Israel-Hamas war highlights on Dec 4: WHO board to hold emergency meeting on Gaza health situation

The World Health Organization's executive board will hold a rare emergency session on Dec 10 to discuss the health crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, with the Palestinian envoy seeking more medical aid and access for foreign healthcare workers. 

The WHO confirmed on Monday it had received a request from 15 countries to hold the session. The special session will be convened by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in consultation with the Qatari chair. 

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khraishi, said the meeting would focus mostly on Gaza. It will also cover attacks on the health sector in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. 

"We want to empower the WHO and call for the Israeli side not to target the medical sector. We want to allow for fresh medical supplies," he told Reuters, adding that his diplomatic mission was drafting a motion to be reviewed by the board.

"One idea is to send more doctors in from around the world," he added, saying many countries had offered. The "Occupied Palestinian Territory" is a WHO observer rather than a member state but has influence in the organisation through supporters.

The official Palestinian news agency said at least 50 people were killed on Monday in an Israeli air strike that hit two schools sheltering displaced people in the north of the Gaza Strip. 

The reported attack took place as Israeli bombs also rained down on southern areas of the enclave and Israeli troops and tanks pressed a ground campaign against Hamas militants in that sector. 

The strike hit the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, the WAFA agency said. It was not immediately possible to verify the report independently, and a spokesperson for the Israeli army said it was looking into the report.

Ofir Gendelman, Spokesperson of the Israeli Government, has said that Israel-Hamas war can end 'today' if two conditions are met.

"The [Gaza] war can end today and immediately on two conditions that cannot be negotiated. First [condition]: Hamas must release all the kidnapped without any exception. Second [condition]: Hamas leaders must surrender and this terrorist organisation must be dismantled," said Gendelman while speaking at a press briefing in Tel Aviv.

The Israeli army has said that it is taking "aggressive" action in southern Gaza. Its said that the military action is aimed at "Hamas and other terrorist organisations". It added that the military action means that in north and east of Khan Yunis, a city in southern Gaza, citizens can no longer use the Salah al-Din road. This road runs through the Palestinian territory.

Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said that at least 15,899 people have died since Israel's military offensive in the enclave. The number of those wounded is 42,000. The ministry has said that 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.

Benjamin Netanyahu is suspected of promoting a tax project in return that would have brought Milchan millions of dollars 

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Fed up of constantly having to pack their bags and flee to 'safe areas' only to be asked to leave again due to imminent Israeli attack, Gazans are becoming more vocal about their predicament.

“Just take us to the grave and be done with it,” said Hamdi Zaheer, a Gaza resident as quoted by Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has said that Palestinian militants were holding remains of 15 Israeli citizens who were abducted during Hamas'  October 7 attack in southern Israel. The PMO has published list of names of these Israeli citizens and has said that the group includes 11 civilians and four soldiers.

Mirjana Spoljaric, the head of the International Red Cross has said Gaza is suffering on a massive scale during her visit to the region. 

"The level of human suffering is intolerable. It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible," said Spoljaric. 

According to AFP, dozens of Israeli tanks have entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip near Khan Younis. 

They are holding Salah al-Din road on both sides and are now cutting it between Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area,” a witness was quoted as saying. 

According to Palestinian Red Crescent Society, five people were injured during an  Israeli military raid at the Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem. One of the persons was injured by live ammunition, it added.  

Urging Palestinian people in southern Gaza to evacuate, Israeli forces have released a map with a QR code in it, highlighting the regions that will be under attack. 

Jerusalem on Monday said it had once again fired into Lebanon claiming the space was being used to direct fire towards Israel. Earlier, IDF said three soldiers had been injured from the fire by Lebanon.  

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "the butcher of Gaza" would be tried as a war criminal. 

"Beyond being a war criminal, Netanyahu, who is the butcher of Gaza right now, will be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was tried," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

"Therefore, defending Gaza and Palestine today means at the same time defending Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Istanbul and other Islamic cities."

Israel on Monday said its ground troops, working alongside the air force troops had hit approximately 200 Hamas terror targets. 

"The Hamas terror targets included observation posts belonging to the Hamas naval forces and terrorist infrastructure at the Gaza harbor. The forces also struck with precise munitions Hamas military compounds," the IDF said. 

Ismael al-Thawabteh, the director general of the government media office in Gaza claimed that over 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed bombardment after a seven-day truce ended on Friday.

Amid the ongoing war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial on corruption charges, which was suspended along with all other non-urgent cases in the aftermath of the October 7 events has been resumed. Netanyahu is currently exempted from attending the hearings but may be called to testify in a few months.