Israel-Hamas - live: IDF ‘divides Gaza into two’ as besieged area sees third communication blackout

Israel’s military said it has encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group in the enclave.

It comes as Gaza sees its third communication outage in nearly a month-long war.

The “collapse in connectivity” across Gaza, reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel, made it even more complicated to convey details of the new stage of the military offensive.

Gaza has been hit by an unprecedented level of airstrikes as the Israeli military said it was conducting a “significant attack” only hours after announcing it had severed the enclave into two having reached the Mediterranean coastline.

Israeli warplanes also struck two refugee camps, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens in central Gaza, the zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians to seek refuge, health officials said. Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush Hamas, despite US appeals for brief pauses to get aid to desperate civilians.

More than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in nearly a month of war in Gaza, with about 4,000 of them minors, said Hamas-run Health Ministry

Key Points

• Blinken urged to back ceasfire on visit to occupied West Bank

• Some 3,760 children killed in Gaza since war started - UN

• IDF: 2,500 targets hit since groud invasion began

• Dozens killed in Israeli strike on refugee camp

• Blinken says ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup

• 400,000 still in northern Gaza

• Netanyahu says offensive will continue ‘full steam ahead’ until hostages released

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11:17 , Matt Mathers

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Hundreds of thousands of Gazans face water shortages - UN

11:14 , Matt Mathers

Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza face water shortages following the shutdown of wells due to a lack of fuel, the United Nations has said.

“This situation raises concerns of dehydration and waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources,” the NGO said in a statement.

“However, a precise assessment is uncertain due to hostilities and access restrictions.”

“On 4 and 5 November, seven water facilities across the Gaza Strip were directly hit and sustained major damage, including three sewage pipelines in Gaza city, two water reservoirs (in Gaza City, Rafah and Jabalia refugee camp) and two water wells in Rafah.”

“Distribution of food assistance to IDPs in Gaza city and northern Gaza was almost completely halted for the past few days, following the intensification of ground operations.”

243 Palestinians killed in 24 hours

11:06 , Matt Mathers

234 Palestinians have been killed in 24 attacks over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s health ministry has said.

It said a number of the 47 people killed in the Al-Maghazi School attack remain trapped under the rubble.

“The death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 9,770 martyrs, including 4,008 children, 2,550 women, 596 elderly people, and 24,808 thousand injured with various injuries since the seventh of last October,” it said in a statement.

The ministry added that 70 per cent of the nearly 10,000 killed are women and children.

Gaza’s only psychiatric hospital damaged in strikes - health ministry

11:00 , Matt Mathers

Gaza’s only psychiatric hospital has been damaged during intensifying Israeli strikes, the Gaza health ministry has said.

Pictures of the hospital, provided by the health ministry, show damaged walls and treatment rooms with rubble all over the floor.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

IDF encircles Gaza

10:48 , Matt Mathers

Israel’s military said it has encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group in the enclave.

US sends nuclear submarine to Middle East

10:40 , Matt Mathers

The US has sent a nuclear submarine to the Middle East amid rising tensions over the Hamas-Israel war, according to a report.

On November 5, 2023, an Ohio-class submarine arrived in the US Central Command area of responsibility,” US Central Command, which cover the Middle East, said on X.

It was an unusual announcement viewed by some analysts as a message to Iran, which backs Hamas.

Israeli soldier stabbed in east Jerusalem

09:59 , Matt Mathers

An Israeli soldier was seriously injured after being stabbed near a police station in east Jerusalem earlier this morning, police say.

The suspected attacker was shot dead and a second suspect has been arrested.

Police said a second man also suffered a minor stab wound in the attack, which took place near the Shalmen police station in the Old City.

Communications gradually being restores across Gaza

09:49 , Matt Mathers

Communication services have been gradually restored across Gaza, a main telecoms provider and an advocacy group said Monday.

Palestinian communications company Paltel announced that its services, including fixed, mobile and internet communications, have been gradually restored.

Alp Toker, director of the internet advocacy group NetBlocks.org, confirmed that internet connectivity has been restored to levels prior to Sunday’s disruption.

Overall service, however, remained significantly below prewar levels, he said.

Blinken meets Turkish foreign minister

09:44 , Matt Mathers

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has arrived in Ankara, Turkey for talks with leaders there aimed at getting a humanitarian pause in the Hamas-Israel war.

He met with the country’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan earlier. On Sunday he made an unannounced visit to the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who joined international calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Blinken repeated US concerns that a ceasefire could aid Hamas, but Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled one out for now.

“There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages,” Netanyahu said.

France in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded

09:24 , Matt Mathers

France is in talks with Egypt to establish a military medical facility on the ground, which would include surgical capacities for people seriously wounded in the neighbouring Gaza Strip, France’s defence minister said in remarks published on Monday.

Paris will host an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza later this week as it looks to coordinate international efforts for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave.

Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the past 24 hours, the Israel Defence Forces said on Monday, while the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said the air strikes killed dozens of people.

"There are also still discussions with Egypt in order to preposition a French military health offering on the ground, particularly providing surgery for war injuries," Sebastien Lecornu said in an interview with Lebanon’s L’Orient le Jour newspaper.

Boris Johnson wades into row over pro-Palestine Armistice march as pressure grows on Met chief

09:10 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson has waded into the row over whether a pro-Palestine march should be allowed to go ahead on Armistice day, saying that it would be “obscene”.

During a visit to Israel, the former prime minister said demonstrations, which have taken place weekly since Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks, represent support for “an anti-semitic pogrom”.

And he called on protesters to “remember that Remembrance Sunday is there very largely to commemorate the many, many people in our country, but also across the Commonwealth, who fought against Nazism and fascism”.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Boris Johnson wades into row over pro-Palestine Armistice march

Leader of Burnley Council and 10 others quit Labour over Starmer’s Gaza ceasefire stance

09:09 , Matt Mathers

Burnley’s council leader has quit the Labour Party just days after urging Sir Keir Starmer to resign as leader over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Councillor Afrasiab Anwar said it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave the Labour Party.

Mr Anwar and 10 other councillors have, according to a statement, jointly decided to leave the party – describing their memberships as “untenable” given the leadership’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East.

Patrick Daly reports:

Leader of Burnley Council and 10 others quit Labour over Starmer’s Gaza stance

‘Enough is enough’: UN-led NGOs call for ceasefire

08:35 , Matt Mathers

A United Nations-led group of nearly 20 NGOs has said “enough is enough” as they called for the release of all Hamas hostages in Gaza and an immediate ceasefire.

“We renew our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held hostage,” the group said in a statement. “Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on – including hospitals, shelters and schools – must be protected.

“More aid – food, water, medicine and of course fuel – must enter Gaza safely, swiftly and at the scale needed, and must reach people in need, especially women and children, wherever they are.

“We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough. This must stop now.”

Boris Johnson wades into row over pro-Palestine Armistice march as pressure grows on Met chief

08:25 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson has waded into the row over whether a pro-Palestine march should be allowed to go ahead on Armistice day, saying that it would be “obscene”.

During a visit to Israel, the former prime minister said demonstrations, which have taken place weekly since Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks, represent support for “an anti-semitic pogrom”.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Boris Johnson wades into row over pro-Palestine Armistice march

Israel ambassador to US calls Gaza the world’s ‘biggest terror complex’

08:15 , Matt Mathers

Michael Hertzog, the Israeli ambassador to the US, says Gaza is “the biggest terror complex in the world,” with tens of thousands of fighters and rockets, among other weaponry — and 500km of underground tunnels.

“This is what we’re up against. And we have to uproot it, because if we do not, they will strike again and again,” Mr Hertzog told CBS in an interview aired yesterday.

He also said Israel was making every effort to distinguish between “terrorists and the civilian population” in its war with the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza.

“This is a very complicated military operation in a densely populated area, and we’re trying to move the population away from that war zone,” he said.

Jordan air-drops aid to hospital in Gaza

08:05 , Matt Mathers

Medical aid was airdropped into Gaza by a Jordanian military cargo aircraft, the kingdom’s leader announced on social media early today.

A trickle of humanitarian aid has entered Gaza via its land border with Egypt, but this appeared to be the first time aid was delivered by Jordan, a key US ally that has a peace deal with Israel.

King Abdullah II said the aid reached the Jordanian field hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. “This is our duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

King Abdullah II has recalled its ambassador to Israel and told Israel’s envoy not to return to Jordan until the Gaza crisis was over.

12 injured in ‘intensifying’ attacks on area around al-Quds hospital

07:56 , Matt Mathers

Twelve people have been injured - four of whom are in a critical condition - following a “relentless and severe” attack on the area near the al-Quds hospital, an aid organisation has said.

“ Heavy artillery and aerial bombardment from all directions have injured 12 displaced individuals inside, with four in critical condition,” the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement on X.

“Two patients, one in the ICU, and 35 others in front of the hospital are also injured”.

Israel takes out Hamas outpost in 450 overnight strikes - IDF

07:45 , Matt Mathers

Israeli forces took out a Hamas outpost in about 450 strikes across Gaza overnight, a military spokesperson has said.

Israel Defence Forces said training facilities for “terrorist operatives, as well as terrorist tunnels” were also destroyed.

“During the last day, fighter jets of the Air Force attacked about 450 targets of the terrorist organization Hamas,” it said in a statement.

“In addition, the forces of the Navy attacked headquarters, anti-tank missile launching positions and other observation posts of the terrorist organization.”

Who should take control of Gaza after Israel is finished with Hamas?

07:42 , Matt Mathers

US secretary of state Antony Blinken wants Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, to play a central role in governing Gaza, writes Kim Sengupta.

But imposing a new leader will be hugely problematic. Read Kim’s full piece here:

What happens to Gaza after Israel is finished with Hamas? | Kim Sengupta

Britain temporarily withdraws some embassy staff from Lebanon

07:31 , Matt Mathers

Britain’s Foreign Office said on Monday it was temporarily withdrawing some British embassy staff from Lebanon.

It had already advised Britons against all travel to Lebanon due to the conflict between neighbouring Israel and Gaza, and encouraged any Britons still in the country to leave while commercial flights remain.

Current Foreign Office guidance also advises against all travel to Lebanon amid heightened tensions along the border with Israel.

Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants and their allies have been clashing for a month along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

US military acknowledges positioning submarine in Mideast

07:30 , Namita Singh

The US military has acknowledged positioning a nuclear-capable submarine in the Middle East.

It provided no other details in its online statement yesterday, though it posted an image that appeared to show a submarine in Egypt’s Suez Canal near its Suez Canal Bridge.

US acknowledgment of an Ohio-class submarine location is incredibly rare as they represent part of America’s so-called “nuclear triad” of atomic weapons — which also includes land-based ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs aboard strategic bombers.

Several Ohio-class submarines instead carry cruise missiles and the capability to deploy with special operations forces, so it’s unclear if the submarine operating now in the Mideast carries nuclear ballistic missiles.

The US has deployed submarines into the region before and announced its recent presence as tensions were high with Iran.

Central Command separately released an image of a nuclear-capable B-1 bomber also operating in the Mideast yesterday

ICYMI: Humza Yousaf in-laws are ‘safe and back home’

07:20 , Namita Singh

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has said his in-laws are “safe and back home” after they fled Gaza.

Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, from Dundee, were among 92 British nationals permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

The couple travelled to Gaza to visit family prior to the conflict erupting and had been trapped there since.

Report:

Humza Yousaf in-laws are ‘safe and back home’ after fleeing Gaza

Pressure mounts on Israel over civilian casualties as ceasefire calls rebuffed

07:15 , Namita Singh

Having rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, Israel was set to come under sustained pressure today to avoid civilian casualties during its assault on Gaza, while a US diplomatic blitz in the region sought to reduce risks of the conflict escalating.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken was due to meet with Turkey’s foreign minister in Ankara on Monday, hours after hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian protest tried to storm an air base that houses US troops in southern Turkey.

Mr Blinken yesterday made an unannounced visit to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who joined international calls for an immediate ceasefire.

But after Mr Blinken repeated US concerns that a ceasefire could aid Hamas, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled that out unless hostages held by Hamas were released.

“There will be no ceasefire without the return of the hostages. This should be completely removed from the lexicon,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Israeli jets hit a house near a school, killing at least 13

07:10 , Namita Singh

Israeli jets struck a house near a school at the crowded Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip yesterday. At least 13 people were killed, hospital workers said.

Dozens of residents scrambled to remove the wounded and dead trapped under the rubble. Young men rushed carrying the wounded to ambulances near the school, which took them to Al-Aqsa Hospital. Hospital workers told AP that at least 13 people died.

The Bureij refugee camp is home to an estimated 46,000 people. Many Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza have stayed in refugee camps and schools as temporary shelters.

Protesters in Turkey march to the US embassy

07:05 , Namita Singh

Supporters of an Islamist group marched to the US Embassy in Ankara yesterday, hours ahead of secretary of state Antony Blinken’s expected arrival in the Turkish capital.

Several hundred protesters chanted “God is great” and held their index fingers skywards as they approached the compound in the city’s Cukurambar neighborhood. Riot police lined up in front of the US complex as the crowd, many carrying black and white flags with Arabic script, called for Turkish soldiers to be sent to Gaza.

Schools and hospitals hit by strikes as Israel snubs US warnings with increased attacks in Gaza

07:00 , Tom Watling

Intense airstrikes by Israel on Gaza have damaged United Nations schools, hospitals and ambulance convoys, despite mounting pressure from the US and Arab states for Tel Aviv to allow humanitarian pauses.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu snubbed blunt warnings from Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, on Friday that Israel risks losing any hope of an eventual peace deal with the Palestinians unless it eases the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Schools and hospitals hit by strikes as Israel snubs US with more attacks in Gaza

Israeli troops find weapons cache in Gaza

06:55 , Namita Singh

The Israeli military said Sunday that it discovered an extensive stash of weapons in a home in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip as it searched the area.

It found rifles, grenades, explosives, suicide drones and missiles in the residence, bringing some of the weapons back to Israel to inspect them. The military said that forces had also destroyed a nearby explosives lab.

New US ambassador to Israel says release of hostages is a top priority

06:50 , Namita Singh

Israel’s president received the diplomatic credentials of the newly minted US ambassador to Israel yesterday, with both men expressing the strong bond between the two countries during wartime.

Ambassador Jacob Lew said he had met with the families of those held hostage in Gaza during his visit, and that the release of the hostages was a top priority for the US. He reiterated US support for Israel in the war effort.

“As President Biden has said so passionately, Israel has a right and indeed a responsibility to defend this nation and its people in a manner that reflects the values that we share,” Mr Lew said.

President Isaac Herzog thanked Lew and said he was “speaking for all Israelis when I say: never has American friendship been more evident or more valued than it is right now.”

Britons in Gaza stranded as Rafah crossing remains shut for second day

06:45 , Namita Singh

The Rafah crossing did not reopen on Sunday despite UK hopes that the situation could be resolved to allow more Britons to escape from Gaza.

The impasse in delicate diplomatic relations between Egypt, Israel and Hamas means UK nationals waiting by the border checkpoint have been stranded for a second day.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said during a Sunday media round that the UK government was “hopeful that the crossing will reopen again today” and that additional British citizens would be able to leave Gaza.

But the Foreign Office confirmed that the key border post remained closed to foreign nationals on Sunday, having been shut on Saturday following an apparent row between Israel and the Palestinians over evacuating injured patients.

More here:

Britons in Gaza stranded as Rafah crossing remains shut for second day

Former president Obama says all sides of conflict are ‘complicit to some degree’

06:40 , Namita Singh

Former president Barack Obama says “nobody’s hands are clean” in the Israel-Hamas war and acknowledged that he’s questioned in recent days whether his administration could have done more to push for a durable peace when he was in power.

“If you want to solve the problem, then you have to take in the whole truth,” Mr Obama said in an interview on “Pod Save America.” “And you then have to admit nobody’s hands are clean. That all of us are complicit to some degree.”

The former president did make an attempt at peace between Israel and Palestinians during his second term, but months of talks collapsed in 2014 amid disagreements on Israeli settlements, the release of Palestinian prisoners and other issues.

“I look at this and I think back what could I have done during my presidency to move this forward — as hard as I tried, I’ve got the scars to prove it,” Mr Obama said in an excerpt released on X.

The entire interview is scheduled to be released on today.

State-run news in Iran says supreme leader met Hamas chief

06:35 , Namita Singh

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The date of the meeting was not disclosed in the report yesterday.

According to IRNA, Mr Khamenei praised the patience and endurance of the people of Gaza and emphasised Iran’s policy in supporting the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Khamenei urged Islamic countries and international organisations to take serious actions in support of Gaza’s people.

Israel’s military last week accused Haniyeh, who lives in exile, of flying to Iran on a “private jet” as the people of Gaza suffer in a devastating Israeli offensive against Hamas.

Israel accuses Iran of destabilising the region by supporting proxies like Hamas and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

Zelensky says Israel-Gaza war is ‘taking away focus’ from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

06:30 , Namita Singh

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that the war in Israel and Gaza is “taking away the focus” from Russia’s full-scale invasion as he denied suggestions that the conflict in eastern Europe had reached a stalemate.

Speaking at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday alongside European commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Zelensky said Russia wanted the focus on Ukraine to be “weakened” but added that “everything is [still] in our power”.

Mr Zelensky has offered to visit Israel, though he has admitted it is “difficult” because it depends on “what’s happening on the battlefield” in Ukraine, which he said remains “hot”.

My colleague Tom Watling reports:

Zelensky says Israel-Gaza war is ‘taking away focus’ from Ukraine

GOP congressman claims some Palestinians are ‘paid actors’ pretending to be dead

06:15 , Namita Singh

Republican Florida Representative Cory Mills claimed that “paid actors” are pretending to be killed in Gaza under the bombardment from Israel following the 7 October attack by Hamas.

“What the mainstream media is saying about the indiscriminate fire and the actors — I mean you literally have paid actors who are pretending to be killed, pretending to be treated,” he said in Kissimmee outside Orlando on Saturday, where the Florida Freedom Summit was being hosted.

“So what I ask every individual as we already do here in America, educate yourself and find good, positive outsources and stop trusting mainstream media that corrupts the minds of every single American at home,” he added.

Gustaf Kilander reports:

GOP congressman claims some Palestinians are ‘paid actors’ pretending to be dead

Dozens arrested as pro-Palestine protesters march through London after Oxford Circus brought to a standstill

06:00 , Tom Watling

Tens of thousands of protesters joined pro-Palestine marches across the UK to call for an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza, with Oxford Circus brought to a standstill.

Hundreds of demonstrators stopped traffic for more than an hour as they staged a sit-in at the corner of Oxford Circus and Regent Street during the shopping district’s busiest hours.

It came ahead of a huge protest in another part of central London which police believe attracted around 30,000 people. A total of 29 arrests were made in the capital, including two people on suspicion of breaching the Terrorism Act over the wording of banners at the event.

A man suspected of making anti-Semitic comments in a speech was also arrested suspicion of inciting racial hatred, while three others were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

Oxford Circus at standstill as hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters stage sit-in

US top diplomat visits West Bank in bid for future peace as airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza

05:45 , Namita Singh

US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited the West Bank on Sunday as he claimed the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) should play a central role in the future of the Gaza Strip.

Mr Blinken passed through Israeli checkpoints to meet PA president Mahmoud Abbas in the city of Ramallah on his second visit to the region since Palestinian Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 others hostage.

More here:

US top diplomat visits Palestinian West Bank as airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza

Met Police could ban pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day

05:32 , Namita Singh

Police are considering whether to ban a controversial pro-Palestinian march in London planned for Armistice Day.

Scotland Yard said it would use “all powers and tactics” at its disposal to prevent disruption, including Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, which allows the banning of a procession when there is a risk of serious disorder.

Report:

Met Police could ban pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day

Israel must pause hostilities in Gaza to allow aid to reach its desperate civilian population

05:30 , Namita Singh

Four weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, peace is as far away as ever. Humanitarian support must be allowed into Gaza to limit the damage to innocent people. Read our editorial here:

Editorial: Israel must pause hostilities in Gaza to allow aid for civilians

Labour frontbencher John Healey accepts Starmer’s approach to Israel-Hamas war has ‘caused hurt’

05:00 , Tom Watling

The shadow defence secretary has acknowledged Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war has “caused hurt to many people”.

John Healey’s comments come as the Labour leader battles to maintain discipline inside his party, amid a revolt over his refusal to call for a ceasefire.

Sir Keir has instead joined the UK and the US in urging a humanitarian “pause”, short of a full-scale ceasefire, in Gaza.

Earlier this week, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar criticised Sir Keir for having “hurt” Muslim communities during an interview with LBC in which he suggested the Israeli government had the right to withhold water and power.

Asked if he accepted Mr Sarwar’s criticism that Sir Keir’s approach had caused hurt to Muslim voters, Mr Healey told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I accept that it’s caused hurt to many people and Keir Starmer would do that as well.

John Healey accepts Starmer’s approach to Israel-Hamas war has ‘caused hurt’

Irish girl, 8, feared dead in Hamas attack could still be alive – report

04:58 , Namita Singh

The daughter of an Irish national believed to have been killed in the Hamas attacks of 7 October reportedly could be still alive and being held hostage.

Emily Hand, eight, was feared dead after the assault on Kibbutz Be’eri.

Hamas killed more than 100 people in the kibbutz, with dozens more missing following the violence.

The girl’s father, Thomas Hand – who is originally from Dublin, gave an emotional media interview after being informed she had likely been murdered in the attack.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that the family has been informed Emily may be alive and being held hostage in Gaza. The Israeli Defence Forces told them of this possibility on 31 October, the reports said.

More here:

Irish girl, 8, feared dead in Hamas attack could still be alive - report

Six people charged by police after pro-Palestinian protest in London

04:00 , Tom Watling

Six people have been charged following instances of public disorder and anti-social behaviour during a pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday, the police have said.

More than 1,000 police officers were on duty during the marches in central London.

A police statement said “the vast majority of people demonstrated peacefully” but there were multiple reports of criminal behaviour.

The Metropolitan Police said they arrested 29 people throughout the day, as well as one further person on Sunday morning, and have since charged six people.

Six people charged by police after pro-Palestinian protest in London

Israel strikes two refugee camps in Gaza, killing 53

03:43 , Namita Singh

Israeli warplanes yesterday struck two refugee camps, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens in central Gaza, the zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians to seek refuge, health officials said.Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush Hamas, despite US appeals for brief pauses to get aid to desperate civilians.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said more than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in nearly a month of war in Gaza, more than 4,000 of them children and minors. That toll likely will rise as Israeli troops advance into dense, urban neighbourhoods.

Airstrikes hit the Maghazi refugee camp, killing at least 40 people and wounding 34 others, the Health Ministry said. An AP reporter at a nearby hospital saw eight dead children, including a baby, brought in after the strike. A surviving child was led down the corridor, her clothes caked in dust.

Arafat Abu Mashaia, who lives in the camp, said the Israeli airstrike flattened several multistorey homes where people forced out of other parts of Gaza were sheltering.“It was a true massacre,” he said. “All here are peaceful people. I challenge anyone who says there were resistance (fighters) here.”There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Another airstrike hit a house near a school at the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Staff at Al-Aqsa Hospital told the AP at least 13 people were killed. The camp was struck on Thursday as well.

Despite appeals and overseas protests, Israel has continued its bombardment across Gaza, saying it is targeting Hamas and accusing the militant of using civilians as human shields. Critics say Israel’s strikes are often disproportionate, considering the large number of civilians killed.

On the ground, Israeli forces in Gaza have reported finding stashes of weapons, at times including explosives, suicide drones and missiles.

Gaza loses telecom contact again

03:19 , Namita Singh

Gaza lost communications yesterday in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war.“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group ruling the enclave.

Israeli media reported troops were expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours. Strong explosions were seen in northern Gaza after nightfall.

The “collapse in connectivity” across Gaza, reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel, made it even more complicated to convey details of the new stage of the military offensive.“We have lost communication with the vast majority of the UNRWA team members,” UN Palestinian refugee agency spokesperson Juliette Touma told The Associated Press.

The first Gaza outage lasted 36 hours and the second one for a few hours.

Harris to discuss boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza

03:03 , Namita Singh

US vice president Kamala Harris will discuss the Biden administration’s efforts to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas conflict with foreign leaders during a phone conversation on Monday, her office said.

Irish criticism of Israel not harming bid to get citizens out of Gaza – Martin

03:03 , Namita Singh

Ireland’s deputy leader has said there is no evidence his government’s criticism of Israel is hindering efforts to get Irish citizens out of the Gaza Strip.

Around 35-40 Irish passport holders remained in the territory yesterday and none had been included on the lists of international citizens able to leave through the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin insisted Israeli authorities and officials in Egypt were helping Irish diplomats in their efforts to get the citizens out.

More in this report:

Irish criticism of Israel not harming bid to get citizens out of Gaza – Martin

British citizens trapped in Gaza ‘face leaving without family members’

03:00 , Tom Watling

British citizens trapped in Gaza are facing the “excruciating” prospect of leaving without their family members after the Foreign Office left those without UK passports off the safe passage list, a group representing them has said.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has begun putting names of British citizens on to the list of those allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

But some British citizens have said their dependants without British passports have not been included on the safe passage list.

The Rafah crossing is the only route out of Gaza for foreign nationals and the sole entry point for incoming aid.

British citizens trapped in Gaza ‘face leaving without family members’

Burnley council leader and 10 others quit Labour over Starmer’s Gaza position

02:51 , Namita Singh

Burnley’s council leader has left the Labour Party only days after urging Sir Keir Starmer to resign as leader over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Afrasiab Anwar said it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave the Labour Party.

Mr Anwar and 10 other councillors have, according to a statement, jointly decided to leave the party - describing their memberships as “untenable” given the leadership’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East.

The local politicians said Sir Keir had indicated he “does not value the voice of the grassroots of the party”, citing remarks the opposition leader made following a speech on Friday in the North East.

Sir Keir, who has come under internal pressure for Labour to demand a cessation of hostilities, told reporters that his focus was on stopping the suffering in Gaza, not on the “individual positions” of party members.

Report:

Leader of Burnley Council and 10 others quit Labour over Starmer’s Gaza stance

Boris Johnson jets to Israel to ‘express solidarity’ after Hamas attacks

02:00 , Tom Watling

Boris Johnson has made a surprise trip to Israel to “express solidarity and support” as the conflict in Gaza rages on.

The former prime minister is visiting alongside Australia’s former prime minister Scott Morrison, his spokesperson confirmed.

He is expected to meet relatives of Israelis still being held by Hamas fighters in tunnels since the group’s deadly attack almost one month ago. Mr Johnson will also meet with Israeli president Isaac Herzog, and with British-Israeli reservists called up to fight.

Boris Johnson jets to Israel to ‘express solidarity’ after Hamas attacks

Zelensky says Israel-Gaza war is ‘taking away focus’ from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

01:00 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that the war in Israel and Gaza is “taking away the focus” from Russia’s full-scale invasion as he denied suggestions that the conflict in eastern Europe had reached a stalemate.

Speaking at a briefing in Kyiv on Saturday alongside European commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Zelensky said Russia wanted the focus on Ukraine to be “weakened” but added that “everything is [still] in our power”.

Mr Zelensky has offered to visit Israel, though he has admitted that it is “difficult” because it depends on “what’s happening on the battlefield” in Ukraine, which he said remains “hot”.

Russia has historically supported Hamas, who carried out the 7 October attack on Israeli settlements around the Gaza Strip, but there is no evidence to suggest they were involved in, or aware of, the incursion.

Zelensky says Israel-Gaza war is ‘taking away focus’ from Ukraine

GOP congressman claims some Palestinians are ‘paid actors’ pretending to be dead

00:00 , Tom Watling

Republican Florida Representative Cory Mills claimed that “paid actors” are pretending to be killed in Gaza under the bombardment from Israel following the 7 October attack by Hamas.

“What the mainstream media is saying about the indiscriminate fire and the actors — I mean you literally have paid actors who are pretending to be killed, pretending to be treated,” he said in Kissimmee outside Orlando on Saturday, where the Florida Freedom Summit was being hosted.

“So what I ask every individual as we already do here in America, educate yourself and find good, positive outsources and stop trusting mainstream media that corrupts the minds of every single American at home,” he added.

GOP congressman claims some Palestinians are ‘paid actors’ pretending to be dead

Israel's Netanyahu denies report on reservist protest after cabinet minister rebuke

Sunday 5 November 2023 23:40 , Tom Watling

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday denied drawing a link between a protest among army reservists and Hamas’ decision to carry out its 7 October attack, after a senior cabinet minister lashed out at him for the reported remarks.

Sunday’s sparring was the latest sign of tension in Israel‘s war cabinet, particularly between Mr Netanyahu and political rival Benny Gantz, who joined an emergency government from the opposition to help manage the war.

It began when Israel‘s Channel 12 and other news outlets reported that Mr Netanyahu said there may be a need to examine whether months of protests against his government, including by reservists who said they would no longer report for regular duty, added to Hamas’ motivation to carry out the rampage through southern Israel that triggered the current war.

Mr Gantz, in a post on social media platform X, called on Mr Netanyahu to retract the reported comment.

“Avoiding responsibility and slinging mud at the time of war is a blow to the country,” Mr Gantz wrote, citing that all reservists showed up to serve.

Mr Netanyahu’s office then issued a statement saying: “Contrary to what was published, the prime minister did not in any way say that the (reservists’) refusal was what led Hamas to attack Israel.”

CIA chief arrives in Israel, officials claim

Sunday 5 November 2023 23:10 , Tom Watling

CIA chief William Burns has arrived in Israel ahead of talks with officials and regional visits to Qatar, according to two senior politicians who spoke to Axios.

He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Mossad chief David Barnea and other senior defense and intelligence officials, the Israeli officials said.

Four dozen UN installations damaged in Gaza since 7 October

Sunday 5 November 2023 22:40 , Tom Watling

Four dozen United Nations installations in Gaza used by civilians have been damaged by Israeli airstrikes since 7 October, the Palestinian UN gorup has reported.

Israel military says it is looking into report civilians were in struck vehicle in Lebanon

Sunday 5 November 2023 22:10 , Tom Watling

Israel‘s military said its troops engaged a vehicle “identified as a suspected transport for terrorists” in Lebanon on Sunday, and it was looking into reports there were civilians inside.

Lebanese authorities earlier said an Israeli strike on a car in the south of the country killed three children and their grandmother.

You can find more information on those claims earlier in this blog.

Six people charged by police after pro-Palestinian protest in London

Sunday 5 November 2023 21:40 , Tom Watling

Six people have been charged following instances of public disorder and anti-social behaviour during a pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday, the police have said.

More than 1,000 police officers were on duty during the marches in central London.

A police statement said “the vast majority of people demonstrated peacefully” but there were multiple reports of criminal behaviour.

The Metropolitan Police said they arrested 29 people throughout the day, as well as one further person on Sunday morning, and have since charged six people.

You can read the full report below.

Six people charged by police after pro-Palestinian protest in London

More information on top US diplomat Anthony Blinken’s West Bank visit today

Sunday 5 November 2023 21:10 , Tom Watling

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought his diplomatic push on the Israel-Hamas war to the occupied West Bank on Sunday, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as part of an intensifying Biden administration drive to reduce the suffering of Gaza’s civilians under Israeli bombardment and to start to sketch out a post-conflict scenario for the territory.

Mr Blinken later flew to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as American forces in the region face a surge of attacks by Iranian-allied militias in Iraq and elsewhere.

US forces shot down another one-way attack drone Sunday that was targeting American and coalition troops near their base in neighboring Syria, a US official said.

President Joe Biden’s top envoy traveled through the West Bank city of Ramallah in an armored motorcade and under tight security.

It was the third day of shuttle diplomacy aimed at trying to limit the destabilizing regional fallout from the war and overcome what has been the Israeli government’s refusal to consider intermittent pauses in its attack on Hamas long enough to rush vital aid to Gaza’s civilians.

“This is a process,” Mr Blinken told reporters. “Israel has raised important questions about how humanitarian pauses would work. We’ve got to answer those questions,” including how pauses would affect some 240 foreign hostages being held by Hamas. “We’re working on exactly that.”

New US ambassador to Israel says bond between two nations is ‘unshakeable’

Sunday 5 November 2023 20:40 , Tom Watling

The new US ambassador to Israel has described the bond between the two nations as “unshakeable”.

You can watch his address in Israel below.

Gaza suffers third communications outage since last week

Sunday 5 November 2023 20:10 , Tom Watling

Gaza came under its third total communications outage since the start of the war late Sunday, while Israel‘s military announced it had encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.

“Today there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters, calling it a “significant stage” in Israel‘s war against the Hamas militant group.

Israeli media reported that troops are expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours.But the “new collapse in connectivity” across Gaza reported by internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org and confirmed by Palestinian telecom company Paltel made it even more complicated to share details on the new stage of the military offensive.

“We have lost communication with the vast majority of the UNRWA team members,” UN Palestinian refugee agency spokesperson Juliette Touma told The Associated Press.

The first Gaza outage lasted 36 hours and the second one for a few hours, complicating efforts to share events on the ground.

IDF northern command says Israel ‘ready to attack’ Lebanon

Sunday 5 November 2023 19:40 , Tom Watling

The chief of staff of the Israeli Defence Forces’ northern command has said they are “ready to attack” Lebanon.

The comments were made during a situation assessment on Sunday.

It comes as Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in control of southern Lebanon, claimed Israeli airstrikes had killed three children and a grandmother.

US top diplomat visits West Bank in bid for future peace as airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza

Sunday 5 November 2023 19:05 , Tom Watling

US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited the West Bank on Sunday as he claimed the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) should play a central role in the future of the Gaza Strip.

Mr Blinken passed through Israeli checkpoints to meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas in the city of Ramallah on his second visit to the region since Palestinian Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 others hostage.

As Israel continued a campaign of air strikes that Gaza health officials say has killed more than 9,700 Palestinians, Mr Blinken rebuffed calls for a ceasefire from Arab officials on Saturday after appealing, unsuccessfully, to Israel for more limited pauses to the fighting a day earlier.

You can read the full wrap-up from today below.

Lebanon's Hezbollah says it fired multiple rockets at Israeli town in retaliation for airstrike

Sunday 5 November 2023 18:30 , Tom Watling

Hezbollah said it fired multiple grad rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona on Sunday in retaliation for an Israeli strike in South Lebanon that it said had killed a woman and three children.

In a statement, the Lebanese militant faction said its attack came in response to Israel‘s “heinous and brutal crime”.

Blinken meets with United Nations body for Palestinian refugees

Sunday 5 November 2023 18:02 , Tom Watling

US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has met with officials from the United Nations body for Palestinian refugees.

Hezbollah says Israel will 'pay price' after strike kills 3 children in Lebanon

Sunday 5 November 2023 17:21 , Tom Watling

An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother on Sunday, a Hezbollah lawmaker from the area has said, calling the attack a "dangerous development" for which Israel would pay a price.

Lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said the mother of the three children - girls aged between 8 and 14 - was wounded in the attack which struck the car as it drove between the villages of Aynata and Aitaroun near the Israeli border.

"The enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians," Fadlallah told Reuters in a statement.

Asked about earlier reports from security sources in Lebanon that an Israeli strike had killed three people in a car near Aynata, an Israeli army spokesperson said the army would be a releasing a statement later on Sunday about a strike in Lebanon.

Netanyahu again says no ceasefire until hostages are released

Sunday 5 November 2023 16:44 , Matt Mathers

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again ruled out a ceasefire until Hamas releases all of its hostages.

“There will be no ceasefire without the return of our hostages, we say this to both our enemies and our friends,” told air and ground crews at the Ramon air force base in southern Israel on Sunday

“We will continue until we beat them”, he added.

Israel exposes network of Hamas tunels beneath and around hospitals - IDF

Sunday 5 November 2023 16:36 , Matt Mathers

The Israeli military on Sunday said it has exposed a network of Hamas tunnels, command centres and rocket launchers beneath and adjacent to hospitals in northern Gaza.

"Hamas systematically exploits hospitals as part of its war machine," Israel’s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters.

The Islamist group Hamas denies doing so and has accused Israel of spreading lies.

During the media briefing, Hagari presented videos, photographs and audio recordings that he said demonstrated Hamas’s strategy of using hospitals as cover and preventing civilians from leaving combat zones.

He also said that over 800 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel during the war fell short and landed inside the enclave, killing many Palestinians.

Iran-backed Hamas manufactures some of its rockets locally and also receives rockets from abroad. It was not possible to verify Hagari’s statements Israel has for weeks focused attention on Gaza’s main hospital, al-Shifa, accusing Hamas of using it as a shield for underground operational centres.

Israeli minister who suggested ‘nuking’ Gaza is suspended indefinitely

Sunday 5 November 2023 16:09 , Matt Mathers

A far-right Israeli minister who suggested “nuking” Gaza has been suspended indefinitely.

Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the Otzma Yehud party who serves as heritage minister, told a local radio station that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was “one of the possibilities” being considered by the government.

He added that those who raise the Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth”, and that “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza”.

“Amichai Eliyahu’s words are detached from reality,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on social media, confirming the suspension.

Pro-Palestinian crowds try to storm air base housing US troops in Turkey

Sunday 5 November 2023 15:43 , Matt Mathers

Turkish police used tear gas and water cannon as hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday tried to storm an air base that houses US troops, hours before US secretary of state Antony Blinken was due in Ankara for talks on Gaza.

Turkey, which has stepped up its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened, supports a two-state solution while hosting members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Since the Israel-Hamas war started, protests have erupted across the country.

Footage from the protests showed police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear.

Protesters were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. Scuffles broke out between the crowds and security forces

IHH president Bulent Yildirim addressed crowds in Adana and urged them to refrain from attacking police.

300 Americans have escaped Gaza - White House

Sunday 5 November 2023 15:25 , Matt Mathers

More than 300 Americans and their family members have left Gaza but US citizens remain in the besieged enclave and difficult negotiations continue to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, a White House official said on Sunday.

Those released included U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and their family members, Jonathan Finer, deputy national security adviser, said on the CBS program Face the Nation.

Finer said a number of Americans who want to get out remain inside Gaza as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages but did not specify how many.

There were around 400 American citizens and their family members, totaling around 1,000 people, who wanted to get out, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said last week.

Evacuations of injured Gazans and foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing to Egypt have been suspended since Saturday, but Egyptian, US and Qatari officials said there were efforts to resume them.

Healy accepts Starmer’s approach to conflict has ‘caused hurt’ in Muslin community

Sunday 5 November 2023 14:49 , Matt Mathers

The shadow defence secretary has acknowledged Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict has "caused hurt to many people".

John Healey’s comments come as the Labour leader is battling to maintain discipline in the party, with several senior figures revolting against his stance of only calling for a humanitarian "pause" in Gaza.

Asked on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme if he accepted Mr Sarwar’s criticism that Sir Keir’s approach has caused hurt to Muslim voters, Mr Healey said: "I accept that it’s caused hurt to many people and Keir Starmer would do that as well.

"But he understands why people are calling for a ceasefire and want to see an end to the fighting.

"His concern is twofold and he says that at present this is not the right time for now. First, because Israel must have the right to self-defence, it must have the right to go after the Hamas fighters and its missile launchers.

"And secondly, in the end, what’s most important now is what will best work to bring some alleviation of the suffering to people in Palestine, get more aid into Gaza and create more space for further diplomacy. And that quite clearly has been the humanitarian pauses that Keir Starmer has been arguing for, a break in the fighting if you like."

Yousaf’s in-laws ‘safe and back home’

Sunday 5 November 2023 14:21 , Matt Mathers

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has said his in-laws are "safe and back home" after they fled Gaza.

"I am pleased to say my in-laws are safe and back home," he said in a post on social media site X.

"We are, of course, elated, but my father-in-law said, ‘My heart is broken in two, and with my mum, son & grandchildren in Gaza’.

"He then broke down telling me how hard it was saying goodbye to them."

ICYMI: Schools and hospitals hit by strikes as Israel snubs US warnings with increased attacks in Gaza

Sunday 5 November 2023 14:00 , Matt Mathers

Intense airstrikes by Israel on Gaza have damaged United Nations schools, hospitals and ambulance convoys, despite mounting pressure from the US and Arab states for Tel Aviv to allow humanitarian pauses.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu snubbed blunt warnings from Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, on Friday that Israel risks losing any hope of an eventual peace deal with the Palestinians unless it eases the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Bel Trew reports from Tel Aviv:

Schools and hospitals hit by strikes as Israel snubs US with more attacks in Gaza

UK presses for Rafah crossing to reopen to allow trapped Britons out of Gaza

Sunday 5 November 2023 13:45 , Matt Mathers

The Foreign Office is pressing for a key border point in Gaza to be reopened to allow British nationals to leave the bombarded territory.

Almost 90 people with a British passport or UK travel documents had formally requested to pass through the Rafah crossing on Saturday into Egypt, according to a list produced by the authorities running the border post.

But UK nationals found themselves turned away, with the crossing shut to foreign nationals over a reported row over evacuating injured patients.

Full report:

UK presses for Rafah crossing to reopen to allow trapped Britons out of Gaza

Recap: What has happened in Gaza over the past 24 hours?

Sunday 5 November 2023 13:30 , Matt Mathers

Israeli warplanes struck a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing at least 33 people and wounding dozens, health officials said.

The strike came as Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush the territory’s Hamas rulers, despite US appeals for a pause to get aid to desperate civilians.

The soaring death toll in Gaza has sparked growing international anger, with tens of thousands from Washington to Berlin taking to the streets Saturday to demand an immediate cease-fire.

Full report:

Israeli jets strike Gaza refugee camp, as US fails to win immediate support for pause in fighting

Boris Johnson jets to Israel to ‘express solidarity’ after Hamas attacks

Sunday 5 November 2023 13:15 , Matt Mathers

Boris Johnson has made a surprise trip to Israel to “express solidarity and support” as the conflict in Gaza rages on.

The former prime minister is visiting alongside Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, his spokesman confirmed.

Barney Davis reports:

Boris Johnson jets to Israel to ‘express solidarity’ after Hamas attacks

Medical Aid for Palestinians calls for immediate ceasfire

Sunday 5 November 2023 13:00 , Matt Mathers

Medical Aid for Palestinians is calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to “bring an end to the suffering” of Palestinians.

“The targeting of civilians is never acceptable. Urgent action is needed now to save lives,” the aid organisation said in a statement.

It is calling for people to contact their MPs to demand a ceasefire.

Ventilator patients left to die so medics can focus on casialties with better chance of survival

Sunday 5 November 2023 12:45 , Matt Mathers

Patients arriving at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza who require a ventilator are being left to die so medics can work on those with a better chance of survival, a surgeon working there has said, Maira Butt reports.

“Let me tell you something horrible, that breaks my heart,” doctor Tayseer Hassan, told The Independent. “When the mass casualties arrive to the ER, and the type of injury that needs a ventilator, we leave it to die.

“As we can’t deal with it. Yes, horrible! But we have no option but to work on injuries with more chance of survival. “I cannot describe the look on family members when they know, that their loved ones will be left to die in a hospital.”

Injured patients ravaged by ‘flies’ and ‘worms’ as hygiene breaks down

Sunday 5 November 2023 12:30 , Matt Mathers

Injured patients at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza are being ravaged by “flies” and “worms” as hygiene breaks down across wards, Maira Butt reports.

Dr Tayseer Hassan, a surgeon, said she and her colleagues were working in squalid conditions, with patients sent back to corridor floors after being operated on.

“We are dealing with mass casualties, every hour we receive tens of injured and killed, as Israel is committing massacres,” she told The Independent.

“The type of injuries we see are people who survived airstrikes and were pulled from under the rubble. So all their bodies are scratched and bleeding and full of flies. We do surgeries while the injuries are covered with flies.

“And we have worms coming out of wounds, even after we do the surgery.

“Nothing is clean, nothing is sterile. Imagine the horrific consequences. The whole hospital is full of blood and insects

“I got infections myself, just from working with patients. We are on 24-hour shifts, and then 24-hour rest.”

Situation at Indonesian hospital ‘beyond catastrophic'

Sunday 5 November 2023 12:15 , Matt Mathers

Children make up the “majority” of casualties at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, where the situation has been described by a surgeon working there as “beyond catastrophic”, Maira Butt reports.

Dr Tayseer Hassan said there is no capacity at the hospital and that surgeons are treating people on the floor.

“The situation is beyond catastrophic, I don’t even know where to start explaining,” she told The Independent.

“We are seeing horrific injuries, and the majority are children. The type of injuries we are seeing is not something a human mind can accept or tolerate.”