Nasser Hospital is ‘not functional anymore,’ WHO warns
TEL AVIV — Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis is “not functional anymore” amid ongoing raids at the facility, the World Health Organization has warned.
A WHO team was blocked yesterday and the day before from being able enter the hospital to assess the conditions of patients being treated at the facility, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X today. He said the team had visited the facility to deliver fuel alongside other partners, but were not allowed to enter.
Ghebreyesus said there were around 200 patients still inside the hospital, with at least 20 needing to be “urgently referred” to other hospitals to receive health care. “Medical referral is every patient’s right,” he said, adding: “The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives.”
The Israel Defense Forces launched their dayslong raid at the hospital on Thursday, saying intelligence indicated that Hamas had held hostages there. The IDF said around 100 people were detained, with the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza saying medical workers were among them.
The health ministry said at least five patients at the hospital had died due to a lack of oxygen and power outages during the raid. NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the deaths.
ICJ to hold hearings on legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands
Six days of hearings are scheduled at the International Court of Justice from Monday, examining whether Israel’s 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state is illegal. Though the case occurs against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, it focuses instead on Israel’s open-ended occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
Palestinian representatives, will argue that Israel has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest by annexing large swaths of occupied land, has violated the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, and has imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid.
“We want to hear new words from the court,” said Omar Awadallah, the head of the U.N. organizations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. “They’ve had to consider the word genocide in the South Africa case,” he said, referring to a separate case before the court. “Now we want them to consider apartheid.”
Israel is not scheduled to speak during the hearings, but could submit a written statement. It is likely to justify the open-ended occupation on security grounds in the absence of a peace deal, according to experts.
Counting on Egypt to absorb displaced Palestinians is unacceptable, President el-Sissi says
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi today reiterated the nation’s stance against Israel’s displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the possibility that they will be resettled in his adjacent country.
He did so during a call today with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Ahmed Fahmy, el-Sissi’s spokesperson, said in a statement. The two leaders spoke about efforts to revive a cease-fire, exchange captives and end humanitarian suffering.
The leaders see a two-state solution as best outcome for the war, the office of Egypt’s president said in today’s statement. Macron made headlines when he said this week that French recognition of a Palestinian state is not a ‘’taboo’’ for his country.
Israel arrests ‘large number’ of staff members at Nasser Hospital complex, Palestinian Health Ministry says
Israel has arrested a “large number” of administrative employees and crews at the Nasser Hospital complex in Khan Younis as they were on duty, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said today.
Nasser Hospital, southern Gaza’s main medical facility, has been besieged by Israel for weeks. Intense fighting in and around Khan Younis over the last three weeks “is causing loss of life and damage to civilian infrastructure,” according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Around 10,000 people are seeking shelter at the hospital.
“The Israeli occupation forces arresting a large number of the administration and staff of the Nasser Medical Complex is a war crime and a disregard for the lives of the sick and wounded who are in dire need of direct care and treatment,” the health ministry said in a Telegram statement.
At least five patients have died during Israel’s raid on the hospital. Palestinian health authorities said the deaths were caused by lack of oxygen and power outages during the raid.
Israel has accused Hamas of holding hostages at the facility, a claim denied by the militant group.
Netanyahu: No point in Gaza truce talks until Hamas changes its demands
In a statement issued this evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no point in truce talks regarding Gaza until Hamas changes its demands.
“I must tell you, citizens of Israel, that until the moment, the demands of Hamas are illusory, they mean only one thing — defeat for Israel,” Netanyahu said. “Of course we will not agree to them. But when Hamas drops these delusional demands, we can move forward.”
Hamas’ demands include a permanent cease-fire and full IDF withdrawal from Gaza. The group has also proposed a cease-fire plan that would include the release of 1,500 prisoners, including 500 people serving life sentences, a source has told NBC News. The proposal also includes developing a three-year plan, with a road map to rebuild homes and other infrastructure destroyed in the war, the source said.
Netanyahu reiterated the state’s commitment to releasing hostages in Gaza.
“I want to tell you and the families of the abductees; we do not forget even for a moment our commitment to the return of all the abductees,” he said.
Two more hostages were rescued and returned to their families this week, according to Netanyahu.