Live Updates: German Arms Exports to Israel Reportedly Increase 10 Times in 2023

At least 19 people were killed in an airstrike on a residential building in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that "something is clearly wrong" in the Israeli-Palestinian war given that civilian casualties are increasing as a result of military operations.

"But when we look at the number of civilians that were killed with the military operations, there is something that is clearly wrong," Guterres said.

The UN chief said there are tremendous challenges of managing United Nations operations in the field, with 92 colleagues having already lost their lives.

Germany has increased its arms exports to Israel nearly 10 times since the start of the year compared to the same period in 2022, with most of the deliveries authorized after October 7, German broadcaster Tagesschau reported on Wednesday, citing the economy ministry.

As of November 2, the German government authorized arms exports worth 303 million euros ($324 million), which marks a tenfold increase compared with 2022, the broadcaster cited the ministry as writing in a response to an inquiry sent by the ARD media group, Tagesschau's parent company.

A Spanish citizen taken hostage by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7 is confirmed to have been killed, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reported on Wednesday, citing Israeli sources close to the deceased.

Ivan Illarramendi, 46, was born in the Spanish municipality of Gipuzkoa. He lived in the Israeli kibbutz of Kissufim near the border with the Gaza Strip with his wife, Dafna Garcovich, who had Chilean nationality and Israeli roots, the news outlet reported.

A spokesperson for Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares was cited as saying that the minister was planning to inform Illarramendi's relatives of the tragic news personally.

Neither Illarramendi nor his wife were transferred to the enclave with other Hamas hostages, but rather they were killed earlier, the newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Illarramendi reportedly is the second Spanish citizen to die as a result of the escalation of the Hamas attack on Israel.

Later in the day, Israeli Ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon said that Illarramendi's wife had also died.

The release of 10-15 people held hostage by Palestinian movement Hamas in exchange for one-two days of humanitarian pause is currently being discussed between the parties to talks on hostages mediated by Qatar, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

At least 24 people died as a result of airstrikes that hit two residential buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday.

The Palestinian movement Hamas calls on Washington to stop having "illusions" about who will rule the Gaza Strip after the end of the war with Israel, a member of the Hamas politburo, Osama Hamdan, said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Japanese NHK broadcaster that the United States would not allow a scenario in which the Hamas movement would rule the Gaza Strip after the end of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"We say to [US] President Biden and his administration — stop having illusions about ruling in Gaza after the aggression. The resistance and our people will win, this is not up to dispute," Hamdan told a press conference in Beirut.

The Dutch government will continue to supply spare parts for Israel's F-35 fighter jets following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, despite official warnings about possible violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, Dutch newspaper NRC reported, citing government sources.

Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher were reportedly informed in mid-October of the upcoming shipment of spare parts for the Israeli F-35s.

The ministry's lawyers warned that Israel could be violating the laws of war, as it has already used F-35s to bomb Gaza. But blocking the delivery could seriously damage relations with both Israel and the United States, NRC reported.

Eighteen people died as a result of Israeli airstrikes that hit houses in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Wednesday.

As many as 92 employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been "destroyed emotionally" by his failure to ensure the country’s security and is miscalculating in his plan for Gaza, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday.

He also said that Netanyahu experienced a "nervous breakdown" fearing he would lose his post after the deadly Hamas attack on October 7.

Olmert believes that the incumbent Israeli prime minister is making a mistake by counting on establishing full control over the Gaza Strip for an "indefinite period."

The G7 countries have managed to issue a message on the situation in the Middle East for the first time in the form of a joint document, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said on Wednesday.

Israel will not cease fire, will not allow workers to enter from the Gaza Strip and will not allow fuel to enter the enclave without the release of hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday that its convoy of five trucks with humanitarian aid and two vehicles came under fire in Gaza City.