EXPLANER
From attacks on Indonesian hospital to Houthi seizure of cargo ship in the Red Sea, here are the key updates.
Here is the situation as of Monday November 20, 2023:
Latest developments
- Yemen’s Houthi fighters hijacked a Japanese-operated cargo ship in the Red Sea on Sunday and took 25 crew members on board hostage on Sunday in response to “Israel’s aggression against Gaza.” A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was not affiliated with the ownership, operation or crew of the ship. However, public ownership records link the vessel to Israeli businessman Abraham “Rami” Ungar. The Japanese government condemned the seizure of the ship which was heading from Turkey to India.
- The Washington Post reported Sunday that the United States, Hamas and Israel had reached a tentative agreement to release at least 50 prisoners in Gaza each day during a five-day pause in fighting, but the United States United and Israel have both said there is no deal. still in place. Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday that only “minor” challenges remained, of a “more logistical” nature.
- In a statement on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked that two UNRWA schools were struck in less than 24 hours in Gaza.” He called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and thanked Qatar for leading the mediation efforts.
Human impact and fighting
- Israeli attacks on the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza killed at least 31 people on Sunday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
- On Sunday, 31 premature babies from Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa, were evacuated to medical centers in southern Gaza following an Israeli raid on the hospital last week. However, all are battling serious infections, according to the World Health Organization. “Preparations are underway” for them to enter Egypt with three doctors and two nurses, according to Mohammed Zaqout, director general of Gaza hospitals. Eight more premature babies in al-Shifa died after incubators stopped working following Israel’s ban on fuel entering the enclave at the start of the war.
- Two Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting in northern Gaza, bringing to 387 the number of soldiers killed since October 7, the Israeli army announced Monday.
- On Sunday, 69,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt, according to the latest flash update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The United Nations Relief and Works Agency will distribute the fuel to support food distribution and operate critical facilities such as hospital generators and water and sanitation systems.
- At least six Palestinian journalists were killed in the 24 hours before the update, OCHA reported.
Situation in Gaza hospitals
- Following continued attacks on the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza early Monday, the hospital’s main operating room was damaged and is no longer available for surgeries, according to Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Safwat Kahlout . Several people, including doctors and patients, were also killed and injured.
- Around 250 seriously injured people, who were unable to leave al-Shifa, remain stranded there, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud reported on Monday.
- Doctors Without Borders reported Sunday that 122 patients had arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis minutes after an Israeli attack in the area. Seventy people died upon arrival, while others suffered burns and injuries.
Diplomacy
- French President Emmanuel Macron told Netanyahu on Sunday that there were “too many civilian casualties” in Israel’s war in Gaza and reminded him of “the importance of reaching an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a ceasefire », According to a press release from Macron’s office on Sunday. . The country will also send more medical supplies and a second hospital ship to Gaza.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslim states to cut political ties with Israel, at least for “a limited period of time”, Reuters news agency reported, citing state media.
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a delegation of visiting Arab and Muslim officials on Monday that Beijing would work with them to “restore peace to the Middle East as soon as possible”, according to the AFP news agency. He added that Beijing has “always firmly supported the Palestinian people’s just cause to restore their legitimate national rights and interests,” while the delegation called for an immediate ceasefire, according to Reuters.
- US President Joe Biden said “a revitalized Palestinian Authority” should ultimately govern the West Bank in an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post.
Arrests and attacks in the occupied West Bank
- Israeli forces arrested at least 30 Palestinian workers from Gaza during raids in Deir al-Ghusun and the neighboring town of Attil, in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency on Monday .
- Israeli forces shot dead a 21-year-old Palestinian near Hebron on Sunday and blocked ambulances from approaching him until he died, according to the Wafa news agency. The soldiers then handed him over to the Palestinian Red Crescent.