Gaza’s deadly hospital blast ignites rage 

Welcome to Wednesday’s Early Edition from i.

The explosion at Gaza’s al-Ahli hospital, which has left hundreds of people dead, now also threatens to severely inflame tensions across the entire region. Anger over the gruesome catastrophe in Gaza City has spilled into fiery protests from Turkey to Tunis. In Beirut, a building was set on fire near the US Embassy overnight, while demonstrators stormed the Israeli consulate in Jordan. Rioting has also broken out in the West Bank. Sickening images from the hospital in Gaza City have outraged people across the world. It was not only treating the sick and wounded, but had become a place of refuge for those seeking shelter after Israel had ordered residents to evacuate. As the BBC’s Lyse Doucet put it here, it was a safe place that wasn’t safe. In the aftermath, doctors held a press conference among the bodies of the dead, and the Hamas-run health ministry claimed an Israeli air strike was behind the blast. But the IDF has strongly denied involvement, saying the destruction was the result of misfired rockets by armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Many world leaders have been careful to condemn the atrocity without apportioning blame. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “The destruction of Al Ahli hospital is a devastating loss of human life. The UK has been clear. The protection of civilian life must come first.”  Now US president Joe Biden is due to land in Israel for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu. What happens from here? We’ll take a look after the other headlines.  

 Today’s news, and why it matters

 The scientist who warned the UK would suffer 500,000 deaths if it did nothing in response to the Covid pandemic has denied calling for a lockdown. Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, admitted to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that he had “stepped outside” his role as a Government scientific adviser in an attempt to “focus minds” on the gravity of the situation as the virus swept through the country in March 2020.

Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to encourage housebuilding on parts of Britain’s green belt will receive its first electoral test tomorrow as voters go to the polls in the Tamworth by-election. The bookies have made Labour favourites to win, but to do so Sir Keir’s party will have to overturn a Tory majority of nearly 20,000 and the Conservatives are hopeful one of his key policies will work in their favour.

‘I’d never do I’m A Celeb’: Labour’s Mid-Bedfordshire by-election hope takes a swipe at outgoing Nadine Dorries. Alistair Strathern talks to Patrick Strudwick about his speech impediment, plus his views on Corbyn, Blair, Dorries, and feminism

Sir Keir is battling to contain growing unrest among Labour council leaders over the party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Labour leadership held a meeting with dozens of council leaders from across the country on Monday evening amid an increasing backlash to Sir Keir’s comments in support of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip.

Jeremy Hunt is still considering whether to tweak the “triple lock” to cut the cost of the state pension for next year, i can reveal. New inflation data published on Wednesday is set to confirm that the state pension should rise by 8.5 per cent in 2024 under the formula used by the Treasury to calculate its annual increase.

Former minister Peter Bone has had the Tory whip removed after being found to have committed bullying and sexual misconduct against a staff member. The Conservatives acted a day after a watchdog recommended he should be suspended from the Commons for six weeks – potentially triggering a by-election in his Wellingborough seat.

Three key developments after Gaza’s hospital blast:

Demands for a ceasefire: 22 Arab countries at the United Nations have demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza following the hospital explosion. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said Arab Group members are “outraged by this massacre” and also united in demanding the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid and preventing “forcible displacement” of Palestinians. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law”. He added: “I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to provide sufficient time and space to help realise my two appeals and to ease the epic human suffering we are witnessing. Too many lives and the fate of the entire region hang in the balance.” Today the Security Council is due to vote on a draft resolution that currently condemns “the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas” against Israel and all violence against civilians. It also calls for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza. However planned talks between Arab leaders and US President Joe Biden are off, after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pulled out of the meeting.

Protests break out across the region: Demonstrations kicked off in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, shortly after news of the hospital blast broke out. Some protesters in the city, which is the administrative capital for the Palestinian Authority, were heard chanting for leader Mahmoud Abbas to quit. In Lebanon’s Beirut, security forces fired tear gas after protesters gathered outside the US embassy and set another building near it on fire. The US State Department also put out a new travel advisory for Lebanon warnings citizens not the travel there, as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah ramp up. Hundreds of protesters have also gathered outside the British and French embassies in Tehran, chanting “death to France and England”. Protesters were also dispersed outside the Israeli embassy in Jordan, and Western embassies have also been targeted in Turkey and Tunisia. More protests were seen in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taz, and also in Morocco and Iraq. In New York, separate rallies for pro-Palestinian and Israeli supporters came face-to-face overnight, with police attempting to keep the two groups apart. Further signs of escalating tensions in the Middle East are also cause for concern. Reuters, citing US officials, reported that the US military thwarted a drone attack targeting its forces in Iraq early on Wednesday.

Joe Biden lands in Israel: The US president is due to arrive in Tel Aviv this morning to meet with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a “small restricted bilateral meeting” before talking with the Israeli war cabinet. He will also meet families of those taken hostage or killed by Hamas terrorists, and will later make a public statement. John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said Mr Biden would “asking tough questions” during his visit. But many will be questioning whether it is safe for the US president to be in Israel right now, as well as what wider impact his presence may have on the conflict. Meanwhile there are also reports that Rishi Sunak could travel to Israel as soon as tomorrow.

Around the world

 An off-duty Israeli soldier who tackled Hamas militants after a massacre broke out at the Supernova music festival has said he is still haunted by witnessing “things no one should see”. Solomon*, 20, who lives in Tel Aviv, took leave to attend the festival in southern Israel with friends on 7 October. David*, Solomon’s father, told i his son and his friends bravely took on the attackers, killing some of them and managing to save the lives of some civilians.

Quadcopter combat drones that drop grenades on the enemy are among new capabilities developed by Hamas that Israel can expect to face during a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip. Militants in Gaza have watched and learnt from conflicts including the Ukraine war, clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to experts, and are likely to employ new tactics and weaponry alongside tried-and-tested strategies including suicide bombings, snipers and booby-traps.

A stalwart ally of Donald Trump who fuelled conspiracy theories about the 2020 election has failed in his first attempt to become Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio lost out in the first round of voting after 20 Republicans cast their votes for others within the party – but Mr Jordan has vowed to trigger multiple votes in an effort to peel off dissenters.

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has begun rolling out a US$1 annual charge to new users in New Zealand and the Philippines, the company said. In a post the site formerly known as Twitter said: “As of October 17th, 2023 we’ve started testing ‘Not A Bot’, a new subscription method for new users in two countries. This new test was developed to bolster our already significant efforts to reduce spam, manipulation of our platform and bot activity.”

A Dutch art detective known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world” has cracked another case with the recovery of six stolen paintings. Among the pictures recovered by Arthur Brand are a 360-year old portrait of a Frisian king.

 Watch out for…

 George Osborne, who will be quizzed by MPs today over the British Museum’s stolen artefacts (not the ones already on display). 

 Thoughts for the day

 Openly pro-Hamas supporters reveal a difficult truth about the right to protest. Passivity is dangerous, for officers and the rest of us, and looks troublingly like an open invitation for pro-Hamas protesters, argues Mark Wallace.

My husband was secretly £30,000 in debt – we never talked about money. I was saddled with the consequences of my husband’s debt, even though I’d had nothing to do with it, reveals Poorna Bell.

Liam Gallagher can confidently carry the Definitely Maybe tour without Noel. Oasis may be gone, but as the embodiment of both the group’s swagger and their passion, Liam still carries that flame, writes Ed Power.

Culture Break

 The ENO’s savage cuts will kill the company for ever. The company is proposing to slash its chorus and orchestra and make musicians relocate. It would never recover, writes Alexandra Coughlan.

 The Big Read

 ‘They’ve won if we hide our Jewishness’: How British Jews are responding to antisemitism. Since the Hamas attack incidents of anti-Jewish racism have increased 581 per cent compared with last year. Etan Smallman reports on how the community is coping.

Sport

 Jude Bellingham is moulding England in his image and everyone else is better for it. England, and Gareth Southgate for that matter, are lucky to have him, writes Kevin Garside.

Something to brighten your day

 I’ve fallen madly in love with my window vacuum – it’s saved me from grim winter condensation. Kasia Delgado was sceptical of its damp-reducing abilities, but now believes it’s possibly the greatest invention since the wheel.