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| As Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas continue their conflict, Israel conducts airstrikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023. A United Nations bus navigates past a damaged building. |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday (November 12) that there was “no reason” why patients at Gaza’s besieged Shifa hospital could not be safely evacuated, but he claimed Hamas militants were “Do whatever you can to keep them out of harm’s way.”
The Israeli leader told the media that 100 patients had been taken out of the hospital and tens of thousands of Palestinians living nearby had safely evacuated the area along “safe corridors,” Head south out of Gaza City.
But fighting between Israel and Hamas continues near Gaza’s largest hospital, with hospital director Abu Salmiya saying the facility is surrounded by clashes.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told the media that the United States “does not want to see a crossfire in a hospital where innocent people and patients receiving medical care are caught in the crossfire, We have had active consultations with the Israel Defense Forces on this matter.”
Due to reduced fuel supplies, some treatment of patients at the hospital was forced to be suspended, resulting in the death of two infants and the death of dozens of other patients at risk.
Netanyahu gave no details but said Israel “just offered fuel to Shifa hospital” but “they refused”.
Meanwhile, Sullivan told the media that the United States is “actively engaging” with Israeli, Qatari, and Egyptian officials to release nearly 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including nine Americans and one foreign national with U.S. employment rights.
Sullivan said President Joe Biden “will not rest until a deal is reached to get every hostage home safely.” The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week Six spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani about the war in Gaza, including efforts to free the hostages.
Netanyahu told the media, “We are doing everything we can … and there are many things I can’t say” to free the hostages.
Israeli leaders continue to reject U.S. proposals to let the Palestinian Authority administer the territories of Gaza and the West Bank after the war ends.
Netanyahu said control must be with “reestablished civilian authorities” because the Palestinian Authority is “unwilling to fight Hamas” and “they teach their children to hate Israel.”
Netanyahu again refused to discuss Israel’s responsibility for failing to have prior knowledge of Hamas’s shocking attack on the Jewish state on October 7, which killed some 1,200 people in Israel.
“There will be enough time (for such discussions) after the war,” Netanyahu said.
Former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told Channel 12 that taking control of Gaza’s hospitals will be key to Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas. But it required “a lot of tactical creativity” to do so without harming patients, other civilians, and Israeli hostages.
Israeli military officials accuse Hamas of hiding weapons in tunnels beneath hospitals and setting up command centers beneath Shifa and other hospitals, making the buildings legitimate military targets. Hamas and hospital staff deny this.
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday denied firing on Shifa and accused Hamas of firing rockets at Israeli forces that eventually hit the hospital.
Elsewhere, the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli tanks came 20 meters away from Gaza City’s Al-Quds hospital, causing a “state of extreme panic and fear” among the 14,000 displaced people taking refuge there.
Netanyahu reiterated on Saturday that Hamas was responsible for civilian casualties, reiterating long-standing accusations that the U.S.-designated terror group used Gaza civilians as human shields.
The Israeli military said soldiers encountered hundreds of Hamas militants in underground facilities, schools, mosques, and clinics during the fighting in Gaza.
According to Palestinian officials, the Palestinian death toll has steadily increased to more than 11,000 people, about 40% of whom were children.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said a child dies every 10 minutes.
“The situation on the ground is beyond description,” Dr. Tedros said on Friday. “Hospital corridors are crowded with the wounded, sick, and dying; morgues are overflowing with corpses; anesthesia is unavailable for surgeries; tens of thousands of displaced people are taking shelter in hospitals; many families are crowded in overcrowded schools, desperate for food and water.” UN
Humanitarian “If there was a hell on earth today, its name would be northern Gaza,” said Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the ministry.
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