Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, on Friday, one of several hospitals reported to have been hit by airstrikes at dawn as Israel battled Hamas in the center of the enclave. One person was killed and others sheltering there were injured in the attack on al-Shifa, the area’s largest hospital, Palestinian officials said.
Officials said other attacks damaged part of an Indonesian hospital and hit a vehicle outside the Rantisi Cancer Hospital in northern Gaza, a stronghold of Hamas militants that Israel attacked last month.
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Israeli tanks have been advancing through northern Gaza for nearly two weeks, taking up positions around Rantisi, al-Quds and Nasser children’s hospitals, raising concerns for patients, doctors and evacuees, medical officials said. There is.
“Israel is now starting a war against Gaza City hospitals, Rantisi Hospital, Nasser Hospital and al-Shifa,” Mohammad Abu Selmeiya, director of Gaza’s Shifa main hospital, told Reuters.
featured videosWarning: This story contains distressing images. Israel agreed to suspend bombing for four hours each day to allow civilians to move south from Gaza City. Tens of thousands of people are now fleeing south every day, with many forced to live in tents for fear of infection.
The White House announced Thursday that Israel had agreed to halt military operations in parts of northern Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that fighting with Hamas is “in certain locations. “This has continued except for a few hours or a period of a few hours.” There. “
Israel had no immediate comment but said it had not targeted civilians and was making every effort to avoid attacks on civilians. Hamas militants reportedly have hidden command centers and tunnels beneath schools, hospitals and mosques.
Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy said in a statement: “Hamas headquarters is located in the basement of the Shifa hospital, which under international law could cause it to lose its protected status and become a legitimate target. I want you to remember one thing every day.”
The Israeli attack follows a cross-border Hamas raid on October 7 that killed about 1,400 people, mostly civilians, including several Canadians, and took about 240 hostages. Began.
Saudi crown prince calls for end to war
The deadly airstrikes near refugee camps, medical convoys and hospitals have already sparked heated debate among some Western allies over Israel’s military’s compliance with international law.
Similarly, Middle Eastern leaders have also spoken out about the conflict over the past 24 hours, including the Saudi crown prince, who has called for an end to the war.
“We acknowledge that the Gaza Strip faces military attacks, civilian targets and violations of international law by the Israeli occupation authorities,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at the Africa-Saudi Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh. I condemn it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are meeting in Cairo, with both countries aiming to quell violence in the Gaza Strip, provide aid and support. He hopes to mediate the liberation of the Israelis. hostage.
featured videosSitting on the brink of war between Israel and Hamas is what is known as the Axis of Resistance, a loose coalition of Iranian-backed groups including Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthis. CBC’s chief correspondent Adrian Arsenault details the circumstances that could lead to the group being drawn into a broader war, and the firepower behind it.
Iran warned on Thursday night that the scale of civilian suffering being caused in Gaza will inevitably lead to an escalation of the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said: “The increasing intensity of the war against the civilian population of Gaza has made an expansion of the scope of the war inevitable.”
Iran supports Hamas, but says it played no role in the militants’ bloody attack on October 7. Iran also supports the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has deep ties to Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction also in the Gaza Strip. Supported by Iran.
The Hezbollah leader said last week that all options were “on paper” regarding Israel, but he had stopped short of declaring all-out war.
sunday magazine14:18Qatar’s important role in the Israel-Hamas war
featured videosQatar has emerged as a key diplomatic player as international leaders scramble to rescue hostages and civilians from the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s ground invasion. Gulf states helped broker an agreement to open the Rafah border crossing and are leading negotiations for the release of hostages from Gaza. But some have questioned Qatar’s friendly relations with groups like Hamas. Rebecca Zandbergen speaks with Younes Zangiabadi, Middle East expert and deputy director of the North American think tank Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, about Qatar’s role in the conflict and what could happen next.
“There’s no way we can evacuate.”
At least 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Khidra said Israel had bombed the al-Shifa hospital building five times since Thursday night.
“They shelled the maternity and outpatient clinic buildings. One Palestinian was killed and several others were injured in the early morning attack,” he told Reuters.
featured videosRows of tents line the makeshift camp in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, where families whose lives have been destroyed by the Israeli-Hamas war are sheltering and waiting for aid. Many are struggling to find food and clean water, and one man said Thursday he was living “hour by hour…not even day by day, hour by hour.”
Witnesses said that following the explosion, many people began leaving the facility grounds, fearing further bombing.
However, Kidra says it is impossible to completely clear it.
“There’s no way we can evacuate, there’s no realistic way to evacuate. We’re talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 babies in intensive care. It’s about children, hundreds of injured and sick people, and tens of thousands of displaced people,” he said.
Palestinian media aired video footage of the aftermath of the al-Shifa attack, showing people screaming, crying and several covered in blood. Reuters confirmed the location was an outdoor covered area near the hospital’s outpatient department.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Khaira said one adult was killed and one child injured at al-Shifa, one of several health facilities affected.
A person claiming to be an employee of Nasser Children’s Hospital posted the complaint on social media.
“The hospital is sealed off with tanks and exposed to heavy gunfire. There is no electricity, no oxygen for patients, no fresh water or salt. The situation here is extremely difficult and dangerous.” .
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that 18 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals and 40 other health centers have ceased functioning due to shelling damage and fuel shortages.
“With strikes continuing and fighting taking place nearby, [Al Shifa]We are deeply concerned about the safety of thousands of civilians, many of them children, seeking medical care and shelter,” Human Rights Watch said in a social media post.
Kidra said on Friday that Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital and Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital were “witnessing a series of direct attacks and shelling.” He said vehicles were set on fire during the strike at the al-Rantisi hospital premises, but some of the fire was extinguished.
