Live Updates: Thousands at Al Shifa Hospital 'fighting death'

Friday, November 17, 2023

Over 7,000 displaced people, patients, and medical staff at Al Shifa Hospital are "fighting death due to a lack of water and food" caused by the Israeli military blockade, besieged Gaza media office reported.

According to a statement released on Telegram, the office emphasised the critical situation, stating that there is "no food, water, or milk for infants at Al Shifa Hospital."

"We may lose a number of malnourished children at the hospital due to the power outage, leaving them without incubators," it said.

The media office highlighted "the dire conditions at Al Shifa Hospital, which houses 650 patients and approximately 7,000 displaced individuals.

Medical teams, patients, and displaced individuals are struggling for survival due to the absence of life's essentials."

The statement pointed out that "Israeli forces have destroyed all vehicles in the hospital compound and refuse to allow medical staff or patients to leave."

The Gaza media office "appealed for urgent international intervention to rescue those present in the compound."

It reported that "the Israeli army conducted search and inspection operations inside Al Shifa Hospital, transferring the bodies of martyrs to an unknown location.

The occupying forces have converted the facility into a military barracks."

06:10 GMT — Israeli forces raid Jenin refugee camp in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army stormed the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank and besieged the Jenin refugee camp, leading to clashes with Palestinian fighters.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that large numbers of Israeli military vehicles entered the city accompanied by bulldozers.

They said the army approached from several directions and targeted several neighborhoods while imposing a siege on the Jenin camp.

Electricity was cut off in the camp and the Al Jabriyat neighborhood while military helicopters and drones flew over the area.

05:50 GMT — Pro-Palestinian protesters slam UK Labour Party for opposing ceasefire

Pro-Palestinian protesters held a rally in East London to denounce the Labour Party over its stance against calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Gathering outside the party's office in Tower Hamlets, they also called on Labour Party lawmaker Rushanara Ali to resign after she abstained from a vote supporting a motion calling for a cease-fire in the besieged enclave.

The crowd carried signs and Palestinian flags, chanting "Labour Party, shame on you. Rushanara Ali, shame on you."

05:40 GMT — PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel not successful in bid to minimise civilian casualties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said attempts to minimise casualties in besieged Gaza were "not successful."

US television's CBS News asked Netanyahu whether Israel's killing of thousands of Palestinians would fuel a new generation of hatred.

"Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn't have any because we're doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm's way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm's way," Netanyahu said.

"So we send leaflets, [we] call them on their cell phones, and we say: 'leave'. And many have left," Netanyahu said.

"The other thing I can say is that we'll try to finish that job with minimal civilian casualties. That's what we're trying to do: minimal civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we're not successful."

Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of the blockaded enclave has left at least 11,500 Palestinians killed, over 4,700 of them children.

05:20 GMT — Blinken urges Israel to take action against settler violence in occupied West Bank

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on Israel to take "urgent" action to stop settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Blinken, in San Francisco for an Asia-Pacific summit, made the plea in a telephone call with Benny Gantz, an opposition leader who joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wartime cabinet.

Blinken "stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the [occupied] West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

On the war front, Blinken with Gantz "discussed efforts to augment and accelerate the transit of critical humanitarian assistance into Gaza," Miller said.

05:10 GMT — Heads of UN agencies reject unilateral proposals to create ‘safe zones’ in Gaza

The leaders of a number of UN agencies and humanitarian organisations said that they will not take part in any "safe zones" in Gaza declared by Israel, which is only one side in the conflict.

"As humanitarian leaders, our position is clear: We will not participate in the establishment of any 'safe zone' in Gaza that is set up without the agreement of all the parties, and unless fundamental conditions are in place to ensure safety and other essential needs are met and a mechanism is in place to supervise its implementation," the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the UN system, said in a statement.

Under the current circumstances, any proposals to unilaterally establish "safe zones" are likely to harm civilians, including potentially causing significant casualties, and should be rejected, the committee said.

For our live updates from Thursday (November 16), click here