Israel-Hamas War Updates: France’s Macron Urges Israel To Stop Bombing, Death toll in Gaza crosses 11000
Israel-Hamas War Updates:
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France’s Macron Urges Israel To Stop Bombing Gaza
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Death toll in Gaza crosses 11,000
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Thousands who were sheltering at Gaza City’s hospitals flee as Israel-Hamas war closes in
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Palestinian Health Ministry calls for protection of Gaza hospitals
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Israeli leaders trying to blame Hamas for all civilian casualties in Gaza
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Hamas and Israel in talks on release of civilian captives: Report
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WHO ‘extremely disturbed’ by strikes in vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital
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Gaza’s wounded no longer being treated for their injuries, doctor says
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Israeli PM responds to France’s Macron saying ‘no justification’ for killing civilians
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Palestine Red Crescent chief tells UN Gaza’s hospitals being ‘deliberately targeted’
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Israel revises death toll from Oct. 7 Hamas attack to ‘around 1,200’
France’s Macron Urges Israel To Stop Bombing Gaza
Israel must stop bombing Gaza and killing civilians, French President Emmanuel Macron told the BBC in an interview published late on Friday.
Macron said there was “no justification” for the bombing and saying a ceasefire would benefit Israel.
He said that France “clearly condemns” the “terrorist” actions of Hamas, but that while recognising Israel’s right to protect itself, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza.
When asked if he wanted other leaders – including in the United Sates and Britain – to join his calls for a ceasefire, Macron said: “I hope they will.”
Death toll in Gaza crosses 11,000
Israel has been heavily bombarding Gaza and is leading a ground offensive that has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians. The result is the deadliest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in decades.
Thousands who were sheltering at Gaza City’s hospitals flee as Israel-Hamas war closes in
Thousands of Palestinians sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war at Gaza City’s main hospital fled south Friday after several reported strikes in and around the compound overnight. They joined a growing exodus of people escaping intense urban fighting in the north — including near other hospitals — as Gaza officials said the territory’s death toll surpassed 11,000.
The search for safety across the besieged Gaza Strip has grown desperate as Israel intensified its assault on the territory’s largest city.
The Israeli army says Hamas’ military infrastructure is based amid Gaza City’s hospitals and neighborhoods, and that it has set up its main command center in and under the largest hospital, Shifa — claims the militant group and Shifa staff deny.
Palestinian Health Ministry calls for protection of Gaza hospitals
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza urged “international institutions to come immediately to al-Shifa [Hospital] complex and hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip to protect them and enable them to carry out their humanitarian work”.
Israeli leaders trying to blame Hamas for all civilian casualties in Gaza/ Al Jazeera
The Israeli prime minister released a statement really slamming the French president’s remarks, saying that Hamas is directly responsible for the civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, going on to say that this war was waged against Israel after those October 7 attacks.
The Israeli prime minister then went on to correlate Hamas with ISIS, saying they are fighting this war and trying to do everything they can [to] prevent civilian casualties.
But the reality on the ground speaks a different story, and we have to give some context to this.
While the Israeli military and the prime minister himself say that they’re trying to mitigate these civilian casualties, we’re looking at more than 11,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip since this war began.
The prime minister’s statement slamming the French president’s remarks really [does] echo a sentiment that Israeli officials have had over the last month or so, trying to absolve themselves of the civilian casualties, trying to put all of that blame on Hamas … as the relentless Israeli bombardment continues.
Hamas and Israel in talks on release of civilian captives: Report
The New York Times has reported that Hamas and Israel are negotiating two proposals for the release of captives in Gaza, with one said to involve a small number of civilians and another that could involve some 100 of those being held.
“Under one proposal being discussed, Hamas would release 10 to 20 civilian hostages – Israeli women and children as well as foreigners, including Americans – in exchange for a brief pause in hostilities,” the Times reports, citing unnamed Israeli officials and others briefed on the talks.
“That could be followed by a larger release of about 100 civilians if terms are met,” it adds.
In return for the release of captives, Hamas is said to be seeking a brief pause in fighting, more humanitarian aid, fuel for hospitals and the release of women and children in Israeli prisons, an official told the Times, adding that the Israeli authorities had expressed uncertainty about releasing their prisoners.
Qatar has been the main mediator in the negotiations, and senior US officials are also involved, according to the report.
Israel revises death toll from Oct. 7 Hamas attack to ‘around 1,200’
A spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities had been revised down to around 1,200 against a previous government estimate of 1,400. “Around 1,200 is the official number of victims of the October 7 massacre,” spokesperson Lior Haiat said in a written statement, adding that the figure had been updated on Thursday.
WHO ‘extremely disturbed’ by strikes in vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says health workers told the WHO that they were forced to leave the Gaza City hospital in search of safety while others were unable to leave due to “grave insecurity”.
“Many of the thousands sheltering at the hospital are forced to evacuate due to security risks, while many still remain there,” he said in a post on X, adding that four hospitals have been forced to shut down in the past 48 hours alone.
“WHO is very concerned about the safety of patients, health workers and those sheltering in hospitals. They need immediate protection,” the WHO chief said.
Gaza’s wounded no longer being treated for their injuries, doctor says
Ghassan Abu Sitta said medical teams are instead trying to stabilise patients as best as they can.
“Delayed treatment, especially in children, leads to delayed reconstruction and eventually increased disability,” he said.
Hospitals and health facilities across the Gaza Strip are crumbling under continued Israeli bombardments and a lack of fuel, which Israel has blocked from entering the territory.
The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday that half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary care centres are no longer functioning.
Israeli PM responds to France’s Macron saying ‘no justification’ for killing civilians
Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The responsibility for any harm to civilians lies with Hamas,” not Israel.
The Israeli prime minister was responding to comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with BBC on Friday in which Macron reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed,” the French leader said. “So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”
In a statement, Netanyahu blamed Hamas for any civilian deaths and urged world leaders to condemn the Palestinian group instead of Israel.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians – including more than 4,500 children – since October 7.
Palestine Red Crescent chief tells UN Gaza’s hospitals being ‘deliberately targeted’
Marwan Jilani, director general of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, has raised alarm over the crisis facing Gaza’s hospitals in an impassioned speech to the UN Security Council on Friday.
“Displaced people at the hospitals are getting shot at as we speak,” Jilani said.
“They are asking, ‘What can we do? Where can we go?’ Thousands of innocent lives are under imminent threat.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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