Heavy preventing rages close to essential Gaza hospital as Netanyahu dismisses requires a cease-fire
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City in a single day and into Sunday as floor forces battled Hamas militants close to the territory’s largest hospital, the place well being officers say 1000’s of medics, sufferers and displaced persons are trapped with no electrical energy and dwindling provides.
In a televised deal with on Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected rising worldwide requires a cease-fire except it contains the discharge of all of the almost 240 hostages captured by Hamas within the Oct. 7 rampage that triggered the battle, saying Israel was bringing its “full force” to the battle.
Israel has vowed to finish Hamas’ 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its army capabilities, whereas blaming the militants for the battle’s heavy toll on the two.3 million Palestinians trapped within the besieged territory. But it has come underneath mounting worldwide strain over the plight of civilians.
In Gaza City, residents reported heavy airstrikes and shelling in a single day, together with within the space round Shifa Hospital. Israel, with out offering proof, has accused Hamas of concealing a command put up inside and underneath the hospital compound, allegations denied by Hamas and hospital employees.
“We spent the night in panic waiting for their arrival,” mentioned Ahmed al-Boursh, a resident taking shelter within the hospital. “They are outside, not far from the gates.”
The hospital’s final generator ran out of gas on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of three untimely infants and 4 different sufferers, in keeping with the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. It says one other 36 infants are vulnerable to dying as a result of there’s no electrical energy.
Health Ministry Undersecretary Munir al-Boursh mentioned Israeli snipers have deployed round Shifa, firing at any motion contained in the compound. He mentioned airstrikes had destroyed a number of houses subsequent to the hospital, killing three individuals, together with a physician.
“There are wounded in the house, and we can’t reach them,” he informed Al Jazeera tv in an interview from the hospital. “We can’t stick our heads out of the window.” It was not clear if he was associated to the opposite man with the identical surname.
Israel‘s military said there was a safe corridor for civilians to evacuate from Shifa to southern Gaza, but people sheltering in the hospital said they were afraid to go outside. The military said troops would assist in moving babies on Sunday, and that it was in contact with hospital staff.
It was not possible to independently ascertain the situation in and around the hospital.
The Health Ministry says there are still 1,500 patients at Shifa, along with 1,500 medical personnel and between 15,000 and 20,000 people seeking shelter. Thousands have fled Shifa and other hospitals, but physicians said it’s inconceivable for everybody to get out.
The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service mentioned one other Gaza City hospital, the Red Crescent-run Al-Quds, is “no longer operational” as a result of it has run out of gas. Gaza‘s sole power plant was forced to shut down a month ago, and Israel has barred any fuel imports, saying Hamas would use them for military purposes.
Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Red Crescent, said 6,000 people, including displaced families, patients, and medical staff, remained trapped in the hospital.
Muhammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, said the Health Ministry has been unable to update the death toll since Friday as medics are unable to reach areas hit by Israeli bombardment. “The situation is extremely dire,” he said. “Ambulances are unable to reach people under the rubble.”
With Shifa and other hospitals now inaccessible, people sheltering in Gaza City said they were cut off from emergency care. Heba Mashlah, who was sheltering at a U.N. compound along with thousands of families, said a strike late Saturday killed four people and wounded 15.
“The wounded are bleeding, and no one is able to come and help them,” she said, adding that the dead were buried inside the compound. The U.N. Development Program confirmed one of its compounds was hit. U.N. agencies have not been able to provide services in the north for weeks.
Netanyahu has said the responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas. Israel has long accused the group, which operates in dense residential neighborhoods, of using civilians as human shields.
“I would say the ground offensive that we began is actually reducing the amount of civilian casualties because the population, the civilian population in Gaza, is heeding our call to vacate the territories, the zone of fighting, get out of harm’s approach,” he informed NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
On Saturday, Netanyahu started to stipulate Israel‘s postwar plans for Gaza, which contrast sharply with the vision put forth by the United States.
Netanyahu said Gaza would be demilitarized and that Israel would retain the ability to enter Gaza freely to hunt down militants. He also rejected the idea that the Palestinian Authority, which currently administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, would at some stage control Gaza. Hamas drove the PA’s forces out of Gaza in per week of road battles in 2007.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has mentioned the U.S. opposes an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and envisions a unified Palestinian authorities in each Gaza and the West Bank as a step towards a Palestinian state. Even earlier than the battle, Netanyahu’s authorities was staunchly against Palestinian statehood.
The battle threatens to set off a wider battle, with Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon often buying and selling hearth alongside the border. Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles into Israel on Sunday, and Israel responded with artillery and fighter jets. Israel’s energy firm mentioned employees repairing strains broken in earlier assaults had been wounded, and video footage confirmed two autos on hearth.
The U.S. has additionally pushed for non permanent pauses that might enable for wider distribution of badly wanted assist to civilians within the besieged territory, the place situations are more and more dire.
But Israel has solely agreed to temporary each day intervals throughout which civilians can flee the world of floor fight in northern Gaza and head south on foot alongside two essential north-south roads. Israel is in the meantime placing what it says are militant targets throughout southern Gaza as effectively, usually killing girls and youngsters.
Dozens of wounded individuals, together with youngsters, had been delivered to a hospital in Khan Younis after an Israeli airstrike demolished a constructing within the southern city. Hospital officers mentioned a minimum of 13 individuals had been killed.
The battle has displaced over two-thirds of Gaza‘s inhabitants, with most fleeing south. Egypt has allowed lots of of overseas passport holders and medical sufferers to exit via its Rafah crossing, in addition to the entry of some humanitarian assist.
More than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them girls and minors, have been killed for the reason that battle started, in keeping with the Health Ministry in Gaza, which doesn’t differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 individuals have been reported lacking and are considered trapped or lifeless underneath the rubble.
At least 1,200 individuals have been killed on the Israeli facet, largely civilians killed within the preliminary Hamas assault. Forty-six Israeli troopers have been killed in Gaza for the reason that floor offensive started.
About 250,000 Israelis have been compelled to evacuate from communities close to Gaza, the place Palestinian militants are nonetheless firing barrages of rockets, and alongside the northern border with Lebanon.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem, Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
