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🔴 Live: Gaza’s Al-Shifa ‘not functioning as a hospital anymore’, says WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday night managed to restore communication with health professionals at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital a day after losing contact with the largest hospital in the besieged enclave. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus however said the hospital was non-functional after three days without electricity amid heavy fighting. Al-Quds, Gaza’s second-largest hospital, has also suspended operations, according to staff. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
Issued on: 12/11/2023 – 07:17
Modified: 12/11/2023 – 14:43
1 min
Handout satellite picture released by Maxar Technologies on November 12, 2023, shows the damage arround Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza City.
Handout satellite picture released by Maxar Technologies on November 12, 2023, shows the damage arround Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza City. © Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies / AFP
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WHO restores communication with Al-Shifa hospital: After losing communication with its contacts in Gaza City’s largest hospital on Saturday, the WHO on Sunday night said it restored communication. “Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” said the head of WHO.
More than 100,000 people marched against anti-Semitism in Paris: French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, the heads of France’s upper and lower houses of parliament and several leading politicians joined demonstrators at a march against anti-Semitism in Paris Sunday.
UN says ‘significant’ deaths in strike on one of its Gaza compounds: The UN said late Saturday that “a significant number” of people had reportedly been killed and wounded in strikes on a UN facility in Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians have taken refuge to escape the war.
Gaza war death toll hits 11,180, says Hamas government: The October 7 Hamas death toll is 1,200 and more than 200 people have been taken hostage.
3 minutes ago
US strikes Iran-linked sites in eastern Syria
The United States carried out strikes against two Iran-linked sites in Syria on Sunday in response to attacks on American forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
It is the third time in less than three weeks that the US military has targeted locations in Syria it said were tied to Iran, which supports various armed groups that Washington blames for a spike in attacks on its forces in the Middle East.
“US military forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” Austin said in a statement.
“The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen, respectively,” he said.
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37 minutes ago
Biden, Qatari emir discuss Gaza, agree all hostages must be released
US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about developments in Gaza and “urgent ongoing efforts” to secure the release of hostages being held by the Hamas militant group, the White House said.
Biden “unequivocally” condemned the holding of hostages by Hamas, including many young children, one of whom is a 3-year old American citizen whose parents were killed by the group on October 7th, the White House said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed that all hostages must be released without further delay,” the statement said.
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an hour ago
Hamas denies refusing fuel from Israel for Al-Shifa Hospital
Hamas on Sunday denied it had refused 300 liters (79.25 gallons) of fuel from Israel intended for medical use at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital.
“The offer belittles the pain and suffering of the patients who are trapped inside without water, food, or electricity. This quantity is not enough to operate hospital generators for more than thirty minutes,” Hamas added in a statement.
The statement also added that Hamas was not associated with Al-Shifa hospital management, “nor is (Hamas) part of its decision-making structures. (The hospital) is completely subject to the authority of the Palestinian health ministry.”
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Jessica Le Masurier
an hour ago
Trapped Brazilians, whose fate hurt Israel-Brazil ties, leave Gaza
Nearly three dozen Brazilians who had been trapped inside Gaza for weeks, and whose predicament had driven a diplomatic wedge between Brasilia and Israel, crossed the border into Egypt on Sunday, the foreign ministry said.
“The group of 32 Brazilians and families are already in Egyptian territory, where they were received by a team from the Brazilian embassy in Cairo, which is responsible for the final step of the repatriation operation,” the foreign ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Brazilians are due back in Brazil late on Monday evening, the ministry said, and are expected to meet with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
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2 hours ago
IDF, Al-Shifa head offer differing accounts of ‘300 litres of fuel’
Israel’s military earlier Sunday said it had offered to evacuate newborn babies and had placed 300 litres of fuel at the Al-Shifa hospital’s entrance on Saturday night.
Sadly, they haven’t taken the fuel yet,” said IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa, said reports of refusing the fuel were “lies and slander.”
Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, said that of 45 babies in incubators at Al-Shifa, three had died by Sunday night.
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3 hours ago
WHO restores communication with Al-Shifa hospital
The World Health Organization (WHO) has managed to restore communication with health professionals
at the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” he added in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
WHO lost communication on Saturday and the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said that operations at Al Shifa hospital complex, the largest in the Palestinian enclave, were suspended after it ran out of fuel.
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5 hours ago
EU top diplomat urges Israeli restraint, medical evacuations in Gaza Strip
The EU’s top diplomat on Sunday called for immediate pauses to the fighting in the Gaza Strip to enable the evacuation of hospital patients who require urgent medical care, saying the bloc was gravely concerned about the humanitarian crisis there.
“These hostilities are severely impacting hospitals and taking a horrific toll on civilians and medical staff,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“Hospitals must (…) be supplied immediately with the most urgent medical supplies, and patients that require urgent medical care need to be evacuated safely,” he added. “In this context, we urge Israel to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the protection of civilians.”
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5 hours ago
German chancellor opposed to ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Gaza
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he opposed an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza.
“I don’t think the calls for an immediate ceasefire or long pause — which would amount to the same thing — are right,” Scholz said in a debate organised by the German regional daily Heilbronner Stimme.
“That would mean ultimately that Israel leaves Hamas the possibility of recovering and obtaining new missiles,” he added, calling instead for “humanitarian pauses”.
Scholz’s position is at odds with that of French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is due to meet the German leader in Berlin next week.
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5 hours ago
Gaza war death toll hits 11,180, says Hamas government
The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has said the death toll from fighting between the militants and Israel in the Palestinian territory has risen to 11,180.
The government media office said the dead included 4,609 children and 3,100 women, whilst a further 28,200 people have been wounded.
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7 hours ago
🔴 105,000 people march against anti-Semitism in Paris, say police
Paris police headquarters says 105,000 people joined the march against anti-Semitism in Paris.
The march passed peacefully without incident, said the French interior ministry. Around 3,000 law enforcement officials were deployed to secure the route.
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8 hours ago
Former French presidents, leading political figures join Paris march
Former French presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy are among several leading political figures at the march against anti-Semitism.
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8 hours ago
Netanyahu says Hamas refused Israeli fuel offer for Al-Shifa hospital
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel had offered fuel to Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital, which suspended operations after running out of fuel, but that Hamas militants refused to receive it.
Netanyahu was asked by NBC News whether Israeli allegations that Hamas had a command post under Gaza’s main hospital justified jeopardizing the lives of sick people and babies.
“On the contrary, we offered actually, last night, to give them enough fuel to operate the hospital, operate the incubators and so on, because we (have) no battle with patients or civilians at all,” Netanyahu said.
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8 hours ago
Around 500 dual nationals evacuated from Gaza to Egypt, local media report
Around 500 foreigners and dual nationals, as well as several wounded Palestinians, were evacuated from the Israeli-bombed Gaza Strip to Egypt on Sunday, reports from both sides of the border said.
Some “500 foreign nationals from 15 different countries entered Egypt”, an Egyptian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
AlQahera News, an outlet close to the Egyptian intelligence services, reported the crossing of an additional “seven wounded Palestinians” through the terminal.
Rafah is the only crossing out of Gaza not controlled by Israel, and was closed on Friday and Saturday.
Since November 1, dozens of wounded Palestinians have been evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, with hundreds of dual nationals and foreigners, including Americans, French, Russians and Poles, also leaving through Rafah.
The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents are unable to escape the war.
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8 hours ago
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups clash in South Africa
South African police fired stun grenades and water cannons in Cape Town on Sunday to quell clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
A prayer for Israel and the Hamas hostages held in Gaza was to be held in the early afternoon in an affluent area of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast, a popular place for family walks on Sundays.
But several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gate-crashed the event, following a pro-Palestinian demonstration that brought thousands of people onto the streets of the port and tourist city.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrators wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags chased away those attending the pro-Israel prayer meet, tore up their placards and occupied the space.
Police intervened with a water cannon and sound grenades to disperse the demonstrators, then set up a roadblock to keep people out of the area.
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups clash in South Africa
South African police use water canon sprays to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Cape Town. (Photo: Gianluigi Guercia, AFP)
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9 hours ago
High turnout at march against anti-Semitism
A dense crowd of demonstrators set out shortly after 3pm Paris time towards the French Senate building, says FRANCE 24’s Louis Chahuneau in this post on X (formerly Twitter). “It warms my heart to see so many people,” Gérard, 57, a French Jew and business manager at the march told Chahuneau.
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9 hours ago
Demonstrators at Paris march say they are ‘shocked’ by resurgence of anti-Semitism in France
Demonstrators at the march said they were scared and shocked by the recent resurgence of anti-Semitism in France, notes FRANCE 24’s Emerald Maxwell, reporting from downtown Paris.
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9 hours ago
Security tightened along march against anti-Semitism route
Paris authorities have deployed 3,000 police along the route of the protest. Despite security fears, crowds have been joining the demonstration in the heart of the French capital.
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9 hours ago
Marine Le Pen’s attendance at march against anti-Semitism sparks a political fracas
When far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced that she would attend Sunday’s march against anti-Semitism in Paris, she sparked an uproar in French political circles.
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9 hours ago
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen joins march against anti-Semitism
“We are exactly where we need to be,” said French far-right leader Marine Le Pen just minutes before the start of the march against anti-Semitism near Les Invalides monument in Paris.
Le Pen, whose presence at the march sparked a controversy due to her party’s anti-Semitic past, said the political bickering was a case of “petty political gamesmanship”.
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Key developments from Saturday, November 11:
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected mounting international calls for a ceasefire and ruled out a role for the Palestinian Authority in post-war Gaza.
Arab and Muslim leaders rejected Israel’s claims of “self-defence” with regard to its offensive in Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire at an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit on the Gaza crisis in Saudi Arabia.
Doctors Without Borders said it was “extremely concerned” about patients and medical staff at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, which lost electricity on Saturday, endangering the lives of patients, according to the hospital director.
Around 300,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian solidarity rally in London, which passed peacefully despite clashes between right-wing counter-protesters and police before the rally. Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in Paris, Marseille and other French cities.
Nearly 200,000 people had fled from northern Gaza to the enclave’s southern districts in the past three days, the Israeli army said Saturday.
More than 11,000 people, including more than 4,500 children, have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The official death toll of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel is 1,200.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
