Security Council calls for pause amid Israel assaults on Gaza hospitals - Day 40 as it happened

Ahram Online , Wednesday 15 Nov 2023

The Israeli army raided Gaza's largest hospital, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity. Accounts of brutality and terror unfold from inside the hospital while the UNSC voted for a "sufficient number of days pause".

An injured Palestinian man is rushed into the Al-Aqsa Hospital following the Israeli bombardment of
An injured Palestinian man is rushed into the Al-Aqsa Hospital following the Israeli bombardment of in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip on November 15, 2023. AFP

 

23:25 Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya said that his country abstained from supporting the humanitarian pause resolution at the Security Council because it lacks a call for an immediate ceasefire. 

"Humanitarian pauses are not and cannot be a replacement for a ceasefire, or even a truce. As the old saying goes, the mountain has labored and brought forth a mouse," Nebenzya said.

22:46 The United Nations security council has voted to adopt a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza, and greater efforts to allow humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory.

Twelve nations voted for the resolution, with three abstentions, including the US and UK. 

Russia has also abstained as it "ceasefire" amendments failed to rally need support, as the United States, Israel’s backing ally, objects to any mention of a ceasefire.

With no votes against, security council president Zhang Jun announced the resolution had passed.

Shortly before the meeting, the permanent observer of Palestine to the UN, Riyad Mansour issued a scathing two-page letter elaborating on Israel's "grave breach of international humanitarian law” by raiding the Al-Shifa hospital.

"Israeli soldiers attacked Al-Shifa, terrorizing thousands of civilians who sheltered alongside patients and medical staff. Israeli soldiers raided hospital premises, ransacking rooms and destroying equipment, beating medical staff and forcing them to leave their patients," reads the text.

 

21:58 Egypt condemned, in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli occupation forces' shelling of the vicinity of the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza, leading to injuries among civilians and medical staff.

Egypt deemed it "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law,' and called on the international community to play its role in demanding the cessation of these violations.

21:05 The health ministry in Gaza said the Israeli military did not find any weapons when it stormed the Palestinian Al-Shifa hospital.

"The occupation forces did not find any (military) equipment or weapons in the hospital. Essentially we don't allow this (weapons in a hospital)," said Munir al-Bursh, health ministry director, in a statement.

The Israeli army claimed to have found military equipment during their hospital raid but didn't have too much to show to proove it. 

The army showcased a photo with few hand grenades, mobile phones, communication devices, a box of dates, booklets, two versions of the Quran, a rosary as evidence.

In The video material, Israel so far tonight shows few bullet proof vests, three hand grenades, some CDs, a handgun, a laptop, a rucksack, and a few knives.

In response, Bassem Naim, a leader in the Hamas movement,  dismissed Israel's presentation as "ridiculous and worthless," suggesting that the alleged weapons might have been planted by the occupation army.

He labeled the Israeli allegations regarding Al-Shifa Hospital as a farce and emphasized that the enemy failed to substantiate their claims made over weeks, in an interview on Al Jazeera.​

Israeli army have invated Al Rantisi Hospita under the same claims and on Tuesday it released a video where its spoksperson points to a random calendar as "evidence" of a captives guards's list with he said "terrorists' names". But the only thing on that "list" are the days of the week, Saturday to Friday, in arabic.

In the video that went viral on social media, literally Israeli occupation army claims that a wall calendar, a bag of diapers and a toilet were proof that Hamas was using the basement of the Rantisi hospital as command post.

20:50 Qatar urged an international investigation into Israeli raids on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, denouncing as a "war crime" Israel's latest attacks inside Al-Shifa hospital.

The Qatari foreign ministry in a statement called for "an urgent international investigation" including by the United Nations to look into "the targeting of hospitals by the Israeli occupation army".

20:20 At least 50 civilians were killed and dozens more were injured, in an Israeli strike on a mosque housing hundreds of displaced in Sabra neighbourhood in western Gaza, Al Qassam Brigades reported.

20:00 The Israel occupation army orders residents of some neighborhoods of Khan Yunis, situated in the southern Gaza to evacuate their homes.

19:10 Israeli airstrikes struck a mosque in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, located south of Gaza City. Dozens killed.

18:50 The US Navy shot down a drone from Yemen earlier today in the Red Sea, according to an American officials, cited by Reuters.

Yemen's Houthi movement has threatened to target all the Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait in response to its deadly war on the Gaza Strip.

In a broadcast speech, Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi said on Tuesday “Our eyes are open to constantly monitoring and searching for any Israeli ship” in the Red Sea, especially the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Houthis had already fired a large batch of ballistic missiles and a large number of armed aircraft towards Israel in separate operations since the Israeli war on Gaza began.

18:49 The death toll of the Palestinians killed by Israel Gaza rises to al least 11,500 including 4,710 children, the government in Gaza announced.

18:45 White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the US did not give the green light for Israel to conduct its military operation around the Al-Shifa hospital.

"We did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital," Kirby told reporters adding that this was in the same way the US does not give OKs to Israel's other military operations.

Kirby said these were Israeli plans executed in accordance with its own established procedures, and that the US does not expect to be informed by Israel prior to specific military operations.

18:40 A journalist trapped inside Gaza's largest hospital told AFP on Wednesday that Israeli troops had supposedly pulled out from the building after a nightlong invasion, yet this information remains unverified. 

"The Israeli artillery are still at the gates of the hospital and they have full control over the facility," an Al Jazeera journalist reported.

The Israeli army spokesman also said that the forces are still conducting a search within the hospital, looking for weapons and other materials.

18:25 President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the need to prevent escalation of the Israeli war on Gaza, during a meeting with  French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

El-Sisi and highlighted Egypt's efforts for a ceasefire, aid delivery, and evacuations. 

17:56 France expresses “very serious concern” about Israel’s operation inside the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the French foreign ministry said in a statement, reported by AFP.

It said the country recognised “the absolute necessity for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, which particularly provides for the protection of hospital infrastructure.”

17:45 After four failed attempts, the U.N. Security Council is trying for a fifth time to vote later today on a draft resolution calling for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable aid access."

It also would demand that "all parties" comply with international humanitarian law that requires protection for civilians, calls for special protections for children, and bans hostage-taking.

But the draft, proposed by Malta makes no mention of a ceasefire.

The 15-member council has been paralyzed since the Israeli war began by its internal divisions. This is especially the case between China and Russia, which want an immediate ceasefire, and the United States, Israel’s backing ally, that objects to any mention of a ceasefire.

Faced with the council's inability to act, the UN General Assembly on October 27 adopted with a large majority a nonbinding text calling for an "immediate humanitarian truce."

"I know we are all disappointed about the inaction of the Council in the past 40 days," China's UN ambassador Jun Zhang said Wednesday.

This is the summary of the day so far..

Israeli occupation troops invaded Al-Shifa hospital early on Wednesday opposing not retalliation and found no trace of resistance fighters nor captives inside the facility, as claimed before the operation. 

Hamas said Israel allegations are “nothing but a continuation of the lies and cheap propaganda," and called for the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to secure a safe corridor for patients, medical staff and displaced families trapped in the facility to leave.

Ministry of Health reports Israeli forces barricading in Al-Shifa, using staff and displaced people as shields and interrogating dozens of stripped, blindfolded people.

UNRWA warns against worsening conditions for displaced Palestininas in Gaza, citing concerns about cholera in winter.

Negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt sought a captives swap deal between Hamas and Israel, proposing the release of civilians and a three-day ceasefire.

Various international voices, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UNICEF, condemned the Israeli war in Gaza, urging a halt to the indiscriminate killing and emphasizing the dire humanitarian crisis.

Israeli forces conduct widespread detentions in the West Bank.

Israel's Knesset passes a law that enables the granting of honorary citizenship to fallen non-citizen troops in the war confirming earlier media reports that Israeli military has purportedly resorted to recruiting foreign mercenaries, with a significant number hailing from various European nations.

17:41 The Ministry of Health told Al Jazeera that the Israeli occupation forces are barricading themselves in the lower floors of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and are using the hospital staff and displaced people as human shields.

Meanwhile, Al-Arabiya correspondent said the Israeli army blew up the hospital’s basement during the storming.

Back in 1983, when Israel was still ruling Gaza, the Occupation Forces built a basement/bunker and an underground operating room beneath the hospital.

17:20 "The situation for many people has become more desperate," the. UNRWA says.

As winter weather creeps in, thousands of displaced people in Gaza now forced to live outdoors- face worsening conditions each and every day.

"The spread of cholera in these conditions would be absolutely devastating," the UN agency added.

16:55 Israeli forces also attacked a number of medical and nursing staff inside Al-Shifa Hospital, the Gaza government’s media office says.

"They forced them to take off their clothes, insulted and cursed at them. They asked medical staff to leave their stations, so they could interrogate them under the threat of weapons," the media office said.

The office also said Israeli soldiers expelled a number of children and some patients, "depriving them of treatment and leaving them to face the threats of bombings, snipers and deadly drones."

16:30 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the Israeli army entered Al-Shifa Hospital despite requests to refrain, saying "there is no place we will not reach."

Israeli alleged that Shifa hospital, the main medical facility in the besieged Gaza was partly being used by the Palestinian resistance group as a command center and that captives were being held there. The US has backed such claims.

However, Hamas and the medical corps at the hospital categorically denied it, saying they are "nothing but a continuation of the lies and cheap propaganda, through which [Israel] is trying to give justification for its crime aimed at destroying the health sector in Gaza."

The Israeli allegations have been proven to be false as Israel stated that there is no information confirming the presence of captives inside. Israel also reported that four resistance fighters died in a clash "outside" the hospital, saying that "there had been no fighting inside the hospital."

Muhammad Zaqout, the director of hospitals at the health ministry, further corroborated the falsification by Israel. He informed Al Jazeera that "not a single bullet" was fired in resistance to the Israeli attack because "there are no individuals resisting or being detained inside."

Israeli forces interrogating dozens of stripped, blindfolded people, Al Jazeera reported. A journalist inside the hospital working with the AFP news agency said Israeli soldiers were interrogating people, among them patients and doctors.

Another witness inside the hospital told the BBC’s correspondent that soldiers had entered the complex and “fired a smoke bomb that caused people to suffocate.”

The Israeli forces then went room to room, floor by floor, questioning both staff and patients and were accompanied by Arabic speakers. Over loudspeakers, the occupation army asked all men between the ages of 16 and 40 to leave the hospital buildings and go to the hospital courtyard. Israeli troops installed a scanning and sensor device and asked the men to pass through it.

15:30 Israel does not agree to the latest version conveyed by the mediators regarding the captives swap deal, according to Al Arabiya.

Qatari mediators were on Wednesday seeking to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of around 50 civilian captives from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire.

"The mediators know that we want to release a “much larger” number than 50 captives held by Hamas", an Israeli source said as reported by Al Arabiya.

15:15 Israel's Knesset passes a law that enables the granting of honorary citizenship to fallen non-citizen troops.

The decision seems to confirm information punlished earlier by the Spanish media that Israeli military has purportedly resorted to recruiting foreign mercenaries, with a significant number hailing from various European nations.

Among these foreign fighters is a notorious Spanish mercenary, known to have affiliations with the neo-Nazi movement and having previously seen action in Ukraine.

This strategy involves utilizing these specialized mercenaries in hit-and-run operations and guerrilla warfare on the ground, while the occupying Israeli soldiers seek refuge in their tanks. 

14:30 The latest captives swap deal negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Qatari and Egyptian officials, are currently underway.

According to Reuters, the proposed deal involves the release of approximately 50 civilian captives from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire.

Coordinated with the US, the negotiation also includes Israel releasing Palestinian women and children from its jails and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza. If finalized, this would be the largest release of captives held by Hamas since 7 October.

The number of Palestinian women and children that Israel would release from its jails as part of the current agreement under discussion remains undisclosed.

According to Reuters, Hamas has agreed to the general terms of the deal, but Israel is still in the process of negotiating the specifics.

The Qatari-led negotiations require Hamas to provide a complete list of remaining living civilian captives held in Gaza. While a more comprehensive release of all captives is not currently on the table, the talks represent a significant development in the ongoing crisis.

Israeli officials have not provided an immediate response to the latest negotiations.

13:40 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday urged Israel to end the "indiscriminate killing of Palestinians" in Gaza, in his sharpest criticism of Israel since war against Hamas broke out over a month ago.

13:30 The seventh Saudi relief plane arrived at El-Arish International Airport in Egypt, carrying humanitarian aid including medical supplies with a total weight of 35 tons, in preparation for its transfer to the Gaza Strip.

13:15 The Islamic Jihad Palestinian movement announces the “shooting down of an Israeli drone” in the Gaza Strip.

13:00 Fuel that entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday was "not at all enough", the United Nations agency for supporting Palestinian refugees said.

"This is the equivalent of half a truck! Not at all enough. Much more is needed. Fuel is being used as weapon of war, this must stop," UNRWA said on X, formerly Twitter.

In a separate post, UNRWA confirmed receiving 23,027 litres (6,083 gallons) of fuel, saying it met only "nine percent" of what the agency needs daily to sustain lifesaving work.

12:30 The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday denounced Israel's operation inside Gaza's largest hospital as a "flagrant violation" of international law, demanding world action to protect patients and civilians inside the facility.

The Israeli military's overnight entry into Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital was a "flagrant violation of international law", a statement from the Palestinian foreign ministry said, demanding "urgent international intervention to protect the civilians there".

The UN estimates there are at least 2,300 patients, staff and displaced civilians inside the facility.

Israeli forces have invaded the hospital with large numbers of soldiers and military vehicles, including tanks, armored vehicles, troop carriers, and bulldozers and were preventing anyone from leaving.

11:30 Jawwal, the largest cellular communications network in Palestine, is facing a critical situation as its main data centers and switches in the Gaza Strip are gradually shutting down due to fuel depletion, the network announced.

As the primary provider of various cellular services to the Palestinian people, Jawwal announced that crucial network elements now depend solely on batteries and this is expected to lead to a complete telecom blackout in the coming hours.

11:15 Palestinian Fatah movement denounced the occupation army's incursion into Al-Shifa Hospital as "a blatant act of war crime". They squarely attributed full responsibility to the occupation for the well-being of patients, the wounded, medical personnel, and displaced civilian women and children.

10:50 A fuel truck entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt Wednesday, Al Qahera News reported, in the first such delivery since the Israel war on Gaza began.

An Egyptian source said the fuel would be delivered to the United Nations "to facilitate the delivery of aid after trucks on the Palestinian side stopped operating for lack of fuel".

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that handles Palestinian civil affairs, had said earlier that "UN trucks transporting humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing will be refueled at the Rafah crossing, per US request."

Witnesses at the Egyptian border said two more trucks were waiting to pass through the crossing.

10:45 The head of the UN children's agency decried the "devastating" scenes she witnessed during a visit to war-ravaged Gaza, urging the parties to the conflict to "stop this horror".

"What I saw and heard was devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss, and displacement. Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza's one million children to turn," UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement after visiting, among other things, a hospital in the south of the Palestinian territory.

10:00 Jordan's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned the storming of Israeli forces into Al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday as a violation of international law, particularly the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Jordan added that it holds Israel responsible for the safety of civilians and staff working at the hospital.

9: 30 Israeli occupation forces Wednesday carried out a wide-scale detention campaign in the West Bank, detaining 52 Palestinians, including 15 female university students.
 
Occupation forces have detained more than 2400 Palestinians across the West Bank since 7 October. 
 
Meanwhile, Israeli troops demolished the house of the slain Palestinian youth Khairy Alqam in Ras al-Amud neighbourhood in the town of Silwan, south of the occupied Jerusalem, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
 
Local sources said that large forces from the occupation army stormed the neighbourhood, accompanied by bulldozers, surrounded the family home of Alqam and began demolishing it.
 
Confrontations broke out with the occupation forces in the neighbourhood, where the occupation soldiers assaulted a number of citizens.
 
9:00 29 Palestinians were killed, and others were injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
 
Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, like all other neighbourhoods and residential areas in Gaza City, has been subjected to continuous Israeli bombardment, by land, sea and air, since the start of the Israeli aggression on 7 October.

Israeli occupation forces stormed Gaza's largest hospital Wednesday, targeting what they claimed is a Hamas command centre housed among thousands of ailing and sheltering civilians.

The Israeli army had surrounded Al-Shifa hospital as part of its ground offensive against the besieged strip, claiming Hamas had been operating out of the hospital complex.

Hamas said that the US had effectively given a "green light" for Israel to raid the hospital. The group said it held Israel and US President Joe Biden fully responsible for the assault.

Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians during the war.

 
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