LIVE | Israel-Hamas war: Gaza’s main hospital goes dark amid intense fighting
Shifa Hospital head says Israeli troops “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital”; Netanyahu says responsibility for harm to civilians lies with Hamas
Israel’s prime minister pushed back Saturday against calls from Western allies to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, as troops encircled Gaza’s largest hospital where doctors said five patients died, including a premature baby, after the last generator ran out of fuel.
Israel has portrayed Shifa Hospital as Hamas’s main command post, saying militants were using civilians as human shields there and had set up elaborate bunkers underneath it. In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in the combat zone of northern Gaza has intensified and supplies have run out.
“There is no electricity. Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die,” said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa, speaking by phone over the sound of gunfire and explosions.
Abu Selmia said Israeli troops were “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital”, and prevented movement between the buildings in the compound.
Asked about reports of troops firing into the Shifa courtyard, Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, would only say that troops are “in the midst of ongoing intense fighting against Hamas in the vicinity of the area in question”. He said the military takes all feasible measures to prevent harm to civilians.
Five patients died after the generator shut down, including a premature baby, said Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the Health Ministry. He said Shifa had cared for 37 premature infants in total.
Israel has been opening the main road leading south each day for several hours to allow civilians to flee. On Saturday, the military for the first time announced a brief pause in combat as part of an evacuation window, specifically naming the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya next to Gaza City.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas, repeating long-standing allegations that the militant group uses civilians in Gaza as human shields. He said that while Israel has urged civilians to leave combat zones, “Hamas is doing everything it can to prevent them from leaving.”
His statement came after French President Emmanuel Macron pushed for a cease-fire and urged other leaders to join his call, telling the BBC there was “no justification” for Israel's ongoing bombing. (AP)
Live Updates
- 11 Nov 2023 5:17 PM IST
Israeli troops ‘within view’ of Shifa Hospital
Concern has grown in recent days as fighting through the dense neighbourhoods of Gaza City has come closer to hospitals, which Israel claims are being used by Hamas fighters.
On Saturday, Palestinians said Israeli troops were within view of Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest. Israel has said Hamas' main command centre is located underneath the hospital, claims Hamas and Shifa staff deny.
Thousands of civilians had been sheltering in the Shifa compound in recent weeks, but many fled Friday after several nearby strikes in which one person was killed and several were wounded.
Abbas, the Health Ministry spokesman, told the satellite television channel Al Jazeera that there are still 1,500 patients at Shifa, along with 1,500 medical personnel and between 15,000 and 20,000 people seeking shelter.
“The complex now lacks food, water and electricity,” he said. “Intensive care units have stopped working.” Abdallah Nasser, who lives near Shifa, said by phone that the Israeli military was advancing deep into the city from its southern and northern flanks.
“They are facing stiff resistance, but they are advancing,” he said.
Mohammed al-Masri, one of thousands still sheltering at the hospital, said that from a higher floor he could see Israeli troops approaching from the west. “They are here,” he said. "They are visible.” Thousands have fled Shifa and other hospitals that have come under attack, but physicians said it's impossible for everyone to get out.
“We cannot evacuate ourselves and (leave) these people inside," a Doctors Without Borders surgeon at Shifa, Mohammed Obeid, was quoted as saying by the organisation.
“As a doctor, I swear to help the people who need help.” The organisation said other doctors reported that some staff had fled to to save themselves and their families, and urged all hospitals be protected. (AP) - 11 Nov 2023 5:14 PM IST
Casualties rise
More than 11,070 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people have been reported missing and are thought to be possibly trapped or dead under the rubble.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said six people were killed early Saturday in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp that hit a house. The camp is located in the southern evacuation zone.
At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, and 41 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began, Israeli officials say.
Nearly 240 people abducted by Hamas from Israel remain captive.
About 250,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate from communities near Gaza and along the northern border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have traded fire repeatedly. (AP) - 11 Nov 2023 12:30 PM IST
Iranian President to travel to Saudi Arabia to attend OIC Summit on Gaza
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Saudi Arabia to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit. The summit addressing the conflict between Israel and Hamas is set to take place on Sunday, according to IRNA report.
Iran's Ambassador to Riyadh Alireza Enayati said that the Iranian team has arrived in Riyadh, IRNA reported. Taking to X, Enayati stated that the officials will assess the document of the OIC's extraordinary meeting. The OIC meeting will take place based on proposals made by several Islamic nations, including Iran. The OIC held its ministerial meeting in Gaza on October 18, 11 days after Israel began its counter-offensive against Hamas.
- 11 Nov 2023 12:29 PM IST
Hamas behind failed missile launch that hit Al-Shifa hospital: IDF
Following the attack on the Shifa hospital in Gaza, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the Hamas misfired a projectile that was aimed at IDF troops operating in the vicinity.
In a post on X, The IDF spokesperson highlighted, "An analysis of the IDF's operational systems indicates that sabotage elements fired rockets this morning targeting IDF forces operating near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. According to IDF systems, rocket-propelled grenades hit the hospital. Therefore, according to the information available to the IDF, terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are responsible for the failed missile launch that hit the hospital."
- 11 Nov 2023 12:29 PM IST
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince reiterates condemnation of Israel's attacks in Gaza
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud reiterated the Kingdom's "condemnation of the Israeli occupation authorities' violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza," Arab News reported.
In his opening remarks at the Saudi-African Summit, he said, "We stress the necessity of stopping this war and forced displacement and creating the conditions for the return of stability and peace."
- 11 Nov 2023 12:26 PM IST
Call to protect civilians in Gaza
Israel faced growing calls Saturday to protect civilians in Gaza as its battle with Hamas encircled the territory's main hospital, where an aid agency described the situation as "catastrophic". Thunder-like sound of explosions rang through the night in heavy fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces near Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, AFP correspondents at the scene said. The Hamas government and the hospital's director said a strike on the key health facility on Friday killed 13 people. They accused Israel of being responsible -- a claim that was impossible to verify.
- 11 Nov 2023 12:14 PM IST
UN humanitarians voice concern over escalation in West Bank
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) voiced extreme concern over the escalating violence and tensions in the West Bank as well as the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In its latest situation update, the OCHA said since the war erupted on October 7, 168 Palestinians, including 46 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank till date.
