Live blog: UN 'horrified' by Israeli attack outside Al Shifa hospital in Gaza

Saturday, November 4, 2023

1613 GMT — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he was “horrified” by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital.

“The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing,” Guterres said on Twitter.

“Now, for nearly one month, civilians in Gaza, including children and women, have been besieged, denied aid, killed, and bombed out of their homes,” he noted, adding simply: “This must stop.”

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1739 GMT — Israel will 'find and eliminate' Hamas Gaza chief: Gallant

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed that Israeli forces would "find and eliminate" Yayha Sinwar, Hamas's Gaza chief.

"We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him," Gallant told a news conference, as Israeli forces continued to fight street battles with Hamas fighters inside the Palestinian territory.

"We agreed with US that Hamas will not be there at the end of this war. We're ready for victory in Gaza, even if it takes a year," he added.

1727 GMT — Palestinian Foreign Ministry hails Türkiye's decision to recall its ambassador from Israel

The Palestinian government has welcomed the decision by Türkiye to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

"We welcome the decision of the Turkish Republic to recall its ambassador in Israel as an expression of Türkiye's position against the war on the Gaza Strip, its calls to stop war immediately, and its protest against the crimes committed against our people," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement received by Anadolu.

The statement said this position is an extension of Türkiye's positions that support and protect the rights of the Palestinian people on all platforms.

1720 GMT — WHO condemns Friday attacks in Gaza near three hospitals

The World Health Organization (WHO) has condemned Israel's attacks near the Al Shifa, Al Quds, and Indonesian hospitals in Gaza.

“Attacks on health care, including the targeting of hospitals and restricting the delivery of essential aid such as medical supplies, fuel, and water, may amount to violations of International Humanitarian Law,” the UN agency said in a statement.

The WHO reiterated its call for an “immediate” cease-fire, stressing the “urgent” need to protect all health workers, patients, health transport, and health facilities.

1637 GMT — Hamas leader Haniyeh met Iran's Khamenei in Iran: Hamas official

The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, has met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a visit to Tehran in recent days, a Hamas official said in remarks broadcast by al-Mayadeen television.

Osama Hamdan, a senior official in the Iran-backed Hamas, gave no further details about the visit to Tehran, speaking in Beirut.

1531 GMT — Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza: Jordan

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has said that Israel is committing "war crimes" and that it should not be above international law.

Speaking at a news conference in Amman, alongside his Egyptian and US counterparts, Safadi also said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has a leading role to play in efforts to end the war in Gaza.

1554 GMT — US urges Israel to ‘take all possible measures to protect civilians’

The US has said it expects Israel to take “feasible precautions to minimise harm to civilians,” including respect for protected sites like hospitals and schools, and places of worship.

“We expect Israel to act consistently with international humanitarian law, including the need to take feasible precautions to minimise harm to civilians,” a State Department spokesperson said after Israeli air strikes hit hospitals in Gaza.

“That includes respect for protected sites like hospitals and schools and places of worship,” the spokesperson said. “We continue to urge Israel to take all possible measures to protect civilians.”

1519 GMT — Blinken reaffirms US support for 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed US support for "humanitarian pauses" in fighting between Israel and Hamas to ensure people in besieged Gaza get help.

Speaking at a news conference in Amman about sparing civilians and speeding up aid deliveries, Blinken said: "The United States believes that all of these efforts will be facilitated by humanitarian pauses."

In Amman, the US secretary of state spoke with foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed, Saudi Arabia's Faisal bin Farhan, Qatar's Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Egypt's Sameh Shoukry and Hussein Al Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

1503 GMT — 'Catastrophic' lack of clean drinking water in Gaza: UN expert

UN expert Pedro Arrojo has warned of the "catastrophic" lack of clean drinking water in Palestine's Gaza.

Speaking to Spanish daily El Pais, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation said hundreds of thousands of people in the besieged enclave are drinking unhealthy and salty water to survive.

"People who die in bombings will be included in the statistics, but those who get ill from drinking unsafe water will remain in the shadows," he said.

1451 GMT — Palestinians report Israeli air strikes including in southern Gaza

Palestinians in Gaza have reported Israeli air strikes overnight across the besieged enclave, including explosions in the south where Israel had told civilians to seek refuge as its ground operation intensifies in northern Gaza.

Calls for a humanitarian pause increased with the UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, reporting the average Palestinian in Gaza is surviving on two pieces of bread a day, and only one of three water supply lines from Israel is operational.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, "We are going full steam ahead," unless the hostages held by Hamas are released.

1448 GMT — No evidence of Hamas seizing aid entering Gaza: US envoy

Pushing back on Israeli fears that aid to Gaza would fall into the hands of Hamas, the US special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues has said that "there is no evidence" that the Palestinian group took for itself the aid sent to Gaza.

Speaking to reporters in Jordan's capital Amman, David Satterfield said "no attempts by Hamas to seize aid trucks were detected," adding that the fuel of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, in Gaza "is used for aid trucks, water desalination, and hospitals."

"There is no evidence that Hamas is seizing or blocking aid entering Gaza," Satterfield added.

1431 GMT — Trudeau, Biden discuss latest developments in Gaza

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden have discussed the latest developments in Gaza amid Israel's continuing attacks on the besieged enclave.

According to a statement made by the office of Trudeau, who was in Washington to attend an Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) summit, he met with Biden on the margins of the summit.

During their meeting, the leaders discussed the latest developments in the region amid Israel's attacks on the illegally blockaded Gaza and stressed that they support "Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law."

1420 GMT — Maternal, newborn deaths in Gaza set to rise, warns UN agency

The UN's Palestine refugee agency has warned that it expects a rise in maternal and newborn deaths in Gaza due to "lack of access to adequate care" amid ongoing attacks and a continued blockade on survival supplies.

In a statement, the UNRWA said: "Women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden of the escalation of hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territory."

"Maternal deaths are expected to increase given the lack of access to adequate care," the agency said.

1354 GMT — Hamas' military wing says its fighters killed 5 more Israeli soldiers in northern Gaza

The Hamas group's armed wing Al Qassam Brigades has said its fighters killed five more Israeli soldiers in fighting in northern Gaza.

In a statement, it said: "Al Qassam forces attacked a Zionist force holed up in a building northwest of Gaza City."

Al Qassam added that its forces clashed with the Israeli forces "with machine guns and bombs, and killed five soldiers and wounded others."

1240 GMT — Türkiye recalls ambassador to Israel for consultations

Türkiye has recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over 'Israel's rejection of calls for a ceasefire, continued attacks against civilians' in Gaza, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.

1215 GMT — Hamas holds Biden, US administration responsible for Israeli ‘massacres’ in Gaza

Hamas has held Biden and his administration responsible for the “massacres” committed by Israel in Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas said: “US President Biden and his administration bear responsibility for the series of Israeli massacres, the most recent of which was the targeting of Al Fakhoura School, which shelters displaced children and women."

It added: “The occupation launched a raid with American aircraft on the courtyard of Al Fakhoura School in Jabalia Camp, which contains the largest number of displaced people, leaving dozens dead and injured, all of them children and women, one day after targeting the Osama bin Zaid School, in the Al Saftawi area, north of Gaza City.”

1159 GMT — Lack of fuel supply forces complete shutdown of Gaza hospital generators

Power generators at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza stopped working due to a lack of fuel, the Interior Ministry in the blockaded enclave has said.

“Generators in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip have completely stopped operating due to the severe fuel shortage,” the ministry said in a statement.

1131 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli assault soars to 9,488

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza has climbed to 9,488, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave has said.

"The victims include 3,900 children and 2,509 women, while 24,000 other people were injured," the ministry spokesman, Ashraf al Qudra, told a news conference in Gaza City.

"70 percent of the victims of aggression are children, women and elderly people," the spokesman added.

1123 GMT — Coordination meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Gaza starts in Amman

The coordination meeting of foreign ministers of five Arab countries has begun in Jordan’s capital Amman with the aim of stopping Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The meeting is being held with the participation of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

1030 GMT — Netanyahu crossed out, will take Israel's war crimes to ICC: Erdogan

Türkiye has “crossed out” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will do everything to bring Israel’s violation of human rights and war crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

The embattled premier “is no longer someone we can talk to, we have crossed him out,” Erdogan told reporters aboard the presidential plane returning from Kazakhstan, where he attended the Organization of Turkic States summit.

He said that Netanyahu has lost support of Israeli citizens and he wants to garner support for massacres through religious rhetoric.

1011 GMT — Israel announces 3-hour Gaza highway clearance for evacuees

The Israeli military said it would enable Palestinians to travel on a main Gaza highway as part of its three-wee-old efforts to encourage civilians to evacuate southward.

In a social media post in Arabic, the military said the Salah a-Din road could be used between 1100 GMT and 1400. "If you care about yourself and your loved ones, heed our instruction to head south," it added.

0958 GMT — Israeli strike at Gaza shelter killed 15

An Israeli air strike on a UN-run school sheltering displaced people in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed 15 people and injured dozens more, said Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, the head of Al Shifa Hospital.

"There are 15 martyrs, and the number is expected to increase," said Abu Selmeyah, who is also an official in the health ministry in Gaza.

0955 GMT — Israel strikes Lebanon's Hezbollah after cross-border fire

The Israeli military said it had struck "two terrorist cells" and a Hezbollah post in response to attempted firing from Lebanon as cross-border shelling continued while Israel fights Hamas in Gaza.

The latest skirmishes came a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the war between Israel and Hamas could turn into a regional conflict if Israel pushed on with its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

"In response to two terrorist cells attempting to fire from Lebanon toward Israeli territory, the IDF (army) struck the cells and a Hezbollah observation post," a military statement said.

0948 GMT — Israeli army detains further 55 Palestinians across West Bank

Israel arrested at least 55 Palestinians in the West Bank in the early hours of Saturday, bringing the number of Palestinian detainees to 2,040 since the recent conflict erupted last month, a local nongovernmental organization said.

"Israeli occupation forces arrested at least 55 individuals, including two women, between Friday night and Saturday morning from cities and towns in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement.

It also said that 25 people were from the Al-Fawwar refugee camp in the Hebron Governorate in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

0852 GMT — Israel bombs generators, solar panels in hospitals, and public water tanks

Israeli aircraft targeted the power generator of Al Wafaa Hospital in the city of Gaza.

Israeli fighter also jets struck the power generator and solar panels of the hospital for the elderly and medical rehabilitation early morning, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

The air strike resulted in a significant fire in the hospital's courtyard, which was eventually controlled by civil defense teams after several hours, the correspondent added.

0744 GMT — Lebanon's Prime minister emphasizes urgency of ceasefire in Gaza in meeting with Blinken

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman and emphasized the importance of working towards a ceasefire in Gaza and stopping Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon, Lebanon state news agency said.

Mikati also stressed Lebanon's commitment to international legitimacy and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to cease its violations.

Blinken, in turn, emphasized his efforts to halt military operations for humanitarian reasons and to address the issue of prisoners.

0700 GMT — Israeli airstrike hits Gaza water reservoir supplying Rafah neighborhoods

According to Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV, Israeli strikes targeted a public water tank that supplies several neighborhoods east of Rafah.

The Israeli army also targeted entrance of Al Nasr Children’s Hospital in the western Gaza City, the channel said on Telegram.

Also, a mosque at the center of the densely populated Sabra neighborhood in western Gaza was bombed, Al Aqsa TV added.

0248 GMT — Images of bodies strewn on Gaza street 'harrowing' — UN chief

The head of the United Nations was "horrified" by a strike by Israeli forces on a convoy of ambulances in Gaza on Friday, he said in a statement, adding that the conflict "must stop".

"I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital," Antonio Guterres said in the statement.

"The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing."

0159 GMT — Colombia, Venezuela condemn Israel's attack on Al Shifa Hospital

Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil condemned Israel's attack on the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

"A new war crime. I told President (Joe) Biden. If the massacre continues and international law is destroyed in the world, barbarism will replace humanity's project of democracy," Petro wrote on X.

Petro, who is in the US to attend the Summit of Leaders of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Americas (APEP), had a brief chat with Biden before the summit.

0324 GMT — Israel pushes back calls for aid pause

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his third trip to Israel since the war began. He echoed President Joe Biden’s calls for a brief halt in the fighting to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.

After talks with Netanyahu, Blinken said a temporary halt was needed to boost aid deliveries and help win the release of the hostages Hamas took during its brutal incursion.

But Netanyahu said he told Blinken that Israel was "going with full steam ahead" unless hostages are released.

0159 GMT — Palestinian Red Crescent condemns Israeli strike on Gaza ambulances

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has condemned the targeting of a convoy of ambulances in Gaza by Israeli forces, which it says killed 15 people and wounded more than 60 others.

The PRCS said in a statement that one of its ambulances was struck "by a missile fired by the Israeli forces", about two metres from the entrance to the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians and wounded 60 other people, the PRCS said, mirroring figures released earlier by the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

2333 GMT — Israeli shelling on Gaza school kills 20 people: Palestine

Twenty Palestinians have been killed and dozens more wounded in an Israeli attack "targeting" a school in northern Gaza, the enclave's Health Ministry said.

"20 martyrs and dozens of wounded arrived at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after the direct targeting of a school turned into a makeshift camp for displaced people in the Al-Saftawy area in northern Gaza," the ministry said in a statement.

"Several tank mortar shells fell into the school that was directly targeted," it added.

0143 GMT — Israel destroyed 54 mosques in Gaza since October 7: Gaza authorities

At least 54 mosques have been destroyed in Israeli air strikes in besieged Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Government Media Office said.

"The attacks have also partially damaged 110 other mosques," spokesman Salama Marouf said at a news conference in Gaza City.

Three churches were also targeted by Israeli forces, he said.

2300 GMT — 'Very significant pause' in Mideast conflict needed to free captives: US

It would take a "very significant pause in the conflict" in the Middle East to be able to win the release of dozens of captives taken by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, a senior US official has said.

"It is something that is under a very serious and active discussion. But there is no agreement as of yet to actually get this done," the official said, as fighting between US ally Israel and Hamas fighters raged in besieged Gaza.

For our live updates from Friday (November 3), click here.