Saturday, 11 November 2023

SURGEON SAYS GAZA'S MAIN HOSPITAL HAS LOST POWER AND IS UNDER CONSTANT FIRE

 A surgeon at Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa, says the facility has run out of water, food and electricity - and that the intensive care unit has been hit

  1. The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from tunnels underneath the medical facility, which Hamas denies
  2. The Israeli military has previously said it does not fire on hospitals - but has today acknowledged "intense fighting against Hamas in the vicinity of the area in question"
  3. Three other major hospitals in the Gaza Strip are also now on the front line of Israel's ground invasion
  4. France's President Macron has told the BBC that Israel must stop killing civilians in Gaza - but the Israeli PM says leaders should condemn Hamas, not Israel
  5. Israel began striking Gaza after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, which saw 1,200 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage
  6. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since - of whom more than 4,500 were children.

  7. What's been going on this morning?

    A plume of smoke hanging above buildings in the Gaza Strip
    Copyright: Getty Images
    Image caption: Smoke rises above the Gaza Strip earlier

    In case you're just joining us, here are the main developments of the day so far.

    At Al-Shifa hospital:

    • A surgeon at Gaza's biggest hospital has told the BBC that the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) has been struck and is damaged. Two patients who were on ventilators have now died, one of whom was a baby, he says
    • The hospital is out of fuel, food, and water, the surgeon said - adding that there is constant shooting and bombardment around the hospital
    • He also said people trying to leave the hospital had been shot at, and some had died
    • We cannot verify what caused any damage to the hospital. Hamas yesterday blamed Israel for an alleged strike on the hospital - but Israel says it does not target hospitals, and blamed a "misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip"
    • When asked about the surgeon's claims this morning about the ICU and about shooting near the hospital, the IDF said it couldn't confirm "specific military activity currently under way", but acknowledged "ongoing intense fighting against Hamas in the vicinity of the area in question"

    In other news:

    • Arab and Muslim leaders are gathering in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
    • It's expected the leaders will spend the day working towards a unified statement to call for an end to the war
    • In London, huge crowds of protesters are expected to take part in a march to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The large Pro-Palestinian demonstration coincides with Armistice Day

  8. In pictures: Israeli assault on Gaza continues

    Much of our recent reporting has focused on Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital. But these images which have reached us give an insight into the situation in the wider Gaza Strip today.

    A older man stands, looking shocked, among the rubble of a house
    Copyright: Getty Images
    Image caption: A man searches the rubble of a house in Khan Younis in the south
    A girl of about seven hugs a toddler, crying. Another young girl sobs behind them
    Copyright: Getty Images
    Image caption: Children cry during the funeral of a family reportedly killed in Israeli bombing on Rafah, also in the south
    A woman and child look out a barred window. Chicken wire that appears to have covered the window is in tatters
    Copyright: Getty Images
    Image caption: A woman and child peek out of a damaged window in Rafah
    An IDF soldier walks in front of frame as an enormous bulldozer clears rubble behind him
    Copyright: IDF handout via Reuters
    Image caption: An Israel military bulldozer operates in an undisclosed location
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