Following Israel’s refusal to comply with a new UNSC resolution, the Israeli military stormed Al-Shifa Hospital for the second time, terrorizing civilians and finding no evidence of a Hamas command center.
Casualties:
Gaza; 11,255 killed (October 7 to November 14), including 4,630 children, and 29,000 wounded in Gaza
West Bank and East Jerusalem; 196 Palestinians killed in the occupied East Jerusalem.
Key Developments
- Israeli airstrikes have targeted the perimeter of the Ahli Arab Hospital on Thursday afternoon, reports Al Jazeera, who believes the attacks could be seen as an indicator of preparation to storm the hospital.
- Israeli forces violently stormed Al-Shifa Hospital twice within 24 hours, destroying the inside of the medical complex despite finding no Palestinian fighters inside.
- The UN Security Council passed a legally binding resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses,” unrestricted aid delivery, including fuel and medical evacuations, and the release of captives inside Gaza; however, Israel says “it will not happen.”
- UNOCHA: Those fleeing to the South using the Israeli force’s “so-called safe corridors” face arrest, and the UN has received reports of “beatings and people being stripped of their clothes by Israeli soldiers.”
- According to a police statement, Israeli security forces killed three people who arrived in a “suspicious vehicle and opened fire towards our forces,” shooting and injuring four people at a checkpoint near Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank on Thursday morning, according to Israeli media.
- Israeli forces have detained 69 Palestinians during overnight military raids on Palestinian homes across the occupied West Bank, including four siblings in Kufr Rai village near Jenin in an effort to force their brother to turn himself in, reported Wafa,
- UNOCHA: The Palestinian Red Cross is no longer able to respond to the hundreds of calls from people seeking assistance in evacuating people wounded or trapped under the rubble.
- As of November 10, about 2,700 people, including some 1,500 children, remain missing and presumed to be trapped or dead under the rubble, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza
- The Red Cross and UNRWA are calling for the evacuation of the 650 patients trapped by the Israeli military in al-Shifa Hospital to other facilities, including in Egypt, as the patients are beyond the capability of Gaza’s already collapsed healthcare system, reports Al Jazeera.
- On Wednesday, Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel warned that Gaza is expected to enter a communications blackout as the company’s data centers and equipment will shut down due to the lack of fuel.
- At least seven staff members at the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza were injured at the ER entrance as they tried “to tend to Palestinians who themselves had been injured in Israeli air strikes,” said a spokesperson for the Jordanian army, adding that Jordan is investigating the incident and holds Israel responsible for the protection of their faculty and staff.
- The Palestine Red Crescent Society has shared a distressing video showing Israeli forces targeting the organization’s paramedics as they shell the vicinity of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza last Friday.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, is publiclycalling on the Prime Minister to resign because the public has lost trust in him.
Israel said its soldiers found “military equipment” at Al-Shifa hospital during their raid, as the military operation at the hospital is “still underway and will take time,” according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. In a statement, the IDF said “in another department in the hospital, the soldiers located an operational command center and technological assets belonging to Hamas,” the statement went on, which indicated, “that the terrorist organization uses the hospital for terrorist purposes.” Earlier yesterday, a senior Israeli defense official said they uncovered “concrete evidence that Hamas terrorists used the Shifa hospital as a terror headquarters.” Andrew Carey and Tamar Michaelis report for CNN. However, the IDF is “still searching for the tunnels beneath the hospital.” Lucy Williamson reports for BBC News.
Israeli authorities are opening a joint investigation into the crimes committed during the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks, including sexual violence allegations, a spokesperson for the Israeli police confirmed today. They said a court order is in place prohibiting the publishing of any identifiable information relating to suspects or testimony. Doha Madani reports for NBC News.
Israel struck the house of a senior Hamas leader in Gaza yesterday using fighter jets; his home was “used as terrorist infrastructure” and a “meeting place for the organization’s senior officials,” Israeli forces say. BBC News reports.
Israel says 50 of its soldiers have now been killed in Gaza since its ground invasion began in late October. BBC News reports.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign, saying he has “lost the public’s trust.” This is the first time Lapid has urged Netanyahu to quit since the Oct. 7 attacks. “The people who are running things right are the defense establishments. This government is dysfunctional…we need to change the government,” he said. Tamar Michaelis, Andrew Carey and Sugam Pokharel report for CNN.
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution yesterday calling for an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law, the full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners.” Israel’s Deputy Permanent Representative said the resolution “falls on deaf ears when it comes to Hamas,” while the Permanent Observer state of Palestine said the Security Council should have called for a cease-fire by now.
Three gunmen were attacked at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem this morning, with four others wounded and one in “very serious condition,” Israeli police say. They added that police officers shot and “neutralized” a suspect in the attack. BBC News reports.
The Hamas-run interior ministry says two Palestinians were killed this morning and a number were injured in Rafah from Israeli aircraft. BBC News reports.
REGIONAL RESPONSE
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan labeled Israel a “terror state” and said its military campaign against Hamas included “the most treacherous attacks in human history” with “unlimited” Western support. Speaking yesterday, Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s stance that Hamas is a political party and not a terrorist organization, and he called for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes in The Hague. “We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honour, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it. The West, namely the United States, is unfortunately still seeing this issue backwards,” he said. Huseyin Hayatsever and Tuvan Gumrukcu report for Reuters.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Canadian police dispersed a crowd of 250 pro-Palestinian protesters at a Vancouver restaurant on Tuesday where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was dining, police confirmed yesterday. The force said that nearly 100 officers were deployed who “assisted in controlling and dispersing the crowd, while the Prime Minister was escorted out of the restaurant.” It comes after Trudeau condemned Israel’s actions on Tuesday labeling what he said to be the “killing of women, of children, of babies” in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Trudeau in a social media post saying “the forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.” David Ljunggren reports for Reuters.
US RESPONSE
President Biden endorsed support for Israel’s incursion into Al-Shifa hospital yesterday, saying that Hamas has committed a “war crime’ by “having their headquarters, their military, hidden under a hospital.” Biden reiterated he is confident Hamas has held a command center around and underneath the hospital, but declined to detail any evidence. Citing discussions Biden had with his national security team, he said “Israel did not go in with a large number of troops, did not raid and did not rush anyone down.” Laura Kelly reports for The Hill.
Biden said yesterday that he did not believe the Israel-Hamas war would end “until there’s a two state solution.” The comment came in response to a question about whether there is a deadline for the United States’ support for Israel, with Biden saying, “I made it clear to the Israelis I think it’s a big mistake for them to think they’re going to occupy Gaza.” Zoë Richards and Megan Lebowitz report for NBC News.
A “large group of illegal” pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with police at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington D.C. last night, according to the U.S. Capitol Police statement made on X, formerly Twitter. The Jewish group IfNotNow posted on X claiming police were being “extremely violent,” alongside video footage allegedly showing officers pushing protestors. Rebecca Cohen reports for NBC News.
Israel ordered civilians to leave four towns in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, raising fears its war against Hamas could spread to areas it had told people were safe. In the north of the enclave, Israel said its forces were still present at Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa
The United Nations human rights chief said outbreaks of disease and hungerseemed “inevitable” in Gaza after weeks of Israeli assault on the densely populated Palestinian enclave. Volker Turk said the depletion of fuel would be “catastrophic,” leading to the collapse of sewage systems and healthcare.
The West Bank Is the Unseen Second Front of Israel’s War on Gaza
Emboldened by the world’s silence, Israeli settlers are working hand in hand with the military to terrorize Palestinians throughout the West Bank.
THERE IS A TENDENCY TO COMPARTMENTALIZE PALESTINIAN EXISTENCE, TO TREAT THE VARIOUS FORMS OF SEGMENTATION OF PALESTINIAN POPULATIONS AND THEIR SEGREGATION FROM ONE ANOTHER AS SOMETHING INNATE AND NATURAL, RATHER THAN THE MANIFESTATION OF COLONIAL DIVIDE-AND-RULE TACTICS. CONSEQUENTLY, THE BIGGER PICTURE IS OFTEN LOST, PRODUCING AN ANALYSIS THAT FRAMES INTIMATELY LINKED EVENTS AS FUNDAMENTALLY DISCONNECTED.
AS THE WORLD’S EYES HAVE BEEN FOCUSED, UNDERSTANDABLY, ON THE ATROCITIES ISRAEL HAS BEEN COMMITTING IN THE GAZA STRIP, THE ISRAELI MILITARY HAS BEEN INTENSIFYING ITS ASSAULTS ON PALESTINIANS LIVING IN THE WEST BANK. ISRAEL HAS CORDONED OFF PALESTINIAN COMMUNITIES, BLOCKING THE ENTRANCES AND RESTRICTING MOVEMENT IN AND OUT, WHILE SETTLERS HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO ROAM FREELY ACROSS RURAL AREAS, FIRING EAGERLY AT PALESTINIANS WHO CROSS THEIR PATHS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE ISRAELI MILITARY HAS STEPPED UP THEIR RAIDS ALL ACROSS THE WEST BANK OF PALESTINE. STORIES OF ABJECT CRUELTY AND TORTURE HAVE EMERGED, AS SOLDIERS AND SETTLERS HAVE TOGETHER ROUNDED UP PALESTINIANS AND, IN AT LEAST ONE CASE, ALLEGEDLY STRIPPED, BLINDFOLDED, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, AND EVEN URINATED ON THEM. MORE THAN 165 PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN KILLED OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS IN THE WEST BANK ALONE, WITH AT LEAST 2,200 ARRESTED THUS FAR.
THIS IS AN ALL-OUT CAMPAIGN OF REVENGE AGAINST PALESTINIANS. BUT IF WE RESIST THE TRAP OF COMPARTMENTALIZATION, WE CAN SEE THAT IT IS ALSO SOMETHING ELSE: IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ISRAEL TO INTENSIFY ITS COLONIZATION EFFORTS ACROSS THE WEST BANK, EXPEDITING PLANS SET IN MOTION LONG AGO.
PALESTINIANS UNDERSTAND THAT ALTHOUGH THE WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP ARE SEPARATED GEOGRAPHICALLY, THEY ARE NONETHELESS PART OF THE SAME STORY. THEY SERVE AS DIFFERENT BATTLEFIELDS IN THE SAME ZIONIST WAR TO COLONIZE THE ENTIRETY OF PALESTINE. THE ASSAULTS ON PALESTINIANS EVERYWHERE FORM A CONTINUUM THAT CAN BE TRACED STRAIGHT BACK TO THE NAKBA.
WHILE MANY ISRAELIS DENY THAT THE NAKBA EVEN HAPPENED, THE ISRAELI RIGHT NOT ONLY RECOGNIZES IT BUT IS ALSO UNABASHEDLY AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY IN FAVOR OF ITS MONSTROUS ETHNIC CLEANSING CAMPAIGNS AND CALLS FOR THEIR REPLICATION. IN SALFIT, THE CAPITAL OF PALESTINIAN OLIVE OIL PRODUCTION, SETTLERS ARE ATTACKING OLIVE FARMERS IN THEIR GROVES, THEN LEAVING BEHIND FLYERS THREATENING THE FARMERS WITH A “GREAT NAKBA” SHOULD THEY NOT LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND HEAD TO JORDAN. IN MASAFER YATTA, SETTLERS HAVE BEEN RAIDING MULTIPLE PALESTINIAN COMMUNITIES, BEATING AND TORTURING PALESTINIANS, ISSUING ULTIMATUMS TELLING RESIDENTS TO LEAVE WITHIN 24 HOURS OR BE KILLED AND HAVE THEIR HOMES BURNED DOWN. COLLECTIVELY, THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN AS PREDICTABLE AS THEY HAVE BEEN HORRIFYING: SINCE OCTOBER 7, 828 PALESTINIANS, INCLUDING 313 CHILDREN, HAVE BEEN EXPELLED FROM OVER 13 COMMUNITIES IN AREA C.
THESE ACTIONS DID NOT SUDDENLY COMMENCE IN OCTOBER, HOWEVER; INSTEAD, THEY REPRESENT A CULMINATION OF EFFORTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES TO STRENGTHEN THE SETTLEMENT MOVEMENT AND TO EMBED SETTLER VOICES INTO THE HIGHEST ECHELONS OF THE ISRAELI REGIME. LEADERS SUCH AS ITAMAR BEN GVIR, THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY, HAVE OPENLY CALLED FOR THE ANNEXATION OF THE WEST BANK. HIS DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO BEEN ARMING SETTLERS WITH MILITARY-GRADE RIFLES, EFFECTIVELY GIVING THEM CARTE BLANCHE TO DO AS THEY PLEASE AND SEIZE AS MUCH LAND AS THEY CAN.
SETTLER AND STATE VIOLENCE
IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT SETTLERS IN THE WEST BANK DO NOT ACT ALONE. THEY ENJOY THE SUPPORT AND PROTECTION OF THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY. IN SUCH A CONTEXT, THERE IS NO FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SETTLER VIOLENCE AND STATE VIOLENCE. THE SETTLERS CANNOT SUSTAIN THEMSELVES WITHOUT THE CONSTANT FLOW OF MONEY, RESOURCES, AND SOLDIERS PROVIDED BY THE ISRAELI REGIME AND BY INTERNATIONAL AID AND POLITICAL SUPPORT. THEY WOULD, MOREOVER, NOT FEEL SO EMBOLDENED TO COMMIT THEIR ATROCITIES IF THEY WEREN’T ESCORTED TO THEIR VICTIMS’ HOUSES BY ARMED TROOPS. IT IS NOT MERELY A QUESTION OF COMPLICITY OR INACTION ON THE PART OF THE SOLDIERS—THEY ALSO PARTAKE IN THE VIOLENT CAMPAIGNS.
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2023 TO OCTOBER, OVER 270 PALESTINIANS HAD BEEN KILLED, THE MAJORITY OF THEM REFUGEES FROM THE NAKBA. RAIDS AND INCURSIONS HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON REFUGEE CAMPS IN JENIN, TULKARM, JALAZONE, AND OTHERS, WHICH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HUBS OF RESISTANCE. ON OCTOBER 22, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SECOND INTIFADA, THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE BOMBED THE WEST BANK, REDUCING A MOSQUE IN THE JENIN REFUGEE CAMP TO RUBBLE.
THESE REFUGEE CAMPS HAVE HAUNTED THE ISRAELI REGIME FOR DECADES. THEY ARE LIVING PROOF OF THE CRIMINALITY OF 1948 AND THE DESTRUCTION OF PALESTINIAN SOCIETY. THEY ARE SYMBOLS OF STEADFASTNESS, OF HOPE, CREATING NEW GENERATIONS OF RESISTANCE.The Israeli regime understands this dynamic. It, too, views its activities in the West Bank as yet another front in the colonization of Palestine: the ultimate objective being the completion of the Nakba, from river to sea.
The events unfolding over the past few weeks threaten to be merely a prelude. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority is unwilling to advocate for its people, using its weaponry and armored vehicles to repress critics and crack down on youth trying to defend their communities. In light of its lack of legitimacy in the eyes of most Palestinians, a PA confrontation with Israel or the international community is out of the question. After all, Israel and the international community are the only ones prolonging its survival.Ultimately, the expulsions—many would even say, ethnic cleansing—taking place in the West Bank represent the true face of Israel’s colonial ambitions. Encouraged by the unfolding genocide in Gaza, and emboldened by the world’s silence, there is no need to equivocate anymore. The endgame of Zionism has never been quite so clear. What’s left to be determined now is what we will do to stop it.