Israel besieges al-Quds Hospital

Summary

• More than 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October, although the number has not been updated since contact was lost with key hospitals on Friday. In Israel, the death toll from Hamas's attacks stands at more than 1,200, having been revised downwards.
• WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned of a "dire and perilous" situation in Gaza's hospitals, saying that more patients, including, premature babies are "tragically" dying.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) says Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City "is not functioning as a hospital anymore."
• The WHO says "constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances".
• Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says at least 2,300 people are still inside Al-Shifa, in an update shared by the WHO.
• Gaza's two largest hospitals, Al-Shifa and Al-Quds, have both closed. Israeli snipers continue to fire at anyone near Al-Shifa Hospital, trapping thousands inside.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross has said the conditions under which civilians are evacuating in the Gaza Strip are "precarious and unsafe".
• European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said "pauses" are needed to enable the evacuation of hospital patients who need urgent medical care.

10:29pm

Al-Ahli now the 'only hospital in all of Gaza City': Doctor

Surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta spoke to Al Jazeera from Al-Ahli hospital, which he said was now the only operating hospital in all of Gaza City after al-Shifa and al-Quds were forced to almost completely close.

"Ever since the collapse of Shifa Hospital, we have become the only functioning Hospital in Gaza City," he said.

Too close and too cold, premature babies in grave peril at Gaza's Al Shifa hospital

"If you recall, this is the hospital that was targeted initially by the Israelis at the beginning of the war and so parts of the hospital were damaged," he said, referring to the October 17 blast at the hospital. Israel has denied it was behind that explosion, which Palestinian health officials said killed over 470 people.

"After the collapse of al-Shifa, we turned the forecourt and the grounds of the hospital into a field hospital," he said. "We have over 500 wounded here. There's only three surgeons here and two operating rooms".

"We've been having to perform excruciating painful procedures on the wounds of the patients to stop them becoming infected with no analgesia or anesthetic," he said. "Because we have such limited supplies and we're keeping them for the most life saving surgery."

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9:30pm

Netanyahu warns Hezbollah against expanding attacks: Al Jazeera

9:00pm

Jordan rejects plans for Israel to create security zones in Gaza

8:50pm

Lives lost due to lack of medical capabilities: al-Ahli hospital doctor: Al jazeera

7:54pm

Director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza issues warning

7:40pm

14 overnight raids in the occupied West Bank: Al Jazeera

There were around 14 raids overnight in the occupied West Bank, a little bit down on the average of about 40 a night since 7 October, but still attacks of serious consequence.

Most notably, this time, because of the death of  Issa Ali Abdel Moneim al-Qadi al-Tamimi, who was driving past a building that was being raided by the Israeli military.

There were also 50 arrests overnight, which means more than 2,500 Palestinians have been arrested since 7 October, and they're in administrative detention, which means they can be held without trial or charge indefinitely.

6:50pm

Amnesty urges EU leaders to call for ceasefire

6:00pm

Palestine PM Shtayyeh urges UN, EU to 'parachute aid' into Gaza

5:36pm

According to reports by Al Jazeera, here are the major developments in the past few hours,:

• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that a Palestinian man was killed during the latest Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank.
• About 650 patients, 500 healthcare workers, and an estimated 2,500 displaced people remain inside al-Shifa Hospital, says Mohammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza.
• UN compounds across Asia lowered the blue and white UN flag to half-mast to honour its workers who have died during the war on Gaza.
• Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet and former defence minister, has rejected calls for the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• More than 30 Brazilians who had been trapped inside Gaza for weeks have crossed the border into Egypt.
• The Israeli army says it continued its military raids in the Shati refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City.
• US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has not ruled out the option of additional strikes on Iran-linked groups unless attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria cease.
• Israel approved the closure of the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel.
• The Israeli army says rocket sirens sounded in several cities in northern Israel after two mortar rounds were launched from southern Lebanon.
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israel's navy struck one of its facilities in southern Gaza despite sharing coordinates with warring parties.

4:50pm

'Global day of mourning' as UN remembers killed UNRWA workers
Juliette Touma, the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that today was a "global day of mourning" as the UN remembers its members who were killed in the war.

More than 100 UNRWA workers have died since 7October, Al Jazeera reports.

UN observes minute's silence for 101 staff killed in Gaza

Touma explained that given the Gaza siege and the war, UNRWA is being hit "from different directions" as close to 800,000 people take shelter at UN facilities, which are also coming under attack.

"More than 60 [facilities] have been impacted, Most recently one of our guest houses where we have staff sleeping and staying in the Gaza Strip received three direct hits yesterday morning and we were very very lucky because it was just an hour and a half after our staff left," Touma said.

3:59pm

Six premature babies and nine patients have died since electrical shortages began affecting al-Shifa Hospital several days ago, Gaza's health ministry says.

3:45pm

UN building in southern Gaza damaged in Israeli attacks: UNRWA
An UNRWA guesthouse in Rafah suffered "significant damage" on Sunday as a result of naval attacks from Israeli forces, the UN agency has said, Al Jazeera reports.

"UN international staff present in Rafah had left the building 90 minutes before the strike. No casualties were reported among the staff though the guesthouse was severely damaged," UNRWA said in a statement.

2:55pm

'Meaningful' pauses in Gaza fighting needed: EU
"It is urgent to define and respect humanitarian pauses," Janez Lenarcic, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels, reports Al Jazeera.

EU calls for 'meaningful' pauses in Gaza fighting

"These pauses have to be meaningful," Lenarcic added.

"Fuel needs to get in. As you could see, more than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip stopped working, primarily because of lack of fuel, and fuel is desperately needed."

2:45pm

Renewed fire exchange at Israel-Lebanon border
The Israeli army says rocket sirens sounded in several cities in northern Israel after two mortar rounds were launched from southern Lebanon.

Both projectiles landed in an open area, the military said, adding it responded by shooting at the launch source, Al Jazeera reports.

It is the latest exchange of fire between armed groups and Israeli forces. On Sunday, at least 14 civilians were injured inside Israel by an anti-tank missile launched by Hezbollah. In a separate attack, seven Israeli soldiers close to the border were also wounded.

2:20pm

Israeli attacks intensify in Khan Younis
Within the past thirty minutes, airstrikes have renewed in the eastern part of Khan Younis. This is the third time within the past 24 hours, that the region has been repeatedly targeted.

This time, a residential home belonging to a family has been completely destroyed. The house is a multi-storey building and the owner of the residential home as well as the evacuees who fled Gaza city, were living in the building according to eye witnesses, reports Al Jazeera.

So far it has been confirmed that two people have been killed, multiple injured and many remain under rubble.

1:40pm

Israel approves closure of Al-Mayadeen channel: Report
Israel approved the closure of the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen channel, Israel Broadcasting Authority has reported.

The proposal for shutting down the network was put forward by Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, Al Jazeera reports.

Late on Sunday, after reports over the possible decision to close the network first emerged, its director Nasser al-Laham said that Al-Mayadeen would have continued to broadcast "what ever the cabinet's decision," he was quoted as saying on the channel's website.

1:35pm

Infant death toll in al-Shifa hospital rises to 6: Health ministry
Two patients and a premature baby have died in al-Shifa hospital, Gaza health ministry has said, according to AFP news agency.

Newborns are placed in bed after being taken off incubators in Gaza's Al Shifa hospital after power outage, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza 12 November 2023 in this still image obtained by Reuters

Youssef Abu Rish told AFP the new deaths brought the toll to six premature babies and nine patients since electrical shortages began affecting the hospital several days ago, reports Al Jazeera.

1:23pm

US hints at more air raids unless Iran-linked groups stop attacks
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has not ruled out the option of additional strikes on Iran-linked groups unless attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria cease, reports Al Jazeera.

"These attacks must stop, and if they don't stop, then we won't hesitate to do what's necessary, again, to protect the troops," Austin told reporters at a news conference in Seoul.

12:55pm

Israeli army says raids continue in Gaza's Shati refugee camp
The Israeli army says it continued its military raids in the Shati refugee camp, located on the outskirts of Gaza City.

The military said it found Hamas infrastructures and weapons inside civilian buildings, including in the al-Quds university and in a mosque, reports Al Jazeera.

It also said that it raided the house of a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group where it said it found other weapons.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.

12:40pm

Gantz says this is no time to replace Netanyahu: Report

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet and former Defence Minister, has rejected calls for the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sources close to the politician told the Israel Broadcasting Authority, reports Al Jazeera.

Gantz said that until the country is in the midst of a war, calls to replace the prime minister are "nothing less than crazy," according to the sources.

They added though that Gantz believes there will be a time to investigate and discuss responsibilities over the October 7 attack.

12:30pm

Palestine's economy spirals in the occupied West Bank

The occupied West Bank has been sealed off from Israel since 7 October, reports Al Jazeera. That means Palestinians and their goods and products cannot get into Israel.

It is sort of another form of collective punishment.

Farmers have seen prices collapse because vegetables that they might send to Israel are now only being sold on the local market. Prices have been cut in half and some businesses have shut down.

12:20pm

Israeli bombardment intensifies across the Gaza strip

It's been a very tough night for Palestinians in the Gaza strip, particularly for those living in central Gaza, Nuseirat refugee camp and Khan Younis too, reports Al Jazeera.

At Khan Younis a residential home was attacked and destroyed. But the tragedy of this attack was that the evacuees who had just fled the warzone in the north and come here for safety, were killed inside.

The Nuseirat refugee camp was bombed heavily, a mosque and surrounding neighbouhoods were also destroyed and many people are still under rubble.

In the north, the Jabalia refugee camp which has been a target of bombardment since the beginning of the war, was attacked again and 19 people were killed. So the situation is very dreadful everywhere.

11:36am

Diseases 'running rampant' inside Gaza hospitals
Dr Alice Rothchild, from Jewish Voice for Peace, has told Al Jazeera that there is currently nothing positive about the situation at hospitals in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

"A modern 21st-century hospital needs electricity and power to use all of its instruments and equipment. Without fuel, even the electric generators and ambulances cannot work," she noted.

"Think about the hospital personnel. The staff is exhausted, traumatised. Many of them are getting sick because there are contagious diseases that are now running rampant," she said.

"What's going to happen is that people are going to suffer, and some of them are going to die. They could die slowly with sepsis, infection or gangrene. And some are going to die suddenly when their respirator stops working," she added.

11:30am

More than 60 mosques 'destroyed' across Gaza
According to the Wafa news agency, an Israeli aircraft bombed the al-Salam Mosque in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City in the northern part of the besieged territory.

The destruction of al-Salam Mosque raised to more than 60 the total number of mosques destroyed by Israeli forces since October 7, the report said.

Places of worship qualify for protection as a cultural property under international humanitarian law, reports Al Jazeera.

11:20am

Elderly Palestinian man reported killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that a Palestinian man was killed early on Monday during the latest Israeli raid in al-Hawuz neighbourhood in the city of Hebron.

The Palestinian news agency, Wafa, identified the victim as 65-year-old Issa Ali Abdel Moneim Al-Qadi Al-Tamimi, reports Al Jazeera.

Wafa said Tamimi was driving his vehicle when he was shot in the head by Israeli forces near the Islamic Charitable Society for Orphan Care building.

11:12am

US 'does not want to see firefights' in Gaza hospitals
As hospitals in Gaza are forced to suspend operations due to Israeli bombardment and shortages of fuel and medicines, the US has expressed concern about medical facilities being affected by fighting, reports Al Jazeera.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News's Face the Nation program on Sunday that the US "does not want to see firefights in hospitals where innocent people, patients receiving medical care, are caught in the crossfire" and that it is having "active consultations" with Israel's military about its concerns.

11:02am

UN offices lower flags in memory of colleagues killed in Gaza
UN offices across Asia lowered flags to half-mast on Monday as staff observed a minute's silence in memory of colleagues killed in Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

More than 100 UN employees have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory on October 8.

10:20am

Sounds of heavy gunfire heard as Israeli forces carry out raid near Nablus

Sounds of heavy gunfire were heard across the Balata refugee camp as Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank.

A video posted by Al Jazeera Arabic on X showed the skyline of the outskirts of Nablus as the reported clashes erupted early on Monday.

The occupied West Bank has been subjected to multiple nightly raids, days after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

8:35am

Pro-Iranian fighters reportedly killed in US strikes on Syria

Between six to seven pro-Iranian fighters were reportedly killed after the US carried out a strike in eastern Syria, according to a Fox News correspondent.

Jennifer Griffin quoted a Pentagon source as saying that an Iran-allied safe house was hit in one of the two explosions, reports Al-Jazeera.

"Two hours of secondary explosions seen at second location suggesting large weapons and ammo storage," she added.

7:45am

Al-Shifa staff unable to bury 100 decomposing bodies: Health minister

Gaza's Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila has told the Wafa news agency that the hospital staff of Al-Shifa Hospital are struggling to bury the remains of at least 100 people who were killed in recent days following relentless Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave.

The situation is endangering the health of the hospital workers who also have to deal with accumulating medical waste inside the hospital complex, she said.

Al-Shifa Hospital has already shut its doors to new patients, even as it continues to deal with thousands of refugees who are also taking shelter there, reports Al-Jazeera.

According to reports, Israeli snipers have been firing at anyone near the hospital.

6:04am

WHO warns of 'dire and perilous' situation at Gaza's main hospital

The World Health Organization has warned of a "dire and perilous" situation at Gaza's main medical facility, Al-Shifa Hospital, which is experiencing a near-complete power outage and shortages of food and water.

WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "constant gunfire and bombings" in the area around the hospital have "exacerbated the already critical circumstances" and that Al-Shifa "is not functioning as a hospital anymore".

The Israeli military has reiterated it is "ready to help" evacuate the dozens of vulnerable newborn babies being cared for at the site to another hospital.

Al-Shifa's head of surgery, Dr Marwan Abu Saada, has told the BBC that a third premature newborn baby has died because of a lack of power.

Dozens of other newborns are currently not receiving the care they need and the surgeon said he is "afraid we are going to lose the lives of all [the] babies".

Also speaking to the BBC earlier, Israeli president Isaac Herzog repeated an allegation that Hamas has its headquarters underneath Al-Shifa. Hamas denies using the hospital for military purposes.

Dr Abu Saada also described Israel's allegation as a "big lie" and issued an "open invitation" to its nearby forces to come and inspect the building.

5:55am

Hamas-run health ministry says more than 2,000 people inside Al-Shifa

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has issued an update about the situation at Al-Shifa, saying there are at least 2,300 people still inside the hospital.

The numbers have been provided to the World Health Organisation, who shared them in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The update says there are between 600 and 650 inpatients in the hospital, as well as 200 to 500 health workers and around 1,500 displaced people who have sought shelter.

It adds that the lack of power, water, and food at the site is "putting lives at immediate risk".

The WHO repeats its call for an "immediate ceasefire" and the "active protection of civilians and health care".

5:30am

Al-Shifa doctor says 'not a single [Hamas] fighter' inside hospital

There is not a "single [Hamas] fighter" inside Al-Shifa, the hospital's head of surgery has told the BBC.

Israel has previously accused Hamas of operating an underground command centre beneath the site of Gaza's largest hospital, which Hamas denies.

Asked whether Hamas was operating inside Al-Shifa, Dr Marwan Abu Saada calls the allegation a "big lie".?

"This is an open invitation to the international community and even to the Israelis. They are in close proximity to Shifa hospital. Why not enter Shifa hospital and see?" he said.

Dr Marwan Abu Saada said, "We are civilians. I am a doctor-surgeon. We have medical staff, we have patients, and displaced people. Nothing else."

"We are civilians. I am a doctor-surgeon. We have medical staff, we have patients, and displaced people. Nothing else," he adds.

In recent days the area around Al-Shifa in northern Gaza has experienced heavy fighting, with Israel being accused of attacking the hospital directly.

The Israeli military says it is operating in the area of the hospital, but denies attacking the facility.

5am

IDF says Hamas preventing Al-Shifa staff from collecting fuel

Earlier this evening, the Israeli military gave a media briefing that touched on the situation at Al-Shifa hospital and its military operations in the area, reports Al Jazeera.

IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel had "opened designated routes" from hospitals in northern Gaza to the south and was speaking with officials at Al-Shifa to offer "assistance to safely transport the sick and the wounded".

He added that Israel was "ready to help" evacuate the dozens of babies being cared for at the site to another hospital.

Rear Adm Hagari also repeated an allegation that the IDF had left 300 litres of fuel close to the hospital overnight but that Hamas had been "preventing and placing pressure on the hospital" not to collect it.

In the last few hours, Hamas has issued a statement denying that it has stopped officials at the hospital from collecting the fuel.

The site's head of surgery has also told the BBC that 300 litres of fuel would only be enough to power its generators for half an hour.

4:40am

US conducts strikes on Iranian sites in Syria

The US says it has carried out air strikes on two Iranian bases in south eastern Syria, following recent attacks against its own military personnel in Syria and Iraq.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the attacks were carried out against sites "used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups".

In a statement, he says: "The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively.

"The President has no higher priority than the safety of US personnel, and he directed today's action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests."

On Wednesday, the US launched a "self-defence strike" on what it said was a weapons storage used by the IRGC and its affiliates in the Maysulun region of eastern Syria.

4:29am

Fuel offered by Israel would last half an hour, says Al-Shifa doctor

The 300 litres of fuel offered by Israel to Al-Shifa would provide power for just half an hour, a doctor at the hospital has told the BBC.

The lack of fuel has led to a near-complete electricity outage at the hospital in recent days.

The hospital's head of surgery, Dr Marwan Abu Saada, says Al-Shifa typically uses 24,000 litres of fuel a day to run its generators.

Even with only one generator running, the hospital still requires 9,000 to 10,000 litres, he says.

"[The 300 litres] means nothing. This will run our generator just for half an hour," he said.

Dr Abu Saada says the hospital's intensive care unit and surgical theatre are now running entirely on solar energy.

The lack of power means the hospital has been unable to provide renal dialysis to its 45 patients requiring kidney treatment for two days because of a lack of power.

Over the last 30 days, Al-Shifa workers have had to dig four mass graves for unknown patients, while another 100 dead bodies are currently lying in the open outside its emergency department.

"This is a source of outbreak and infection," he says. "This is a disaster."

3:30am

WHO says situation 'dire and perilous' after re-establishing contact with Al-Shifa

The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier today that it had lost communication with contacts at the site, and this evening Doctors Without Borders said it had been unable to contact its own staff there since last night (see our last post).

However, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has now said the body has been able to re-establish contact.

"@WHO has managed to get in touch with health professionals at the Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza," he said in a post on social media.

But he added that "constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances" and that the "number of patient fatalities has increased significantly"."Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore," he said.

He said the situation was "dire and perilous".

"The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair."

3am

Doctors Without Borders says no contact with Al-Shifa since last night

More now from the situation at Al-Shifa. Doctors Without Borders says it has been unable to get in touch with its staff in the hospital since last night.

In a post on X, the aid group adds that colleagues in Gaza have reported that "hostilities around Al-Shifa have not stopped".

Al-Shifa is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. Several reports of fighting around the hospital have emerged over the past two days. Thousands of people are still inside the complex, reports Al Jazeera.

The BBC has not been able to get through to contacts in the hospital either.

2:30am

'An unbearable human tragedy is unfolding in front of our eyes,' says Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for the "protection of civilians in Gaza trapped in fighting, whether they are trying to evacuate or staying where they are".

It said that hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas were taking place in populated areas and "around hospitals".

Palestinians fleeing north Gaza move southward as Israeli tanks roll deeper into the enclave, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip November 10, 2023. Photo: Reuters

"An unbearable human tragedy is unfolding in front of our eyes," it said, adding staff were getting calls from people "afraid to open their door for fear of getting killed and pleading to help them reach safety".

It added that the southern Gaza Strip – where Palestinians are fleeing to escape the fighting – is "not equipped" for the waves of people moving there. The Red Cross said humanitarian aid entering the area was "largely insufficient" and refugees "lack essentials like shelter, food, water, and hygiene."

The situation is "rapidly approaching a humanitarian disaster," it added.

2am

Gaza death toll reaches 11,180, says Hamas government

The death toll in Gaza since the current conflict began has now reached 11,180, according to the Hamas government in the territory, reports Al Jazeera.

The latest set of figures said the dead included 4,609 children and 3,100 women, while another 28,200 people have been injured.