2023-11-18 10:50:00
The Israeli military says it will advance wherever Hamas is found. This is the key information you should know
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari stated that Israeli troops will advance anywhere Hamas is located, including southern Gaza.
In recent days, signs have increased that a ground offensive in the southern part of the enclave might be imminent.
Israeli leaders have declared that the northern part of Gaza, including Gaza City, is now under Israeli control. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered little information regarding his plan for Gaza following the military operation.
Meanwhile, more fuel was allowed into Gaza on Friday as water and sewage systems are on the verge of collapse, Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said. The lack of fuel has also contributed to the dire situation in hospitals, where, according to doctors, ICU patients have died and operations have stopped due to lack of electricity.
Elsewhere, negotiators are working to reach an agreement to free the Gaza hostages. According to the Israeli military, at least two hostages have been found dead in the enclave in the last two days.
Here is the most important thing you should know:
The latest on Gaza hospitals: Of Gaza’s 35 hospitals, 26 have closed due to damage caused by shelling or lack of fuel, according to the Palestinian Autonomous Government Health Ministry in Ramallah, citing medical sources in the Hamas-controlled enclave. Most of the patients in the intensive care unit of Al-Shifa hospital, who were on ventilators due to lack of fuel and oxygen, have died, a doctor at the hospital told Al-Jazeera. The hospital, which is the largest in Gaza, is facing serious shortages of basic necessities, including a lack of water and electricity in the complex’s main buildings, said Dr. Ahmad Mofeed Al-Mokhalalati.
Fuel enters Gaza: Two fuel tankers entered Gaza on Friday through the Rafah border crossing, an Israeli government agency reported. The news comes shortly following Israel’s war cabinet approved a measure to allow regular deliveries to the besieged enclave, following weeks of pressure from US officials and other world leaders. According to a US State Department official, most of the fuel will be dumped at a tank in Rafah, where it will be used by UN aid agency trucks and to support water and sewage systems. , waste disposal, bakeries and hospitals in southern Gaza. A smaller portion will be used to power cell phone and Internet generators. Some members of the Israeli government have already criticized the decision.
Decreases drinking water: A UN human rights official called on Israel to stop using water as a “weapon of war” in Gaza. Dehydration and waterborne diseases are increasing in the enclave, said Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. For days, humanitarian organizations, including the UN Palestine Refugee Agency, have stressed the need for fuel to run desalination stations and water pumps in Gaza. According to the organization, approximately 70% of Gaza’s population now drinks “salinized and contaminated” water.
They find bodies of hostages: The Israeli military said Friday it recovered the body of a second Israeli hostage from a structure near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Before that, the IDF said Thursday that it had recovered the body of Yehudit Waiss, a 65-year-old Israeli woman who was also found near the hospital. Meanwhile, a new video has surfaced online that appears to show an Israeli hostage being held in Gaza. He appeared on the Telegram channel of Hamas’s military wing, the Al Qassam Brigades.
Call to action: The Israeli military estimates that there are 237 hostages held in Gaza. Some of the families of those missing and kidnapped by Hamas marched from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Friday, demanding that the government guarantee that the hostages are returned safely. Pope Francis plans to meet with relatives of Israeli and Palestinian hostages, the Vatican press office reported Friday. The pope will speak to these groups separately, and the Vatican said the meetings are “exclusively humanitarian in nature.”
The latest on the hostage negotiations: Israel, Hamas and the United States, mediated by Qatar, have been working to reach an agreement on a series of sticking points to free the hostages. Hamas has demanded that Israel stop flying surveillance drones over Gaza as part of its request that Israel halt its military operations, according to two Israeli officials and a third source familiar with ongoing negotiations. The sources suggested that Israel is unlikely to agree to that request, as it would mean losing track of the movements of Hamas operatives, including any efforts to move hostages inside Gaza.
Research requests: South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti have submitted a petition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate whether crimes have been committed in Palestinian territories, according to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. A group of independent United Nations human rights experts also said Thursday that Israel’s actions in Gaza “point to a genocide in the making.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation, saying in a statement that it was Hamas that put Gazans “in danger.”
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