Israel-Hamas war top developments: Death toll in Gaza climbs to 13,000

Hamas said on Saturday that the death toll from fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory had reached 13,000. 

The toll included over 5,500 children and 3,500 women. 

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said on Sunday (Nov 19) that his country was hopeful that a significant number of Israeli hostages could be released by Hamas in the coming days. Read more

The Israeli army said on Sunday that five more soldiers had been killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip, raising the number of troop deaths there to 64 since the war began.

The United Nations (UN) said on Sunday that the level of violence ravaging Gaza in recent days was unfathomable with attacks on schools harbouring displaced people and a hospital turned into a death zone. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that his government was sending a Dixmude helicopter carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to offer medical assistance in Gaza.

The Dixmude will set sail "at the start of the week and arrive in Egypt in the coming days," President Macron's office said.

A team led by the World Health Organization (WHO) that visited Al Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, on Saturday (Nov 18) described it as a "death zone," days after Israeli forces seiged the premises to root out an alleged Hamas command center underneath it.

Two still images released by the WHO via X on November 19 showed UN workers speaking to the medical staff, as they assessed the situation.

Jordan's King Abduallah II on Sunday (November 19) termed the attack on Jordanian medical cadres in Gaza a "horrible crime".

This came after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan expressed concerns over Jordanian medical personnel in Gaza who "were wounded in an attack near their field hospital."

A top health official in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said all 31 premature babies at Al-Shifa hospital had been evacuated Sunday from the facility which the WHO has described as a "death zone". 

The move was confirmed by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS), which said its teams carried out the evacuation in coordination with UN agencies including the World Health Organization.
 

Top foreign policy officials from the Palestinian Authority and four Muslim-majority countries will visit China on Monday and Tuesday, Beijing announced Sunday.

"During the visit, China will have in-depth communication and coordination with the joint delegation of foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic countries to promote a de-escalation of the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, protecting civilians, and justly resolving the Palestinian issue," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in a statement.

The ongoing India vs Australia ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad was interrupted briefly in the first innings when a pitch invader, supporting Palestine in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, stormed across the turf and attempted to hug Virat Kohli. 

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The World Health Organization (WHO) says 291 critically ill patients are still at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, after hundreds of Palestinians evacuated on foot yesterday, BBC reported.

Thirty-two of those are babies in extremely critical conditions, the WHO said.

Among the patients who remain there, the WHO observed complex fractures and amputations, head injuries, burns, chest and abdominal trauma during a visit to the hospital yesterday.

Twenty-five medical staff have stayed at al-Shifa.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said his confidence is growing that a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas would be reached, adding challenges that remained were “very minor”.

“The challenges facing the agreement are just practical and logistical,” Sheikh Mohammed said at a joint press conference with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Doha, Reuters reports.

At least two Palestinians were killed on Sunday (Nov 19) during Israeli army raids in the West Bank, the Red Crescent said, as violence in the Palestinian region surges in parallel with unprecedented state of war in Gaza Strip. 

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, a 45-year-old man was killed in Jenin, a stronghold of armed groups in the northern West Bank, and another person was killed in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem further south.

A spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi group, Yahya Sarea, said on Sunday (Nov 19) that the group will target all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag, Reuters reported.

The spokesperson called on all countries to withdraw their citizens working on the crews of any such ships.

As the war between the state of Israel and Palestinian militant-political group Hamas enters its seventh week with minimal signs of cessation of violence that has caused unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Hamas-run Gaza Strip, the riddle that is Hamas control centre has emerged as top flashpoint of the ongoing state of war in West Asia. Read in detail here.

Poverty in Palestine's territories could surge by 45 per cent, or some 660,000 people, if the conflict between the militant group Hamas and Israel continues for its third month, according to a recent UN Development Program projection.

Images of explosions and flares in northern Gaza overnight seen from Sderot in Israel. Fighting raged in Gaza, six weeks after a shock Hamas attack sparked an air and ground offensive by Israel, which has vowed to destroy the Palestinian militant group. 

Palestinians who have fled to the southern Gaza Strip are skipping meals and struggling to find basics like bread and water. With Israel prohibiting all but a small supply of fuel — just two trucks a day — the besieged enclave has no electricity or running water. 

A UN team visiting the embattled Al Shifa hospital said Sunday that at least 291 patients were left in critical condition, including 32 babies, after IDF ordered an evacuation.

Netanyahu firmly denies any agreement for the release of Hamas captives in Gaza, stating there is no current deal and attributing reports to misinformation.

“I would like to make it clear: As of now, there has been no deal. But I want to promise: When there is something to say – we will report to you about it,” he said.

Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, fatally shot two Palestinians, one of whom was disabled, in an incursion into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

“The director of Jenin Government Hospital, Wissam Bakr, told Wafa that Issam Al-Fayed, a disabled person, was shot dead by Israeli occupation army at the entrance of the camp,” the news agency said early on Sunday morning (Nov 19).

Israeli PM Netanyahu defended the military's actions in Gaza during a press conference in Tel Aviv, on Saturday, since the beginning of the war on October 7 saying  "Israel abides by the laws of war." 

This comes amid growing discontent within Israel as Israelis marched to the Israeli PM's office demanding the government take action to release the hostages held by Hamas and while pro-Palestinian protests continued worldwide demanding a humanitarian ceasefire to save Gazans trapped in the Palestinian enclave.

During the press conference, Israel's defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said, "Every day that goes by, there are fewer places where the Hamas terrorists can roam."

However, even if the states claim that they are taking steps in self-defence, international rules related to armed conflict remain applicable to all participating nations in a war.

WION explains kind of war crime laws apply to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

United States President Joe Biden said the Palestinian Authority should ultimately govern the Gaza Strip and the West Bank following the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

"As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution," said Biden, in an opinion piece written for the Washington Post. 

He added, "There must be no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory." 

He used the op-ed to try to answer the question of what the US wants for Gaza once the war is over. However, the remarks were not well-received by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. 

"I think that the PA in its current form is not capable of accepting the responsibility for Gaza after we’ve fought and done all this, to pass it to them," he said at a news conference in Tel Aviv.

He also maintained that Israel must be handed an "overall military responsibility" in Gaza "for the foreseeable future."

A deal has not yet been reached between Israel and Hamas, White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a post on X following a report by the Washington Post.

"We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal," said Watson in response to a report by WaPo which said Israel, Hamas and the United States "close" to an agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. 

More than 550 Russian nationals, including 230 children, have been evacuated from the Gaza since the beginning of the process began a few weeks ago, said Russia's emergencies ministry, on Sunday. 

Out of over 550 evacuated 408 people have already been brought to Moscow, including 120 Russians that arrived late Saturday on a special flight from Egypt, said Russian officials on Telegram. 

According to Russian media, some 1,000 Russians and nationals from the republics of the former Soviet Union have expressed a wish to Gaza. 

A humanitarian assessment team which visited Gaza's Al Shifa hospital saw signs of shelling and gunfire in what was described as a "death zone," said the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The WHO-led team described the hospital as a "death zone" and said the situation was "desperate," since there was scarcity of clean water, fuel, medicine and other essentials.

"Signs of shelling and gunfire were evident. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance of the hospital and were told more than 80 people were buried there," said the WHO, in a statement. 

The UN agency also said that there are still 25 health workers and 291 patients, including 32 babies at the hospital.

"Patients include 32 babies in extremely critical condition, two people in intensive care without ventilation, and 22 dialysis patients whose access to life-saving treatment has been severely compromised."

A report by the Washington Post citing people familiar with the discussions said Israel, Hamas and the United States "close" to an agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza, in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. 

WaPo also reported that the release of the hostages could begin in several days barring any last-minute obstacles.

Meanwhile, all parties in the war would pause fighting for at least five days while an initial 50 or more captives are released in batches every 24 hours, reported the Post.

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