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PremiumIsrael-Hamas War LIVE: Israeli troops ordered the evacuation of the Al-Shifa hospital "in the next hour" over loudspeakers on Saturday.
As reported by AFP, they called the hospital's director, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, to instruct him to ensure "the evacuation of patients, wounded, the displaced and medical staff, and that they should move on foot towards the seafront", he told AFP.
Israel has agreed on regular fuel deliveries into the Gaza Strip for the first time since the war began against Hamas last month, marking a significant policy shift. A first consignment of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt late Friday.
Israel has vowed to "crush" Hamas in response to the group's October 7 attack, when it broke through Gaza's militarised border to kill about 1,200 people.
The Israeli army's air and ground campaign has killed 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, according to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
The Israeli troops have kept up their search operation at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital on Saturday. According to the Hamas-ruled Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, 24 patients had died in the space of 48 hours due to the lack of fuel for generators.
Israel has defended its "targeted operation" at Al-Shifa, with the military saying it found rifles, ammunition, explosives, and the entrance to a tunnel shaft at the hospital complex. The United States has stood behind its ally, however, with President Joe Biden this week saying he had asked Israel to be "incredibly careful" in its military moves around Gaza hospitals.
Catch all the LIVE Updates on the Israel-Hamas war here,
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Even as Al-Shifa evacuation continues following Israeli army's orders the Netanyahu government has denied issuing an such order. “It should be emphasized that at no point did the IDF ask to evacuate patients or medical teams," reads a statement from the military.
The army claimed instead that it “responded to the request of the director of Shifa Hospital" to allow those sheltering in the medical facility and who wished to evacuate to leave through “a secure axis".
The statement was in stark contrast to accounts provided to Al Jazeera by the hospital’s supervisor, an health official and a doctor. They said they received a one-hour deadline for evacuation and were forced to leave.
Israeli air strikes on residential blocks in south Gaza killed at least 32 Palestinians on Saturday, medics said, after Israel again warned civilians to relocate as it turns to attacking Hamas in the enclave's south after subduing the north.
Such a move could compel hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from the Israeli assault on Gaza City to move again, along with residents of Khan Younis, a city of more than 400,000, worsening a dire humanitarian crisis.
"We're asking people to relocate. I know it's not easy for many of them, but we don't want to see civilians caught up in the crossfire," Mark Regev, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC on Friday. (Reuters)
On the 44th day of the ongoing conflict, Israel said on Friday that it would permit limited daily fuel shipments into Gaza. The fuel is intended for use by the United Nations and the communication system in the region, AP reported. Here are the top ten updates on the Israel-Gaza War.
1. A US State Department official said that Israel has consented to permit the entry of 140,000 litres (36,984 gallons) of fuel into Gaza every 48 hours via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, AP reported. The initial shipments are anticipated to commence on Saturday, according to the official, who spoke anonymously to share insights into private diplomatic discussions between the US and Israel, AP reported. Read the complete story here.
An Israeli air strike killed five Palestinian fighters and wounded two other people in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, their faction, medics and Israel's military said.
Palestinian media said the attack in Balata, near the northern city of Nablus, appeared to have been carried out by a warplane in what would mark an escalation of Israeli tactics in the West Bank. The military did not immediately confirm that. (Reuters)
Jordan's foreign minister offered blistering criticism Saturday of Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, describing it as “blatant aggression" against Palestinian civilians that threatens to engulf the wider Middle East.
Ayman Safadi's harsh assessment, alleging Israel was committing “war crimes" by besieging the Gaza Strip and cutting off food, medicine and fuel shipments, shows how strained relations have become between Israel and Jordan — which reached a peace deal in 1994. (AP)
As the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has divided the world, a 21-year-old letter of infamous terrorist Osama Bin Laden has gone viral on the internet. In his letter, Osama Bin Laden said that America's support for Israel for occupying Palestine was one of the reasons that led to the 9/11 attack.
The letter was written by the al-Qaida chief, Osama bin Laden after the 2001 attacks. Infamously known as the ‘9/11’ attacks, it was known as the worst terror attack on US soil. The terrorist had tried to justify the terror attacks by linking them among other things, to “support to the oppressive Israelis in their occupation of our Palestine".
In his letter, Osama Bin Laden concluded the letter by saying, “Palestine shall not be seen captive for we will try to break its shackles." He also warned the US that it has to pay for its actions with the blood of Christians.
Israeli troops ordered the evacuation of the Al-Shifa hospital "in the next hour" over loudspeakers on Saturday, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.
They called the hospital's director, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, to instruct him to ensure "the evacuation of patients, wounded, the displaced and medical staff, and that they should move on foot towards the seafront", he told AFP.
US President Joe Biden's top adviser on the Middle East said on Saturday the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas would lead to a surge in the delivery of humanitarian aid and significant pause in fighting in Gaza.
"The hostages are released, you will see a significant, significant change," Brett McGurk said at the IISS Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain. (Reuters)
About 26 Palestinians, mostly children, were killed in an Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis city in south Gaza early on Saturday, the Palestinian news agency WAFA said. (Reuters)
Jordan's foreign minister warned on Saturday the Arab kingdom would do "whatever it takes to stop" the displacement of Palestinians, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
"We will never allow that to happen, in addition to it being a war crime, it would be a direct threat to our national security. We'll do whatever it takes to stop it" Ayman Safadi said at the IISS Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain. (Reuters)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a video of the October 7 incident wherein a Hamas militant is seen capturing an Israeli-Arab citizen.
Militants attacked US military bases in Iraq and Syria on Friday, conducting three strikes on facilities using one-way attack drones that wounded one soldier, two US officials said on the condition of anonymity to provide sensitive details of the strikes.
The US has repeatedly warned the groups to desist and avoid escalating the war between Israel and Hamas into a wider conflict.
The three additional attacks on US military facilities in Iraq and Syria on Friday bring the total number of attacks on US and coalition military facilities in Iraq and Syria to at least 60 since 7 October.
At least 59 service members have been wounded, but the Pentagon has said all were minor injuries and those troops were able to return to duty.
Several healht officials have said that supplies and extra equipment are not enough to save patients.
Last week, the World Health Organization said a dozen children with cancer or blood disorders were safely moved from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan so they could continue their treatment. A surgeon at Shifa Hospital with Doctors Without Borders, said there were about two dozen patients who had recently undergone surgery and were unable to walk.
Amid the war between Isarel and Hamas, long-simmering tensions are erupting in violence and shattering the sense of safety that makes colleges hubs of free discourse. Students on both sides are witnessing acts of hate, leaving many fearing for their safety even as they walk to classrooms.
On campuses around the U.S., students on both sides say they have been subjected to taunts and rhetoric that oppose their very existence since the invasion and the subsequent Israeli assault on Hamas in northern Gaza.
They see it in campus rallies, on anonymous message boards frequented by college students, and on graffiti scrawled on dorms and buildings.
Colleges have been scrambling to restore a sense of security for Jewish and Arab students — and stressing messages of inclusion for diverse student bodies.
Clashes erupted at the University of Michigan after pro-Palestine supporters crashed the gate. Two police officers were injured during the incident. 40 people have been arrested so far. A video posted online showed protesters past police into the administrative building. Then an estimated 200 people entered the building. @BGOnTheScene posted a video on the X platform.
Pope Francis will meet the relatives of the hostages held by Hamam militants and with a group of Palestinian family members in Gaza, according to Reuters.
The meeting will be held in the Vatican on Wednesday. One source said 12 relatives of Israeli hostages would meet the pope early on Wednesday morning before his weekly general audience.
About 240 hostages were taken by Hamas when they stromed into southern Israel on 7 October.
Bahrain's crown prince has called for a hostage trade between Israel and Hamas in a bid to achieve a break in hostilities in Gaza.
"It is a time for straight talking," he said, urging Hamas to release Israeli women and children held hostage in Gaza and for Israel in exchange to release from its prisons Palestinian women and children," Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said.
US President Joe Biden and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed the Hamas hostage situation and other developments in Gaza in a phone call.
Qatar has been working to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel on releasing some of the hostages.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip for a "sufficient number of days" to allow aid access.
The 15-member council overcame an impasse, which saw four unsuccessful attempts to take action last month, to adopt a resolution that also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.
The United States, Russia and Britain, who are council veto-powers, abstained from Wednesday's vote on the resolution drafted by Malta. The remaining 12 members voted in favor.
The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees said that 70% of the people in Gaza do not have access to water because of shortages of fuel.
However, Israel on Friday agreed to supply fuel after a request from the US. Israel's war cabinet has agreed to supply 140,000 litres of water to Gaza every two days.
The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees said that 70% of the people in Gaza do not have access to water because of shortages of fuel.
However, Israel on Friday agreed to supply fuel after a request from the US. Israel's war cabinet has agreed to supply 140,000 litres of water to Gaza every two days.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands has said that it has received requests from five countries (South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti) to investigate the situation in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli troops and Palestinian militants exchanged fire in the town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank during an army raid and at least three Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian health ministry said Friday. A gunbattle erupted in several locations by both Hamas militants and the israeli army. At one point, an Israeli aircraft targeted militants who threw explosives toward Israeli forces, the Israeli military said. The military said it killed five militants in the raid and arrested 15 Palestinians.
The Israeli Air Force said that it attacked terrorist targets in Lebanese territory a short time ago, in response to Hezbollah's launches on the last day towards Israeli territory.
The IAF attacked a number of terrorist infrastructures, sites, headquarters, and military positions where the organization's terrorists operated, it wrote on the X platform.
Thousands of marchers embarked Friday on their fourth leg of a five-day walk from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling on the Israeli government to bring some 240 hostages abducted by Hamas back home.
The marchers, who included relatives of more than 50 hostages, are traversing the 70 kilometers (roughly 45 miles) to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, calling on him and Israel's War Cabinet to do more to rescue their loved ones. They expect to complete the march today.
Hamas has offered to release all the hostages in exchange for some 6,000 Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails, but the Cabinet has rejected the proposal. The Cabinet has also been adamantly opposed to any cease-fire agreement.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan says that his office has received “a significant volume of information and evidence" about alleged crimes committed during the Israel-Hamas war.
The prosecutor confirmed that South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti had made official state referrals to the court about the “Situation in the State of Palestine," which his office has been investigating since March 2021. South Africa announced the referral on Thursday.
The ICC investigation dates back to the last major Israel-Hamas war in 2014 but also includes the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Residents of an Israeli town on the border with Gaza vowed Friday to rebuild homes destroyed in the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants.
Netiv HaAsara, which is just 300 meters (yards) from the Gaza border, was attacked and 20 residents were killed, after the gunmen passed over the concrete border wall using paragliders, according to Israeli military officials.
Resident Hila Fenlon, 46, pointed toward her neighbor’s home which was gutted in the attack.
“Obviously, there was no escape from this house," she said.
“It is a symbol to people who woke up one Saturday morning and vicious terrorists (came) and started to burn everything, to burn their lives down, and our victory will be to rebuild it. Our victory will be to make sure it won’t stay burnt."
Israel’s military on Friday said it was still searching for evidence to back up its allegations that Hamas used the hospital as a command center. The Israeli army acknowledged it was taking a long time and that patients in the hospital were suffering.
Since entering Shifa earlier this week, the Israeli army said it has found weapons and military equipment hidden around the hospital and in a vehicle outside, as well as the laptop it says belonged to a Hamas militant. It also released videos of what it says is a tunnel, which is still being studied. The military’s claims could not be independently verified.
But Israel has yet to present proof of a Hamas command and control center it previously said is underneath the hospital.
The Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said Friday that phone and internet services were partially working again across Gaza after fuel was delivered to restart generators that power the networks.
NetBlocks, a group tracking internet outages, confirmed that “internet connectivity is being partially restored" in the Gaza Strip.
Israel agreed to allow two tanker trucks of fuel, equaling 60,000 liters (15,850 gallons), into the Gaza Strip each day.
A US State Department official said 10,000 liters of the daily intake will be used to power the enclave’s communications network.
Before this week, Israel had completely prohibited fuel from entering Gaza, fearing that inbound fuel could be commandeered by Hamas and used against them.
An ongoing police investigation into the Hamas massacre of the Re’im music festival on October 7 has updated the death count to 364. Earlier counts had placed the death count in Re’im at 270.
Forty attendees of the festival were taken hostage into Gaza, the investigation finds, according to the Times of Israel.
Raids by Israel's military, which says it is responding to "a significant rise in terrorist attacks", have also multiplied and the Palestinian death toll has soared in Gaza.
As per the Red Crescent's statement, five people were killed in a strike on a building in the West Bank's Balata refugee camp on Friday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israel to take "urgent" action to "de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence", the State Department said.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, 24 patients died in the space of 48 hours due to the lack of fuel for generators in AL-Shifa hospital where Israeli troops launched a search operation on Wednesday.
Israel has defended its Al-Shifa operation, with the military saying it found rifles, ammunition, explosives, and the entrance to a tunnel shaft at the hospital complex.
The military also said troops had recovered the remains of kidnapped woman soldier Noa Marciano, 19, "from a structure adjacent to Al-Shifa hospital".
On Thursday, the army said soldiers near Al-Shifa found the body of another hostage. Yehudit Weiss, 65, had been kidnapped from the kibbutz community of Beeri.
Under the fuel agreement between Israel and the US, 140,000 litres (37,000 gallons) of fuel will be allowed every 48 hours into Gaza Strip. Of the total 140,000 litres of fuel, 20,000 litres will be earmarked for generators to restore the phone network.
On Friday, the first consignment of some 17,000 litres of fuel for telecommunications company Paltel passed through the Rafah crossing from Egypt late Friday.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said fuel was "critical for the onward distribution of aid throughout Gaza and the functioning of vital services."
Israel has repeatedly demanded assurances that any fuel delivered to Gaza will not be diverted by Hamas for military purposes.
The US has announced new sanctions against Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) and its secretary-general, Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, designating them as 'Specially Designated Global Terrorists', The Times of Israel reported.
The US Treasury Department has also sanctioned six individuals affiliated with the Iran-aligned militia group Kata'ib Hizballah (KH), according to The Times of Israel.
"Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. The United States remains committed to using all available tools to counter Iran's support for terrorism and degrade and disrupt the ability of Iran-backed groups to conduct terrorist attacks," US Treasury Department said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently agreed with an X user that Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred" of white people, received backlash for the antisemitic post.
The White House called Musk’s reply an “unacceptable" act that endangers Jewish communities. Meanwhile, several Tesla Inc. shareholders also spoke out against Musk, with some saying he should be suspended from his post.
Besides, Apple, one of the biggest advertisers on X, said it’s pausing showing ads on the site.
Israel's war cabinet has allowed regular deliveries of fuel into Gaza amid the war. On Friday, two fuel tankers entered the besieged enclave. The tankers, carrying a total of 60,000 litres of diesel fuel, were authorized for use by international organisations, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), according to Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari.
Columbia, Cornell,Pennsylvania, and other top colleges are facing investigation over anti-Semitism, Islamophobia on campus, as tensions run high due to the war in the Middle East.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, on Friday, said that there are a fair number of leaders who spoke about their concern relating to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
"Each leader spoke about their own perspective and how they look at the current situation. Many leaders spoke about the challenges of terrorism. The need to provide humanitarian assistance," he said.
Israel's war cabinet has agreed to allow two tanker trucks of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip each day, said Israel's national security adviser on Friday. He described the quantity as “very minimal".
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Tzachi Hanegbi said the fuel would be allowed for Gaza's communications system and water and sewage services. He said the aim is to prevent the spread of disease without disrupting Israel's ability to continue its war against the Hamas militant group.
Condemning the “genocidal" Israeli actions in Gaza, the Congress party criticised Israeli leadership urging the centre to exert pressure for de-escalation of the situation in Gaza.
Citing the "double standards" of several countries, the grand old party said that the targeting of civilians is a violation of every international norm of war.
"Israel's actions following Hamas' condemnable attack on their citizens are genocidal. The targeting of civilians, women and children, hospitals and shelters violate the values of humanity and every international norm of war," the statement read.
Nearly 24 patients have died within two days of the power cut at Al- Shifa hospital, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Friday.
"Twenty-four patients in different departments have died over the last 48 hours as vital medical equipment has stopped functioning because of the power outage," said ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.
On Monday, the ministry said 27 adult intensive care patients and seven babies had already died as Gaza's largest hospital ran out of fuel to run its generators.
A doctor at the Gaza Strip's Al Shifa hospital on Friday said that Israeli forces found nothing during searches of the hospital complex. The doctor also said that the hospital management has been running out of food and water, reported Reuters.
Ahead of the World Cup Final, Israel Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, showed support for India. Naor Gilon on Friday announced a unique contest for cricket fans.
He urged people to share their jersey designs with the Israel Embassy and get a chance to win the special jerseys showcasing the India-Israel relationship and representing 15 Indian players.
The families of Israeli hostages and thousands of supporters marched towards Jerusalem on Friday in solidarity with people held hostages by Hamas.
Israel's army, on Friday, said that it killed at least seven militants in two separate confrontations in the West Bank.
Hamas also admitted that a number of its fighteres got kille during confrontations in the West Bank.
The World Health Organisation on Friday called for a regular flow of patients to be allowed out of Gaza for treatment in Egypt. The demand came as the hospitals of Gaza are overwhelmed and are dealing with fuel shortage.
Twenty-five out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are not functioning and the remainder are struggling to provide services.
"This is clearly not enough to support the endless needs arising due to the hostilities," said Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Pope Francis will meet the relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza, Reuters reported citing sources on Friday.
The source spoke to Reuters as the Vatican's number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said the Holy See believed their release and a ceasefire - which Israel has so far ruled out - were two "fundamental points" to resolve the crisis.
The Israel Defense Forces, on Friday, said that five Palestinian terrorists were killed during an overnight counter-terror raid in Jenin. The military also claimed that several terrorists were chased to a local hospital where they were arrested while trying to hide.
After a possible communiation blackout in Gaza due to shortage of fuel, it has become difficult to send food and other supplies to the city, said aid agencies on Friday, reported AP.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned of a ‘possible starvation’ a day after internet and telephone services collapsed in the besieged enclave because of a lack of fuel.
