LIVE| Day 37: Heavy fighting rages near main Gaza hospital as Netanyahu dismisses calls for ceasefire
Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Sunday (November 12) as ground forces battled Hamas militants near Al-Shifa, the territory's largest hospital, where health officials say thousands of medics, patients and displaced people are trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies.
In a televised address on Saturday (November 11), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected growing international calls for a ceasefire unless it includes the release of all 239 hostages captured by Hamas in the October 7 rampage that triggered the war, saying Israel was bringing its “full force” to the battle.
He also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarised and Israel would retain security control there. The position appears to run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel's closest ally, the United States, which has said it opposes an Israeli reoccupation of the territory.
Asked what he meant by security control, Netanyahu said Israeli forces must be able to enter Gaza when necessary to hunt down militants.
Israel has vowed to end Hamas' 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities, while blaming the militants for the war's heavy toll on the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in the besieged territory. Israel has come under mounting international pressure, even from its closest ally, the United States.
A 57-nation gathering of Muslim and Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday called for the war to end, and an estimated 300,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched peacefully through London — the biggest demonstration in the city since the war began.
More than 11,070 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. About 2,700 people have been reported missing and are thought to be possibly trapped or dead under the rubble. At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, Israeli officials say. The military on Saturday confirmed the deaths of five reserve soldiers; 46 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began. 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.
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Live Updates
- 12 Nov 2023 10:56 AM GMT
‘Fauda’ crew member ‘killed in action’: Makers
A crew member from the Netflix drama Fauda has been “killed in action” in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and militant group Hamas.
According to the official X page of the Israeli series, the crew member who lost his life was Matan Meir.
“We are devastated to share that one of our Fauda family members, Matan Meir, was killed in action in Gaza. Matan was an integral crew member. The cast and crew are heartbroken by this tragic loss. We extend our condolences to Matan’s family and friends. May his soul rest in peace,” the post read.
No other details were provided.
Fauda co-creator and lead star Lior Raz also shared the news of Meir’s death on his official Instagram account.
In October, Raz joined the Brothers in Arms volunteers along with co-creator and journalist Avi Yissascharov to extract two families from the bombarded town of Sderot in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Fauda has been criticised by a section of viewers for “whitewashing” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (PTI) - 12 Nov 2023 8:27 AM GMT
Rocket alerts sounded in evacuated Israeli town near Gaza
Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, rocket alerts were heard in the border area town of Israel, Kissufim, near Gaza earlier on Sunday, The Times of Israel reported. Said to be the first rocket alarm of the day, there were no reports of impacts or casualties as the town had long been evacuated.
The border town, Kissufim is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in Israel and is located adjacent to the Gaza Strip. It was devastated following the Hamas invasion on October 7, The Times of Israel reported.
- 12 Nov 2023 8:25 AM GMT
Hamas opens fire at soldiers during evacuation of civilians: IDF
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that a "significant" number of soldiers continue to fight in Gaza City's al-Shati camp, The Times of Israel reported. It said that Givati Brigade troops identified civilians in a building and enabled them to evacuate. The IDF said that Hamas opened fire at the soldiers during the evacuation.
According to the IDF, the troops returned fire and tanks fired on terrorists and killed them. In another incident, the IDF said that the soldiers identified a group of Hamas operatives holed up in a building in al-Shati and directed an airstrike to strike them.
- 12 Nov 2023 6:31 AM GMT
India supports UN resolution flaying Israeli settlements in Palestine
India has voted in favour of a United Nations resolution that condemns Israeli settlements in Palestine. The resolution, condemning settlement activities in "Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan", was approved on Thursday. Among the seven countries that opposed it are the United States and Canada. Eighteen countries abstained from the vote.
This comes weeks after India abstained from a vote on a UN resolution calling for "immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce" between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Explaining its decision to abstain in the earlier vote, sources in the government had said India is concerned over the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza but also believes that there can be no equivocation on terror.Indi
- 12 Nov 2023 6:27 AM GMT
Iranian President slams US for backing Israeli attack on Gaza
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday lambasted the US, alleging it was the “main perpetrator” and “accomplice” of Israel in the war against Hamas. He demanded the imposition of oil and goods sanctions on Israel for its military actions in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by Hamas.
Speaking at an emergency joint Arab-Islamic Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza, Raisi slammed the US for providing military assistance to Israel and claimed that the Jewish nation dropped bombs equivalent to “seven atomic bombs” on the besieged enclave.
- 12 Nov 2023 3:39 AM GMT
Can’t reach contacts at Shifa hospital, says WHO, calls for immediate ceasefire
As the fighting between the Israeli military and the Hamas rages on outside the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it has lost communication with its contacts in the hospital and has called for an immediate ceasefire.
In a statement WHO said it has “grave concerns for the safety of the health workers, hundreds of sick and injured patients, including babies on life support and displaced people who remain inside the hospital.”
- 12 Nov 2023 2:46 AM GMT
Casualties rise: Over 11,000 Palestinians killed, 2,700 missing
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 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. At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, Israeli officials say.
The military on Saturday confirmed the deaths of five reserve soldiers; 46 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began. 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. "Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a possible war," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said after meeting with soldiers stationed along the border.
- 12 Nov 2023 2:45 AM GMT
Fear grows inside Shifa
"Shelling and explosions never stopped," said Islam Mattar, one of thousands sheltering at the hospital in Shifa. "Children here are terrified from the constant sound of explosions and the scenes they are watching." The Health Ministry told Al Jazeera there are still 1,500 patients at Shifa, along with 1,500 medical personnel and between 15,000 and 20,000 people seeking shelter.
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 organization.
- 12 Nov 2023 2:20 AM GMT
Gaza's main hospital goes dark in intense fighting as Israel's attacks put it at odds with allies
Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen battled on Saturday outside Gaza's largest hospital where frantic doctors said the last generator had run out of fuel, causing the death of a premature baby and four other patients.
Thousands of war-wounded, medical staff and displaced civilians were caught in the fighting.
In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in northern Gaza has intensified and supplies have run out. The Israeli military has alleged, without providing evidence, that the militant group Hamas has established command posts in and underneath hospitals, using civilians as human shields.
Medical staff at Shifa have denied such claims and accused Israel of harming civilians with indiscriminate attacks.
Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia said the facility lost power on Saturday. “Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die," he said by phone, with gunfire and explosions in the background. He said Israeli troops were “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital” and prevented movement between buildings.
An Israeli officer, Col. Moshe Tetro, confirmed clashes outside the hospital but denied Shifa was under siege or direct attack. He said he was in touch with the director and had offered safe passage for those willing to leave through the hospital's east side. Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told broadcaster Channel 12 that as Israel aims to crush Hamas, taking control of the hospitals would be key but require "a lot of tactical creativity,” without hurting patients, other civilians and Israeli hostages.
Five patients died at Shifa after the generator shut down, including a premature baby, said Medhat Abbas, a Health Ministry spokesman. The “unbearably desperate situation” at Shifa must stop now, the director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Robert Mardini, said on social media. UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths posted that “there can be no justification for acts of war in health care facilities, leaving them with no power, food or water."
