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As it happened: Australians warned against Lebanon travel; Mining magnate Andrew Forrest pledges $10m aid; Biden claims aid pathway to open for Gaza

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Thanks for joining 9News.com.au's live coverage of the conflict in Israel and the Gaza Strip for Thursday, October 19, 2023. This is what made headlines today:

Israel has agreed to allow limited aid into Gaza, as the US announced a US$100 million ($158 million) package to support the Palestinian people. Australians have been warned by the federal government against travelling to Lebanon amid raising tensions; US President Joe Biden has backed Israel's denial of responsibility.

- Biden says Gaza hospital blast 'appears as though it was done by the other team'

- Woman becomes Israeli folk hero for plying militants with snacks until rescue

- Israel OKs limited aid for Gaza as regional tensions rise following hospital blast



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That's where we'll leave our live blog for today. Here's where things stand:

- Israel has vowed to allow the supply of aid into Gaza from Egypt, but says it will cut off supplies again if Hamas intervenes.

- Biden is now back in America and is expected to address the nation in an address in the coming hours.

- Australians have been warned not to travel to Lebanon, with anger spreading in the Arab world.

- Australia's spy agency ASIO has warned it is on alert for attacks here.

Stay up to date on the latest on the conflict on 9news.com.au and nine.com.au overnight and we'll be back again tomorrow.

Evidence shows Hamas militants likely used some North Korean weapons in attack on Israel

Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Octber 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang's denials that it sells arms to the militant group.

The video was analysed by two experts on North Korean arms.

Along with an Associated Press analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield and South Korean military intelligence, the video indicates that Hamas used the F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armoured vehicles.

The evidence shines a light on the murky world of the illicit arms shipments that sanction-battered North Korea uses as a way to fund its arms programs.

Rocket-propelled grenade launchers fire a single warhead and can be quickly reloaded, making them valuable weapons for guerrilla forces in running skirmishes with heavy vehicles.

The F-7 has been documented in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a weapons expert who works as the director of the consultancy Armament Research Services.

"North Korea has long supported Palestinian militant groups, and North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies," Jenzen-Jones told The Associated Press.

Biden back in US, planning television address

President Joe Biden is back in the United States after spending seven hours in the Israeli war zone.

His plane touched down at Andrews Air Force Base early on Thursday (US time).

The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was satisfied with the trip and accomplished a key objective: unblocking humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza, which has been under heavy Israeli bombardment since the horrific Hamas terror attacks on October 7.

Biden is scheduled to give a television address in coming hours, where he plans to argue the US should continue funding wars in both Israel and Ukraine, according to two administration officials.

Australians warned do not travel to Lebanon

Australians have been warned by the federal government against travelling to Lebanon.

The government today updated its travel advice for Lebanon to "do not travel".

It cited "the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further."

The government urged Australians wishing to leave to depart by commercial aircraft as soon as possible.

"Airports may pause operations with little notice due to heightened security concerns.

"This may cause flight delays or cancellations for a sustained period. The Australian Government's ability to assist you to depart Lebanon will be very limited in a deteriorating security situation."

The move comes after similar travel advisories by the US and British governments.

Australia's domestic spy agency on high alert

Australia's intelligence service has not ruled out deploying undercover operatives in mosques and other places of worship to track and monitor extremists.

ASIO director general Mike Burgess says the agency has raised its vigilance since the Hamas attacks on Israel, reports the Australian Financial Review.

The spy chief said there had been a jump in inflammatory commentary by extremists and it had the potential to trigger violence.

Burgess, who has been attending the Five Eyes intelligence summit in California, was asked whether ASIO agents would go undercover in mosques.

"The greater our concerns get the more of our more intrusive methods could apply.

"We wouldn't do that if we didn't have any concerns. We'd have to have a reason to put someone somewhere."

Israeli military releases drone video it says shows hospital blast site

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have released drone video recorded over the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza a day after the deadly blast.

The IDF claim in text accompanying the short video that "the damage from the failed rocket launch of the Islamic Jihad is in the parking lot nearby and is not similar to a crater resulting from a strike."

"In addition, the buildings around the hospital were not damaged. This is further proof that the IDF did not strike this area," the military said.

During the video, an Israeli drone operator can be heard describing in Hebrew the layout of hospital buildings.

"This here, there is nothing here," the drone operator says, according to a CNN translation.

Gaza officials have blamed Israel for the blast, which the Palestinian Ministry of Health says killed hundreds of civilians.

But the IDF rejected the allegation, claiming the blast was caused by a "failed rocket launch" by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants.

CNN cannot independently confirm what caused the explosion.

Andrew Forrest foundation pledges $10 million aid for Gaza

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation has announced it will provide $10 million in aid to Gaza.

The figures match the Australian government's pledge, the Australian Financial Review reports.

The money will be distributed to United Nations agencies and Médecins Sans Frontières to fund essential supplies such as water, food, medical aid and child protection.

"The people of Gaza are already suffering greatly. We feel a responsibility with the Australian government to do what we can to avert the rapid acceleration of this humanitarian tragedy, where innocent families are caught in a deadly crossfire that is not of their making," Forrest said.

"Minderoo continues to provide assistance to the people of Ukraine and will do the same for the civilians of Gaza who are being deprived of basic necessities due to the cruelties of conflict.

"We all agree that innocent children, mums and dads should be protected as much as possible."

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