanon border continue as fears mount of a regional spillover of the war. Hezbollah called for a “day of rage” in Lebanon to protest over the blast at the Gaza hospital, and scuffles were reported outside the US embassy. The US has raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to “do not travel”.
Inflation risk from Middle East war | The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, has raised concerns of “shock after shock” keeping inflation elevated, the latest being the war in the Middle East. Oil prices lifted overnight in the wake of the horrific strike on a hospital in Gaza.
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New Zealand has delivered a forceful rejection of the Labour government that swept the last election under Jacinda Ardern. What does this shift to the right mean for New Zealand? Listen to this 23-minute episode.
What they said …
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“Nothing justifies this shocking attack on a hospital and its many patients and health workers, as well as the people who sought shelter there. Hospitals are not a target. This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough.” – Médecins Sans Frontières
In numbers
Campbell, who has resigned from the public service, has been in the spotlight for her role in the robodebt saga.
Before bed read
Comedian Justin Hamilton has written a tribute to his friend, Cal Wilson.
“I first met Cal backstage at a gig in 2001, standing on a sticky carpet waiting to go onstage. Her warm handshake and gentle banter made me wish we didn’t have a gig getting in the way of hanging out.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: PUB. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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• The headline and text of this article were amended on 18 October 2023 to remove the statement that the Gaza hospital blast was a “bombing”. At the time of writing the cause of the explosion was uncertain and disputed.
