The Fate of Al-Shifa Hospital and the Israeli-Israel War on Humanitarian Rights in Gaza, according to a UN Joint Assessment Team
TEL AVIV, Israel — Piles of medical and solid waste fill the crowded corridors of Gaza’s largest hospital, according to the World Health Organization. There are at least 80 bodies in a mass grave by the hospital’s entrance.
A joint United Nations humanitarian assessment team, led by the WHO, gained the first outside access to Al-Shifa hospital Saturday and saw first hand the dire circumstances of the facility, the groups said. The team was only in the hospital for an hour.
In the last two or three days, several patients died due to medical services shutting down, according to the WHO. And now there are just 25 health workers for the 291 remaining patients, including 32 premature babies in “extremely critical condition.”
The reported deaths at the Indonesian Hospital came after Israel’s military released video it says proves that the Hamas extremist group was using Al-Shifa hospital as a base of operations. Israel said it had recovered the bodies of two people who were held by Hamas at Al-ShiFA, which is now controlled by Israeli forces.
Palestinians were told to leave Gaza further south along a so-called safety corridor. Evidence shows that Israeli strikes and fire occur daily in areas Israel says are safer for civilians. Those attacks have hit schools, residential towers and overcrowded U.N. shelters.
As part of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas, nearly 240 people were kidnapped. Negotiations over a possible cease-fire that would allow people in Gaza to move about safely and for hostages to be handed over back to Israel is still in the works.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson disputed a report by The Washington Post that said a deal between the U.S., Israel and Hamas had been reached.
The Israeli-Gazawi conflict: a key sticking point to a peace deal, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Emirati Hospital
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the infants — part of a group of 31 evacuated from Al-Shifa earlier — had been brought to the Emirati Hospital in Rafah City in southern Gaza before crossing into Egypt. The three newborns that were determined to be in stable condition didn’t need to be transferred, according to the doctor.
The ongoing war between Israel and Gaza could result in the release of scores of Palestinians in exchange for a temporary halt to hostilities, according to Palestinian officials.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a moderator in the talks, described the remaining obstacles to a hostage deal as “minor.” The sticking points are more logistical, and they are more practical, he said at a joint news conference with the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
Jon Finer, a deputy national security advisor, sounded cautiously optimistic, saying that the sides were close to a deal and that the gaps have narrowed. Finer said that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
Israeli media reports have suggested negotiations involve the possible exchange of between 50 and 100 women and children held on both sides in addition to a multiday pause in the fighting.
Any deal would first need to be greenlit by Israel’s cabinet after an involved approval process, which could take up to 72 hours, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper.
In northern Gaza on Monday, the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said at least a dozen people were killed at another hospital during Israeli shelling. NPR was unable to independently verify the casualties at the Indonesian Hospital.
In a statement, the Israeli army said its forces had taken gunfire from within the building. In a statement sent to the NPR, the IdF said that it “targeted the specific source of enemy fire,” but that no shells were fired toward the hospital.
Israel, which says hospitals in Gaza are being used as covert Hamas command posts, has faced intense international criticism for military strikes on medical facilities there.
Jordan says it is sending a field hospital to Gaza to replace those damaged or destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Palestinian officials said it would be the first field hospital to arrive since the beginning of the war began last month.
In a statement on Sunday, the Secretary-General said he was “deeply shocked” at the killing of “dozens of people” at two UNRWA schools. The UN says at least one school was being used as a shelter.
Up First Briefing: Remembering Rosalynn Carter; Sam Altman heads to Microsoft (Annihilated News in p-Newton/The Up First Podcast)
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Former first lady Rosalynn Carter died yesterday at her home in Plains, Georgia. She was 96 years old. Carter, who was sometimes called the Steel Magnolia, is remembered for a lifetime spent as a mental health advocate and humanitarian. Carter has been in a Hospice care since February.
Voters in Argentina overwhelmingly elected ultra-conservative economist Javier Milei as the country’s next president. The far-right populist beat Argentina’s economy minister Sergio Massa in a runoff election. Milei’s style has drawn comparisons to former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Ziva Jelin’s Interpretation of the Israeli Attack on Oct. 7: Zaragoza’s Art Museum (Zibbutz Be’eri)
OpenAI co-founder and the influential creator of ChatGPT Sam Altman will lead a new artificial intelligence team at Microsoft. The announcement comes after Altman was abruptly ousted from OpenAI by its board of directors over an apparent rift over balancing AI safety with the push to release new tools.
Billy Porter is the first openly gay Black man to win an Emmy. He also has a Grammy and several Tonys under his belt. Porter says he was told at the beginning of his career that his sexual orientation was a liability. Now, the artist is singing on his own terms for his newest album, Black Mona Lisa.
Artist Ziva Jelin was living in Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. After her family was rescued and were evacuated to a hotel at the Dead Sea, her artwork wasn’t a priority. Her work is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and it is taking on new meaning.