RR The Wire 2330Z October 17, 2023

PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RR

DTG: 233017Z OCT 23

ICOD: 230017Z OCT 23

CONTROLS: Public Release

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BLUF: TENSIONS FLARE IN GAZA AFTER STRIKE ON HOSPITAL. UNREST SPREADS THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST.

-----BEGIN TEARLINE-----

-International Events-

Middle East: Developing information indicates the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza was struck with a large munition. The hospital had failed to be evacuated, and was filled to capacity with wounded from earlier strikes. Initial reports indicate the casualty count may be in the hundreds. Who conducted the strike is uncertain ATT. Palestinian authorities claim it was an Israeli airstrike, and Israel claims it was a failed HAMAS missile strike that missed its target.

Immediately following the strike, demonstrations erupted throughout the Arab world. Many Arab nations have declared tomorrow to be a day of mourning for the victims of the strike. Extremely tense demonstrations are being reported throughout most of the Middle East. In Jordan, a riot broke out at the Israeli Embassy as demonstrators breached the compound and set it on fire. Clashes were also reported at the Israeli Embassy in Turkey. Kuwait has ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon. Israel orders citizens to leave Turkey, and citizens in Morocco to be on alert for attacks.

Russia and UAE have requested an emergency meeting of the UNSC tomorrow morning.

President Biden plans visit to the conflict zone as other European heads of state also head to the region.

-HomeFront-

USA: Biden reportedly plans to ask Congress for a $100 billion aid package for Ukraine. 

-Analyst Comments-

Regardless of the culprit of the Gaza Hospital Strike, this incident has been yet another spark threatening to expand the Gaza conflagration into a substantial region-wide conflict. Many nation-states are recalling their citizens from adversarial nations as battle lines solidify. Extremely kinetic riots have broken out all over the Middle East, causing mass confusion.

As foreign leaders pour into Israel for diplomatic talks, politicians who seek to travel to Israel for a simple photo op may find themselves in a truly kinetic situation that a small security team cannot handle. German Chancelor Scholz was involved in a combat engagement earlier today, as his plane came under fire at Ben Gurion Airport, causing him and his security detail to seek shelter from a rocket attack on the bare tarmac. Various other politicians have had similar close-calls since the start of this conflict.

Tensions will remain high as world leaders attempt to solve the question of Palestinian refugees. Jordanian King Abdullah II has issued his “red line” that no Palestinians will be accepted into Jordan or Egypt.

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Analyst: S2A

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