 "israel")
Israeli troops entered Gaza’s biggest hospital on Wednesday and were searching its rooms and basement, witnesses said, culminating a days-long siege that caused global alarm over the fate of thousands of civilians trapped inside.
Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City has become the main target of the ground operation by Israeli forces, who say Hamas fighters located the “beating heart” of their operations in a headquarters in tunnels beneath it, which Hamas denies.
Israel said its troops uncovered unspecified weapons and “terror infrastructure” inside the hospital compound after killing fighters in a clash outside. Once inside, they said there had been no fighting and no friction with civilians, patients or staff. Witnesses who spoke to Reuters from inside the compound on Wednesday described a situation that appeared calm, if tense, as the Israeli troops moved between buildings carrying out searches. Sporadic shooting was heard but there were no immediate reports of anyone hurt inside the grounds.
The Israeli military released photos of a soldier standing beside cardboard boxes marked “medical supplies” and “baby food”, at a location Reuters verified was inside the facility.
“Before entering the hospital our forces were confronted by explosive devices and terrorist squads, fighting ensued in which terrorists were killed,” the Israeli military said. “We can confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital. Our medical teams and Arabic speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need,” it said.
A senior military official said: “IDF soldiers have already found weapons and other terror infrastructure. In the last hour, we saw concrete evidence that Hamas terrorists used the Shifa hospital as a terror headquarter.” Hamas called the claim that weapons were found “a continuation of the lies and cheap propaganda through which (Israel) is trying to give justification for its crime aimed at destroying the health sector in Gaza”. Dr Ahmed El Mohallalati, a surgeon, told Reuters by phone on Wednesday morning that staff had hid as the fighting unfolded around the hospital overnight. As he spoke, the sound of what he described as “continuous shooting from the tanks” could be heard in the background.
UN trucks planned to bring fuel into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday for the first time since the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian enclave’s Hamas rulers, an Israeli military spokesman said on Wednesday. “I know today that there's going to be fuel entering to the UN facilities inside the Gaza Strip,” Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in an interview with CNN.
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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back publicly at Justin Trudeau after the Canadian prime minister lamented “the human tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza is heart-wrenching, especially the suffering we see in and around the Al Shifa Hospital.”
NYU sued by students over ‘egregious’ antisemitism on campus
Three Jewish students at New York University (NYU) sued the school on Tuesday, claiming it failed to protect them from “egregious” antisemitism that has worsened since the Israel-Hamas war began.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims the university must take action under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race, color or national origin. “Mobs of students, often accompanied and encouraged by professors, have been given carte blanche to harass and intimidate NYU’s Jewish population,” according to the complaint. “As a result of NYU’s actions and inactions, antisemitism at NYU now thrives like never before.”
Qatar seeking deal to free 50 hostages and three-day truce, sources say
Qatari mediators were on Wednesday seeking to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of around 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
Qatari mediators were on Wednesday seeking to negotiate a deal between Hamas and Israel that includes the release of around 50 civilian hostages from Gaza in exchange for a three-day ceasefire, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The deal, under discussion, which has been coordinated with the US, would also see Israel release some Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails and increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, the official said. It would mark the biggest release in hostages held by Hamas since the Palestinian militant group burst over the Gaza border, attacked parts of Israel and took hostages into the enclave.
Hamas has agreed to the general outlines of this deal, but Israel has not and it is still negotiating the details, the official said. It is not known how many Palestinian women and children Israel would release from its jails as part of the agreement under discussion.
The scope of the Qatari-led negotiations has changed significantly in recent weeks, but the fact that the talks are now focused on the release of 50 civilian prisoners in exchange for a three-day truce and that Hamas has agreed to the outline of the deal have not been reported before. A more comprehensive release of all hostages is not currently under discussion, the official said. There was no immediate response from Israeli officials, who have previously declined to provide detailed comment on the hostage negotiations, citing reluctance to undermine the diplomacy or fuel reports they deemed “psychological warfare” by Palestinian militants. When asked about the negotiations, Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, did not directly confirm the deal under discussion.
"Netanyahu is stalling and is undermining any progress,” Nono told Reuters.
