World calls growing louder for 'pause' in Gaza siege
More world leaders are joining calls for "humanitarian pauses" in the bombardment of Gaza in an effort to get aid to civilians, but they stop short of pushing for a cease-fire.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged the need for such a pause during his question session with Parliament today, but did not offer support for a cease-fire. During the U.N. Security Council meeting yesterday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "pauses must be considered."
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong publicly supported the idea in a post on X, saying his country has "consistently called for the protection of civilian lives.
Other world leaders have called for a total cease-fire. Jordanian King Abdullah II told French President Emmanuel Macron today that stopping the war was an "absolute necessity that the world must immediately move to address," his court said on X.
IDF shares gruesome extended footage of Hamas attack
Chantal Da Silva and Raf Sanchez
TEL AVIV — The Israeli Defense Forces today showed journalists a gruesome montage of extended footage that it said captures parts of Hamas' deadly attack on Oct. 7.
In the video, people, including children, can be seen dead on the floor, some shot or burned beyond recognition. Others are shown trying desperately to hide — in their homes, under tables or in safe rooms. Others are seen trying to run or take cover, including at the musical festival near Re'im — before ultimately being killed.
The video, which has not been released to the public, includes bodycam footage that the IDF said was from Hamas militants, along with CCTV footage and imagery shared on social media, both by victims and Hamas militants.
In one harrowing moment, CCTV footage shows a father and two boys, running out of their home and into what appears to be a small shelter. A grenade appears to be thrown into the shelter, the father collapses and two apparent militants take the boys back into the home, covered in blood as they wail for their "daddy."
One of the boys cries out in the video, which included English subtitles: "It's really not a prank!" before noticing his brother's bloodied eye. He asks desperately, "Can you see with this eye?" His sibling responds: "No ... I can only see with one eye."
The older boy wails, pounds the floor and shouts, "Why am I alive?" His sibling sits, stunned.
After the video played, IDF Major General Mickey Edelstein, commander of the operational planning team said he wanted people to understand the "evil" that Hamas brought upon communities in southern Israel — and why Israel would do "whatever is needed to bring back the sense of security."
U.N. secretary-general 'shocked by misrepresentations' of his speech
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the backlash to his remarks yesterday that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum."
"I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement yesterday in the Security Council as if, as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas," he said. "This is false; it was the opposite."
Guterres then repeated other portions of his speech in which he "unequivocally" condemned Hamas' attack and said that "nothing could justify" the attack on Israeli civilians."
"I believe it was necessary to set the record straight, especially out of respect to the victims and their families," he told reporters.
Gaza families wear ID bracelets to avoid burial in mass graves
With so many bodies, Palestinians in Gaza are burying the unidentified dead in mass graves, with a number instead of a name, residents say. Now some families are using bracelets in the hope of finding their loved ones should they be killed.
The El-Daba family has tried to reduce the risk of being struck down during the heaviest-ever Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Israel launched the airstrikes after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns Oct. 7.
Ali El-Daba, 40, said he had seen bodies ripped apart by the bombing and were unrecognizable.
He said he decided to divide his family to prevent them from all dying in a single strike. He said his wife, Lina, 42, kept two of their sons and two daughters in Gaza City in the north and he moved to Khan Younis in the south with three other children.
El-Daba said he was preparing for the worst. He bought blue string bracelets for his family members and tied them around both wrists. “If something happens,” he said, “this way I will recognize them.”
Israeli with six relatives in captivity accuses Hamas of 'cynical' hostage releases
Six members of Moran Alony's family were kidnapped by Hamas militants Oct. 7, including his 3-year-old twin nieces. Alony said he was glad that four of the more than 200 captives have been freed, but he accused Hamas of a "cynical use of hostages to leverage all of this to their benefit."
"They are successfully introducing themselves as humanitarians," Alony said in a phone interview. "The world sees these four people were in good condition, so they assume the other 200 are in the same condition. ... That works for Hamas, and that actually makes me angry."
"People are not asking the right question," he said, before speaking directly to Hamas: "You haven't released more than 30 children. Why?"
The four captives who have been released are American citizens Judith Raanan and her teenage daughter, Natalie; and two elderly Israeli women, identified as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz. The Israel Defense Forces has said at least 212 people were taken captive.
Hamas kidnapped Alony's sister, Sharon Alony-Cunio, 34; her husband, David Cunio, 33; and their twin 3-year-old daughters, Emma and Julie. The militants also took Alony's older sister, Danielle Alony, 45, and her 5-year-old daughter, Emilia.
Hamas accuses Israel of striking refugee camp bakery
JERUSALEM — Hamas alleged that the IDF targeted the only bakery in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp, which Hamas said had received supplies from the U.N. relief agency hours earlier.
NBC News has not independently verified the claim.
The IDF said in a statement that it "only and specifically strikes military targets."
"The allegations to the contrary are abhorrent and spread disinformation that put civilians at risk," the IDF said.
The U.N. relief agency did not respond to requests for more information from NBC News.
Leaders of Israel’s national Holocaust memorial have criticized U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres for saying that the attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum.”
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack 7 puts to test the “sincerity” of world leaders, intellectuals and influencers who come to Yad Vashem and pledge “Never Again,” memorial chairman Dani Dayan said in a statement today, referring to a vow to prevent atrocities against the Jews, such as the Holocaust, from ever happening again.
“Those who seek to ‘understand,’ look for a justifying context, do not categorically condemn the perpetrators, and do not call for the unconditional and immediate release of the abducted — fail the test. UN Secretary-General António Guterres failed the test,” the statement said.
In an address to the U.N. Security Council, Guterres said it was important to recognize that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” and that the Palestinian people have been subjected to “56 years of suffocating occupation.” He also condemned unequivocally the “horrifying and unprecedented” acts of terror by Hamas. “But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas, and those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Families of Israeli hostages step up push to secure their release
Families of hostages taken by Hamas are growing louder in their demands for more to be done to secure the release of their loved ones.
More than 200 people — babies to seniors — have been in captivity for 19 days, with only four released so far.
WHO: 171 attacks on health care in occupied Palestinian territory
The World Health Organization said there were 171 attacks on health care in the occupied Palestinian territory, resulting in 493 deaths — including 16 health workers on duty.
Starvation being used as a weapon of war, Oxfam director says
Sally Abi Khalil, regional Middle East director for Oxfam, accused Israel of using civilian suffering as a war tactic.
Oxfam has urged the U.N. Security Council to act immediately by calling for a cease-fire and unfettered access to aid.
Clean water has "virtually run out," and aid deliveries have not met the food needs for more than 2 million civilians in Gaza, she said.
"The situation is nothing short of horrific — where is humanity?" Khalil said in a statement today. "Millions of civilians are being collectively punished in full view of the world, there can be no justification for using starvation as a weapon of war."
Though supplies to make items such as bread have been delivered to Gaza, airstrikes have destroyed multiple bakeries in the strip and a lack of power has made its wheat mill redundant, the charity said.
Photo: Posters of missing children in Tel Aviv
Warehouse worker: 'Sleepless nights have become the norm'
As he works at a food warehouse in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Mohammed Abuakar said spent most of his time worrying about his home.
“Thank God, I’m fine but the situation is very bad,” Abuakar, 22, told NBC News by text message. “There was heavy bombing the night before.” Sleepless nights have become the norm, he added.
Abuakar said was visiting Egypt and had just returned to Gaza three days before the war broke out. "If I had known, I would not have come to Gaza," he said.
Fuel runs out in Gaza as Israel rejects cease-fire calls
JERUSALEM — The power is flickering and fading at hospitals in Gaza, as medical officials say generators are on their last drops of fuel.
The heath system run by Hamas is in a state of collapse, just as casualties are flooding in from hundreds of Israeli airstrikes a day.
Last night, NBC News filmed the immediate aftermath of what witnesses say was an Israeli airstrike on a three-story building in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the Israeli military again this morning urged Palestinians to go for their safety.
Israel says it’s bombing Hamas fighters and leaders who are hiding in tunnels below apartment buildings, schools and hospitals.
The U.N. secretary-general says that what’s needed now is clear: a cease-fire. Israel is objecting and the U.S. is backing it, saying a cease-fire now would help Hamas but small tactical “pauses” could be useful to protect civilians. But without one, the bodies of Gazans continue to pile up.
Hamas is 'not a terrorist organization,' Turkey’s Erdogan says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but “a liberation group, ‘mujahideen’ waging a battle to protect its lands and people,” in his strongest comments yet on the militant group’s war with Israel.
Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party and using an Arabic word denoting those who fight for their faith, he called for an immediate cease-fire and also said he will not go to Israel on a visit as previously planned.
Turkey has condemned the civilians deaths that resulted from Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel, but also urged Israel to react in a restrained way.
Many of Turkey’s NATO allies consider Hamas a terrorist group, and Erdogan’s comments drew a swift rebuke from Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who said they were “grave and disgusting and did not help with de-escalation.”
What will war mean for U.S. sanctions on Iran crude oil?
The White House is likely to tighten crude oil sanctions against OPEC member Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s backing of Hamas, according to Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
It has been more than two weeks since Israel announced a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity supplies after a devastating Hamas attack.
“It certainly looks like the United States is trying to delay an Israeli ground operation because they want to get out the hostages, they want to get out the hundreds of Americans that are trapped in Gaza, but the question is, is this going to be postponed indefinitely, but I think people are bracing for some type of escalation in Gaza,” Croft said today.
Read the full story here.
Israel’s national security advisor calls Qatar's diplomacy 'crucial'
Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel's national security council, praised the diplomatic efforts by Qatar's government in recent weeks in a post on X today.
Qatari officials have helped facilitate negotiations that led to the release of four Hamas hostages, and mediators are hopeful that more releases will be forthcoming as talks continue.
"I’m pleased to say that Qatar is becoming an essential party and stakeholder in the facilitation of humanitarian solutions," Hanegbi wrote. "Qatar’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time."
Australia deploys army personnel as government joins calls for humanitarian pauses
The Australian Defense Force said it has deployed additional support to the Middle East after the country echoed appeals for humanitarian pauses in Gaza yesterday.
Army personnel and two C-130J aircrafts were sent to the region as a "precautionary measure" as the war poses the risk of a deteriorating security situation, the ADF said in a statement today.
More than 800 Australians have been airlifted out of Israel since Oct. 13, the day of the first Australian government-assisted departure.
Yesterday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted a statement on X joining the calls for a pause in hostilities to allow in aid and assist civilians in Gaza.
"Innocent Palestinians should not suffer because of the outrages perpetrated by Hamas," she said.
Pope urges release of hostages and humanitarian aid access in Gaza
Pope Francis renewed his calls for the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip.
“I am always thinking about the grave situation in Palestine and Israel. I encourage the release of hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said today during his weekly audience.
Francis said that he will lead special prayers for peace Friday in St. Peter’s Basilica, in what he said last week would be "a day of fasting, prayers, penance."
U.N. trade body: Gaza needs billions in aid to reverse years of restrictions
Gaza needs billions of dollars in international economic aid to compensate for years of restrictions that have stifled its economy and curbed its development, according to a report published today by the United Nations trade body.
In its report on the economic development of the Occupied Palestinian Territory for 2022, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlighted the dire economic conditions in Gaza, even prior to the devastating Israeli airstrikes on the enclave in reprisal for the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel.
“Donors and the international community need to extend significant economic aid to repair the extensive damage Gaza has experienced under prolonged restrictions and closures and frequent military operations, which has stifled the economy and decimated infrastructure,” the report said.
“While donor aid is important to assist the people of Gaza, it should not be viewed as a substitute for ending the restrictions and closures and calling on Israel and all parties to bear their responsibilities under international law.”
Gaza death toll spikes to more than 6,500
JERUSALEM — More than 6,500 people have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian officials said.
The death toll grew to 6,546 today, that's almost 800 more than was reported less than 24 hours ago.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said 756 people had been killed since yesterday, including 344 children.
Al-Qudra added that almost 17,500 people had been injured after he said yesterday that Gaza’s health care system has "completely collapsed" amid a complete blockade by Israel.
Jews against Gaza bombing are 'lunatics,' Israeli minister says
TEL AVIV — Israel’s minister for diaspora affairs said that Jews in the United States and elsewhere calling for a halt to the bombardment of Gaza are “lunatics.”
The bombing campaign has divided the global Jewish community, with some groups calling for peace and others, such as the Anti-Defamation League, condemning those efforts.
“What we’ve seen in the Jewish world is mass demonstration against Hamas, in favor of Israel,” Amichai Chikli, minister for diaspora affairs and combating antisemitism, told NBC News.
“Yes, you have a few lunatics who say that they want cease-fire — it’s insane,” he added. “A cease-fire? After terrorists came into our villages, into peaceful communities, massacred babies and children?”
IMF chief says war is a new cloud on the world’s economic horizon
The head of the International Monetary Fund today dubbed the worsening Israel-Hamas conflict as another cloud on the horizon of an already gloomy economic outlook.
“What we see is more jitters in what has already been an anxious world,” Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told a panel hosted by CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the Future Investment Initiative Institute conference in Riyadh.
“And on a horizon that had plenty of clouds, one more — and it can get deeper.”
Georgieva said that the economic fallout from the war, now in its third week, would be “terrible” for the sides involved, as well as have significant repercussions for the region. Those include negative impacts on trade and tourism.
Read the full story here.
Baby delivered by emergency C-section after mother injured in Gaza blast
A baby was delivered by emergency cesarean section after her mother was badly injured in an explosion at her home in Khan Younis, Gaza.
The mother and her daughter were listed in stable condition.
Grief and heartbreak hard to escape in Khan Younis refugee camp
Heartbreak and devastation are hard to escape in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza.
At least 37 people were killed and dozens more injured in an Israeli airstrike that struck 15 homes last night, according to local health officials. NBC News has not verified the claims.
Rescuers pulled out the bodies of two children, Sila Hamdan, 11, and her sister Tala Hamdan, 9, from their home after the blast.
Residents covered the children's bodies in a cloth and carried them in the back of a truck to a morgue, where bodies were stacked on top of one another. Some were covered, and some were visible, including children with bloodied faces.
One after another, tearful relatives arrived, overcome with emotion while hugging the bodies of their lost loved ones.
In Qatar, hopes rise that more hostages will be released soon
DOHA, Qatar — There are new indications this morning that talks to free more Israeli hostages may soon see another release.
“At any moment of time, we will see some breakthrough, hopefully soon,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who serves as Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, told a news conference.
But there are still substantial hurdles. There does not appear to be an established safe handover method, which will be crucial if a much bigger group of hostages is freed. The first pair of hostages, Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie, crossed from Gaza into Israel. The second pair, Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, crossed into Egypt.
A Hamas official has told NBC News this was because Israel would not impose a temporary cease-fire, although a diplomat with knowledge of the talks denied that Israel had rejected a cessation of hostilities.
“To get them out safely, we need to make sure they are not caught in the crossfire,” another Qatari official said. “We need to ensure safe passage.”
Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders discuss route to 'victory'
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group held talks today with senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad figures in a key meeting of three top anti-Israel militant groups amid the war raging in Gaza.
A brief statement following the meeting said that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah agreed with Hamas’ Saleh al-Arouri and Islamic Jihad’s leader Ziad al-Nakhleh on the next steps that the three — along with other Iran-backed militants — should take at this "sensitive stage."
Their goal, according to the statement that was carried on Hezbollah-run and Lebanese state media, was to achieve "a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine" and halt Israel’s "treacherous and brutal aggression against our oppressed and steadfast people in Gaza and the West Bank."
Palestine Red Crescent says it received 8 aid trucks from Egypt
The Palestine Red Crescent said late yesterday that it received eight aid trucks from its Egyptian counterpart through the Rafah border crossing. The trucks contained water, food and medicine, it said, but no fuel.
Aid started moving into Gaza through the Rafah crossing during the weekend following intense diplomatic efforts, but it's not clear how much continues to flow in.
Rafah is the only crossing in and out of Gaza that is not controlled by Israel, and has become the focus of the international efforts to get much-needed humanitarian aid into the enclave.
Israel has 'no patience for nonsense' from Lebanon and Syria
Israel considers Lebanon and Syria "one large front" to the north and is issuing a stern warning to militant groups that may be looking to take advantage of the war with Hamas to strike, IDF Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told Sky News.
“We have no patience for nonsense, and we will deal, I would say, damning strikes against those that intend to attack us," he said.
Lerner accused Hezbollah of aggravating the situation in Lebanon while concerns of escalations with Syria are growing, as well.
The IDF said earlier that it responded to rocket launches from Syria by striking Syrian army infrastructure. The Syrian state news agency said eight soldiers were killed in the strike and seven others wounded.
Father of American stuck in Gaza fears things are getting worse
Emilee Rauschenberger is among 400 Americans stuck in Gaza with her Palestinian husband and their five young children.
As the family is unable to get out, her father in Florida says food and water are getting harder to find in the enclave, which has been under a complete blockade for more than two weeks.
"Things are getting worse," John Rauschenberger said. "And it scares me to death."
Last week, Emilee Rauschenberger told NBC News she was in Khan Yunis with her family, and they have been trying to get out of Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which remains closed. There was hope last week that foreign national Palestinians would be able to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing as it reopens for humanitarian aid but, so far, there has been no confirmed movement of people out of Gaza at the crossing.
Time to teach the U.N. 'a lesson,' Israeli diplomat says
TEL AVIV — A top Israeli diplomat has vowed to teach the United Nations “a lesson” by refusing visas to its representatives, the latest furious reaction to the U.N. secretary-general saying the Hamas attacks “did not happen in a vacuum.”
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., told army radio that the country had already refused a visa for Martin Griffiths, the international organization's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, and would continue this policy for other representatives.
“The time has come to teach them a lesson,” he said, according to Israeli media.
The comments come after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres caused outrage in Israel after saying that the Hamas attacks "did not happen in a vacuum” and said Israel was guilty of breaking international law.
In an apparent reaction to Israel's fury, Guterres posted on X overnight.
3 killed in Israeli raid near Jenin in the West Bank
Lawahez Jabari and Reuters
JERUSALEM — Palestinian health officials said three people were killed in an overnight raid near Jenin in the occupied West Bank after the Israeli military said it conducted "counterterrorism activities."
The IDF said it apprehended two people "suspected of involvement in terrorist activities" in Wadi Bruqin, in Jenin, during a raid with Israel's border police.
"Additionally, the forces opened fire toward armed terrorists," it said in a statement. "Hits were identified."
The IDF said it also deployed a drone against "armed terrorists" who fired at and hurled explosive devices at Israeli security forces in the Jenin refugee camp. "Hits were identified," it added, but no injuries to Israeli security forces were reported.
The West Bank has emerged as another front in Israel’s war with Hamas that began after militants staged an armed rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Since then, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
White House cancels state dinner performance by the B-52s
Dinner will still be served at the White House, but without any “Rock Lobster.”
The B-52s, the American band best known for the song “Love Shack,” will no longer be performing at a state dinner Biden is hosting tonight for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, first lady Jill Biden said yesterday, in favor of more somber entertainment amid the Israel-Hamas war.
“While we had initially planned for the legendary B-52s to perform their iconic dance and party music, we are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain,” she said.
The dinner will instead be accompanied by instrumental music from U.S. military bands, Biden said, while the B-52s will attend the dinner as guests.
Biden and Saudi prince discuss diplomatic war efforts
President Joe Biden spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday, with the two agreeing to pursue "broader diplomatic efforts" to prevent the war from spreading.
According to a readout of the call provided by the White House, the two leaders discussed humanitarian aid to Gaza and agreed to remain in close contact.
"They also affirmed the importance of working towards a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians as soon as the crisis subsides, building on the work that was already underway between Saudi Arabia and the United States over recent months," the readout said.
Blinken says he will work with China to stop war from spreading
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged members of the U.N. Security Council to stop the Israel-Hamas war from spreading, and said he would work with his Chinese counterpart “to do precisely that.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to arrive in Washington tomorrow for meetings with Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, amid U.S.-China differences on a range of issues including their response to the war.
In a call with Wang earlier this month, Blinken had urged China, which has close relations with Iran, to use its influence in the region to prevent the conflict from widening.
The U.S. does not seek conflict with Iran and does not want the war to widen, Blinken said at the Security Council meeting yesterday. But he said Washington would act “swiftly and decisively” if Tehran or its proxies attacked U.S. personnel anywhere.
U.N. shelters are at so much overcapacity that Gazans are sleeping in the streets
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency said today that its shelters in Gaza are operating at four times their capacity and housing almost 600,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli airstrikes.
That is forcing many people to sleep in the streets, the agency said.
IDF says it killed senior Hamas commander
JERUSALEM — Israel's military says it killed the commander of the North Khan Yunis sector battalion of Hamas.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said this morning that Taysir Mubasher served in the past as the commander of the naval force of Hamas and led many attacks against Israel.
NBC News has not verified the claim.
Syria says Israeli attack kills 8 soldiers
An Israeli attack on military positions in southwest Syria this morning killed eight soldiers and wounded seven more, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Citing a military source, SANA said Israel’s “aerial aggression” targeted a number of military positions near the southwestern city of Deraa. The strike also caused material damage, it reported.
Israel’s military said earlier that its jets had struck Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launchers in what it described as a response to rocket launches from Syria toward Israel.
U.N. operations in Gaza could stop today if fuel is not supplied
The United Nations' operations in the Gaza Strip could be forced to halt as soon as this evening as its fuel tanks run completely dry amid a continued blockade of the enclave by Israel.
The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has warned that it needs fuel urgently, or it will be unable to carry out its humanitarian mission for more than 2 million Palestinians caught in the fighting between Hamas and Israel.
UNRWA said fuel deliveries must be let in to ensure civilians have clean drinking water, hospitals can remain open and lifesaving aid operations can continue. Other humanitarian organizations have also said that shortage of fuel makes distributing any aid that trickles in difficult, if not impossible.
It comes more than two weeks after Israel started conducting devastating airstrikes and announced a complete blockade of Gaza, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity supplies after the bloody Hamas attack. The Israeli military has reiterated that fuel will not enter Gaza as long as it ends up in the hands of Hamas, which runs the enclave.
Time running out at overcrowded Gaza hospital
Agony and grief fill the halls of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, with the wounded in the hallways.
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah said that “40% of all of the wounded are children.”
Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza has a bed occupancy of around 150%, according to the World Health Organization, which warns that patients could die unless Gaza gets badly needed fuel.
Six hospitals across the Gaza Strip have already shut down because of lack of fuel, the WHO said.
Al-Shifa Hospital supplies are dwindling. “We’re running out of everything from simple dressings to complex burn dressings,” Abu-Sittah said. The hospital has over 150 people on ventilators in intensive care.
