Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Israel and Hamas engaged in heavy fighting near Gaza’s largest hospital on Sunday (12/11/2023), where thousands of people were trapped and officials said a lack of fuel caused the deaths of premature babies and critical patients.
More than five weeks into the war sparked by a bloody attack on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media that there “might be” a deal to free some 240 hostages captured by Palestinian militants on October 7 and believed to be being held in Gaza.
But Netanyahu, facing mounting pressure at home over the captives, did not provide further details.
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“The less I say about this, the greater my chances of making it happen,” he told NBCas quoted AFP.
In Gaza City, Al-Shifa hospital was caught up in Israeli ground attacks aimed at destroying Hamas, and the compound has been repeatedly hit, one of which Hamas health officials said destroyed the cardiac ward on Sunday.
The Israeli military denies deliberately targeting the hospital and accuses the Islamist militant group of using the medical facility or the tunnels beneath it as a hideout – a charge Hamas denies.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said fears were rising for Palestinians seeking refuge and patients needing treatment after the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City was not functioning due to a lack of generator fuel.
The war that broke out on October 7 has killed at least 11,180 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, including 4,609 children.
Despite calls for a ceasefire, Netanyahu firmly rejected an end to fighting without the release of the hostages.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC that there had been “active negotiations” over a possible deal but remained tight-lipped on the details, while a Palestinian official in Gaza accused Israel of delaying.
“Netanyahu is responsible for the delays and obstacles in reaching an initial agreement on the release of some detainees,” the official said AFP without mentioning names.
‘Horror’ in Hospital
Eyewitnesses at Al-Shifa hospital told AFP by telephone Sunday that “violent fighting” had occurred around the hospital throughout the night.
Inside the hospital, doctors said Saturday that two babies died in the neonatal unit after power was cut to their incubators, and a man also died when his ventilator went off.
Youssef Abu Rish, deputy health minister in the Hamas government, on Sunday reported the deaths of three premature babies and six other patients in critical condition.
“We are worried that the number of victims will increase in the morning,” he said.
A “safe road” will be opened from Al-Shifa to allow people to flee towards the south, the Israeli military said on Sunday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the situation inside Al-Shifa was “dire and dangerous” and it “no longer functions as a hospital”.
“It’s been three days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which is seriously impacting our ability to provide essential care,” WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter, after the agency was able to contact Al-Shifa’s medical staff.
Tragically, the number of patient deaths has increased significantly, he said, and urged a ceasefire now.
According to the UN humanitarian agency, 20 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are “no longer functional”.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized Hamas for using “hospitals and civilians as human shields” in Gaza, and also urged Israel to show “maximum restraint”.
Very little aid entered Gaza during the war, and the densely populated coastal region was effectively sealed off with a total blockade that Israel vowed to maintain until the hostages were freed.
Only a handful of trucks carrying fuel have been allowed into Gaza since October 7, and Israel fears fuel shipments could be used by Hamas militants.
The Israeli army shared footage of soldiers leaving fuel jerry cans outside Al-Shifa, in a video that could not be independently verified by AFP.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Sunday that Hamas authorities were preventing hospital staff from collecting urgently needed supplies, while Al-Shifa director Mohammad Abu Salmiya told journalists that Israel’s claims were “lies”.
The 300 liters the army said had been delivered would be used to run generators for “no more than a quarter of an hour”, Abu Salmiya said.
Fleeing South
As the fighting raged, around 800 foreigners and dual citizens, as well as several injured Palestinians, were evacuated from the besieged Gaza Strip to Egypt.
Rafah is the only exit from Gaza that is not controlled by Israel, and has been closed on Fridays and Saturdays.
Since November 1, dozens of injured Palestinians have been evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, and hundreds of dual nationals and foreigners have also left Rafah.
Perched on trucks, crammed into cars, pulled by donkeys in carts and on foot, thousands of Palestinians have fled the Israeli army’s onslaught in the region wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.
Nearly 1.6 million people – about two-thirds of Gaza’s population – have become internally displaced since October 7, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
The attacks also hit buildings at the southern tip of Gaza in Rafah, an area where civilians had been urged to flee.
Attacks in southern Bani Suheila destroyed a dozen houses on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding at least 30.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged in a statement “the protection of civilians in Gaza trapped in the fighting”.
“People called us day and night, saying they were afraid to open their doors for fear of being killed,” said William Schomburg, ICRC head of mission in the region.
The conflict has sparked regional tensions and widespread fears of war.
Erdogan’s call
Returning from a summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, which condemned Israeli troops’ attacks on Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for pressure on the United States to stop the war.
“The West must increase pressure on Israel… It is important for us to guarantee a ceasefire,” he told reporters.
Israel’s main ally, Washington, criticized the number of civilian casualties, but voiced support for the attacks and opposed a ceasefire.
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