Israel-Hamas war updates: Israel says it will raid al-Shifa – Ministry
Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman says Israel informed officials it will raid largest health facility in Gaza Strip.
This live page is now closed. Follow the latest updates on the Israel-Gaza war here.
This live page is now closed. Follow the latest updates on the Israel-Gaza war here.
- A Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman says Israel informed Gaza officials it will “raid” al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
- Gaza health ministry says 40 people have died at al-Shifa, adding that a large number of bodies need to be buried but Israeli forces are preventing movement within the compound.
- Besieged facility is not being used as a “command” post for fighters as alleged by Israel, a senior Hamas figure says, noting no evidence has been presented to prove it.
- Israel’s attacks on Gaza hospitals “should be investigated as war crimes”, Human Rights Watch says.
- More than 11,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at more than 1,200.
Photos: Hospital in Deir el-Balah treats wounded under harsh conditions
Israeli jets, drones concentrate attacks on southern Gaza Strip
Attacks on the south of the Gaza Strip continue and it was the main concentration for the majority of Israeli strikes in the last couple of hours as Israel destroyed four residential houses in southern areas of the territory, including three houses in Khan Younis city and one house in Deir el-Balah district.
A number of Palestinians have been reported injured and they are now receiving treatment in Gaza’s southern hospitals.
The movement of Israeli fighter jets and Israeli drones in southern areas has intensified during the last couple of hours as Israel is clearly driving its attention to southern areas, which have also witnessed massive fleeing from the northern areas of the territory to the south.
People now are overcrowded in the south of the territory and also witnessing massive deterioration in humanitarian conditions.
Thanks for joining us
This live page is now closed. Thank you for joining us. Follow along with all the updates on the Israel-Gaza war here.
Read more about how staff at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital have buried dozens of patients in a mass grave as fighting rages around the health complex, here.
Read more about how Hezbollah is calculating its fight against Israel with an eye towards its domestic audience, here.
Or listen to our podcast on what protests can achieve in terms of efforts to block US military aid to Israel, here.
Here’s what happened today
We’ll soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of today’s events:
- Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, says Israel informed Gaza officials it will “raid” al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza City.
- A doctor at al-Shifa has reported “continuous shooting, continuous bombing” around the medical centre, forcing patients and health workers to move into the hallways for safety. The Health Ministry in Gaza said the hospital is in a “circle of death”.
- The Reuters news agency said Israel has approved the delivery of fuel for UN trucks in Gaza. While Israel, the UN and Hamas have not yet commented on the report, if true, the delivery would represent the first fuel supplies allowed into the enclave since October 7.
- Calls for the evacuation of patients at al-Shifa Hospital have grown after photos circulated of premature babies without any life-support. Gaza health officials have said transfers of patients are impossible due to the fighting.
- MSF has said 15 medical workers have been allowed to enter the enclave, the first such entry since the war began. It comes as the UN reports more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are not functioning.
- Israel says it has taken operational control of the al-Shati refugee camp, home to more than 90,000 residents before the war, as they say their forces are tightening their grip on the northern Gaza Strip.
- Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Washington, DC, underscoring continued widespread support for Israel in the US and opposition to a ceasefire.
- Israel has said it intercepted a missile over the Red Sea as sirens sounded in Eilat. The Houthis said they launched a barrage of missiles towards Israel.
- Along the Israel-Lebanon border, fighting has continued with Israel’s military saying it struck a Hezbollah observation post and other positions after launches were fired by fighters in Lebanon.
- At least seven Palestinians were killed and five houses were destroyed in Israeli raids of Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
More from Palestinian health ministry spokesman
Al-Qudra told Al Jazeera that he informed the International Committee of the Red Cross of the Israeli warning that it will “raid” al-Shifa Hospital but the ministry has not yet received a response.
“The ICRC must take a stance to ensure the safety of all the patients inside the al-Shifa medical centre,” the spokesman said. He added that Israel did not say exactly how or why it would enter the hospital complex.
“The bombardment has not stopped for a moment. There’s shelling and heavy firing in the vicinity of the centre.”
The Israeli military has not yet commented on al-Qudra’s remarks.
Israel warns Gaza authorities it will ‘raid’ al-Shifa Hospital complex: Health ministry
Ashraf al-Qudra, the Palestinian health ministry spokesman in Gaza, said the Israelis contacted a Palestinian health official and said “they will raid the hospital in the coming minutes”.
“And they told us to inform everybody not to be near the windows,” al-Qudra said.
US Muslim group calls on Biden to condemn Israel’s ‘open call for ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced comments by Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said earlier today the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians in Gaza is the “right humanitarian solution”.
“We ask President Biden to finally acknowledge what the world has known and witnessed – that Israel is engaged in a genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting all the Palestinian people – whether in Gaza or other occupied Palestinian land,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“Silence on this issue, and continuing silence on Israel’s campaign of genocide in Gaza, will long be remembered not only by Palestinians and Muslims worldwide, but also by all people who value human rights and dignity.”
As we reported yesterday, US legal advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against Biden and senior members of his administration accusing them of being complicit in Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. Read more about that lawsuit here.
A senior member of Israel’s government said it would be better for Palestinians there to leave for other countries. It's time for @POTUS to finally recognize what the world has known and recognized – Israel is engaged in a genocide. 1/3
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) November 14, 2023
Photos: Protesters march in US capital in support of Israel
Tens of thousands of protesters took part in today’s “March for Israel” in Washington, DC.
At times, some in the crowd chanted “no ceasefire” – urging Israel’s offensive in Gaza to continue.
Here are some images from the rally:
Hagari threat against hospitals indication of military’s plans: AJ correspondent
This is an indication perhaps that the Israeli army is looking to move around these hospitals, looking to strike very soon. But we have to say that doctors totally deny these claims by the Israeli army.
The Israeli military says that it has proof, that it has intelligence. We have not seen that concrete proof. Hamas also denied the claims that they are using those hospitals.
The Israeli army is essentially issuing an ultimatum to Hamas telling them to surrender and to leave those hospital facilities. Daniel Hagari also went on to say that the al-Quds Hospital was evacuated, and that he wants the same thing to happen for the remainder of the hospitals in northern Gaza.
But the situation and the problem becomes, how do you move those patients? How do you move infants who need incubators? How do you move thousands of people who are sheltering in these medical facilities, looking to shield themselves from the continued Israeli bombardment?
Biden says US helped 22 children undergoing cancer treatment travel out of Gaza
“And we’ll continue facilitating care for more children outside of Gaza,” the US president said.
Biden has faced widespread rebuke for failing to call for a ceasefire in the bombarded Palestinian territory and for continuing to express unequivocal support for Israel despite the rising death toll.
As of today, we’ve helped 22 children undergoing cancer treatment in Gaza travel to continue treatment, and we’ll continue facilitating care for more children outside of Gaza.
This wouldn't have been possible without coordination between the U.S., regional partners, and @StJude.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 14, 2023
Public figures call for Egypt to open Rafah crossing
A delegation of civil society organisations has called on Egypt to reject any pressure from Israel or the US and unilaterally open its border with Gaza for humanitarian reasons as the situation in the besieged enclave grows even more desperate.
The delegation presented boxes full of signatures from public figures from across the world to the Egyptian embassy in Jordan.
“Egypt is urged, on legal, ethical, Arab, and humanitarian grounds, to reject Israeli and American restrictions imposed on the passing of humanitarian aid and assistance through the Rafah Crossing,” a statement said.
Neither the ambassador nor his deputy received the signatures.
Dr Maha Fakhouri, a council member of the Jordanian Medical Association, expressed her “disappointment that no embassy official agreed to meet the delegation and hoped they would be more open to receiving the civil society in the future”.
Israeli military: Gaza hospitals risk losing protection
As Israeli attacks in the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital continue, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has threatened that hospitals across the Gaza Strip could lose their protection under international humanitarian law.
Israel claims that Hamas uses the hospitals as military bases, a claim the Palestinian group and international medics who have worked in the hospitals deny. The Israelis have presented no hard evidence to support their claim.
“In recent weeks we have stressed, again and again, that because of Hamas’s use of hospitals for military purposes, [the hospitals] will lose special protection in the international court,” Hagari said in a press conference.
Israel does not have the authority to make decisions on whether international humanitarian law is applicable and human rights groups have repeatedly called on Israel to not attack hospitals, where patients continue to be treated.
US al-Shifa Hospital allegations seek to save face: Peace advocate
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alice Rothchild, the director of Jewish Voices for Peace, noted that the US has not provided evidence that Hamas has an operating centre under al-Shifa Hospital.
The White House today echoed the claim repeatedly made by Israel’s military as its forces have encroached on the hospital.
“I can only guess that the evidence is not there, or they’re just relying on Israeli sources and Israeli sources have a long history of not being very accurate,” Rothchild told Al Jazeera.
“I can only surmise that the US government is looking at this humanitarian catastrophe, multiple war crimes, etc, etc and wanting to sort of save themselves from being part of it by making these statements that are too little too late,” she said.
Rothchild, a physician who has worked in Gaza, added that none of her colleagues at al-Shifa have ever reported the presence of Hamas or an operations centre.
“Even if it were true, you are not, according to international law and the Geneva Accords, allowed to bomb a hospital. It is absolutely forbidden,” she said.
Desperation in al-Shifa ICU as doctors struggle to keep patients alive
Inside al-Shifa, patients have already been moved into what staff consider to be the safest rooms, although, with Israeli forces nearby and accused of firing into the hospital, that is relative.
A doctor walking through the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) told Al Jazeera earlier that the department had been hit by Israeli forces.
In one room, he pointed to debris on the ground and overturned equipment as evidence of the attack, saying that it had destroyed the unit’s ventilation and air conditioning units.
“The medical crews had to move patients to avoid them being targeted by Israeli snipers and Israeli bombing,” the unnamed doctor said.
Inside the unit, babies, children and adults are wrapped up in beds as medical staff try and keep them warm. Staff manually pump oxygen for children in an attempt to keep them alive. The doctor said that many patients have been deprived the use of life-saving equipment, such as respirators and ventilators, and are now at risk of losing their lives.
“Even the patients who are about to die, the Israelis are trying to kill inside this hospital,” the doctor said. “The complex is completely surrounded, no one can move.”
Watch: Evacuated patients, wounded and medical staff arrive in Khan Younis
The Palestine Red Crescent has shared footage of the arrivals in southern Gaza after patients, wounded people and medical staff were evacuated from al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City.
The hospital was under siege for more than 10 days “amidst ongoing bombardment in the hospital’s vicinity, power outages, and shortages of water and food”, the health agency said.
Watch the video below.
The first moments upon the arrival of medical staff, patients, and the wounded to Khan Younis after their evacuation from Al-Quds Hospital in #Gaza, following the hospital's siege for more than ten days amidst ongoing bombardment in the hospital's vicinity, power outages, and… pic.twitter.com/wU9vcQcEV2
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 14, 2023
More from doctor at al-Shifa Hospital
Mokhallalati, the al-Shifa doctor, told Al Jazeera that it remains unclear exactly what is happening around the Gaza City hospital.
“But I’m sure that on the fourth floor of this building, there was a direct hit of the hospital, with the [hole] happening on the wall of the fourth floor of the main building,” he said.
“So they are targeting the hospital. I don’t mean all the hits are within the hospital, but all around the hospital, it’s … a really scary situation. It’s really horrible the amount of attacks we are getting. [We] don’t understand why this is happening now in the middle of the night.”
Israel approves delivery of diesel fuel for UN trucks in Gaza: Report
Citing an unnamed humanitarian source, the Reuters news agency reported that Israel approved the entry of 24,000 litres (6,340 gallons) of diesel for UN trucks in Gaza.
The report comes after UNWRA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said its operations would be forced to come to a halt due to a lack of fuel. Israel has barred fuel from entering the bombarded enclave since the start of the war.
The fuel is only meant for UN trucks and not for hospitals, the source told Reuters, adding that the US has pressured the UN to accept the fuel.
Israel and the UN did not immediately respond to or confirm the report. Hamas also did not immediately respond to the report.
The UN has repeatedly appealed for fuel to be allowed into Gaza, saying that beyond aid deliveries, it is needed to power hospitals, water pumps and sewage disposal.
Gaza Ministry of Health: Al-Shifa in ‘circle of death’ as Israel attacks
The health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra has also confirmed the reports of increased Israeli attacks around al-Shifa Hospital over the past two hours, saying that the medical complex has been encircled and that there has been heavy shelling and gunfire.
Israeli source says captive breakthrough could come in 48 to 72 hours: ABC
The US network, citing the senior unnamed political source, said that progress had been made on the negotiations.
Israel’s war cabinet was set to meet tonight to discuss details of a possible deal, according to the ABC News report.
Hamas has accused Israel of changing the terms of potential agreements relating to the captives, creating delays. Israel has denied the claims.
Only four captives have so far been released of the nearly 240 Israel has said were taken into Gaza. No releases have occurred since Israel began its major land operations in the enclave.
Israeli attacks in vicinity of al-Shifa: Doctor
Dr Ahmad Mokhallalati, speaking from al-Shifa, says that Israeli forces have been attacking around the hospital for the past two hours.
He described it as “continuous shooting, continuous bombing”.
Mokhallalati said that everyone had moved to the corridors of the building for protection.
“We don’t know [where] the shooting is from… we don’t know [what] the bombardment is targeting,” he added.
Who is John Hagee, founder of Christians United for Israel?
Hagee is in the spotlight today for taking part in the “March for Israel” in the US capital.
In 2006, he founded Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which bills itself as the largest Christian Zionist organisation in the US with more than 10 million members.
Hagee, the senior pastor at the evangelical Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, has been outspoken in his backing of Israel for years.
On its website, CUFI boasts that it sent pastors from across the US to Israel during the country’s 2014 offensive in Gaza; applied pressure on Washington to defend moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and has backed continued US funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
During the 2008 US presidential election, comments Hagee made nearly a decade earlier surfaced, in which the pastor said Adolf Hitler was sent by God to force European Jews to move to historic Palestine.
“Hagee had posited that … Hitler had been a ‘hunter’ who was tasked with expediting God’s will of having the Jews re-establish a state of Israel,” The Huffington Post reported at the time.
Hagee later apologised for the remarks, which reflect the Christian Zionist belief that the return of Jewish people to the State of Israel fulfils a biblical prophecy.
He has also disparaged and made racist comments against Arabs, saying in 2007 that “the difference … between Israel and the Arabic world is quite simply the difference between civilisation and barbarism”.
Here with thousands of supporters of Israel to send a message to the world…Israel, you are not alone!!! #MarchForIsrael #StandWithIsrael #BringThemHome pic.twitter.com/Fm0Spx2ruD
— Pastor John Hagee (@PastorJohnHagee) November 14, 2023
Hamas denies use of hospitals as bases, calls for UN inspection
Hamas has issued a statement responding to US and Israeli claims that it uses hospitals, such as al-Shifa, as command centres, saying that US support for the claims is a “green light for the occupation to commit more brutal massacres against hospitals, with the aim of destroying the health sector”.
The statement said that Hamas was happy for the UN to investigate the claims.
“We renew our call to the United Nations to form an international committee to roam and check all the hospitals to find out the lie that is the narrative of the occupation and its ally, Washington,” Hamas said.
If you’re just joining us
It’s 11:20pm (21:20 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Here’s a quick recap of the latest developments:
- Photos of premature babies without any life-support have increased calls for evacuations of patients at al-Shifa Hospital. Gaza health officials have said transfers are currently impossible due to continued fighting.
- The Palestine Red Crescent says health workers and those remaining at al-Quds Hospital are evacuating to the south as the UN reports more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are not functioning.
- MSF has said 15 medical workers have been allowed to enter the enclave, the first such entry since the war began.
- Israel’s military claims it has taken operational control of the al-Shati refugee camp, home to more than 90,000 residents before the war, as officials say their hold of northern Gaza deepens.
- The UN chief has again appealed for a ceasefire, with the organisation saying hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain trapped in northern Gaza.
- Rain has further complicated the dire situation for Gaza residents, making shelter more difficult and risking the spread of disease.
- Israel has demolished five houses in Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, where seven Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli military raid.
- Tens of thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Washington, DC, underscoring continued widespread support for Israel in the US.
- Belize has become the latest Latin American country to effectively suspend diplomatic relations with Israel. Bolivia previously cut ties over the war.
- Israel has said it intercepted a missile over the Red Sea as sirens sounded in Eilat. Both Yemen’s Houthis and Syria-based groups have targeted the coastal city in recent weeks.
- Fighting has continued along the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israel’s military most recently saying it struck a Hezbollah observation post.
Progressive US Jewish group denounces pro-Israel rally in Washington, DC
IfNotNow has slammed the pro-Israel demonstration taking place in the US capital this afternoon as “a pro-war, pro-Nakba rally”.
Participants in the “March for Israel” say they are protesting to demand the release of captives held in Gaza and express support for Israel.
But IfNotNow said the only way to secure the release of the captives is through a ceasefire deal that would end the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip.
“You can’t bomb your way to peace,” the advocacy group said.
“There is no military solution to this crisis. Embracing the status quo means the continued vicious massacre of Palestinians, and further escalation that could tip into regional war, risking the lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
IfNotNow also slammed some of the participants in the Washington, DC, rally, including Pastor John Hagee, the founder of the pro-Israel group Christians United For Israel.
The march in DC today claims to represent Jews, so we must be clear:
It's not only possible but absolutely crucial to fight for the safety & freedom of both Israelis & Palestinians.
No mention of Palestinians can only be interpreted one way:
This is a pro-war, pro-Nakba rally.
— IfNotNow🔥 (@IfNotNowOrg) November 14, 2023
Houthis say they launched ballistic missiles at Israel
The Houthi movement in Yemen has said on Telegram that its forces fired missiles at various Israeli areas, including Eilat on the Red Sea.
“This comes only 24 hours after another military operation carried out by our armed forces with drones on the same targets,” a statement said.
The statement also said the Houthi forces “will not hesitate to target” Israeli ships in the Red Sea.
“The operations of the Yemeni armed forces against the Israeli enemy will not stop until the Israeli aggression against our brave brothers in Gaza ends.”