Casualties
- 11,255 killed*, including 4,630 children, and 29,000 wounded in Gaza
- 196 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
*This figure covers the casualties from October 7 to November 14.
Key Developments
- In hospital raid, Israeli forces took captive dozens of displaced people, relatives of patients and the injured inside Al-Shifa, after stripping them of their clothes, blindfolding them, and taking them to “unknown” locations.
- The buildings of the nephrology and the internal medicine departments at Al-Shifa Hospital were the first to be stormed by Israeli forces overnight, Al-Jazeera reported. Israeli forces also detonated a medicine storehouse at the hospital.
- White House backs Israeli accusations of a Hamas command underneath Al-Shifa Hospital, which Hamas denied. Hospital staff have called on independent, third-party investigators to come to the hospital and investigate the claim, which they also say is false.
- Hamas: White House adoption of false claims of command center under Al-Shifa is a “green light to the [Israeli] occupation force to commit more massacres against civilians.”
- Health official: Israeli forces shot at Palestinians who left the Al-Shifa complex through the “safe corridor” which they set up.
- Belize severs ties with Israel and withdraws the accreditation of Tel Aviv’s ambassador.
The Israeli military launched what it termed a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas” in a specified area at Al-Shifa hospital this morning. Eyewitnesses said Israeli tanks and military vehicles were “inside the courtyard” of the hospital, where the military were “conducting search and interrogation operations with the young men amidst intense and violent gunfire inside the hospital.” Thousands of people are sheltering at the hospital which is no longer operational due to a lack of fuel. A doctor at Al-Shifa hospital said they were given 30 minutes’ warning before the Israeli military began their operation.The ground operation comes after Israel’s long-standing accusations that Hamas has a command center under the hospital, which they say “jeopardizes the hospital’s protected status under international law.” Kareem Khadder, Celine Alkhaldi, Elene Giokos, and Sahar Akbarzai report for CNN.
A doctor at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital said staff are hiding from gunfire as the Israeli force begins its raid on the complex. “Bombardment. Shooting around the hospital and within the hospital. It’s really horrible you can feel that it’s very near to the hospital. And then we realised that the tanks are moving around the hospital [sic],” the doctor told reporters today. He added that there are “all kinds of weapons” being “used around the hospital…they targeted the hospital directly. We try to avoid being near the windows.” Abir Al Ahmar and Nadine Awadalla report for Reuters.
Three out of the originally reported 39 premature babies have died following their removal from incubators due to a lack of fuel, with the lives of the remaining 36 babies, who range in weight from 700g to 3.3.lbs, hanging in the balance as of yesterday, according to medical staff. The Israeli military announced yesterday that efforts were underway to supply incubators for an evacuation, although it was unclear how this would assist when the hospital remains without fuel. A spokesperson for Gaza’s Hamas-health run ministry said there is no objection to evacuating the babies but there was no “clear mechanism” which allowed for the plan to be executed. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams report for Reuters.
The Israeli military today shared photos of boxes containing medical supplies and baby food for Al-Shifa hospital, according to their post on X, formerly Twitter. “We can now confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies, provided by the IDF, have successfully reached the hospital,” their post said. Yuliya Talmazan reports for NBC News.
Israeli forces control the “aboveground area” of the northern Gaza Strip and emphasized the difference between above ground control and below, the Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said yesterday. Gallant said he presented fighting plans which required “long months” of fighting and included “both the north and the south” of Gaza. Tayla Minsberg and Aaron Boxerman report for the New York Times.
Israel approved 24,000 liters of diesel fuel to be used exclusively by U.N. aid trucks in the Gaza Strip yesterday, according to a humanitarian source, marking the first time Israel has allowed any fuel delivery into Gaza since the war started. Aid agencies have long called for increased assistance into Gaza, including increased food, water, and medical supplies. The head of an Israeli defense ministry body said Israel “will coordinate and facilitate the entrance of fuel when it (is) needed.” Maya Gebeily and Emily Rose report for Reuters.
The U.N. Chief of Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths reacted to reports of military raids at Al-Shifa hospital. In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, Griffiths wrote: “The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns. Hospitals are not battlegrounds.” Alex Therrien reports for BBC News.
Approximately 50,000 women in Gaza are currently pregnant and about one in 10 are due to give birth next month, resulting in around 180 births per day, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), a sexual and reproductive health agency. In addition to the lack of food, water, and adequate medical care in Gaza, reports previously have detailed pregnant women becoming seriously injured from collapsing buildings. Gynecologist Dr Haya Hijazi said that pregnant women are arriving at hospital with third or fourth degree burns and missing limbs, and that a woman who was full term suffered a stillbirth while running from an explosion. Farnaz Fassihi reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – REGIONAL RESPONSE
Iran’s Supreme Leader reportedly delivered a message to the head of Hamas in early November stating that Tehran would not enter the Israel-Hamas War directly, according to unnamed Iranian and Hamas officials. Iran – a longtime supporter of Hamas – allegedly told the group it gave no warning of the Oct. 7 attack and that Iran would not intervene in the war beyond r moral and political support. Parisa Hafezi, Arshad Mohammed, Tom Perry, Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, and Phil Stewart report for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
The U.N. Security Council is trying for a fifth time to pass a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war, as the current draft text would demand “immediate extended humanitarian pauses” throughout the Gaza Strip to provide aid. It would also require that all parties would comply with international humanitarian law. The Council has been in a state of limbo due to internal divisions, with members China and Russia calling for an immediate cease-fire, but the U.K. and the U.S. allying with Israel and objecting to any mention of a ceasefire. In the four previous attempts, the U.S. vetoed a Brazil-drafted resolution, Russia and China vetoed a U.S. drafted resolution, and two Russian drafted resolutions failed to reach the minimum nine votes required for adoption. Edith M Lederer reports for AP News.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the “killing of women, of children, of babies” in Gaza must end, in his most strongly worded statement to date. Canada has maintained Israel’s right to self defense following the Oct. 7 attacks. Trudeau said he “urge[s] the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint. The world is watching, on TV, on social media – we’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents.” David Ljunggren reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – US RESPONSE
US Frustration With Israel Grows as Gaza Civilian Deaths Mount
- More difficult conversations with Israel cited by officials
- Risks of US strategy embracing Prime Minister Netanyahu
The White House is becoming increasingly frustrated with Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas as the civilian death toll in Gaza mounts and the administration’s calls go unheeded, widening a rift between the close allies. As Courtney McBride, Ben Bartenstein and Peter Martin report, US officials are having what they describe as more difficult conversations with their Israeli counterparts, only to have Israel ignore them.
The United States has intelligence showing Hamas is using hospitals in Gaza as command centers and ammunition storage, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said yesterday. Kirby said the intelligence – which was derived from a variety of intelligence methods and not just Israeli sources – supported Israel’s allegations that Hamas has been operating out of hospitals, which Kirby said amounted to a war crime. “I can confirm for you that we have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,” Kirby told reporters. Michael D.Shear reports for the New York Times.
Kirby reiterated that the United States does not support air strikes on Al-Shifa hospital or firefights in the hospital. He said, “to be clear, we do not support striking a hospital from the air, and we do not want to see a firefight in the hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care that they deserve — not to be caught in a crossfire.” Yuliya Talmazan reports for NBC News.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Washington yesterday for a “March for Israel.” People in the crowd can be seen holding up signs showing those being held hostage by Hamas, as well as placards saying “civilians who praise the slaughter of Jews are not innocent.” Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle report for Reuters.