Hospital, humanitarian, evacuation, and hostage updates, West Bank deaths, US-Israel relationship, Jewish groups organize massive pro-Israel rally and more
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here. For more news, go here and here. Live broadcast news from the region is here.
Some people are led to be skeptical of the Al Jazeera news network. However, the network has won several Emmys, a Peabody and the Overseas Press Association’s Edward R. Murrow award, among many other honors. The New York Times reports that “its reporting hews to international journalistic standards and provides a unique view on events in the Middle East.” it’s important to remember that all news sources may potentially have bias. For example, CNN uses anchors who used to work for the Israel Lobby, who have lifelong attachment to Israel, and who often exhibit pro-Israel spin and omission in their broadcasts. Similarly, Fox News is strongly influenced by Rupert Murdoch, who has a similarly strong attachment to Israel, and who may have fired Tucker Carlson, the network’s most popular host, in part due to the host’s opposition to war and his pattern of failing to exhibit sufficient devotion to Israel).
Latest statistics:
Palestinian death toll: 10,980* (10,784 in Gaza** (including at least 4,630 children and 3,130 women), and at least 196 in the West Bank). *IAK does not yet include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile is being disputed; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation.
Palestinian injuries: 30,076** (including at least 29,000 in Gaza** and 2,650 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to offer an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption. The Associated Press has reported ~32,000 in Gaza, while the UN number is somewhat lower. Our total for Gaza and the West Bank is based on the conservative figure.
It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. About 1.6 million people have been displaced; 3,600 are missing (1,755 children) and presumed to be under rubble.
Israel has now killed more Palestinians in a little over a month than in all the previous 22 years combined.
Reported Israeli death toll has been reduced to ~1,200*** (The Israeli spokesman said the original figure of deaths on March 7 was an “initial estimate” – 3 killed in West Bank, 51 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and ~5,400 injured). The names of the 1,162 identified (33 of them children) are here.
***NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Al Shifa hospital update: Israeli forces have raided al-Shifa Hospital, where thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, following days of heavy attacks in the area surrounding the complex in Gaza City. Israel’s military said early on Wednesday morning that it was carrying out an “operation against Hamas in a specified area” at al-Shifa. Calling the assault a “targeted operation” on Gaza’s largest medical facility, it said the raid was based on Israeli and United States intelligence.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers entered the facility while tanks were stationed in the yard of the medical complex. Dr Munir al-Bursh, the general director of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, said that Israeli forces searched the basement of al-Shifa and entered the surgical and emergency buildings within the complex.
Inside the specialized surgeries building, the Israeli commandos are tearing apart all the partitions, destroying all the walls between rooms, going to the basement, and calling out people one by one and interrogating them.
The soldiers are using loudspeakers ordering young men to surrender themselves. About 30 people taken outside were stripped of their clothes, blindfolded and surrounded by three tanks in the courtyard.
Israeli forces have blown up a warehouse of medicine and medical devices in the hospital.
Israel accuses Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, of using the hospital as a base. Hamas rejects the claim. Israel has not produced evidence to back up its assertion.
Israel’s attacks on al-Shifa started just hours after a White House spokesperson said – without providing any evidence – that Washington has “information” that Hamas is using Gaza hospitals.
RECOMMENDED READING: Don’t be fooled. Biden is fully signed up to ethnic cleansing in Gaza
Is Israel creating propaganda? “The Israeli army is the only party controlling the scene inside the al-Shifa Medical Complex, amid a total media blackout. No third party or international organization was permitted to be present inside, which raises doubts about any Israeli narrative that would be released later,” Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a statement, adding, “Israeli allegations about the use of the al-Shifa Medical Complex for military purposes do not require extended hours of searching and raiding. Therefore, there are concerns that the army might be creating the scene that might be released later.” (08:55 GMT)
Humanitarian update: UNRWA said it received around 23,000 liters of fuel from Egypt (half a tanker), though Israel has restricted its use to solely transporting aid from the Rafah crossing. “No fuel for water or hospitals. This is only 9 percent of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities,” said UNRWA director Thomas White. “Humanitarian aid must be delivered based upon need – not based upon conditions set by parties to a conflict.” This will be the first time since 7 October that fuel is allowed into Gaza.
Although 91 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered from Egypt on 14 November, the distribution of supplies to shelters, clinics and other beneficiaries has largely come to a halt due to lack of fuel. Watch for an update on whether deliveries are made today.
Evacuation update: On 14 November, for the twelfth consecutive day, the Israeli military opened a “corridor” along the main traffic artery between 9:00 and 16:00. OCHA’s monitoring team estimates that about 17,000-18,000 moved on 14 November, significantly less than in the previous days.
Numerous reports indicate that Israeli forces have been carrying out arrests among internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing; there are also allegations of beating, stripping and other forms of violence. On 14 November, IDPs have reported that the Israeli army had established an unstaffed checkpoint where people are directed from a distance to go through two containers, where a surveillance system is thought to be installed. People are reportedly ordered to show their IDs and undergo what appears to be a facial recognition scan.
Damage and destruction in Gaza: On 13 November, at about 23:00, Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit and destroyed 12 houses near the Jabalia services sports club (in the north), killing 31 Palestinians and injuring others. The following morning, at about 5:30, Israeli airstrikes reportedly hit two buildings in Khan Yunis (in the south), killing 13 Palestinians and injuring 20 others.
In Jabalia refugee camp, several children who went out to fill water bottles were killed by Israeli shelling. (08:35)
Israeli air raids on homes in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood over the past few days have killed at least 25 Palestinians, according to media reports. (07:55 GMT)
Israeli artillery shelling targeted flour silos in al-Qarara, which was the only storage place for flour in Gaza; work has stopped at Al Salam Mill in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, after Israeli artillery bombed the only operating wheat mill. (10:55 GMT)
Gaza’s two main telecommunications companies, Paltel and Jawwal, have warned of a “complete telecom blackout in the coming hours” in Gaza. “Main data centers and switches in the Gaza Strip are gradually shutting down due to fuel depletion,” the companies said in a joint statement.
Over the past 24 hours, internally displaced persons staying outside the overcrowded shelters in the south have been affected by intermittent rainfall and related flooding, which have damaged or destroyed tents and makeshifts where they lived. Alongside lower temperatures, this is exposing people to increasing risk of disease.
RECOMMENDED READING: Israel makes childhood in Gaza a living hell
West Bank news: Israeli forces killed at least 8 Palestinians during an hours-long raid on Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank on Tuesday. Wafa reported:
After 15 continuous hours of aggression by the Israeli occupation forces, people rushed to inspect what had happened in the camp. They were shocked by the extent of destruction caused intentionally to the streets, water, electricity and sewage lines, homes, and private and public commercial facilities.
A young Palestinian man, Yamen Kamel Atiq, from Jenin, has succumbed to serious wounds he suffered after Israeli soldiers shot him after the army invaded Jenin on October 29.
Occupation forces also shot Mohammad Abdul-Majid Halayqa, age 20 from the town of Shiokh. Israeli forces alleged that he had a knife. After shooting him multiple times, they left him bleeding on the ground and refused ambulances trying to reach him. The alleged knife was never found.
Israeli bulldozers also destroyed a monument to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Tulkarem, in the West Bank. (06:51 GMT) Tulkarem is in “Area A,” officially under full Palestinian control. Israeli forces are not supposed to enter Area A.
RECOMMENDED READING: Israel settlers destroy drinking water network, trees in southern Hebron
Hostage update: Israel’s Kan television station reported that a “children for children” proposal is being examined by Israel and Hamas in advanced talks mediated by Qatar and the US. One of the sources said the talks were ongoing and no final agreement has been reached. (03:30 GMT)
The Hamas resistance group is currently holding about 240 prisoners, captured on October 7th for the purpose of a prisoner swap. Israel currently holds 7,000 Palestinians as political prisoners, at least 160 of them children) and has agreed to such a swap in the past.
The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centres has continued over the past 24 hours, with no reported fatalities. (Information on rocket attacks is here.) It appears that the last time a rocket killed an Israeli was October 7, as reported by Ha’aretz. Ten Israelis were killed – 4 of them Palestinian Israelis.
Israel news: In the last 24 hours, two Israeli soldiers were reportedly killed in Gaza, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the start of ground operations to 51, according to official Israeli sources.
Netanyahu has slammed Canada’s Justin Trudeau for saying the killing of women and children “has to stop”.
The Knesset has passed a law granting honorary citizenship to non-Israelis killed by Hamas.
RECOMMENDED READING: What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
US ‘quietly’ ramping up weapons transfers to Israel: Citing an internal defense department list, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon is “delivering on requests that include more laser-guided missiles for its Apache gunship fleet, as well as 155mm shells, night-vision devices, bunker-buster munitions and new army vehicles,” adding, “the arms are already being shipped or the Defense Department is working to make them available from stockpiles in the US and Europe.” (04:00 GMT)
WATCH: Joe Biden, career defender of Israel’s crimes and impunity
US-Israel tension: A new report by Bloomberg says the White House is getting increasingly frustrated with Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza as the civilian death toll mounts. Quoting several people familiar with conversations, the publication reported a widening rift between the close allies. It said US administration officials were having difficult conversations with their Israeli counterparts but their calls have been going unheeded.
At the same time, President Joe Biden’s administration is still fulfilling Israel’s weapons requests, and so far hasn’t threatened any consequences against Israel. (09:20 GMT)
Palestinian leader statement on US: By “accepting Israeli lies”, the US is “repeating the same mistake” it did in invading Iraq on the pretext of ridding the country of weapons of mass destruction, said Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative. “It reminds us of the intelligence information that the United States had to justify attacking Iraq,” Barghouti said. [Israel partisans in the US government pushed this.]
Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations organize a “vast show of solidarity with Israel” rally in Washington DC. Schools, synagogues and community centers sent buses of attendees – tens of thousands of people converged on the Mall, including politicians such as Chuck Schumer and Mike Johnson, new speaker of the House.
Our main data centers and switches in 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 are gradually shutting down due to fuel depletion. Currently, main network elements depend solely on batteries.
This will lead to a complete telecom 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 in the coming hours. #KeepGazaConnected— Paltel (@Paltelco) November 15, 2023
Thousands in San Francisco now.
We’re marching for Gaza while Joe Biden is in town for the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference, chanting for ceasefire while political luminaries flock into town.
“Biden, Biden you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!”
End the bombing. pic.twitter.com/s2UVUSoBmy
— Jewish Voice for Peace Bay Area (@JVPBayArea) November 15, 2023
Human rights activist, Hadeel Abdel Aziz, is a frontline defender of Jordan’s most marginalized communities. Over more than a decade, she has demonstrated leadership and courage in presenting a clear-eyed vision for a fairer justice system in Jordan. #IWOC pic.twitter.com/ezM7yhTTVq
— Department of State (@StateDept) March 9, 2023
If still in doubt that the goal of the ongoing aggression is not the destruction of the Palestinian people, watch how Israeli bulldozers destroy a monument of late President Yaser Arafat in Tulkarem in the West Bank, after killing 7 civilians.
(A photo from a more hopeful era:… pic.twitter.com/InabKNgqUU
— Laith Arafeh 🇵🇸 (@ArafehLaith) November 15, 2023
