Israel-Hamas war live: WHO says Shifa hospital ‘no longer operational’; US strikes two sites in Syria

In case you missed this before: Three nurses in al-Shifa have been killed, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories says

“Bombarding and armed clashes have intensified around Shifa Hospital in Gaza City since the afternoon of November 11. Critical infrastructure such as oxygen stations, water tanks and wells, cardiovascular facilities and delivery rooms were damaged, and three nurses lost their lives”, United Nations office Report in its latest daily update.

Gaza hospital director Mohammad Zakter said on Sunday that the health ministry had been unable to update the death toll since Friday because medical staff were unable to reach areas hit by Israeli bombardments.

UNOCHA confirmed this in an update on Sunday, writing: “On November 12, Gaza’s Ministry of Health (MoH) did not update casualty figures for the second day in a row after services and communications collapsed at northern hospitals.

The U.S. military carried out airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria involving Iran-backed groups, hitting a training site and a weapons facility, according to the Pentagon and U.S. officials. This is the third time the United States has launched air strikes in eastern Syria in just over two weeks. in retaliation for an increasing number of militant attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a press conference in Riga, Latvia, on August 10, 2022.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the attacks targeted locations near Abu Qama and Mayadeen and were used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as well as Iran-backed militias.

“The President’s top priority is the safety of American personnel, and he directed today’s actions to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel and its interests,” Austin said.

One of the sites also contained weapons storage, a U.S. official said. The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the military operation.

Health officials and people trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital rejected claims on Sunday that Israel was helping to evacuate babies and others, saying fighting continued outside the hospital and incubators were idle, without power and critical supplies, The Associated Press reported. It is also about to be exhausted.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the X social media platform that Shifa had been without water for three days and “no longer operates like a hospital.” Some humanitarian groups told The Associated Press that they were unable to contact rescue centers. Went to the hospital on Sunday.

The last generator ran out of fuel on Saturday, killing three premature babies and four other patients, according to the health ministry.

The World Health Organization said a further 36 babies were at risk of death.

The Israeli military said it placed 300 liters (79 gallons) of fuel overnight near Shifa for an emergency generator to power incubators for premature babies and coordinated the delivery with hospital officials.

There was insufficient fuel to run the generators for an hour, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told Al Jazeera. “It makes a mockery of patients and children,” Chidra said.

This is live coverage from The Guardian Israel and Hamas warwith me, Helen Sullivan.

This morning’s top stories: Health officials and people trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital rejected claims that Israel was helping evacuate babies and others on Sunday, saying fighting continued outside the facility, where the The incubator sits idle, without power and running out of critical supplies.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the X social media platform that Shifa had been without water for three days and “no longer operates like a hospital.” Some humanitarian groups told The Associated Press that they were unable to contact rescue centers. Went to the hospital on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military carried out airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria involving Iranian-backed groups, hitting a training site and a weapons facility, according to the Pentagon and U.S. officials. It was the third U.S. airstrike in just over two weeks. The United States has retaliated against the militants with an increasing number of attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria.

Here are other important recent developments:

• World Health Organization says Gaza’s Shifa hospital ‘No longer operating as a hospital”. “The world cannot stand by while hospitals that are supposed to be safe havens turn into scenes of death, destruction and despair,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced on Sunday that Al-Quds Hospital in the Gaza Strip was “out of service and no longer operational.” “The suspension of services is due to the depletion of available fuel and power outages,” the statement said. Health authorities in Gaza said they could not release the latest casualty statistics in the Gaza Strip “because hospitals were targeted.”

• Hamas said on Sunday it would suspend hostage negotiations because of Israel’s handling of Shifa hospital, a Palestinian official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Israel’s three major television news channels, without citing sources, reported some progress on a deal to release 50 to 100 women, children and the elderly in stages during a three- to five-day pause in fighting.

• Thirty-six babies were at risk of death after Shifa hospital ran out of fuel on Saturday. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht said plans to attempt to evacuate the infants from Shifa hospital were still being developed. On Saturday, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said “we will provide the assistance needed” to evacuate the baby from the hospital.

• 18 Israelis wounded, one seriously, after Iran-backed Hezbollah militia fired anti-tank missiles from southern Lebanon further indications Border conflicts continue to escalate.

• Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader says his armed wing has used new weapons and attacked new targets in Israel, and promised that the front against the sworn enemy would remain active. Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech, his first since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in October, that Hezbollah had “made numerical progress in terms of the number of operations.” Second speech. , the size and number of targets, and the increase in weapon types.”

• Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant warned Hezbollah against escalating fighting along the border. “Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a possible war,” Galante told troops in a video broadcast on an Israeli television channel.

• The U.S. military carried out airstrikes on two locations in eastern Syria that it said were linked to Iran-backed groups. Training sites and weapons facilities were attacked. It marked the third time in just over two weeks that the United States has retaliated against militants amid mounting attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria.

• Biden’s senior Middle East adviser Brett McGurk will visit Israel on Tuesday and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuA U.S. official told Reuters further visits to Brussels, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar were planned.

• The regional directors of UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Health Organization called for “immediate action to stop attacks on health care in Gaza”. They added: “Attacks against medical facilities and civilians are unacceptable and violate international humanitarian and human rights law and conventions… The right to seek medical assistance, especially in times of crisis, should not be denied. “

• National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States does not believe Israel It intends to retake Gaza after continued fighting with Hamas. “This is not our understanding of the Israeli government’s position,” Sullivan said. His words contrasted with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told CNN, “We…are going to do The first thing… [is] “Destroy Hamas. The second thing we have to understand is that there has to be an overwhelming military line beyond Israel.”

• At least seven injured Palestinians arrived on Egyptian territory through the Rafah crossing on Sunday, while 32 Egyptians and 80 foreigners and family members crossed, Egyptian security sources told Reuters. Russians and Poles are said to have crossed the border. Egyptian security sources also told the news agency that at least 80 aid trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt as of Sunday afternoon.