A picture has been issued showing the ambulances carrying premature Palestinian babies who have been evacuated from al-Shifa hospital in the process of crossing into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
Egypt’s Qahera news channel appears to have shown four ambulances on the Egyptian side of the border.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society had earlier posted images of the babies being prepared for transportation.
Thirty-one babies were evacuated from al-Shifa hospital. Reportedly three of the babies have remained in Gaza because the families of two of them want them to remain there for “personal reasons”, and because a third is unidentified. A medical spokesperson told the BBC that the babies remaining in Gaza were in a stable condition.
Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein has arrived in Egypt to oversee theplanning of a field hospital in Gaza, the first since the war began on 7 October.
The director general of Gaza hospitals has said the field hospital will be established in Khan Yunis, in the south, “to receive the wounded and the sick”.
The hospital has a 41-bed capacity, according to the Jordanian royal palace. It was accompanied by 170 personnel and 40 trucks of medical aid, the head of medical aid in Gaza said.
Palestinian medics hope field hospitals sent by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will soon follow.
Doctors without Borders (MSF) has said its clinic in Gaza City came under fire this morning, and part of the building was “engulfed by fire” as heavy fighting took place all around it.
A member of staff and 20 family members are in the clinic and in “extreme danger”, the medical organisation said in a statement, as it urgently called for a stop to the fighting in the area.
More than 50 other people, including other MSF staff, are in nearby buildings, it said, as well as a wounded person requiring medical attention.
It said that four of its cats were burned, and a fifth was “broken in two pieces as if crushed by a heavy-duty vehicle or a tank.” It added that “an Israeli tank was seen in the street”.
All the cars and the clinic were clearly identified as being part of the charity, it said, adding:
The cars destroyed are the same that were used to attempt the aborted evacuation of MSF staff and their families on 18 November, resulting in the killing of one of their family members. They were the only means of transport they had to facilitate their evacuation.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has said he is “appalled” by the reports of an attack on the Indonesian hospital in Gaza.
The attack killed 12 people, including patients, he posted to social media on Monday, citing unspecified reports. He added:
Health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital.
Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong in Washington taking over the live blog. You can reach me at leonie.chao-fong@theguardian.com.
The African Union (AU) has said that Israel’s response to Hamas’s massive attack last month was “inexcusable”, warning that civilian casualties would fuel further “extremism”.
AU chairman, Azali Assoumani, at a press conference in Berlin, said:
The acts (of Hamas) are reprehensible... but the response is inexcusable.
Imagine a child who has seen his mother, who has seen his father killed ... it creates extremism.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has provided an update on the journalists and media workers killed by the war.
CPJ says the conflict has led to the deadliest month for journalists since it first began gathering data in 1992.
As of 20 November, CPJ found:
48 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 43 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.
9 journalists were reported injured.
3 journalists were reported missing.
13 journalists were reported arrested.
The deaths include Bilal Jadallah, director of Press House-Palestine, a non-profit which supports the development of independent Palestinian media. He was killed in his car in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Al Qahera News, and the Cairo-based Youm7.
The communal dining hall in Kibbutz Be’eri – which was devastated during the 7 October Hamas assault – has reopened for the first time, according to Israeli broadcaster, Kann.
Here are more details on the Jordanian field hospital that is being set up in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, according to the AFP news agency:
The field hospital has a 41-bed capacity, the Jordanian Royal Palace said.
Aed Yaghi, head of medical aid in Gaza, said it was accompanied by 170 personnel and 40 trucks of medical aid.
Mohammed Zaqout, director-general of Gaza hospitals, said the field hospital would help ease the pressure on existing health services, but added: “The number of medical personnel is limited and there aren’t (enough) ambulances.”
He said hospitals in the area were experiencing “catastrophic” conditions and could no longer accept women who needed to give birth by caesarean section.
Palestinian medics hope field hospitals sent by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will soon follow.
Israel imposed what it calls a “complete siege” on Gaza during the war, but has recently accepted the delivery of limited supplies via the Gaza border crossing with Egypt.
Cairo, a US ally, has a peace treaty with Israel and the two countries have maintained a blockade on Gaza for years.
Some of the families of those believed to be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza have been speaking in a press conference at the Israeli embassy in London.
Iris Haim spoke about her 28-year-old son Yotam. She said:
We are really worried. As a mother I cannot explain what I feel that my son is not with me. This evil isn’t against Jewish people but it’s against the world. It starts in Israel but it will continue to harm every person in the free world if you do not open your eyes. It is monsters against children.
She told the media: “We lost contact with him at 10.44am that day, and since then we only have the basic clues that he is in Gaza now. He left his room healthy and not wounded, which gave us little comfort. But he has a chronic disease, he needs a vaccine every month.”
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Gaza and Israel.
It is 3.30pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines …
28 premature Palestinian babies that had been evacuated from the al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza have been transported via the Rafah border crossing into Egypt where they will receive further medial aid. Three babies remained in Gaza, two reportedly because of family personal circumstances, and one because their family has not been identified. The move was coordinated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society with the World Health Organization and the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA).
There are reports of heavy fighting around the Indonesian hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip. Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker there, said Israeli tanks were visible from the windows. “You can see them moving around and firing,” he told AP. “Women and children are terrified. There are constant sounds of explosions and gunfire.” Health ministry officials in Gaza say 12 people have been killed, including doctors and patients. The claims have not been independently verified.
Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, on Monday condemned Israel’s reported attack on the Indonesian hospital in Gaza. “The attack is a clear violation of international humanitarian laws. All countries, especially those that have close relations with Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to urge Israel to stop its atrocities,” she said in a statement
Dozens of trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt on with equipment from Jordan to set up a field hospital. Jordan’s state-run media said the hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis would be up and running within 48 hours.
Relatives of some of the estimated 240 people held by Hamas in Gaza urged far-right Israeli lawmakers on Monday not to pursue proposed capital punishment for captured Palestinian militants, saying that even talk of doing so might endanger the hostages. Yarden Gonen, whose sister Romi is among the hostages, told national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and his party colleagues during a parliamentary panel: “It would mean playing along with their mind games. And in return we would get pictures of our loves ones murdered, ended, with the state of Israel and not them [Hamas] being blamed for it. Don’t pursue this until after they are back here. Don’t put my sister’s blood on your hands.”
Israel’s Haaretz says it has been told by a source “involved in the negotiations with Hamas” that the organisation is considering increasing the number of hostages it is willing to release. The newspaper says the source told it that talks were in continuation and that more patience was needed.
Israel’s military has released security camera footage it says shows hostages being brought into al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 7 October after being kidnapped during Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel. The first clip shows a man in shorts and a pale blue shirt being dragged through what looks like an entrance hall by five men. In the second, an injured man in underwear is wheeled in on a gurney by seven men. It has not been possible to verify the footage independently.
Israel’s military has named two more soldiers killed in its campaign against Hamas. It stated that Eitan Dishon and Yanon Tamir were killed during action in the northern Gaza Strip today. The IDF now says it has lost 66 soldiers in total during the war since 7 October. At least 13,000 Palestinians have been killed and 30,000 injured by Israeli strikes across Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Sunday.
Iran on Monday dismissed as “invalid” Israel’s accusations that Yemen’s Houthi rebels were acting on Tehran’s guidance, after the rebels said they had seized what they called an Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea. Israel said the vessel was a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship and described the incident as an “Iranian act of terrorism” with consequences for international maritime security.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will host a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza with foreign ministers from members of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic cooperation.
The World Health Organization has confirmed that the 28 premature babies evacuated from the al-Shifa hospital have arrived safely in Egypt.
In a statement emailed to Reuters, it said “The 28 babies have now safely arrived in Egypt. Three babies still remain at the Emarati hospital [in Gaza] and continue to receive treatment. All babies are fighting serious infections and continue needing health care.”
The IDF has issued an update on the tense situation that continues on Israel’s boundary with Lebanon.
In a message posted to Telegram, Israel’s military said:
Earlier today, a terrorist cell attempted to launch anti-tank missiles in the area of Marwahin in Lebanon. The IDF struck the cell. Additionally, in response to the launches toward Israeli territory earlier today, IDF tanks, a fighter jet, and a helicopter struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanon.
Furthermore, 25 launches were identified from Lebanon toward several locations adjacent to the border. The IDF Aerial Defence Array intercepted a number of the launches and the rest fell in open areas. Moreover, three UAVs were identified striking adjacent to an IDF post. No injuries were reported. The IDF struck the sources of the launches.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Earlier, Israeli journalist Fadi Amun posted a video which he said showed “An IDF post in the north that was hit by Hezbollah rocket fire this morning”. He added that the videos had been cleared for release by the authorities.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has issued an Arabic-language video on social media which shows the transportation of 28 premature babies from Gaza into Egypt for medical aid. The babies, along with three others who have remained in Gaza, were evacuated from the al-Shifa hospital.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here is the video footage released by Israel which it claims shows foreign hostages inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.
AP reports that dozens of trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Monday with equipment from Jordan to set up a field hospital. Jordan’s state-run media said the hospital in the southern town of Khan Younis would be up and running within 48 hours.
Ziad, a 35-year-old Palestinian in Gaza, has been writing a diary for the Guardian during Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Here is an excerpt from today:
Every morning, thousands of people are in the streets looking for what they need: food, medicine, blankets, heavy clothes. I saw a mother screaming at her young son in the middle of the street. It turned out that he got distracted and she had been looking for him for almost an hour.
“How would I find you if you got lost?” she screamed. Other women were calming her down.
These days we hear many stories about parents who lost their children, whether while fleeing or in public places. Most of the evacuating people are in these new areas for the first time, they may have passed by them before, or visited, but knowing the area is really difficult when most people have lost their ability to focus due to fear, stress or lack of sleep.
I remember talking to my friend who had a new baby girl months ago. “I know this will sound scary, but please, write on your daughter’s body all the identification information in marker, just in case,” I said. He was silent for a second, then he told me that he agreed with me.
I have witnessed several times the same situation, a group of boys go out to play with a ball, and the parents, usually fathers, would go out angry and tell them to get back inside. “If a bombing happens now, what will happen to you?! Go inside, immediately.”
Read more of Ziad’s diary from Gaza here: Gaza diary part 23 – ‘Really? The whole world is unable to solve this situation and you think we know the answer?’
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will host a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza with foreign ministers from members of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic cooperation, Reuters reports, citing the RIA news agency.
A powerful rightwing pressure group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), is engineering pledges of unconditional support for Israel’s attack on Gaza by state legislatures across the US.
Alec is promoting a model resolution expressing “support for Israel’s right to pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas”. A version has been accepted by legislatures in at least eight states, including Pennsylvania, Nebraska and North Dakota.
The resolution adopts Israeli claims that Hamas uses “civilians as human shields” and names Iran as giving logistical support to the group.
Some state legislatures have also denounced calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s assault on Gaza. Although state legislatures have limited direct influence over Washington’s policy on Israel, Alec and allied groups have long been instrumental in mobilising political pressure by pushing local legislation and resolutions in support of the Jewish state. They include laws to block and punish support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians.
Read more of Chris McGreal’s report here: Rightwing group pressures states to pass pro-Israel resolutions
A picture has been issued showing the ambulances carrying premature Palestinian babies who have been evacuated from al-Shifa hospital in the process of crossing into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
Egypt’s Qahera news channel appears to have shown four ambulances on the Egyptian side of the border.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society had earlier posted images of the babies being prepared for transportation.
Thirty-one babies were evacuated from al-Shifa hospital. Reportedly three of the babies have remained in Gaza because the families of two of them want them to remain there for “personal reasons”, and because a third is unidentified. A medical spokesperson told the BBC that the babies remaining in Gaza were in a stable condition.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMifWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS93b3JsZC9saXZlLzIwMjMvbm92LzIwL2lzcmFlbC1oYW1hcy13YXItbGl2ZS11cGRhdGVzLWhvc3RhZ2VzLWFsLXNoaWZhLWhvc3BpdGFsLWdhemEtaGFtYXMtYXR0YWNr0gF9aHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL3dvcmxkL2xpdmUvMjAyMy9ub3YvMjAvaXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLXdhci1saXZlLXVwZGF0ZXMtaG9zdGFnZXMtYWwtc2hpZmEtaG9zcGl0YWwtZ2F6YS1oYW1hcy1hdHRhY2s?oc=5
2023-11-20 15:44:00Z
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