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1. More than 4,000 children killed in Israel-Gaza war – Hamas-run health ministry

   As we’ve been reporting, the death toll in Gaza today surpassed 10,000 – which includes more than 4,100 children – according to data that’s published by the region’s Hamas-run health ministry.

   Some politicians, including US President Joe Biden, have questioned the accuracy of these figures. But when asked about this, the World Health Organization said it believed they were reliable.

   Our colleagues in the BBC’s visual journalism team have made a graphic, which gives a clear picture of the deaths and injuries to have happened since the war erupted last month.

   https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-middle-east-67324897

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2. What is the problem facing the Labour leader, Keir Starmer?

   Keir Starmer’s Labour party is miles ahead of Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in the polls and, with the UK seemingly crying out for change after 13 years of Tory rule, victory at the next general election seems likely. However, in recent days Starmer has been urged to quit from people within his own party. The immediate source of the discontent has been the Labour leader’s refusal to back calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

   The calls for Starmer to stand down when on the brink of power will not be heeded. But the outrage voiced by some, including the leader of Burnley borough council, who announced on Monday that he had decided to resign from the party, highlights the tricky task Starmer faces in keeping something close to unity among his electoral coalition on a subject on which his party has a complicated history.

   As it stands, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as well as 16 Labour frontbenchers and a third of the parliamentary party, have either called for a ceasefire or shared others’ backing for one on social media. Others, including Labour’s leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, have suggested that Starmer has shown a lack of empathy for the cause of Palestinians in Gaza.

   https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/06/how-the-israel-hamas-conflict-is-dividing-the-uk-labour-party

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3. A senior Hamas leader has refused to acknowledge that his group killed civilians in Israel, claiming only conscripts were targeted.

   Moussa Abu Marzouk told the BBC that “women, children and civilians were exempt” from Hamas’s attacks.

   His claims are in stark contrast to the wealth of video evidence of Hamas men shooting unarmed adults and children.

   Israel says more than 1,400 people were killed by Hamas in the 7 October attacks, most of them civilians.

   Mr Marzouk, the group’s deputy political leader, who is subject to an asset freeze in the UK under counter-terrorism regulations, was interviewed on Saturday in the Gulf. He is the most senior member to speak to the BBC since the 7 October atrocities.

   The BBC pressed Mr Marzouk on the war on Gaza, specifically on the scores of hostages being held inside the territory.

   He responded that they were not able to be freed while Israel was bombing Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry says 10,000 people have been killed since Israel started operations last month.

   “We will release them. But we need to stop the fighting,” he said.

   Mr Marzouk recently travelled to Moscow to discuss eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens snatched on 7 October by Hamas, a proscribed terror organisation in many countries including the UK and US.

   He said Hamas members in Gaza had “looked for and found two female hostages” from Russia but were unable to release them because of the conflict.

   They could only realistically release hostages, he said, if “the Israelis stop the fighting so we can hand them over to the Red Cross”.

   https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67321241

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