Israel war live updates: Israel to evacuate babies trapped in hospital as London erupts
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called on Israel to stop “the attacking of hospitals” as Britain’s PM slams “thugs” after a day of violent clashes across London. Warning: Graphic
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has revealed the Australian government is pushing for a ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, and has called on Israel to stop “the attacking of hospitals”.
Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program, Senator Wong said that “how Israel defends itself matters” and that “when we affirm Israel’s right to defend itself, what we are also saying is Israel must comply and observe with international humanitarian law.”
The Israeli military said it would aid the evacuation of babies from Gaza’s largest hospital, amid intense fighting around the facility between soldiers and Palestinian militants.
“The staff of the Al-Shifa hospital has requested that tomorrow, we will help the babies in the pediatric department to get to a safer hospital. We will provide the assistance needed,” Rear Admiral Hagari said.
Medics said two premature babies had died at the hospital in Gaza City when the neonatal intensive care unit stopped working due to lack of power.
In London, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned as “despicable” actions by both far-right “thugs” and “Hamas sympathisers” after a day of chaos across the city.
Hundreds of thousands descended on central London and clashed with police in a determined campaign to disrupt the Armistice Day march.
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CHAOS ACROSS LONDON
Far-right protesters repeatedly tried to ambush pro-Palenstinain supporters on a huge march across central London.
British Prime Miniser Rishi Sunak has released a statement in which he said “all criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law”.
Police said there 300,000 people on the march, but organisers claimed the number surpassed 800,000.
Scotland Yard had deployed more than 2000 officers across the city.
Whitehall was lined with police vans as officers stood guard at the Trafalgar Square end.
Far-right protesters clashed with police, smashing down barriers at the entrance to the Cenotaph.
Masked demonstrators chanted “you’re a disgrace” and “you’re not English anymore” at police.
Protesters pushed past police shortly before the two-minute silence throwing missiles and then cheered at the military during the service at the Cenotaph.
ISRAEL KILLS HAMAS COMMANDER
The Israeli Defence Forces have killed a Hamas commander after they took control of 11 Hamas outposts in Gaza, and destroyed terrorists’ attack tunnels close to a school.
The IDF troops of the Givati Brigade directed a fighter jet to strike Ahmed Siam, the commander of Hamas’s Nasser-Radwan company, who “held hostage approximately 1,000 Gazan residents at Rantisi Hospital”.
The soldiers also destroyed targets of Hamas’ naval force and a Hamas squad that was about to engage soldiers of the army’s Givati Brigade.
The army posted on Telegram, saying: “IDF ground troops are continuing to operate in the Gaza Strip – eliminating terrorists and directing aircraft and artillery to strike (Hamas) infrastructure. Since the beginning of the ground operation, the IDF has taken control of 11 military posts …”
IDF soldiers also identified Hamas fighters “approaching IDF troops who were operating in the area. Aircraft struck the cell, removing the threat”.
DRONE STRIKE IN LEBANON
Lebanese media reports an IDF drone struck a truck near the coastal village of al-Zahrani, some 40 kilometres from the Israeli border. There were no reports of injuries but IDF said it had carried out a strike on a site from which surface-to-air missiles were fired at military drones over the Israel-Lebanon border.
PHOTOS EMERGE OF ISRAEL’S ASSAULT
Israeli tanks rolling as an army bulldozer demolishes a burning building inside the Gaza Strip.
IRAN PRESIDENT ARRIVES FOR GAZA SUMMIT
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Saudi Arabia for a summit on Gaza.
Footage aired showed him wearing a traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarf after disembarking from his plane.
Saudi Arabia is hosting Arab leaders and Iran’s president for a summit this weekend in emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
#BREAKING: #Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrives in #Riyadh to participate in the Arab-Islamic Summit on #Gazahttps://t.co/ugqGuJ89WI#قمة_عربية_إسلامية_بالسعوديةpic.twitter.com/EeWqzSGBJZ
— Arab News (@arabnews) November 11, 2023
GAZA’S HOSPITAL ENCIRCLED BY BOMBARDMENT
It comes as Israel encircled Gaza’s main hospital, which is under heavy bombardment where the situation has been described as “catastrophic”.
Heavy fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces has raged near the Al-Shifa hospital, where 50,000 people are sheltering, and at least three strikes and sniper fire hit the courtyard and the obstetrics department on Saturday.
Verified video footage from the scene shows fireballs exploding in the sky over the hospital, as people scream for help.
Israeli tanks have now closed in around the site, with some just 100m from the buildings it claims is hiding the main Hamas military command centre.
Hamas and Gaza health administrators have denied the claim.
WHO AND DOCTORS LASH WAR ON HOSPITALS
Al-Shifa hospital director Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya has said it is “a war against hospitals”.
World Health Organisation lead Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council the Gaza health system was “on its knees”.
Aid agency Doctors Without Borders said: “Our staff at the hospital have reported a catastrophic situation inside just few hours ago.”
Blasts have also been reported around a number of health facilities in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Nasr, Al-Rantisi, and Al-Quds hospitals, as well as the Indonesian Hospital.
The IDF said it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary”.
RALLIES IN AUSTRALIA
The war has sparked more rallies around the world, including Australia where pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters in Melbourne’s south-east on Friday.
The Free Palestine Melbourne group, which organised the rally, apologised for the evacuation of a synagogue on Friday which coincided with Shabbat — a holy day of rest observed by Jews.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the behaviour of protesters in Caulfield was “disgusting” and the Jewish community rightly felt afraid after a “vile anti-Semitism” attack.
Anti-Israeli protesters staged a rally at Port Botany, as Sydney’s Jewish community warned a planned pro-Palestinian motorcade from the west to the eastern suburbs on Saturday night.
MAN’S NEW HOPE CHILD HOSTAGE IS STILL ALIVE
Until 10 days ago, Tom Hand believed his daughter had been killed in attacks by Hamas gunmen on October 7, based on unofficial information he had received.
On October 31, the Israeli army confirmed to Hand that his daughter had not been identified as one of the people killed in Be’eri, and they believed she was alive and in Gaza. Mourning turned into hope, relief turned into anxiety of her whereabouts and her wellbeing.
UN WANTS CEASEFIRE
The UN Security Council remains at an impasse and some have expressed frustration the US is refusing to call for a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed concern over the civilian toll.
“Far too many Palestinians have been killed,” he said during a visit to New Delhi on Friday.
Blinken repeated his support for Israel and welcomed “progress” after the country formally agreed to four-hour pauses in its campaign in parts of Gaza where tens of thousands have fled in search of safety.
“I was also very clear that much more needs to be done in terms of protecting civilians and getting humanitarian assistance to them,” Blinken said.
MACRON WANTS ISRAEL TO STOP
French President Emmanuel Macron said Israel had the right to defend itself, but he told the BBC civilians were dying.
“These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed,” he said. “So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop,” he added.
NETANYAHU REJECTS GLOBAL CALLS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded saying world leaders should be condemning Hamas instead and rejected calls for an international force in the Gaza Strip after the war ends.
“IDF forces will remain in control of the Strip, we will not give it to international forces,” he said.
MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS
The conflict has also stoked regional tensions, with cross-border exchanges between the Israeli army and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the expansion of the Israel-Hamas war had become “inevitable”.
But the UN estimates tens of thousands of civilians remain in the fiercest battle zones in the north.
Complicating Israel’s military push is the fate of the hostages abducted on October 7.
Four hostages have been freed so far by Hamas and another rescued in an Israeli operation. The desperate relatives of those still held in Gaza have piled pressure on Israeli and US authorities to secure the release of their loved ones.
Humanitarian corridors have been opened to allow people to flee after Israel agreed to four-hour daily pauses on the north-south routes to give civilians a chance to escape.
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