Israel agrees to allow ‘very minimal’ quantity of fuel into GazaIsrael’s national security adviser says the country’s war cabinet has agreed to allow two tanker trucks of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip each day – a quantity he described as “very minimal”.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Tzachi Hanegbi said the fuel would be allowed for Gaza’s communications system and water and sewage services.
He said the aim is to prevent the spread of disease without disrupting Israel’s ability to continue its war against the Hamas militant group.
Hanegbi said the fuel amounted to roughly 2% to 4% of the normal quantities of fuel that entered Gaza before the war erupted on 7 October.
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Summary of the day so farIt’s 6.30pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
The UN has warned that Gaza’s civilians face the “immediate possibility” of starvation, and that overcrowding and lack of clean water are speeding the spread of diseases as winter approaches. Deliveries of already scarce food and other supplies have been halted in recent days because of shortages of fuel for trucks and a communications blackout, now in its second day, that has made it impossible to coordinate deliveries, aid agencies said.
The Israeli military has said it retrieved the body of a soldier, Noa Marciano, who had been held captive by Hamas in a building near Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital. It comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that it had found the body of Yehudit Weiss, one of about 240 hostages taken on 7 October, in a building near the hospital.
A doctor at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital has said Israeli forces had “found nothing” during searches of the hospital complex, and that food and water were running out. “It’s a totally terrifying situation,” Ahmed El Mokhallalati told Reuters. “They are shooting all the time, all the areas.”
Israeli security forces have mounted a major raid in the city of Jenin, destroying roads and killing between three and five Hamas militants in the latest instance of surging violence across the occupied West Bank. Hamas said three of its fighters had died in the overnight raid, which began late on Thursday night and lasted about eight hours. Israeli military officials said their forces had killed at least five.
Israeli forces conduct raid in Jenin as West Bank violence surges – video At least 11,470 Palestinians, including 4,707 children and 3,155 women, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas war broke out six weeks ago, according to figures by the Palestinian health authorities on Thursday. The vast majority have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. In recent days, the Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank has started updating the Gaza death toll, AP reported, after the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza stopped publishing updates after key ministry officials based in Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital lost electricity and connectivity. The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October that killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Israel’s national security adviser has said the country’s war cabinet has agreed to allow two tanker trucks of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip each day – a quantity he described as “very minimal”. Tzachi Hanegbi said the fuel would be allowed for Gaza’s communications system and water and sewage services, and that the aim is to prevent the spread of disease.
Civilians in parts of south-east Gaza have been told in leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft to move into a smaller “safe zone” in the coastal town of Mawasi, which covers just 14 sq km (5.4 sq miles), prompting warnings from the heads of 18 UN agencies and international aid groups. There are already 1.6 million displaced people in Gaza, more than two-thirds of its population. Most fled the north after similar warnings that nowhere in or around Gaza City would be safe for civilians.
Greece’s foreign minister, George Gerapetritis, has said talks on opening a humanitarian aid corridor into north Gaza could soon yield results. “I am relatively optimistic that we could have some positive results soon,” he said on Friday after meeting with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has urged the Middle East not to “go back to 20 years ago” with repeated cycles of violence and conflict as he continues his four-day diplomatic push to get a plan under way for enduring peace. On Thursday, he called on Israel not to be “consumed by rage” in its response.
More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK this weekend, but there will be no large-scale national march in London, according to organisers. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend vigils, protests, petitions, fundraisers and marches across London boroughs and cities including Birmingham, Cambridge, Liverpool and elsewhere on Saturday.
Hello, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong in Washington taking over the live blog. You can reach me at [email protected].
Fears are growing for people crowded into the south of the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s military consolidates its control of the northern areas around Gaza City, and appears to be preparing to step up operations elsewhere.
Civilians in parts of south-east Gaza have been told in leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft to move into a smaller “safe zone” in the coastal town of Mawasi, which covers just 14 sq km (5.4 sq miles), prompting warnings from the heads of 18 UN agencies and international aid groups.
There are already 1.6 million displaced people in Gaza, more than two-thirds of its population. Most fled the north after similar warnings that nowhere in or around Gaza City would be safe for civilians.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday that more than 800,000 internally displaced people were staying in at least 154 shelters run by UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency.
MapThe Reuters news agency reports that talks on opening a humanitarian aid corridor into north Gaza could soon yield results.
The claim comes from Greece’s foreign minister, George Gerapetritis, after his meeting with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
He said:
I am in constant communication with both parties and I am relatively optimistic that we could have some positive results soon.
With world powers anxious to coordinate help for Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s bombardment and siege, Gerapetritis said he believed Israel was considering allowing increased aid and was keen to hear all possible options.
Cyprus has made a proposal, which Greece endorses, to open a maritime corridor to expand capacity for relief into the Palestinian enclave beyond the Rafah crossing from Egypt.
Another alternative is via a port in Israel then a northern entry point into Gaza, Gerapetritis said.
Here are some of the latest images coming though from Israel and Gaza:
In Khan Younis, Palestinians queue to buy bread. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ReutersThe Israeli military on patrol in the kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara near the border with Gaza. Photograph: Léo Corrêa/APA Palestinian man carries an injured child in Rafah, Gaza. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images
Emma Graham-Harrison
Earlier, the UN said Gaza’s civilians faced the “immediate possibility” of starvation, and overcrowding and the lack of clean water were speeding the spread of disease as winter approaches.
Deliveries of already scarce food and other supplies have been halted in recent days because of shortages of fuel for trucks and a communications blackout that made it impossible to coordinate deliveries, aid agencies said. Palestinian network operators said they had no fuel to power phone and internet systems.
You can read our full report on the situation for civilians in Gaza here:
As we reported earlier, Israeli security forces have mounted a major raid in the city of Jenin, destroying roads and killing between three and five Hamas militants in the latest instance of surging violence across the occupied West Bank.
Hamas said three of its fighters had died in the raid, which began late on Thursday night.
You can watch our video report here:
Israeli forces conduct raid in Jenin as West Bank violence surges – videoIsrael agrees to allow ‘very minimal’ quantity of fuel into GazaIsrael’s national security adviser says the country’s war cabinet has agreed to allow two tanker trucks of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip each day – a quantity he described as “very minimal”.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Tzachi Hanegbi said the fuel would be allowed for Gaza’s communications system and water and sewage services.
He said the aim is to prevent the spread of disease without disrupting Israel’s ability to continue its war against the Hamas militant group.
Hanegbi said the fuel amounted to roughly 2% to 4% of the normal quantities of fuel that entered Gaza before the war erupted on 7 October.
A doctor al-Shifa hospital in Gaza said on Friday Israeli forces had “found nothing” during searches of the hospital complex, and that food and water were running out.
Ahmed El Mokhallalati told Reuters by telephone that despite the “difficult” conditions at the hospital, no babies had died there since Israeli troops entered it on Wednesday.
Israel says Hamas has a command centre underneath the hospital, an assertion the Palestinian militant group denies. Reuters has been unable to verify the situation at the hospital independently.
“It’s a totally terrifying situation, here the Israeli tanks and the Israeli troops have been moving within the hospital area, all over the hospital,” said Mokhallalati, a surgeon born in Ireland who trained in Cairo and practiced in London.
“The situation is totally difficult. They are shooting all the time, all the areas.”
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons at al-Shifa. It also made public videos and photographs to support its statement.
Speaking in English, Mokhallalati said: “They have found nothing. They have found no single resistance. No single gunshot, against them within the hospital area.”
The hospital, packed with patients and displaced people and struggling to keep operating, has become a focus of global concern.
Israel kills Hamas militants in Jenin raid
Jason Burke
Israeli security forces have mounted a major raid in the city of Jenin, destroying roads and killing between three and five Hamas militants in the latest instance of surging violence across the occupied West Bank.
Hamas said three of its fighters died in the overnight raid, which began late on Thursday night and lasted about eight hours. Israeli military officials said their forces had killed at least five.
The raid underlined the high tensions in the West Bank since the attacks launched by Hamas into southern Israel last month which prompted a massive Israeli military offensive into Gaza.
The mounting death toll in the West Bank has underscored fears that the territory seized by Israel in the 1967 war could spiral out of control amid the conflict in Gaza.
Pope Francis will meet next week with relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza, a source said on Friday.
The source, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss papal plans, said 12 relatives would meet the pope early on Wednesday morning before his weekly general audience.
The source said they would be a mix of relatives who met with Italian leaders last month and others who were not among the first group.
The Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on Friday the Holy See believed the release of the hostages and a ceasefire – which Israel has so far ruled out – were two “fundamental points” to resolve the crisis.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Rome, Parolin said the Vatican was working on a meeting between the pope and relatives of the hostages but gave no time frame.
“We are working on it and hope to realise it as soon as possible,” he said.
Here are some images from the wires of the funeral of Noa Marciano, an Israeli soldier whose remains were recovered yesterday near the al-Shifa hospital during the Israeli ground operation in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Israeli soldier Noa Marciano during her funeral in Modiin, Israel. Photograph: Abir Sultan/EPAFriends and family mourn at Noa Marciano’s funeral. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/ReutersAdi (centre left) and Avi Marciano mourn during the funeral of their daughter, Noa Marciano. Photograph: Abir Sultan/EPAIsrael’s war cabinet has approved letting in two fuel trucks a day into Gaza to help meet UN needs, an Israeli official said on Friday.
The official, who declined to be identified, said the decision came after a request from Washington, Reuters reports.
Allowing in the fuel, the official said, gives Israel extra room to manoeuvre in the international arena so it can continue its campaign to eradicate Hamas in Gaza.
The amount of fuel will give “minimal” support for water, sewage and sanitary systems in Gaza to prevent pandemics, the official said.
Lili Bayer
Janez Lenarčič, the EU’s commissioner for crisis management, has called for ensuring the delivery of fuel into Gaza for humanitarian organisations.
“I most strongly urge the parties involved to stop hindering humanitarian efforts and ensure sufficient & non-interrupted delivery of fuel into Gaza to humanitarian organisations as well as to turn back on communications which are crucial for delivery of life-saving assistance,” he said.
I most strongly urge the parties involved to stop hindering humanitarian efforts and ensure sufficient & non-interrupted delivery of fuel into #Gaza to humanitarian organisations as well as to turn back on communications which are crucial for delivery of life-saving assistance❗️
— Janez Lenarčič (@JanezLenarcic) November 17, 2023
Lili Bayer
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is travelling to Germany today, amid tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier this week, Erdoğan called Israel a “terror state”. The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, meanwhile, has repeatedly defended Israel’s right to defend itself, saying “the charges being brought against Israel are absurd”.
The Turkish leader will meet with Scholz and the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli raids a day earlier, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 17, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Photograph: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
Lisa O’Carroll
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has urged the Middle East not to “go back to 20 years ago” with repeated cycles of violence and conflict as he continues his four-day diplomatic push to get a plan under way for enduring peace.
On Thursday, he called on Israel not to be “consumed by rage” in its response, saying he understood the “anguish” “fears” and “pain” of Israelis following the 7 October attacks. Over the weekend he is visiting the West Bank, Bahrain, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi and Jordan with a blueprint for so-called for “day after” plan.
“The important thing today is to bring to the minds of everyone we have to engage in a peace process,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday. “If we don’t stop this cycle of violence it will happen again and now there is an opportunity, a kind of wake up [call] in order to deal with the problem that we have almost forgotten about.
“We believe that peace with the Arab world is enough and it is not enough, peace has to be done with the Palestinians themselves. The first thing to do is to start thinking about how do we manage the situation in Gaza. Once the Gaza war, little by little will decrease, we will have to have a mindset to look for a stable solution. We cannot go back to 20 years ago.”
For too long the EU has delegated responsibility for the Middle East to the US, he said in Brussels this week. “We have been far too absent,” he added.
Borrell’s blueprint centres on a six-point plan with the EU and Arab world leading, alongside the US:
No reduction in territory size of Gaza
No long-term security presence by Israel
No forced displacement of people from Gaza
A single Palestinian Authority for West Bank and Gaza
Involvement of the Arab leaders
Involvement of Europe
WHO voices concern over spread of disease in GazaThe World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it was very concerned about the spread of disease in Gaza as weeks of Israeli bombardments have caused the population to crowd in shelters with scarce food and clean water.
“We are extremely concerned about the spread of the disease when the winter season arrives,” said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory.
He said more than 70,000 cases of acute respiratory infections and over 44,000 cases of diarrhoea had been recorded in the densely populated enclave, figures significantly higher than expected.
Communications systems in the Gaza Strip are down for a second day, causing aid agencies to halt cross-border deliveries of humanitarian supplies amid warnings people could soon face starvation.
Israel has been pushing deeper into Gaza City, and its troops have been searching al-Shifa, Gaza’s biggest hospital, for traces of a Hamas command centre the military alleges is located under the building, AP reported.
They have displayed images of what they claimed to be a tunnel entrance and weapons found in a truck inside the compound, but do not yet have any evidence of the command centre. Hamas and al-Shifa staff deny such a command centre exists.
The war, now in its sixth week, was triggered by Hamas’s 7 October attack in southern Israel, in which militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured about 240 men, women and children.
Abeer Etefa, a Middle East regional spokesperson for the United Nations’ World Food Programme, said Gaza was receiving only 10% of its needed food supplies daily, and dehydration and malnutrition was growing with nearly all of the 2.3 million people in the territory needing food.
“People are facing the immediate possibility of starvation,” she said from Cairo.
With few trucks entering Gaza and no fuel to distribute the food, “there is no way to meet the current hunger needs”, she added.
“The existing food systems in Gaza are basically collapsing.”
A Palestinian man walks near a destroyed vehicle vehicle at the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters