Israel-Hamas War, Day 31: IDF Encircles Gaza City, Hits Hamas Targets; Blinken Undertakes Diplomatic Middle East Trip

As the Israel-Hamas conflict enters its 31st day, the toll in human lives continues to mount, with both Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza suffering losses. The ramifications of this protracted struggle are reverberating across the Middle East, threatening to disrupt the delicate regional equilibrium. Here are the latest developments in this ongoing crisis:

• Israeli Troops Encircle Gaza City: Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City as part of the ongoing ground operation, effectively isolating the northern part of the Gaza Strip from the south, as reported by the Times of Israel.
  
• IDF Strikes On Hamas Targets: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have reported striking more than 450 Hamas targets, including terrorists, military compounds, observation posts, anti-tank missile launch sites, and more, as mentioned in a social media post on X. IDF ground forces have also successfully taken control of a Hamas military compound within Gaza. This compound housed observation posts, training facilities for Hamas operatives, and a network of subterranean terror tunnels.

• Hamas Operative Killed: IDF fighter jets eliminated Jamal Mussa, who held responsibility for Hamas’ special security operations and had previously carried out an attack against IDF forces in Gaza back in 1993.
  
• Diplomatic Efforts By Blinken In Middle East: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken engaged in discussions with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia, emphasizing the imperative of preventing the conflict from spreading. During their meeting, Blinken also pressed for accountability for attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and explored avenues for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. Blinken then made his way to Ankara, Turkey, and held discussions centered on humanitarian aid and strategies to avert a more extensive conflict.

U.S. Messages To Iran, Hezbollah: Reports from the New York Times suggest that the Biden administration relayed messages to Iran and Hezbollah through intermediary regional nations, including Turkey. These messages conveyed the United States’ readiness to potentially intervene militarily if these entities initiated attacks against Israel.

UAE, China Call For UN Consultations: In response to the escalating situation in Gaza, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China jointly called for confidential consultations to be convened at the United Nations on Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. This move underscores their concern and commitment to addressing the crisis through diplomatic means.

Market Reactions

The Israeli shekel strengthened for the fourth straight day against the greenback, rising as much as 1.1% at the time of this publication.

Oil prices rose 1%, while gold, as tracked by SPDR Gold Trust GLD, fell 0.4%. U.S. Treasury yields experienced a slight increase of approximately 3 basis points across the curve, with the yield on the 10-year Note remaining at around 4.60%.

European equities slightly eased, with the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 Index, as tracked by the SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF  FEZ fell 0.4%, following five straight sessions in the green.

Ahead of the market open on Monday, futures on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 Indices were up 0.1%.

Chinese-related stocks PDD Holdings Inc. PDD and JD.Com Inc. JD were the top-performing components of the Nasdaq in premarket trading on Monday, up 2.5% and 1.8% respectively, due to China’s announcement of the need to expedite the issuance and utilization of government bonds, as reported by the state-run news agency Xinhua on Sunday.

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