Portal:Current events/2023 October 29

October 29, 2023 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- Impeding the delivery of aid to Gaza's residents may be considered a crime within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, its top prosecutor has said. (Reuters)
- Reporters Without Borders says the killing of Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah in Lebanon earlier this month resulted from a deliberate strike from the direction of the Israeli border. (Reuters)
- Save the Children says more children have been killed in Gaza during the war, than the total killed in conflicts around the world since 2019. At least 3,324 children have been killed in Gaza, while 36 have died in the West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
- Two mortar shells hit a UN peacekeeper base in Hula, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon, injuring a peacekeeper. (WION)
- At least 8,005 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel. (Al Jazeera)
- Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, calls on countries to cease funding the body after the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. (The Business Standard)
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will be "long and difficult", with Israel intensifying its airstrikes and progressing to the "next phase" of operations. (NBC News)
- The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel demands that Israel's government cancel emergency regulations extending the period which detainees suspected of "security offences" can be denied access to a lawyer. (Al Jazeera)
2023 Kerala bombing
- A bomb explodes during a Jehovah's Witnesses' convention at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kalamassery, Kerala, South India, killing two people and injuring around 40 others. A man claiming responsibility for the bombing surrenders to police. (Reuters)
2024 Iran–Israel conflict, Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- Hezbollah launches missiles and shelling attacks on 19 IDF military sites.[url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-october-29-2023 (UnderstandingWar)]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Crimea attacks
  - Russia says that it has shot down 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the Crimea. (DW)
A person is killed and three more people are injured during a rocket attack by the Polisario Front in Smara, in the Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. (Middle East Online)

Disasters and incidents

2023 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Otis
  - The Mexican government reports that at least 48 people were killed. Most of them in Acapulco, Guerrero. The government also reports widespread flooding, significant infrastructure damage, and aid has been slow to arrive. (AFP via The Journal)
2023 Rio Branco plane crash
- A plane crash in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil, kills 12 people. (AP)
2023 Andhra Pradesh train collision
- Fourteen people are killed and 50 others are injured when two passenger trains collide in Andhra Pradesh, India. Human error is reported as the cause of the collision. (NDTV)
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that nine migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea while heading to Italy from North Africa, with five of the bodies found on the coast of Sicily and four of the bodies recovered by the non-governmental organization Sea-Eye. (AFP via Daily Tribune)

Law and crime

Israel–Hamas war
- Israel–Hamas war protests
  - 2023 antisemitic riots in the North Caucasus
    - A mob storms Uytash Airport in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia, as a Red Wings Airlines flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, arrives, shouting antisemitic slogans and attempting to board the plane. (AP)
  - Protests are held in the United States including Florida, Michigan, and Colorado. (The Detroit News) (WPLG-TV) (The Denver Post)
  - In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a pro-Palestinian protest is held calling for the Canadian government to help push for a ceasefire. (CTV News Ottawa)
- Antisemitism during the Israel–Hamas war
  - Antisemitic threats are made toward Jewish students at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, U.S. (WSYR-TV)
Hijab and burka controversies in Europe
- The National Council of Switzerland votes 151–29 to approve a ban on full-face coverings, such as burqas worn by a small minority of Muslim women. Violators of the ban could face a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs. (AP)
Iranian protests against compulsory hijab
- Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is arrested at the funeral of 17-year-old Armita Geravand in Tehran for not wearing a headscarf, according to local media. (AFP via Arab News)
Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and at least 164 party members are charged with the murder of a police officer during recent election-related demonstrations. (AFP via Daily Tribune)

Politics and elections

2023 Omani general election
- Omanis elect the members of the Shura Council. (Times of Oman)