Gaza death toll rises to 11,500

At least 11,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict escalated on October 7, Al Jazeera reported, citing the enclave’s government.

More than 29,000 people have suffered wounds in Gaza.

Heavy rain compounds misery for displaced Palestinians in Gaza

Heavy rainfall has descended on the besieged Gaza Strip, causing flooding in some areas and miserable conditions for displaced Palestinians.

In southern Gaza, where many displaced Palestinians are now living in temporary accomodation, the rain has seeped through their tents, soaking belongings and causing makeshift beds to become damp.

People are also struggling to stay warm in the cold conditions, with little to no source of heating due to the cutting of electricity and scarce levels of fuel.

معاناة النازحين الذين دمر الاحتلال بيوتهم في قطاع غزة مع دخول الأمطار والأجواء الباردة. pic.twitter.com/590sv0PP9C

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) November 14, 2023

Death toll in Tulkarm rises to seven

The death toll of Palestinians killed by an Israeli raid on the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm has risen to seven, according to medics.

Israeli forces used snipers, bulldozers and drones in an operation that lasted over 12 hours.

At least 32 Palestinians have been killed in Tulkarm since 7 October, and 195 across the whole of the occupied West Bank.

UN: Water supplies halted due to lack of fuel

The United Nations says that infrastructure servicing running water and waste management in southern Gaza has ceased to function.

“Due to lack of fuel, public sewage pumping stations, 60 water wells in the south, the two main desalination plants in Rafah and the Middle Area, the two main sewage pumps in the south, and the Rafah wastewater treatment plant have all ceased operations,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported, citing the organisation’s Palestinian relief agency UNRWA.

“Coupled with the shutdown of municipal sanitation work, this is posing a serious threat to public health, increasing the risk of water contamination and the outbreak of diseases,” it added.

UN food agency says all Gaza population suffers from food insecurity

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has announced all the population of Gaza is currently suffering from food insecurity due to relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza.

“At this point, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) considers all the civilian population in Gaza to be food insecure,” QU Dongyu, director-general of the UN agency, said in a statement.

He also stated that before the current escalation, “close to 60% of households in Gaza were considered food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity.”

Dongyu added that the FAO “is fully committed to addressing the pressing humanitarian needs of the population in the Gaza Strip,” and stressed that an “immediate cease-fire” is “a prerequisite for food security, and the right to food is a basic human right.”

Al-Shifa Hospital director says 179 buried in ‘mass grave’

The director of Gaza’s largest hospital has confirmed 179 people have been buried in a “mass grave” in the complex.

“We were forced to bury them in a mass grave,” said al-Shifa Hospital Director Mohammad Abu Salmiya.

He added that seven babies and 29 intensive care patients are among those buried.

Over 1mln civilians could have left northern Gaza: IDF spokesperson

More than one million civilians could have left northern Gaza since the start of Israel’s ground operations, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Peter Lerner said at a briefing.

“Over the different periods of time, I can say that we’ve had quite a substantial success with several hundreds of thousands – some estimate that over a million – people have evacuated from northern areas and headed down south, which, of course, gives the ground operations the ability to maneuver and identify the enemy wherever they are hiding,” he pointed out.

However, according to Lerner, distinguishing between terrorists and civilians is “a huge challenge.”

Israel destroys 15,000 targets since start of Gaza operation: Spokesperson

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has destroyed 15,000 targets since the start of its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner said at a briefing.

“I can report that as we move into day 38, the IDF has had some substantial successes, including destroying some 15,000 targets, including 300 tunnel shafts,” he specified.

According to Lerner, IDF forces are also seeking out terrorist infrastructure, including places where members of the Hamas movement “are hiding out, where they are colluding, where they are planning their next attack.”

Far-right Israeli minister calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza

Israel’s controversial Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he supports “voluntary migration” of Palestinians in Gaza, calling it the “right humanitarian solution.”

On Monday, lawmakers Danny Danon, former ambassador to the UN, and Ram Ben-Barak, former deputy director of the Mossad, published a comment piece in the Wall Street Journal suggesting moving some people of Gaza to nations that will accept them.

“I welcome the initiative of members of Knesset Ram Ben-Barak and Danny Danon on the voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs to the countries of the world. This is the right humanitarian solution for the residents of Gaza and the entire region,” Smotrich wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

“The reception of refugees by the countries of the world that really want their best interests, with the support and generous financial assistance of the international community, and within the state of Israel is the only solution that will bring to the end of the suffering and pain of Jews and Arabs alike.”

In March, Smotrich received a backlash after saying the Palestinian people are “an invention” of the past century, with Palestinian officials blasting his comments as proof of the “racist” outlook of Israel’s far-right government.

UN says fighting preventing emergency workers from responding

Street fighting in Gaza City is preventing emergency workers from responding to calls for help from people trapped under rubble after Israeli bombardments, according to a UN report.

People who can no longer get out of their homes and those who need ambulances for the wounded often wait in vain, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported, citing the Palestinian Red Cross.

The emergency numbers of the Red Cross had received hundreds of calls from desperate people. There is a lack of fuel for the ambulances and fighting near the hospitals was so intense that rescue teams were unable to mobilise, the report added.

Israeli military names two soldiers killed fighting in the Gaza Strip

The Israeli military confirmed two more soldiers have been killed in its ground-invasion of the Gaza Strip, bringing its death toll to 46.

Staff Sergeant Roee Marom, 21, a squad commander in the 906 Battalion; and Major Raz Abulafia, 27, of the 6863 Battalion, were killed fighting in Gaza, a military spokesperson confirmed Tuesday morning.

Israel and Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam brigades, have been engaging in fierce urban combat around Gaza City.

On Tuesday, Hamas released a video showing its fighters hiding in bombed-out buildings as they fired on Israeli tanks and soldiers with Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s) and bazookas.

All Gaza hospitals could shut down in 48 hours: Health ministry

In an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Dr Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesman for Gaza’s health ministry, said that due to fuel shortages, all of the besieged enclave’s hospitals could shut down in 48 hours.

The spokesman added that healthcare has already been out of service, particularly in the northern part of Gaza.

The two largest medical facilities in Gaza, the al-Shifa and al-Quds hospitals, shut operations on Monday, citing a lack of fuel to keep medical equipment working.

The UN agencies have described the situation in Gaza as “dire” and have called for a ceasefire and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the internally-displaced Palestinians.

At least nine killed by Israeli strikes in Khan Younis

At least nine Palestinians, including children, have been killed and several more injured by Israeli air strikes on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli raids hit two homes belonging to the Al-Agha and Abu Gemayzeh families, according to Palestinian news agency, Wafa news.

Gaza is on the brink of a communication blackout: Palestinian telecommunication minister

The Gaza Strip is facing an imminent, complete halt of communications and internet services by Thursday, the Palestinian telecommunication minister has stated.

The expected interruption is due to the depletion of fuel supplies and is expected to exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis by hindering Palestinians’ ability to reach emergency, relief and rescue services, according to Ishaq Sidr, the minister of telecommunications and information technology.

An outage could prevent Civil Defense and Red Crescent teams from coordinating a response to emergency sites, Sidr said at a news conference from the occupied West Bank.

Any interruption between the crews of these groups on the ground and their centers of communication “may cause the inability to direct these crews to distress sites, which means the loss of many lives, and deliberately depriving our people in Gaza of their right to communicate, especially in light of the displacement and continuous bombing,” Sidr added.

The minister characterized these developments as a “violation of international law and basic human rights.”

Five killed in Israeli assault on Tulkarm refugee camp in occupied West Bank

Five Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military during a large-scale raid on Tulkarm refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to local media.

Saeed Suleiman Youssef Abu Tahoun, 24, Jihad Khaled Muqbil Ghanem, 27, and Musab Omar Ahmed Al-Ghoul, 21, were killed by an Israeli drone strike, according to local media.

Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said Mahmoud Ali Hadayda, 25, and Hazem al-Hosary, 28 were both shot by Israeli soldiers. They were rushed to Martyr Thabet Thabet Government Hospital for treatment where they died of their wounds.

Israeli forces raided homes throughout the camp and initially prevented ambulances from entering.

Israeli troops were supported by rooftop snipers, a reconnaissance plane and military bulldozer. Heaving fighting was reported between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli military, according to local media

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Palestinian armed group, announced it damaged 3 Israeli military vehicles and targeted a military bulldozer with an explosive device amid the fighting. The group claimed to have inflicted casualties amongst the Israeli troops.

Separately, local media reported that Mohammad Abd al-Majid al-Halayqa, died after being shot by the near the Beit Aynoun intersection in Hebron.

About 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza have moved south since November 5: UN

The UN’s humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, reported about 200,000 Palestinians have left northern Gaza for southern parts of the enclave since November 5 through an Israeli military “corridor”.

“Overcrowding and limited access to shelter, food and water, in the south, are of increasing concern,” the agency announced.

Here’s more from OCHA’s latest update on the situation in Gaza:

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians “who are either unwilling or unable to move to the south remain in the north” amid continued fighting. “They are struggling to secure the minimum amount of water and food for survival.”
Concerns are growing about dehydration and waterborne diseases as people are forced to consume water from unsafe sources.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza did not update its casualty figures for the third consecutive day on Monday due to “the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north”.
A total of 115 trucks – carrying food, medicines, health supplies, bottled water, blankets, tents and hygiene products – crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Monday, bringing the total number of trucks entering the enclave since October 21 to 1,096.
About 600 foreign nationals and dual citizens, as well as four injured people, were able to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Monday.

Israeli airstrikes leave 31 Palestinians killed in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp

Israeli air raids on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed dozens of Palestinians on Monday evening, Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported.

At least 31 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack, which also left dozens injured, said the agency.

It added that the Israeli airstrikes targeted 12 homes in a densely populated area near the Jabalia Services Club in the camp for Palestinian refugees.

Over 100 UN staffers killed in Gaza since war began: Aid agency

At least 102 United Nations staff members have been killed in Gaza since the war began, a UN aid agency operating in the enclave confirmed Monday.

“In the last 24 hours, one UNRWA staff member was killed with her family in the north of the Gaza Strip due to strikes,” bringing the death toll to more than 100, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement.

At least 27 staff members have also been injured since the start of the war, it said.

“This is the highest number of United Nations aid workers killed in a conflict in the history of the United Nations,” UNRWA added.

United Nations offices around the world lowered their flags to half-mast on Monday and all UN staff held a moment of silence to mourn and honor their colleagues who lost their lives in Gaza, according to the statement.

Humanitarian disaster in Gaza ‘happening in plain sight’: UN

The United Nations on Monday voiced concern over the “really dire” situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the humanitarian disaster there is taking place in “plain sight”.

“The situation is really, really dire. We’re extremely concerned about what may happen over the next few days,” Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at his daily press briefing.

“This is not happening behind closed doors. This is happening in plain sight, this humanitarian disaster, and we need all the help that we can get,” he stated.

Dujarric added that the UN has been taking the initiative to remain side by side with the people of Gaza.

“We’re continuing to deliver whatever humanitarian aid we can as safely as possible. This is one of the reasons we have and will continue to push for humanitarian cease-fire,” he continued.

US: ‘We don’t know how many hostages are alive’

In a press briefing on the Gaza war, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan stated: “I cannot look you in the eye and tell you how many of those hostages are still alive.”

Among the 239 hostages being held in Gaza, there are also nine Americans.

Israel executed Palestinians fleeing North Gaza: Human rights group

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor says it has documented reports of the execution of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli army forces during their displacement from northern Gaza to central and southern parts of the Strip, even though they did not pose any threat.

The group did not give an exact number of “executions” but announced it received hundreds of reports.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory added there were reports that Palestinians were targeted by live bullets and sometimes artillery in premeditated killings during their attempt to flee at the request of the Israeli army to the area south of Wadi Gaza.

The Observatory received reports from displaced people reporting killings at military checkpoints set up by the Israeli army as part of its designation of a “safe corridor” along the main traffic artery, Salah al-Din Road, between 9:00 and 16:00 local time during the day.

The group has called on the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to open an independent investigation into the matter.

MSF staff say snipers shot at patients in al-Shifa Hospital

After regaining contact with a staff member trapped in Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) released a statement with the latest from inside the besieged medical complex.

We don’t have electricity. There’s no water in the hospital. There’s no food. People will die in a few hours without functioning ventilators. In front of the main gate, there are many bodies. There are also injured patients; we can’t bring them inside.
When we sent an ambulance to bring the patients – a few meters away – and they attacked the ambulance. There are injured people around the hospital looking for medical care. We can’t bring them inside.
There’s also a sniper who attacked patients, they have gunshot wounds. We operated on three of them.
The situation is very bad, it is inhuman. It’s a closed area no one knows about us. We don’t have an internet connection – you managed to call me now, [but] maybe you’ll [have to] try 10 times before you can reach me again.
The medical team agreed to leave the hospital only if patients are evacuated first. We don’t want to leave our patients. There are 600 inpatients, 37 babies, someone who needs an ICU. We can’t leave them.
We need a guarantee that there is a safe corridor [to leave] because we saw some people trying to leave al-Shifa and they killed them, they bombed them, the sniper killed them. Inside al-Shifa Hospital, there are injured patients and medical teams. If they give us guarantees and evacuate the patients first, we will evacuate.

More than 700,000 children displaced in Gaza: UNICEF

The United Nations child rights agency announced those hundreds of thousands of children have been “forced to leave everything behind”.

“As humanitarian needs grow, UNICEF calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for sustained and unimpeded access to provide assistance and safe release of all abducted children,” UNICEF said.

UNRWA says received reports Israel used school, health centres for military operations

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it received reports that Israeli forces “conducted interrogations and arrests” of internally displaced Palestinians in the installations in Gaza City.

They entered one school and two health centres with tanks, UNRWA added.

“In one health centre, five people were reportedly killed. According to the reports, IDPs [internally displaced persons] were subsequently forced to leave the UNRWA installations and move south towards Wadi Gaza. Witnesses reported that Israeli forces then struck the two health centres with artillery fire,” the agency said, adding that it was verifying the reports.

“If confirmed, the military use of UNRWA facilities raises serious concerns, as such use puts civilians at serious risk of harm. Directing attacks against civilian objects is a serious violation of international law. Health centres, in particular, are also afforded special protection against attack.”

Netanyahu says it’s “war to end” against Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday doubled down on Israel’s war against Hamas, vowing that Israel will see the “war to the end.”

“This is neither an ‘operation’ nor a ’round’ but a war to the end. It is important to me that you know this. This is not lip service, but from the heart and mind. If we do not finish them, it will come back,” Netanyahu told soldiers of Israel’s Caracal Battalion during a visit.

Netanyahu on Sunday refused to answer whether he would take responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7 attack on Israel, saying that there would be time for such “difficult” questions once the war is over.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Netanyahu acknowledged that it is “a question that needs to be asked,” but that the country for now needs to unite around the goal of defeating Hamas – the militant group that controls Gaza and launched the assault on Israel.

“We’re going to answer all these questions,” the prime minister continued, adding that, “Right now, I think what we have to do is unite the country for one purpose; to achieve victory.”

US official tells reporters he cannot say whether Israel is abiding by laws of war

Jake Sullivan has said that he cannot make a legal determination as to whether Israel is abiding by the laws of war, but he stressed that the US position is that the Israeli army should distinguish between fighters and civilians.

“I am not in a position to give you a legal determination to your question,” the White House national security adviser said when asked about possible Israeli war crimes.

“What I’m in a position to do is to state the US government position on how the Israeli operation should be conducted.”

He added that Israel has a responsibility to “act in ways that separate terrorists from civilians”.

Parachuting aid into Gaza ‘last resort’: UN

Parachuting aid into the Gaza Strip is a “last resort”, a UN official said on Monday but stressed that it would be logistically “very challenging.”

“Parachuting is always the last resort in terms if you ask any logistical colleagues because it’s very, very expensive and not sustainable,” Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated at a news briefing.

De Domenico added that there are ways to bring in assistance if the parties agree on unimpeded and continuous access.

His remarks came after Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the EU and the UN to parachute aid into the Gaza Strip.

“So I think it is the first entry points should be insisting in opening the crossings and making sure that sustained supplies goes in rather than thinking of extreme scenarios.”

“I know that the Jordanians did already a launch with aid through aircraft. But of course as you can imagine the quantities are limited and as I said is really logistically very, very challenging,” De Domenico continued.

Turning to the intensified fighting around Al-Shifa hospital over the weekend, he said infrastructure, including water tanks, oxygen stations, the cardiovascular facility, and the maternity ward, were damaged.

“We call everybody to respect hospitals… Hospitals must not be made places of warfare. Any military operation around or within hospital must take steps to spare and protect the patients, medical staff and other civilians.”

“And all feasible precautions must be taken, including the effective warnings which consider the ability of patients, medical staff and other civilians to evacuate safely,” he stressed.

De Domenico added that there are “simply no options” to relocate the patients in safety in any place in Gaza.

The official also warned that the lives in Gaza are “hanging by a thread” due to depleting fuel and medical supplies.

Israeli foreign minister admits global pressure over Gaza war increasing

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated on Monday that his country may have up to three weeks to continue its bombardment of Gaza before pressure for a ceasefire ratchets up.

“From a political point of view, we recognise that Israel has come under more pressure,” Cohen said.

“The pressure is not very high, but it is increasing.”

He added that “in conversations I hold with foreign ministers, they emphasise the humanitarian issue [in Gaza], the aspect of their identification and shock from the October 7 massacre is reduced. There are also those who request – not publicly – to work towards a ceasefire.”

UNRWA says fuel shortage will shut down aid work in Gaza within 48 hours

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has said that it will be forced to suspend aid work in the Gaza Strip within 48 hours, as an Israeli siege strains access to much-needed fuel.

In a social media post on Monday, Thomas White, the Gaza chief for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said that fuel has not been allowed into Gaza for more than a month, as humanitarian conditions reach critical levels.

“The humanitarian operation in Gaza will grind to a halt in the next 48 hours as no fuel is allowed to enter Gaza,” White wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 11,240

The Israeli bombardment of Gaza since 7 October has killed 11,240 Palestinians, including 4,630 children and 3,130 women, the government media office in Gaza confirmed on Monday.

Around 29,000 people have been wounded, 70 percent of them women and children.

More than 3,000 people are still missing, including at least 1,500 children. The vast majority of these people are believed to be dead and buried under rubble.

US president says ‘somewhat hopeful’ on captive release negotiations

In his brief remarks to reporters in the Oval Office earlier, President Joe Biden said an effort is under way to secure the release of captives held in Gaza.

“That’s being negotiated, as well. The Qataris are engaged and so I remain somewhat hopeful,” the US president stated.

During a news conference at the White House, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that freeing the captives is a priority for Biden and his top aides.

“We have all spoken with families of US citizens who are being held hostage by Hamas and have raised this issue with all of our counterparts. This remains a paramount priority for us,” Sullivan added.

Biden also said that the hospital, referring to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, must be protected and that he hopes there will be “less intrusive” action there.

He added that there is an effort to use a pause in hostilities to deal with the release of prisoners being negotiated by Qatar.

Al-Shifa, the enclave’s largest hospital, has been under siege for days and running without fuel.

Israel-Palestine conflict LIVE: Health ministry says all Gaza hospitals could shut down in 48 hours