Gaza

Israel on Saturday (Nov 11) said that it had killed a Hamas commander who had held nearly 1,000 Gazan residents hostage and was blocking their evacuation.

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"IDF aircraft just struck Ahmed Siam, responsible for holding approximately 1,000 Gazan residents and patients hostage at the Rantisi Hospital, and preventing their evacuation southward," the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement.

It further said that Siam along with other militants was hiding at "al Buraq" school.

The Palestinian officials on Friday (Nov 10) told news agency Reuters that at least 25 Palestinians lost their lives in an Israeli strike at the school, which was packed with evacuees.

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IDF in a posting on its official account stated that Siam was a commander in Hamas' Naser Radwan Company adding that this was another example of Hamas using civilians as "human shields" in Gaza for its own military operations.

Also read: Microsoft chief says Russia spreading 'disinformation' about Israel-Hamas war

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'Patients at risk'

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al Kaila said that the Al Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, which is the war-torn region's biggest hospital, is under threat as it lacks oxygen, electricity, and fuel. 

While addressing a press conference, al Kaila said, "Last night, Al Shifa hospital was air struck by, according to what they told us, white phosphorus and as you might know that this is a type of weapon that is not permitted on an international level, and last night it was air struck with phosphorus, the hospital of Al Shifa."

She further said that the Israeli forces were threatening the hospital's medical staff to leave, as well as threatening to airstrike now and then. In a separate statement, the Palestinian health minister said that 39 babies were at risk in the hospital and one baby had died. 

The Israeli military called for an immediate evacuation of hospitals in Gaza stating that the Hamas gunmen were systematically exploiting hospitals as part of their assault.

"The hospitals need to be evacuated in order to deal with Hamas. We intend on dealing with Hamas who have turned hospitals into fortified positions," the Israeli military said when asked if it planned to enter Gaza hospitals at some point.

Hamas has repeatedly rebuffed these claims by Israel and has asked the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send missions to Shifa to probe the allegations.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.