Israel pressed ahead Tuesday with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months. Ahead of a non-binding vote at the United Nations later Tuesday, Israel and the United States faced global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. More than 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and 49,645 wounded in Gaza due to Israeli strikes, with most victims being civilians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where United Nations agencies say there is no safe place to flee. With only a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching a small portion of Gaza, residents face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods. Israel says 97 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. Qatar, which has played a key mediating role, says efforts to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but a willingness to discuss a cease-fire is fading.
Here’s what’s happening in the war:
Quick Read
- Ongoing Israel-Hamas Conflict: Israel is persisting with its offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, with the possibility of it extending for weeks or months. The United Nations General Assembly is set to vote on a non-binding resolution for a cease-fire amid growing global pressure.
- Death Toll and Displacement: More than 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and 49,645 wounded in Gaza due to Israeli strikes, with most victims being civilians, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. Approximately 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Residents are facing extreme shortages of essential resources.
- Israeli Casualties and Hostages: Israel has reported the deaths of 97 soldiers and the kidnapping of about 240 people by Hamas during the initial cross-border raid, with half of them still in captivity.
- Hospital Seized by Israeli Forces: Israeli forces have reportedly stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, gathering all men, including medical staff, in the courtyard. This action is part of Israel’s broader strategy to target Hamas fighters.
- Surgeon Shot at Hospital: A surgeon working for Doctors Without Borders was shot from outside a hospital in northern Gaza. Israeli forces have surrounded the area, and humanitarian aid has been severely restricted.
- Missile Attack on Tanker: A missile, likely fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, hit a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea near Yemen. This incident marks a concerning expansion of the conflict’s geographical scope, impacting international maritime routes.
The Associated Press has the story:
Israeli forces have stormed a Hospital in Gaza, Health Ministry says
Newslooks- CAIRO (AP)
A spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces have stormed a hospital in northern Gaza.
Ashraf al-Qidra said the troops forced all the men in Kamal Adwan Hospital, including medics, to gather in the courtyard after entering the facility on Tuesday. He called on the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it is rounding up men in northern Gaza as it searches for Hamas fighters. Photos and video circulated online show detainees stripped to their underwear, bound and blindfolded. Some who have been released say they were beaten and denied food and water.
The U.N. humanitarian office says the hospital has 65 patients, including 12 children in intensive care and six newborns in incubators. Some 3,000 displaced people are sheltering there, all awaiting evacuation because of severe shortages of food, water and electricity.
Most of the population of northern Gaza fled weeks ago when Israel ordered a full evacuation. Ground troops invaded in late October after a blistering three-week air campaign. Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
Tens of thousands of people remain in the north, where they have been almost entirely cut off from humanitarian aid for weeks. The health system in the north has largely collapsed.
A SURGEON IS SHOT FROM OUTSIDE A NORTH GAZA HOSPITAL, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS SAYS
CAIRO — A surgeon was wounded after being shot from outside a hospital in northern Gaza that is surrounded by Israeli forces, Doctors Without Borders said. The aid group said the shooting occurred Monday at Al-Awda Hospital, and that five hospital staff at Al-Awda Hospital, including two of its own doctors, have been killed while caring for patients since the start of the war.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have remained in northern Gaza, even after Israel’s evacuation orders and as airstrikes have leveled entire neighborhoods. Very little humanitarian aid has been allowed into northern Gaza, and the health system has all but collapsed.
The United Nations humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said a convoy delivering medical supplies to the north for the first time in more than a week came under fire on the way to another hospital over the weekend.
The convoy evacuated 19 patients but was delayed for inspections by Israeli forces on the way south. OCHA said one patient died and a paramedic was detained for hours.
A HOUTHI MISSILE HITS A TANKER NEAR YEMEN
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile suspected fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, a key maritime chokepoint, authorities said Tuesday.
The assault on the oil and chemical tanker, Strinda, expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by striking a ship that has no clear ties to Israel. That potentially imperils cargo and energy shipments coming through the Suez Canal and further widen the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war now raging in the Gaza Strip.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree issued a video statement claiming the rebels only fired on the vessel when it “rejected all warning calls.”
The Strinda was coming from Malaysia and was bound for the Suez Canal onward to Italy with its cargo of palm oil, Belsnes said. Saree alleged without offering any evidence the ship was bound for Israel.
“All crew members are unhurt and safe,” said Geir Belsnes, the CEO of the Strinda’s operator J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi. “The vessel is now proceeding to a safe port.”
Currently:
— A missile strikes a Norwegian-flagged tanker in Red Sea off Yemen in apparent expansion of rebel attacks.
— Palestinians hope a vote in the U.N. General Assembly will show wide support for a Gaza cease-fire.
— Iraq scrambles to contain fighting between U.S. troops and Iran-backed groups, fearing Gaza spillover.
— Biden vows to keep standing with Israel and calls the “surge of antisemitism” around the globe “sickening.”
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
