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beating heart of their operations Israeli troops raid Gaza’s Shifa hospital GAZA, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Israeli troops found a command centre and weapons and combat gear belonging to Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza’s biggest hospital on Wednesday, Israel’s military said, in a campaign that stoked global alarm over the fate of civilians inside. Al Shifa hospital had become the chief target of a Gaza City incursion by Israeli forces, who said the “beating heart” of the Hamas fighters’ operations was headquartered in tunnels beneath it. Hamas denied the accusation and on Wednesday dismissed the Israeli statements as “lies and cheap propaganda”. Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the troops were still searching, having entered the hospital early on Wednesday after days of clashes around it. The military simultaneously released a video it said showed some of the materials it recovered from an undisclosed building in the hospital compound, including automatic weapons, grenades, ammunition and flak jackets. In one hospital department, “the soldiers located an operational command centre and technological assets belonging to Hamas, indicating that the terrorist organization uses the hospital for terrorist purposes,” an Israeli military statement said. Israel has consistently said the hospital sits above a Hamas headquarters, an assertion the United States said on Tuesday was supported by its own intelligence. Hailing the entry of his forces into the hospital, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “There is no place in Gaza that we cannot reach. There are no hideouts.” “We will reach and eliminate Hamas and we will bring back our hostages. These are two sacred missions,” he said.

Israeli troops on Wednesday stormed into Gaza’s largest hospital, searching for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the facility, where newborns and hundreds of other patients have suffered for days without electricity and other basic necessities. The forces also pressed on with their wider ground offensive. Details from the daylong raid remained sketchy, but officials from Israel and Gaza presented different accounts of what was happening at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City: The Israeli army released video showing soldiers carrying boxes labeled as “baby food” and “medical supplies,” while health officials talked of terrified staff and patients as troops moved through the buildings. After encircling Shifa for days, Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas had turned the hospital into a command center and used patients, staff and civilians sheltering there to provide cover for its militants. The allegation is part of Israel’s broader accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields. Israel released video late Wednesday of weapons it said it found in one building, but so far its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command center. ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: MORE COVERAGE The UN Security Council is trying for a fifth time to adopt a resolution on the Israel-Hamas war Airstrike kills renowned doctor in Gaza and relatives who sought shelter together Tens of thousands of supporters of Israel rally in Washington, crying ‘never again’ Hamas and Gaza health officials deny militants operate in Shifa — a hospital that employs some 1,500 people and has more than 500 beds, according to the Palestinian news agency. Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians as it seeks to eradicate Hamas. As Israel tightens its hold on northern Gaza, leaders have talked of expanding the ground operation into the south to root out Hamas. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have already crowded into the territory’s south, where a worsening fuel shortage threatens to paralyze the delivery of humanitarian services and shut down mobile phone and internet service. The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after the militant group killed some 1,200 people and seized around 240 captives in an Oct. 7 attack that shattered Israelis’ sense of security. Israeli airstrikes have since killed more than 11,200 people, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, which coordinates with the ministry branch in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, with most believed to be buried under the rubble. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. ISRAELI RAID INTO SHIFA Israeli forces launched their raid into the large Shifa compound around 2 a.m. and remained on the grounds after nightfall Wednesday, with tanks stationed outside and snipers on nearby buildings, Munir al-Boursh, a senior official with Gaza’s Health Ministry inside the hospital, told The Associated Press. It was not possible to independently assess the situation inside. Al-Boursh said that for hours, the troops ransacked the basement and other buildings, including those housing the emergency and surgery departments, and searched the grounds for tunnels. Troops questioned and face-screened patients, staff and people sheltering in the facility, he said, adding that he did not know if any were detained. “Patients, women and children are terrified,” he told the AP by phone. Neither the Palestinians nor the military reported any clashes inside the hospital. The military said its troops killed four militants outside the hospital at the start of the operation. Throughout days of fighting in the surrounding streets in previous days, there were no reports of militants firing from inside Shifa. The Israeli military said it was carrying out a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the hospital,” and that its soldiers were accompanied by medical teams bringing in incubators and other supplies. It added that forces were also searching for hostages. The plight of the captives, who include men, women and children, has galvanized Israeli support for the war. Families and supporters of the hostages are holding a protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The video released by the military from inside Shifa showed three duffel bags it said it found hidden around an MRI lab, each containing an assault rifle, grenades and Hamas uniforms, as well as a closet that contained a number of assault rifles without ammunition clips. A laptop was also discovered and taken for study. The AP could not independently verify the Israeli claims that the weapons were found inside the hospital. “These weapons have absolutely no business being inside a hospital,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said in the video, adding that he believed the material was “just the top of the iceberg.” The military said the search was continuing, but it did not immediately show any sign of tunnels or an extensive military center. The raid drew condemnation from the U.N., Jordan and the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority, which called it a violation of international law. Separately, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” throughout Gaza after four failed attempts to respond to the Israel-Hamas war. In other developments, U.S. President Joe Biden said he believes the war will stop only when Hamas’ ability to kill and injure Israelis is degraded. He also said he urged Israel to exercise caution in its military operations at the hospital. ADVERTISEMENT “I think it’s going to stop when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder,” Biden said after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference in California. Biden said he discussed with Israelis their need to “be incredibly careful” as they worked to clear the hospital. At one point, tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombardment were sheltering at the hospital, but most left in recent days as the fighting drew closer. The fate of premature babies at the hospital has drawn particular concern. The Health Ministry said 40 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday. There was no immediate word

Hamas has accused US President Joe Biden of being “wholly responsible” for the operations at the al-Shifa hospital. UN estimates that at least 2,300 patients at the al-Shifa hospital. New Delhi: Israel has launched a “targeted operation” in Gaza’s biggest hospital it accuses Hamas of using as a command centre. The hospital is sheltering thousands of sick, displaced Gazans, and the move could intensify international criticism of Israel. Here are 10 updates on the Israel-Hamas war:

Raid follows days of heavy attacks on the area, where thousands of displaced people and patients are sheltering. Video Duration 00 minutes 58 seconds00:58 Israeli forces have raided al-Shifa Hospital, where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, following days of heavy attacks in the area surrounding the complex in Gaza City. Israel’s military said early on Wednesday morning that it was carrying out an “operation against Hamas in a specified area” at al-Shifa. Calling the assault a “targeted operation” on Gaza’s largest medical facility, it said the raid was based on Israeli and United States intelligence. KEEP READING list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3 Doctors move premature babies at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital list 2 of 3 Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital forced to bury dead patients in ‘mass grave’ list 3 of 3 Pleas from inside Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital under siege end of list Israel accuses Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, of using the hospital as a base. Hamas rejects the claim. Israel has not produced evidence to back up its assertion. Dozens of Israeli soldiers entered the facility while tanks were stationed in the courtyard of the medical complex, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said, reporting from Khan Younis on Wednesday. According to health officials, there are about 650 patients, including 22 in intensive care and 36 premature babies, at al-Shifa Hospital, in addition to some 400 medical staff and more than 2,000 displaced people. Dr Munir al-Bursh, the general director of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces searched the basement of al-Shifa and entered the surgical and emergency buildings within the complex. According to sources inside al-Shifa, Israeli soldiers are using loudspeakers and ordering young men to surrender themselves. About 30 people were reportedly taken out into the courtyard, stripped of their clothes, blindfolded and interrogated by Israeli soldiers. Israeli forces have also blown up a warehouse of medicine and medical devices, sources said. Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati, a surgeon inside the facility, said heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard in the compound. “It’s a totally scary time; it’s a horrible time for the families, the civilians sheltering in the hospital with their kids. It’s terrible for the staff who are taking care of their patients and the patients themselves,” About 700 patients remain at the hospital, including about 100 in critical condition, Mokhallalati reported. More than 1,000 medical staff are also trapped on site, but they are unable to treat patients due to a shortage of medicine and fuel. Thousands of civilians displaced by Israel’s five-week bombardment of Gaza, which has killed more than 11,200 Palestinians, are also inside al-Shifa Hospital. There were no indications that any of the more than 200 people who were taken captives during Hamas’s attack on October 7, which killed some 1,200 people, were held at al-Shifa. Week in the Middle East Mokhallalati described the fear that has taken hold among the staff, patients and displaced trapped in the facility. “We don’t know what they will do to us. We don’t know whether they will kill people or terrorise them. We know all the propaganda is lies, and they know as well as we do that there is nothing at al-Shifa medical centre.” https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.603.0_en.html#goog_342484429Play Video Video Duration 08 minutes 53 seconds08:53Israeli army interrogating al-Shifa medical staff and patients ‘Hospitals are not battlegrounds’ The area around al-Shifa has been battered by multiple Israeli attacks for weeks. The Israeli government has issued warnings to evacuate the facility. However, Palestinian medical officials have rejected the order, saying they cannot leave their patients behind. Amid the raid, Palestinian Authority Health Minister Dr Mai al-Kaila said, in a statement published by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, that Israeli forces “are committing a new crime against humanity, medical staff, and patients”. The Palestinian government holds Israeli forces “responsible for the lives of the medical staff, patients and displaced people in the al-Shifa complex,” she added. Advertisement Hamas said that it holds Israel and US President Joe Biden responsible for the implications of the raid, labelling it a “barbaric crime against a medical facility protected by the fourth Geneva Convention”. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was “appalled” by Israel’s storming of al-Shifa. “Hospitals are not battlegrounds,” he said in a post on X. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, wrote on X that “reports of military incursion into al-Shifa Hospital are deeply concerning”. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said it was “extremely concerned about the impact on sick and wounded people, medical staff, and civilians”, and that “all measures to avoid any consequences on them must be taken”. ‘No evidence’ The US offered words of caution, with a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council saying: “We do not support striking a hospital from the air and we don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire.” At the same time, the US also said it “has information” that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use Gaza’s hospitals, including al-Shifa, “to conceal and support their military operations and to hold hostages”. Hamas has denied it uses Gaza’s hospitals as a base and has invited the United Nations to send independent investigators to verify that Israel’s claims are “falsehoods”. Ardi Imseis, an international law expert at Queen’s University in Canada, said Israel carries the burden to “produce evidence” and prove its claim that the hospital has been used by Hamas as a base. “The object of the attack is a civilian object. Until such time that the Israelis provide proof that it has been converted into a military object, the civilian nature of the object does not change,” he said. Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that “the Israeli government has put forward no evidence that would justify stripping hospitals of their special protections under international humanitarian law”. Even

Health, sanitation, water and food services near breaking point as fighting intensifies. Published On 15 Nov 202315 Nov 2023 The continuous Israeli bombardment and ground invasion in northern Gaza has caused another 200,000 people to flee south in the past 10 days, according to the United Nations’ humanitarian office (OCHA). The agency said on Tuesday only one hospital in the north is capable of treating patients. Some of the fighting is around hospitals, where patients, newborns and medics are stranded with no electricity and dwindling supplies. Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate from Gaza City and surrounding areas in the north, but the southern part of the besieged territory is not much safer. Israel carries out frequent air raids throughout Gaza, hitting what it says are Hamas targets but often killing women and children. On Tuesday, dozens of people were killed and wounded in the southern city of Khan Younis. More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since the war began, and UN-run shelters in the south are already severely overcrowded. Advertisement Advertisement

Lawyers say Israel’s acts against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide, call on West to refrain from abetting crimes. A group of lawyers representing Palestinian victims of Israeli attacks on Gaza have filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that Israel’s actions amount to the crime of genocide. Gilles Devers, a veteran French lawyer and the victims’ representative before the ICC, submitted the complaint to the prosecutor as part of a four-person delegation in the Dutch city of The Hague on Monday. KEEP READING list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3 Q&A: Australian senator Mehreen Faruqi says she won’t ‘shut up’ on Gaza list 2 of 3 ‘No ceasefire’: Israel supporters gather in Washington, DC, amid Gaza war list 3 of 3 Israeli forces raid Gaza’s biggest hospital end of list The civil society initiative could result in arrest warrants being issued against top Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “It is clear for me that there are all the criteria for the crime of genocide,” Devers told Al Jazeera, adding that cases such as ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda set the precedent against which the complaint had been submitted. “So this is not my opinion, it’s the reality of law.” Israel has made no attempt to hide the hallmarks of genocide, the group has argued, by cutting food and electricity to Gaza, attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure and using dehumanising talk that likens people to “animals”. The group also collected the witness accounts of Palestinian victims whom they legally represent in court. With mounting allegations of serious war crimes being committed in Gaza, Devers said governments that did not wish to be found complicit should refrain from backing Israel. “Governments must choose which camp they are on, if they support human rights or genocide. They cannot give speeches about international law and human rights and then accept Israel’s attack without doing nothing,” he said. Israel does not recognise the ICC, but Devers said that did not render the court ineffective. In 2021, the ICC ruled that it has jurisdiction over grave crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territories, including potential war crimes committed by any party on the ground. The initiative led by Devers is one in a number of lawsuits presented to the ICC in the past weeks. On November 9, three Palestinian human rights groups urged the body to investigate Israel for “apartheid” as well as “genocide” and issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. #JusticeForGaza, another initiative, aims to bring together diverse voices from international civil society, political leaders and representatives to petition the court. Prominent European politicians who have advocated for Palestinian rights, including Spain’s Ione Belarra and Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn, are among the more than 80 signatories of that petition. Devers said the latest bombing of Gaza amounted to the most relevant crimes that the court had seen in decades. “If the ICC does nothing, then it’s the end of the ICC,” he said. “We have sufficient proof for a mandate of arrest against Mr Netanyahu,” Devers said. The ICC in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged involvement in war crimes in Ukraine. While Putin rejected the verdict and did not surrender to the court’s jurisdiction, the decision was a symbolic moment and limited the Russian leader’s ability to travel internationally, including to attend international forums. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.603.0_en.html#goog_342484428Play Video Video Duration 06 minutes 32 seconds06:32Israel carries the burden to ‘produce evidence’: International law expert

We’ve been reporting throughout the day about the situation at al-Shifa Hospital, but Gaza’s largest medical complex is just one of the several medical facilities that are under threat. In a voice note, Ahmed Muhanna, director from al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, describes the situation there as “extremely critical”. “All the time they are bombing around the hospital and close to the hospital,” he said. “Today, we have found shrapnel inside the hospital, and the ambulance and cars were damaged. We are working with injured and pregnant women from the northern areas and Gaza City because all the hospitals in Gaza City and the northern area also are out of service.”

Thousands of people, including patients, are trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital amid deadly Israeli siege. Video Duration 00 minutes 58 seconds00:58 Published On 15 Nov 202315 Nov 2023 Israeli forces raided Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday after laying siege of the enclave’s largest medical facility for days. Thousands of people are trapped inside, with decomposed dead bodies buried in a mass grave on the hospital premises. Here is what to know: What is happening at al-Shifa Hospital? https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.603.0_en.html#goog_1596973468Play Video Video Duration 00 minutes 41 seconds00:41What al-Shifa doctor told Israeli forces ahead of raid Where is al-Shifa Hospital? Is there evidence for Israel’s claims? https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.603.0_en.html#goog_32994255Play Video Video Duration 06 minutes 32 seconds06:32Israel carries the burden to ‘produce evidence’: International law expert What has Hamas said? What has Israel said? https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.603.0_en.html#goog_342484406Play Video Video Duration 08 minutes 53 seconds08:53Israeli army interrogating al-Shifa medical staff and patients What’s next?

These Muslim shopkeepers in India are no longer stocking Israeli and US products in support of the people of Palestine, and it’s started a movement amongst the local community.

Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza and has launched a ground offensive. More than 11,300 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. What is the goal of Israel’s operation in Gaza? Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warplanes are bombarding Gaza from the air while its troops and tanks are advancing on the ground. Israel has drafted 300,000 reservists to boost its standing force of 160,000. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has a “clear goal of destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities”, as well as freeing the hostages. Mr Netanyahu has refused calls for a ceasefire unless the hostages are released. He has also said that Israel will have “overall security responsibility” for the Gaza Strip “for an indefinite period” after the war ends. However, the US has warned him that Israel cannot reoccupy the territory. Israel believes Hamas’s military wing has about 30,000 members. The group operates from underground tunnels, which it has previously claimed stretch for 500km (310 miles). What is happening on the ground in Gaza? The IDF’s focus is on the north of the territory, where fierce fighting is being reported around a number of hospitals. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, was not functioning anymore, and was “nearly a cemetery”, with bodies piling up inside and out. Between 2,300 and 2,650 patients, staff and displaced people are thought to be trapped inside, according to the UN. There is particular concern for dozens of premature babies in incubators, and kidney patients needing dialysis. The BBC’s Rushdi Abu Alouf, who is in the southern city of Khan Younis, has been told a mass grave is being dug for an estimated 170 bodies. While the IDF has said it does not fire on hospitals, it has stressed that “if we see Hamas terrorists firing from hospitals we’ll do what we need to do”. It has said its troops have offered humanitarian assistance to Al-Shifa and designated a safe passage from the hospital for civilians to flee southwards. It has also continued to accuse Hamas of having a command centre underneath Al-Shifa – which both hospital staff and Hamas have denied. The WHO has said 22 of the 36 hospitals across the entire Gaza Strip are not functional due to a lack of fuel for generators, damage, attacks and insecurity. Those still operating have barely enough supplies to sustain life-saving care. US President Joe Biden has said hospitals in the Gaza Strip must be protected, and called for “less intrusive” action by Israel. On Monday, the IDF also said it had carried out raids on Al-Shati refugee camp, Al-Quds University and Abu Bakr mosque. In total, the IDF said its aircraft and ground forces had conducted 4,300 strikes, hitting hundreds of anti-tank missile launch posts, 300 tunnel shafts and 3,000 “terrorist infrastructure sites”, and that 44 of its soldiers had so far been killed during the ground operation. The IDF has repeatedly warned Palestinians in the north of Gaza to leave their homes for their own safety and head south of the Wadi Gaza river, but has also continued to carry out air strikes in the south. https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.50.8/iframe.htmlMedia caption, Watch: Civilians leave northern Gaza on foot The UN has said an estimated 200,000 have fled the north since 5 November. But it is increasingly concerned by overcrowding and limited access to shelter, food and water, in the south. It has also warned that hundreds of thousands of people, who are either unwilling or unable to leave, remain in the north and are struggling to secure the minimum amount of water and food to survive. What is the humanitarian situation in Gaza? The heads of all the major UN agencies have called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, as well as the unconditional release of hostages. They said “cutting off 2.2 million Palestinians from food, water, medicine, electricity and fuel” was an “outrage”, and that more than 29,000 injured people “require immediate treatment”. Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has said 1.5 million Gaza residents have been displaced, and that 778,000 are sheltering at its facilities. Another 150,000 are taking refuge in hospitals and other public buildings. On Monday, the IDF said it had paused its military operations eight times in the preceding five days, in areas north-east of Gaza City and the southern city of Rafah. Phone and internet services have been repeatedly cut, leaving people unable to call for ambulances or to contact the outside world. The Rafah border crossing into Egypt, to the south, is the only functioning route for people and goods to leave or enter Gaza. The crossing reopened for aid supplies on 21 October, but only a small fraction of the 500 lorry-loads which used to arrive every day is currently making it into Gaza. Fuel shortages mean little aid is reaching Gaza City and the north. The border reopened again for people to leave Gaza on 1 November, and hundreds of injured people and foreign passport holders, including more than 100 UK citizens, have since crossed into Egypt, although many more remain. The crossing has shut for short periods several times since reopening. More on Israel-Gaza war Who are the hostages? The IDF says Hamas is holding 242 hostages in Gaza. The WHO is “gravely concerned” about their condition – especially those who are children, elderly or in poor health – and has called for their immediate release. It is thought Hamas may have taken the hostages to pressurise Israel into freeing some, or all, of the estimated 5,100 Palestinians who were held in Israeli prisons at the start of October. Hamas says it has hidden the hostages across Gaza, with some in its tunnel network. It claims that hostages have been killed by Israeli air strikes, although this cannot be independently verified. On Tuesday, the IDF confirmed the death in captivity of a