Casualties:
11,078 killed*, including 4,506 children, and 27,490 wounded in Gaza
*The casualty numbers from Gaza have not been updated in at least 3 days, as the “collapse of services and communications” has made it nearly impossible for the health ministry to document and update the numbers
187 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,200
Key Developments:
- All of Gaza City’s hospitals are out of service, says the Palestinian Health Ministry.
- Three nurses killed at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, according to UN.
- At least 192 medical staff have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
- Israel forces doctors to abandon patients in Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital.
- Medical teams are unable to bury the 100 bodies that have begun to decompose in the al-Shifa Hospital courtyard, putting patients’ health at risk, says the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- At least six premature babies and nine patients have died in the last few days, says Gaza’s Health Ministry
The Frontline Reaches Shifa Hospital As Hostage Negotiations Stall
The battle in the Gaza Strip intensified over the weekend as Israeli forces reportedly surrounded Al-Shifa Hospital, which the Israelis claim to be Hamas’s main military headquarters. On November 11, the IDF announced the killing of 150 Hamas terrorists in a large battle near an important Hamas outpost. Despite losing six soldiers, the IDF successfully destroyed Hamas military headquarters, munitions sites, and an underground network, significantly degrading Hamas’s military capabilities in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, in a high-profile incident over the weekend, Shifa hospital ran short of fuel as a result of a standoff between the IDF and the hospital director over an Israeli fuel delivery. The situation illustrated how the Gaza battle is being fought not just on the ground, but as a propaganda war in which each side shapes a narrative to gain international support.
Outside Gaza, the intensifying ground fighting has complicated diplomatic negotiations for a potential hostage exchange deal. Qatar released a statement highlighting the difficulty in reaching an agreement with Hamas amidst ongoing clashes, while a high-level Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo to negotiate with Hamas via Egypt. The potential deal being mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S., would involve the release of Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli custody and the delivery of fuel to Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli female hostages. The negotiations reportedly exclude the Israeli soldiers Hamas is holding.
Children in Israeli military detention as of 30 September 2023*
Detention figures – According to data issued quarterly by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 30 September 2023, there were 5,105 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 156 children (12-17 years) (154 boys/2 girls). In the case of children there was a 5 percent decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual increase of 15 percent compared with 2022. Twenty-three children were held in administrative detention without charge or trial – the highest number since January 2008. According to the IPS, 68 percent of child detainees and 75 percent of adult detainees were unlawfully transferred from the occupied West Bank to prisons inside Israel in September in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. More statistics
Military courts / detention update – Since 7 October 2023, proceedings in the military courts are limited to remand hearings and review of administrative detention orders. Other hearings have been suspended. Proceedings are conducted by video link in the absence of family members. Prisons are in “lock-down” mode. This includes: no family visits or phone communication; limited shower time; no access to outdoor areas; no radio or television; no electrical appliances; restricted rations; frequent intrusive searches; removal of some personal items including clothing; no access to the canteen; and overcrowding. On 25 October, Israeli organizations petitioned the High Court over conditions including: denial of prompt access to lawyers; disconnection of electricity and water; denial of access to medical treatment; and reports of severe violence. Reports suggest that around 2,500 arrests have been made in the occupied West Bank since 7 October 2023.
A child’s testimony – On 8 August 2023, a 16-year-old minor from Qaryout, in the occupied West Bank, was served with a written summons at the border after returning from Jordan. The material parts of the summons were written in Hebrew. The following day he went with his father to the Israeli police station inside the settlement of Binyamin, as required under the summons. He was separated from his father and interrogated. He reports briefly consulting with a lawyer by phone prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence by the interrogator. After interrogation he was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. The following day he appeared in Ofer military court. He reports not understanding the proceedings as there was no translation. He was released on bail of NIS 2,200 on 10 August 2023. Read more
A child is killed on average every 10 minutes in the Gaza Strip, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UNSC on Friday that “nowhere and no one is safe.” Since the Oct.7 attacks, the WHO has verified more than 250 attacks on healthcare facilities in the West Bank and Gaza, while Israel suffered 25 attacks on healthcare facilities. He said half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were not functioning, describing how “hospital corridors [are] crammed with the injured, the sick, the dying. Morgues overflowing. Surgery without anesthesia. Tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals.” Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
Premature babies at Gaza’s largest hospital are being wrapped in foil and placed next to hot water in extreme measures to keep them alive as a result of oxygen supplies running out, the hospital director has warned. The doctor said several children have died in the intensive care unit, with images showing several newborn babies being placed in one bed having been taken off incubators. None of the hospital’s operating rooms are working due to a lack of electricity. A journalist inside Al-Shifa described how the hospital has no life-support system and that dozens of bodies are yet to be buried, as medics work by candlelight amid food rationing. Conditions at Al-Shifa hospital were described as “catastrophic” over the weekend, as bombardment of Gaza and the surrounding Al-Shifa area continued. An Israeli military spokesperson said its forces were engaged in “ongoing intense fighting,” but denied targeting the hospital. Hamdi Alkhshai, Jo Shelley and Helen Regen report for CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to confirm speculation of a possible deal with Hamas to release Israeli hostages, saying in an interview yesterday that “there could be [a deal], but I think the less I said about it, the more I’ll increase the chances that it materializes…I can say that we weren’t close at all until we started the ground operation.” Kelly Garrity reports for POLITICO.
Israel says Hamas refused an offer of fuel yesterday for Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. “Hamas, (which) is hiding in the hospitals and placing itself there, doesn’t want the fuel for the hospital…they want to get fuel that they’ll take from the hospitals to their tunnels, to their war machine,” Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hamas firmly denies Israeli allegations that it is housing command posts or tunnel networks under Gaza hospitals. Rami Ayyub reports for Reuters.
Netanyahu refused to answer whether he takes responsibility for failing to prevent the Oct.7 attacks, saying that while it is “a question that needs to be asked,” his focus is on “unit[ing] the country for one purpose; to achieve victory.” Netanyahu said Israel is doing all it can “around the clock” to release the hostages. He said the temporary evacuation corridors are “not a pause,” and that the only halt in the fighting Israel would accept is “one in which we have our hostages released.” “If you’re talking about stopping the fighting, that’s exactly what Hamas wants…an endless series of pauses that basically dissipate the battle against them.” Nadeen Ebrahim, Sophie Tanno and Amarachi Orie report for CNN.
Calls for Gaza to be “demilitarized” and “deradicalized” were echoed by Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. He said the only force able to take military responsibility for Gaza was the Israeli force because “so far, we haven’t seen any Palestinian force, including the Palestinian Authority, that is able to do it.” When questioned about who could govern Gaza, Netanyahu said it was “too early to say” and that defeating Hamas is the “first task we have to achieve.” His comments appear at odds with the Biden administration, who last week said that there should not be any “re-occupation” of Gaza post-war. Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied that Israel is striking Gaza’s largest hospital, saying that “everything is operating” at the hospital. The WHO said it lost communications with its contacts inside Al-Shifa hospital due to the rising fighting, but Herzog said any suggestions of a lack of fuel or incubators for newborns was untrue, saying “we deny this at all, there is a lot of spin by Hamas…but there’s electricity in Shifa, everything is operating.” He also said his country’s strikes in Gaza were carried out “according to the rules of international humanitarian law,” adding that Israel gives “humanitarian pauses” so people can evacuate south. Herzog also said a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf was found on the body of a Hamas fighter in northern Gaza, which he says shows Hamas are learning “Hitler’s ideology of hating the Jews.” BBC News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – REGIONAL RESPONSE
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that two motor shells were fired from Lebanon into Israel and landed in an open area following an alert being activated in the Galilee area. No casualties were reported. In an update on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF said it attacked an “armed terrorist cell” overnight in Lebanese territory. BBC News reports.
The head of Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah said they will continue pressuring Israel in a “battle of steadfastness and patience” and claimed it was striking deeper into Israeli territory. “There has been a quantitative improvement in terms of the number of operations and the type of weapon used,” referencing that Hezbollah used drones and new missiles against Israeli forces in recent days for the first time, some of which contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Last week, Hezbollah fired at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona following an Israeli drone killing a woman and three girls in southern Lebanon, and on Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted Hezbollah weapon depots after a series of Hezbollah attacks seriously injured four Israeli soldiers. Hwaida Saad and Yara Bayoumy report for the New York Times.
On the Geopolitical Front: The Israel-Hamas War’s Impact on EU Policy, International Diplomacy, and Investment Trends
The Israel-Hamas war is creating reverberations far beyond the Middle East. In Europe, both the UK and EU are considering ramping up economic sanctions and designations against Iran and Hamas. Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly considering appointing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a humanitarian coordinator for Gaza in a move meant to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reduce international pressure on Israel. Discussions about Blair’s role are ongoing, focusing on medical and evacuation needs in Gaza.
Economically, October saw a significant withdrawal of foreign investments from US stock funds associated with Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other Gulf countries. Over $200 million was pulled from these funds, reflecting investor concerns about regional instability. This trend extended to funds exposed to Qatari, Emirati, and Israeli stocks. The outflows from Gulf country ETFs surpassed those from most emerging markets during the same period, with Israel also experiencing above-average withdrawals. ETFs tracking the region have shown resilience overall, bouncing back from immediate losses post-Hamas’s attack on Israel, but the ongoing conflict raises concerns about the long-term economic impact on these countries, especially regarding their diversification efforts and foreign direct investment.
Even as it fights a major war in Gaza, Israel is continuing with its unprecedented arms deals in Europe–including a new deal clearly aimed at Russia. Israel has signed a landmark agreement with Finland for the sale of the “David’s Sling” missile defense system in a deal valued at approximately 317 Euros. “David’s Sling” is known for its capability to intercept a range of advanced threats, including ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones. The sale marks a significant step in defense cooperation between Israel and Finland and has received approval from the US government. But more importantly, the deal is one of a number of steps Israel has taken over the past year to help arm European countries against the strategic threat posed to them by Russia.