Violence between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces has erupted in several areas of occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, as the Israeli military ordered nearly half of Gaza’s population to evacuate before an expected ground offensive.
In the West Bank there were calls for marches across several big towns and cities, but in the chaos across the region, details on what under other circumstances would be described as major incidents were hard to follow. At least 11 Palestinians were shot and killed in the West Bank over the course of the day, the Palestinian health ministry said, and the violence continued into the evening.
A total of 46 Palestinians have now been killed in the West Bank in the last six days – higher than the highest ever monthly total since the UN began keeping records in 2005. The number of casualties in the entirety of October 2015, previously the worst month, was 47.
Khaled Mashal, the former leader of Hamas, called for a “global day of rage” in support of Palestinians, demanding that governments and people across the Middle East protest.