Israel, Hamas war: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to control Gaza

Despite previously claiming Israel did not want to occupy the region once the war ends, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now backtracked, saying Israeli defence forces will “remain in control of the Strip”.

“We will not give it to international forces,” he said.

His vow comes after the US suggested the security of Gaza should by managed by an international force with troops from Arab states, when the conflict ends.

Since October 7, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health military in the Hamas-run territory.

This follows violent attacks from the militant group in southern Israel, which killed more than 1200 people, the majority being civilians according to Israeli officials.

Warning as Gaza reaches ‘point of no return’

Gaza City appears to be under a heavy rocket attack, with a vision from Al Jazeera showing orange streaks raining down on the area.

It comes as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned the healthcare system in Gaza has “reached a point of no return”, with attacks on medical facilities and personnel dealing a “heavy blow” to the area’s struggling healthcare system.

William Schomburg, head of ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza, said the destruction affecting Gaza’s hospitals has become “unbearable”, with the lives of thousands of civilians, patients and medical staff at risk.

It comes as Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa, was hit by a strike Friday that its director said killed 13 people

The Israeli army has repeatedly accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of using hospitals, particularly Al-Shifa, to co-ordinate their attacks and also as hideouts for its commanders. Hamas authorities deny the accusations.

“There is no safe place left. The army hit Al-Shifa. I don’t know what to do,” 32-year-old Abu Mohammad, who was among those seeking refuge at the hospital, told the AFP.

“There is shooting … at the hospital. We are afraid to go out.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation, said Gaza’s health care system was “on its knees”.

“Hospital corridors crammed with the injured, the sick, the dying; morgues overflowing; surgery without anaesthesia; tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals,” he said, noting that half of the territory’s 36 hospitals are no longer functioning.

Israel denies hospital attack, accuses Hamas

The Israeli military has denied claims it was responsible for the attack on Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital, which reportedly killed 13 people.

The denial was issued in a post on Israel’s official X account, formerly known as Twitter.

“Earlier today, the IDF received reports of a hit on the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City,” the post read.

“The Hamas-run media office in the Gaza Strip immediately claimed that this was a strike carried out by the IDF.”

Officials have instead accused Hamas militants of being behind the strike.

“An examination of IDF operational systems indicates that a misfired projectile launched by terrorist organisations inside the Gaza Strip hit the Shifa Hospital,” the post read.

“The misfired projectile was aimed at IDF troops operating in the vicinity.”

Macron calls on Israel to stop ‘bombing, killing’ women, babies

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the Israeli military to stop bombing and killing women and babies.

Speaking to the BBC following a humanitarian aid conference in Paris about the war in Gaza, Mr Macron called for a ceasefire, saying there was “not justification” for the air strikes that have been carried out by Israel,

He branded the actions of Hamas as “terrorism” and said France “clearly condemns” the militant group’s October 7 attack.

However, he noted that “having a large bombing of Gaza” is not the best way for Israel to protect itself.

“There is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect … all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists,” Mr Macron said.

“De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”

Israel death toll lowered

Israel has revised down the death toll from last month’s Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1400 to about 1200, according to a foreign ministry spokesman.

“This is an updated estimate,” ministry spokesman Lior Haiat told AFP.

Israel previously said Hamas fighters who poured across the heavily militarised border on October 7 killed 1400 people, mostly civilians.

But in an unrelated statement on Friday that was critical of the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO, Haiat said Hamas murdered “about 1,200 people”.

–AFP

‘Do what we need to’: Israel’s chilling hospital warning

Israeli troops were closing in on hospitals in Gaza City on Friday, an Israeli official said.

This comes as its battle with Hamas engulfed more of the city and raised fears that vulnerable patients and sheltering civilians with nowhere to flee could be harmed by Israeli strikes and running street battles.

“We’re aware of the sensitivity of the hospitals. That’s why we’re slowly closing in on them,” the Israeli military spokesman, Richard Hecht, told reporters.

He said that Israeli forces generally do not fire on hospitals, but added: “If we see Hamas terrorists firing from hospitals, we’ll do what we need to do.”

He also said that Israeli troops were “closing in” on Hamas in northern Gaza.

Following fighting around Al Shifa hospital, Israeli forces claimed it had killed dozens of militants and destroyed tunnels that are key to Hamas’s capacity to fight.