LAST UPDATE | 15 Nov 2023
ISRAEL FORCES RAIDED Gaza’s largest hospital today, targeting what they say is a Hamas command centre in tunnels beneath thousands of patients and civilians seeking refuge from intense combat.
Further south, some Irish citizens were allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing for the first time today.
The operation at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital brings to a head weeks of growing concern for the people trapped inside in grim conditions, and marks a key objective for Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas.
The United Nations has said it estimates that at least 2,300 people – patients, staff and displaced civilians – are inside and may be unable to escape because of fierce fighting.
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is heading to the Middle East today to visit Egypt, Israel and Palestine in the coming days.
Updates from Lauren Boland, Diarmuid Pepper, Hayley Halpin and Mairead Maguire
Includes reporting by Press Association and © AFP 2023
Earlier today, Israeli forces raided Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, the largest hospital in the territory, targeting what they say is a Hamas command centre in tunnels beneath thousands of patients and civilians seeking refuge from intense combat.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers, some wearing face masks and shooting in the air, ordered young men to surrender, a journalist in contact with AFP said.
Youssef Abu Rish, an official from the Gaza health ministry who was in the hospital, told AFP he could see tanks inside the complex and “dozens of soldiers and commandos inside the emergency and reception buildings”.
Israel said the raid was being executed based on “an operational necessity”.
The United Nations has said it estimates that at least 2,300 people – patients, staff and displaced civilians – are inside and may be unable to escape because of fierce fighting.
Witnesses have described conditions inside the hospital as horrific.
We will continue to bring updates on the situation throughout the day.
US reaction
The White House reiterated its concerns for the safety of civilians shortly after the raid on the hospital began today.
“We do not support striking a hospital from the air and we don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital,” a National Security Council spokesperson said.
The official added that there should not be a situation in which “innocent people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve are caught in the crossfire”.
Earlier, the White House had said that US intelligence sources corroborated Israel’s claim that Hamas and another Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, had buried an operational “command and control node” under Al-Shifa.
Hamas, which has repeatedly denied the claims, today said US President Joe Biden was “wholly responsible” for the assault, accusing his administration of giving Israel “the green light … to commit more massacres against civilians”.
Israel has said that the military use of the hospital “jeopardises” its “protected status under international law”, a claim that many international human rights lawyers refute.
Citing the Gaza health ministry, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said 40 patients had died in Al-Shifa today, while hospital director Abu Salmiya said 179 bodies had been interred in a mass grave inside the complex.
UN secretary-general António Guterres has said he is “deeply disturbed by the horrible situation and dramatic loss of life in several hospitals in Gaza”.
“In the name of humanity, I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
I am deeply disturbed by the horrible situation and dramatic loss of life in several hospitals in Gaza.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 14, 2023
In the name of humanity, I call for an immediate humanitarian cease fire.
Irish citizens
A group of Irish citizens have been cleared to evacuate Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt today, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed this morning.
The Department said last night that a number Irish citizens in Gaza were expected to be notified that their names are included on a list to leave the territory into Egypt through the Rafah crossing.
In a statement this morning, a spokesperson for the Department said that “a first group of Irish citizens and dependants has been cleared to exit through the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt today”.
“Arrangements are in place for staff from the Irish Embassy in Cairo to meet them and to provide them with consular assistance and support, including with onward travel to Ireland,” they said.
“We expect additional Irish citizens and dependants in Gaza to be on the list in the coming days. We are working tirelessly to ensure that all those who wish to do so will be able to exit as soon as possible.”
This would allow Irish citizens, who have been stuck in Gaza since conflict broke out in the region, to leave for the first time.
Irish father-of-three Ibrahim Alagha, who has been in Gaza since the conflict started, told The Journal last night that he was yet to receive a call regarding being on the list to cross the border.
“I’m waiting. I’m patiently waiting for a call. So hopefully within the next hour or two, I will get the news,” he said at the time.
RTÉ’s Morning Ireland spoke to Alagha this morning and he had made his way to the border after receiving notice from the Department of Foreign Affairs that he was on the list to cross.
Alagha and his family travelled from the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip this morning.
He said the journey was “calm” and it “all went smoothly”.
Alagha said he has “mixed feelings” about leaving Gaza.
“On one side I’m going back home, going back to my normal life,” he said, adding that on the other hand he will be leaving behind friends.
Aymen Shaheen and his family are also expecting to cross through the Rafah border today.
The Department of Foreign Affairs contacted Aymen Shaheen, his wife Suha, his 19-year-old daughter Rawan and 12-year-old son Ibrahim last night, RTÉ reported.
The family were around 4km from the border this morning.
“It’s dangerous, but we can move, we have to do it,” Aymen Shaheen told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
Shaheen said he is feeling “fantasic” that he and his family will be able to leave Gaza, adding that it’s like being chosen by God to survive.
Speaking of the situation in Gaza, he said: “Everything in Gaza is upside down … nothing is the same, nothing in Gaza today is the same as 40 days ago.
“It’s hard to find food, hard to find water, hard to find bread. It’s hard for everyone. I am lucky, I am so happy that I am going to leave.”
Irish citizen Aymen Shaheen and family are hoping to be allowed across the border at Rafah today. They lived in Ireland for nine years before moving to Gaza last summer. We’ll follow the progress of the Shaheens and up to 30 other Irish citizens throughout the programme pic.twitter.com/Ysg88vf0hX
— Morning Ireland (@morningireland) November 15, 2023
It is understood that some Irish citizens have begun leaving Gaza via the Rafah border crossing this morning. The process is likely to take several hours.
It has not yet been confirmed how many Irish citizens will be permitted to cross the border today.
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin is heading to the Middle East today to visit Egypt, Israel and Palestine in the coming days.
He is expected to meet the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Government sources have said one reason behind the trip, which was scheduled just this week, is to push for the some 40 Irish citizens to be allowed to leave the region.
Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning that the Al-Shifa hospital and its surroundings have been “under attacks” for the last few days, which led to much of the hospital being damaged.
“The hospital has suffered from lack of fuel for the last few days, lack of clean water and also lack of oxygen supply to the ICUs, to the incubators of the babies,” he said.
“About seven babies died because of the lack of oxygen. The other babies have been moved to different units to make sure they are alive and they have survived.”
Al-Mandhari said Israeli authorities “have no right to directly attack the hospital, regardless of their allegations” about Hamas.
“We keep repeating the same thing to all conflicting parties that healthcare is fully protected according to international humanitarian law,” he said.
“Any attack is considered as a breach and it has to be really investigated.”
He described conditions at Gaza’s other hospitals as “very, very bad” and getting worse “every second”.
“Out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, nine are only functioning partially. Those nine are lacking basic essential supplies fuel, water, food, as well as security.
“The hospitals are closing one-by-one. There are around 9,000 patients with cancer. There are around 1,000 with renal failure. There are around 50,000 pregnant ladies… the situation is very dire.”
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, has said he is “appalled by reports of military raids in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza”.
“The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns,” he said.
“Hospitals are not battlegrounds.”
I'm appalled by reports of military raids in Al Shifa hospital in #Gaza.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) November 15, 2023
The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns.
Hospitals are not battlegrounds.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has said in a statement that it is “extremely concerned about the impact on sick and wounded people, medical staff, and civilians”.
“All measures to avoid any consequences on them must be taken,” it said, insisting that “patients, medical staff, and civilians must be at all times protected”.
The ICRC added that it was “in contact with all concerned authorities and we continue to closely monitor the situation”.
Irish citizens leaving Gaza
As we reported earlier, a number of Irish citizens cleared to evacuate Gaza have begun leaving through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt this morning.
Arrangements are in place for staff from the Irish Embassy in Cairo to meet them and to provide them with consular assistance and support, including with onward travel to Ireland.
“We expect additional Irish citizens and dependants in Gaza to be on the list in the coming days,” a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said earlier this morning.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure that all those who wish to do so will be able to exit as soon as possible.”
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari has tweeted an update on what Israel has described as a “targeted operation” at the Al-Shifa hospital.
“IDF forces continue to operate in a targeted manner in a part of the al-Shifa hospital area where they are scanning for infrastructure and terrorist means of the terrorist organisation Hamas,” he said.
He also claimed the IDF has “delivered humanitarian equipment and placed it at the entrance of the hospital”.
כוחות צה״ל ממשיכים לפעול באופן ממוקד בחלק ממרחב בית החולים שיפאא' בו הם סורקים אחר תשתיות ואמצעי טרור של ארגון הטרור חמאס.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 15, 2023
כמו כן, הכוחות מסרו ציוד הומניטרי והניחו אותו בכניסה לבית החולים. pic.twitter.com/RmzeJFZzoV
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has said that Israel’s conflict with Hamas is “against the existence of Palestinians”, in a speech marking the 35th anniversary of the Palestinian declaration of independence.
“It is a war against the existence of the Palestinians, against the Palestinian national identity, the identity of the land and the identity of its inhabitants,” Abbas said in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which is separated geographically from the Gaza Strip.
Journalist Hannah McCarthy, who is based in Jerusalem, reports for The Journal that 30 Irish citizens and immediate family members included on a list of people permitted to leave Gaza are currently at the Rafah crossing awaiting buses to bring them to Egypt.
Not all the Irish citizens who want to leave Gaza have been included in today’s departure list but it is anticipated that they will be granted permission to leave in the coming days, if the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains open.
In particular, the two children of Belfast-born Khalid Al-Astal aged three and one, whose mother Ashwak Jendia died from injuries sustained by an Israeli airstrike last month have not been included in today’s list.
Irish citizen Zak Hania and his six family members also have not been included on today’s departure list. Hania was living in Al Shati camp but left northern Gaza for the southern part of the enclave, along with more than tens of thousands of fleeing Palestinian in the previous days.
A group of 30 Irish people are currently gathered at the Rafah crossing waiting to leave Gaza after a month living under heavy bombardment with dwindling water and food. Their passports have been stamped by Gazan authorities and they're waiting for a bus to the Egyptian side
— Hannah McCarthy (@Hannahmc_carthy) November 15, 2023
In the list seen by The Journal, nationals from EU countries including Austria, Sweden and Spain have been included on today’s evacuation list, as well as nationals from Norway, Switzerland, Bahrain, Belarus, Russia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
In addition, over 80 Palestinian children receiving cancer treatment at Al-Rantisi Hospital have been included.
Three Irish citizens working for the UN will remain in Gaza helping to deliver the humanitarian response as the enclave struggles to cope with over 11,000 deaths and the displacement of the majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.
— Hannah McCarthy (@Hannahmc_carthy) November 15, 2023
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there is no indication that Ireland was penalised in the evacuations for its stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Three Irish citizens working for the UN will remain in Gaza helping to deliver the humanitarian response in the besieged Palestinian enclave where over 11,000 people are now estimated to have died and the majority of the 2.3 million population have been displaced from their homes.
Meanwhile, Irish-born doctor Dr. Ahmed Al Mukalati gave an interview by phone to Al Jazeera Arabic last night from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city where Israeli troops have seized control. He described shootings and the sound of tanks around the hospital and said that staff were staying away from windows to avoid being shot at. A senior plastic surgeon, Mr Al Mukalati told RTÉ last month that his family who were staying in the hospital may evacuate but that he would not leave Al Shifa Hospital where he had been treating patients injured from Israeli air strikes.
Fuel that entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing today is “not at all enough”, the United Nations agency for supporting Palestinian refugees has said.
“This is the equivalent of half a truck! Not at all enough. Much more is needed. Fuel is being used as weapon of war, this must stop,” UNRWA said on X, formerly Twitter.
In a separate post, UNRWA confirmed receiving 23,027 litres of fuel, saying it met only “9%” of what the agency needs daily to sustain lifesaving work.
#Gaza 👇 fuel. This is the equivalent of half a truck! not at all enough! Much more is needed. Fuel is being used as a weapon of war, this most stop 👇 🛑⛽️ https://t.co/c6coq7Ifyj
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 15, 2023
Telecoms firm Paltel has said that its services across the Gaza Strip are expected to be suspended within hours as its generators had stopped working due to lack of fuel.
“All generators operating in the main exchanges in the Gaza Strip have stopped due to the exhaustion of fuel … which will lead to the suspension of all telecommunications services within the next few hours,” Paltel said in a statement.
Here are some photos from Gaza today…
Political reporter for The Journal Jane Matthews is covering Leaders’ Questions, many of which centre around the government’s response to Israel’s actions.
Mary Lou McDonald kicks off Leaders' Questions by raising the plight of Gazans again in the Dáil.
— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) November 15, 2023
She says refusing the refer Israel to the ICC is a 'cop out' and emboldens Israel.
'Condemnation isn't enough,' she says. pic.twitter.com/KCDPKt7TXY
Gazans’ connection to the internet has been largely cut off. Backup fuel and batteries supporting data centres are depleting, NetBlocks, a digital governance observer, has reported.
The Taoiseach says an investigation into Israel’s actions is already underway in the ICC and to submit another report would be ‘akin to reporting an alleged crime to the gardaí several years into an investigation’.
Mary Lou McDonald says his comments on the ICC are ‘disingenuous’, pointing out that there were multiple complaints made in relation to Ukraine.
The Tánaiste, who is in Egypt today, has said that progress is being made on getting Irish citizens out of Gaza.
Tanaiste @MichealMartinTD says a “significant number” of Irish passport holders will cross from Gaza into Egypt today. He says efforts will continue to ensure those who remain in Gaza can leave as soon as possible. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/eUXD374nSa
— Paul Cunningham (@RTENewsPaulC) November 15, 2023
Earlier, the Social Democrats tabled a motion in the Dáil calling for the Irish government to place economic and political sanctions on Israel, as TDs receive ‘thousands’ of letters in support of the Palestinian people amid Israel’s war with Hamas.
The party, backed by other opposition TDs, is seeking to expel the Israeli ambassador – a move that the government has deemed a bridge too far, considering the impact it would have on communication channels.
Speaking on the motion, Gary Gannon TD accused the international community of ‘enabling’ Israel’s actions.
Minister of State for the Department of Justice James Browne welcomed the engagement with the issue, but said that expelling the Israeli ambassador “underplays the value of international and multilateral engagement”.
“Cutting off diplomatic relations with a country means cutting off communication channels.”
Just hours after receiving its first delivery of fuel since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the UN warned its operations in Gaza were on the brink of collapse.
“To have fuel for trucks only will not save lives anymore,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“Our entire operation is now on the verge of collapse,” the UNRWA chief wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Our entire operation is now on the verge of collapse.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) November 15, 2023
By the end of today, around 70 % of the population in #Gaza won’t have access to clean water.
To have fuel for trucks only will not save lives anymore. Waiting longer will cost lives.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society is working with children who have fled the conflict.
❣️The Psycho-social team of the PRCS carried out recreational activities for displaced children at the PRCS headquarter in the Al-Amal city , aiming to alleviate their fears and anxieties and bring smiles to their faces. pic.twitter.com/sGGT2Z8q7K
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 15, 2023
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, has made further comments on the situation in Gaza today.
“As the carnage in Gaza reaches new levels of horror every day, the world continues to watch in shock as hospitals come under fire, premature babies die, and an entire population is deprived of the basic means of survival. This cannot be allowed to continue,” Griffiths said in a statement.
Speaking in the Dáil this afternoon, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said any state has “the right to self defence when civilians are attacked”.
“That’s what happened on October 7th. But what’s happening in Gaza is beyond self defence. In my view, it constitutes collective punishment. I said so, and I was one of the first to say so and I stand over that,” Varadkar said.
“I also believe that the Palestinians have the right to resist occupation, of course they do,” he said.
“All of us, I think, in this House deplore what is happening to children in Gaza at the hands of the IDF. It’s deeply wrong and deeply unacceptable,” the Taoiseach said.
Varadkar added that he is “concerned that people are already forgetting what Hamas did to children in Israel”.
“[It] went out of its way to kill and torture as many children as possible and kidnapped others, including one Irish citizen Emily Hand. So we should already remember that the lives of all children are equal. When we talk about the lives of Palestinian children, which we should, we shouldn’t forget what happened to the Israeli children, too, and what’s still happening to those children in the tunnels in Gaza,” he said.
PA News is reporting that a group of protesters have been removed from the House of Commons public gallery in London after holding up “ceasefire now” signs.
The group’s action came during the King’s Speech debate as shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper spoke about the Israel-Hamas conflict and Labour’s amendment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned there is no safe place for the Hamas militants behind the 7 October attacks and “no place in Gaza” the army wouldn’t reach.
“They told us we wouldn’t reach the outskirts of Gaza City and we did, they told us we wouldn’t enter Al-Shifa (hospital) and we did,” he said hours after troops raided the territory’s biggest hospital.
“There is no place in Gaza that we won’t reach.”
The Palestinian population should not pay the price for the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israel, France has said, expressing “serious concern” about Israeli operations inside the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip.
“The Palestinian population should not be made to pay for Hamas’s crimes, even less so the vulnerable, injured or sick and the humanitarian workers who courageously continue their work in extremely dangerous conditions,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
Amnesty Ireland has held a demonstration outside the US embassy in Dublin to call on the ambassador to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The human rights NGO said it had written to the US ambassador to Ireland Claire D Cronin to make the same call, and Amnesty workers in the US plan to hold a similar demonstration outside the White House this week.
“We’re outside the US embassy today to call on the ambassador to pass on our message directly to President Biden, that the US has a significant, unique influence over Israel, and that we want an immediate ceasefire, a ceasefire now, by all parties in the conflict,” Kevin Naughton, Ireland campaigns officer with Amnesty International, told the PA news agency.
“And we’re also calling for an arms embargo on all parties involved with the conflict.”
Asked about the hostages and the ceasefire, Naughton said: “We need both things to happen immediately without conditions.
“So we want to see all the hostages released, including Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand. We also want to see a ceasefire immediately, and both of those things need to happen now without conditions.
“The United States has the most influence over Israel to make that happen.”
Extinction Rebellion has said its activists were the protesters who had staged the demonstration in the House of Commons in order to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
XR spokesperson Rosie Merrifield said: “Parliament must today demand that the Government calls for an immediate ceasefire and commits to back an internationally arbitrated resolution which ensures the absolute protection of human rights for all, and lasting safety and peace for the Palestinian and Israeli people.”
UK Labour MP Naz Shah, a shadow minister, said a “humanitarian catastrophe” is taking place in Gaza as she backed calls for an “immediate ceasefire”.
She told the Commons: “I will be supporting the amendment which seeks an immediate ceasefire.”
A group of Irish citizens have now made the journey out of Gaza and into Egypt via the Rafah crossing, it is understood.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said “their wellbeing will be checked, and they will follow on in transit to Ireland”.
Speaking from Cairo earlier today, Martin said: “I want to thank again, my colleague Sameh Shoukry [Egypt's Foreign Minister], and your administration for facilitating that processing, and cooperating so generously with us.
“We will work tirelessly to ensure that all Irish citizens that want to leave Gaza can do so as soon as possible.”
A journalist trapped inside Gaza’s largest hospital has told the AFP new agency that Israeli troops have withdrawn from the facility after entering it overnight and have redeployed around its outskirts.
Israeli forces had pushed into Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital in the early hours of the morning, raising fears for the safety of thousands of patients, staff and other civilians trapped inside.
Meanwhile, the United States today said it did not give Israel any kind of green light for its raid on Gaza’s main hospital, adding that such decisions were for the Israeli military.
“We did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters after Hamas said President Joe Biden was “wholly responsible” for the raid.
The UN’s humanitarian chief has said he and Iran’s top diplomat have discussed fears of what an expansion of the Gaza war might entail and had agreed it “would not be good”.
At a Geneva press briefing, United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths voiced deep concern Israel’s war against Hamas could expand beyond Gaza, “into the north”.
“If there is to be a war in the north with Hezbollah and Israel, then I fear the worst,” Griffiths said.
“We can easily imagine the worst because it will be a war that makes even Gaza with its awful horrors of daily struggle look like just a beginning.”
He said he had discussed these concerns with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, whose country supports Hamas and Hezbollah militants in neighbouring Lebanon who have been involved in growing hostile exchanges with Israel.
“Naturally, the worry about expansion was the topic I discussed mainly with him,” Griffiths said.
“And of course, he agreed with me that such expansion would not be a good thing.”
“It would be a regional war, which would affect so many parts,” Griffiths said, pointing out that impacts have already been seen in Syria and Yemen.
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