Monday, November 20, 2023
17:05 GMT — Palestinian death toll in Gaza climbs to 13,300 — media office
At least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to a statement published by the Palestinian media office.
The death toll includes 5,600 children and 3,550 women, the statement said, adding that at least 6,500 people have been reported as missing, 4,400 of whom are women and children.
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17:02 GMT — Israeli army detects 25 rockets, 3 drones launched from Lebanon towards Israel
The Israeli army reported detecting 25 rocket launches and three suicide drone attacks originating from Lebanon, targeting Israeli positions along the border.
According to an Israeli army statement, the Iron Dome air defence system successfully intercepted several rockets, while others struck open areas.
16:50 GMT — Israeli army hits surgery floor of Indonesian Hospital in Gaza
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the Israeli army had targeted the surgery floor of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, causing significant damage to its medical equipment.
Munir al-Bursh, the director of hospitals in Gaza, spoke from the hospital and mentioned that dead bodies were still accumulating within the facility, which has been surrounded by Israeli military vehicles for several days.
He further explained that the hospital was the only one partially functioning in Gaza City and the northern Gaza region, as all other hospitals in Gaza City had become non-operational, including Al Shifa Hospital, which is currently under Israeli military control.
15:29 GMT — Civilian deaths in Gaza 'unparalleled, unprecedented' — Guterres
The UN chief has decried events in Gaza since October 7, calling them a "killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented” since he took office.
“We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am secretary general,” Guterres said in New York while presenting a new UN environmental report.
It is important to be able to transform the tragedy into an opportunity, Guterres said, adding: "It is essential that after the war we move in a determined, and reversible way to a two-state solution."
15:02 GMT — Turkish communications chief commemorates over 5,000 Gaza children
For November 20, World Children's Day, the Turkish communications director remembered the thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza killed by Israel's attacks on the besieged enclave.
"Today is, November 20, World Children's Rights Day. Children who should live in peace, tranquillity, and security are witnessing weapons, bombs, and death in Gaza today," Fahrettin Altun wrote on X.
"The pain of the 5,500 innocent children and infants we have lost due to Israel's attacks since October 7 is breaking our heart."
While the "ongoing oppression in Gaza" not only disregards the rights of children but also denies the right to life, the world remains silent in the face of "oppression and brutality," he added.
14:36 GMT — Germany backs UN Palestinian aid agency amid Israeli criticism
In the face of Israeli criticism, Germany expressed support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA in Gaza.
The UN agency makes a "very important contribution to the humanitarian care of the people in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank as well as Gaza and is therefore also an important partner for our humanitarian aid and for the international organizations that provide it,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner told a press briefing in Berlin.
Wagner was reacting to remarks by Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, who criticized the agency on Sunday, saying: "Instead of funnelling money to rebuild Gaza or to the failed UNRWA, the international community can assist in the costs of resettlement, helping the people of Gaza build new lives in their new host countries.”
14:08 GMT — Israel's response to Hamas attack 'inexcusable': AU chief
The African Union said that Israel's response to Hamas's attack last month was "inexcusable", warning that civilian casualties would fuel further "extremism".
"The acts (of Hamas) are reprehensible... but the response is inexcusable," AU chairman Azali Assoumani told a press conference in Berlin.
"Imagine a child who has seen his mother, who has seen his father killed... it creates extremism," he said.
13:56 GMT — Putin to take part in virtual BRICS summit on Gaza
Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a virtual summit of the BRICS group of nations on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli war on Gaza, the Kremlin said.
"On November 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in an extraordinary BRICS summit (via videoconference) to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the Kremlin said in a statement, referring to the influential bloc that includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
12:56 GMT — ‘We are witnessing holocaust of children in Gaza:’ Pakistani PM
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar drew a parallel between the ongoing spree of children’s killing in Gaza and one of the West’s few red lines, the holocaust.
"We are witnessing a holocaust of Palestinian children in Gaza. This appalling and atrocious children holocaust must stop immediately," Kakar said, while addressing a World Children’s Day ceremony in the capital Islamabad, state-run Pakistan Television reported.
Denouncing the "senseless" killing of children in Gaza, Kakar said Palestinian children have emerged as the prime victims of the Israeli actions in the besieged enclave.
"We are trying along with our global partners from the platform of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and others to pressurize the western hemisphere led by the United States that some sort of sanity must prevail," he went on to say.
12:52 GMT — Iran denies involvement in ship seizure in Red Sea
Iran denied involvement in the seizure of a cargo ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the southern Red Sea amid soaring tensions over the conflict in Gaza.
In his weekly news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani termed as "false" the Israeli accusations of Iran’s involvement in the incident.
He said regional groups, including Yemen’s Houthis, "represent their own countries and make decisions based on the interests of their respective countries and act spontaneously."
Kanaani said the Israeli accusation was "in the framework of projection and to escape from the dire situation that the Zionist regime is facing."
12:52 GMT — 880 Palestinian children detained by Israel this year: NGO
The Israeli army has detained 880 Palestinian children since the start of this year, a local non-governmental organisation said.
"More than 200 children are still in custody, including 26 held under Israel’s policy of administrative detention" without charge or trial, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a statement marking World Children’s Day.
12:22 GMT — First field hospital enters Gaza since war began
Palestinian officials said a field hospital sent by Jordan entered Gaza for the first time, since the war erupted, according to a Palestinian official.
The hospital will be established in Khan Yunis, to receive the wounded and the sick, under catastrophic conditions which southern hospitals are experiencing, with the influx of hundreds of wounded each day and continued aggressive aerial and artillery strikes," said Mohammed Zaqout, director-general of Gaza hospitals.
12:21 GMT — Multiple deaths as Israel bombs UN-run school — Hamas
More than 10 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UN-run school in the Bureij refugee camp in Gaza, Palestinian resistance group Hamas said.
"This is a heinous crime and a disdain for the UN refugee agency UNRWA and the United Nations," Hamas said in a statement.
It called for an immediate action "to stop the targeting of civilians in schools protected under international law."
There was no comment yet from the Israeli military on the statement.
12:06 GMT — Fighter jets strike two houses near the hospital in Rafah city
At least 17 Palestinians were killed and scores injured in Israeli air strikes near the Yousef El Najar Hospital in southern Gaza, according to witnesses.
Fighter jets struck two houses near the hospital in Rafah city, witnesses said. Dozens of people were reported to remain under the rubble.
"Israeli warplanes struck the houses before dawn, causing massive destruction in the area," an eyewitness told Anadolu.
11:50 GMT — Premature babies arrive in Egypt
Twenty-nine premature babies have arrived in Egypt, local media said, after they were evacuated from Gaza's largest hospital which has become a focal point of Israel's ground invasion.
The infants were evacuated Sunday from the Al Shifa hospital, which the World Health Organization has described as a "death zone" as Israel seeks to uncover what it claims are Hamas bases in tunnels underneath the facility.
An initial 31 babies were reported evacuated from Al Shifa to another Gaza clinic and it was not immediately clear why only 29 arrived in Egypt.
11:43 GMT — Israel kills over 3,000 students in its Gaza onslaught: Ministry
More than 3,000 students killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Education Ministry has said on the occasion of World Children’s Day.
11:32 GMT — Indonesia ships fresh aid consignment to Gaza
Indonesia sent a second consignment of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a besieged Palestinian enclave that has been under relentless Israeli aggression for more than a month.
President Joko Widodo said more than 21 tonnes of aid which included food, medicine, mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits and hospital equipment were flown to Egypt in two flights from Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in the capital Jakarta.
The humanitarian aid will be distributed in Gaza, he said on X.
11:24 GMT — Lebanon's Hezbollah strikes Israeli military camp amid border tension
Lebanese group Hezbollah said that it had fired anti-tank missiles at the Biranit military camp in northern Israel.
In a statement, the group said it targeted the camp twice "in support of our Palestinian people in Gaza."
No injuries were reported. The Israeli army, for its part, said it responded to the anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon.
11:14 GMT — Macron discusses Gaza, West Bank conflict with Palestinian, Israeli leaders
French President Emmanuel Macron held separate phone conversations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the French presidency said Macron and Abbas discussed the humanitarian ceasefire and evaluated the situation in the occupied West Bank.
Macron condemned the violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank and urged Israeli officials to put an end to such actions.
11:01 GMT — Doctors Without Borders reiterates call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for a ceasefire in Gaza prevent continued bloodshed.
"We reiterate our call for a ceasefire, now more than ever, to stop the bloodshed that is happening," the France-based international organisation said in a statement on the X platform.
The NGO said that following an Israeli airstrike on Saturday "about half a mile away from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis where MSF teams are working, 122 patients arrived at the hospital within minutes." It said that upon arrival, 70 people were dead.
10:55 GMT — Israel shells Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, kills many
At least 12 people were killed and scores injured in Israeli shelling of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said.
In a statement, the ministry warned that the lives of thousands of patients, medical personnel and displaced people "are at the risk of death as a result of the direct and repeated bombardment of the Indonesian Hospital."
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said there are 150 patients, 100 medical staff and thousands of displaced people inside the facility.
10:43 GMT — Israel's claim about captives in Al Shifa Hospital 'misleading and false': Hamas
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that Israel's claim about using Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza by the group to detain prisoners is "misleading and false."
"The occupation army's statements about using Al Shifa Hospital to detain Zionist [Israeli] prisoners are misleading and false to cover up its security and military failure," the group said.
The group went on to say that the Israeli army "continues its campaign of lies and misinformation in its talk about Zionist prisoners who were taken to Al Shifa Hospital, and claims that the body of a female soldier that it claims was killed was found in the hospital."
10:32 GMT — Hamas denies reports about prisoner swap deal with Israel
A senior Hamas member denied media reports that the Palestinian movement has reached a prisoner exchange agreement with Israel.
"Reports about a prisoner swap deal are untrue," Izzat al Rishq said in a brief statement.
Israeli newspapers also denied reports about a deal with Hamas to exchange prisoners. "There is nothing yet," The Jerusalem Post newspaper said, citing a senior Israeli official.
10:20 GMT — Killed several Israeli soldiers, destroyed 29 army vehicles: Qassam Brigades
The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, said it killed a number of Israeli soldiers and destroyed 29 Israeli military vehicles in several areas in Gaza.
The brigades, in a statement on Telegram, said that its fighters on Sunday killed and wounded Israeli forces holed up inside a building in Juhor Addik, a neighbourhood in Gaza City, after targeting it with two anti-fortification and anti-individual TBG shells and clashing with them with machine guns.
The statement added: "29 Zionist vehicles were completely or partially destroyed in all areas of the incursion into Gaza."
10:10 GMT — Colombia's president slams Netanyahu, compares him to Herod
Colombia's president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "crazy man" who is "killing many people" in Gaza in the style of Herod, the king of Judea who ordered the slaughter of innocents according to the Christian New Testament.
"Today we are seeing a crazy man who is Netanyahu," Gustavo Petro said over the weekend in Caracas at the Book Fair of Venezuela, where he also criticised the US for supporting Israel's war on Palestine's Gaza because "the Israeli capital owns American banking."
"They don't realise that they are killing a lot of people, not just people and babies," said Petro, who compared Netanyahu to "a very powerful Herod killing and killing children on Earth."
09:50 GMT — Palestine Mission in UK raises alarm over repeated attacks on its building
The Palestine Mission in the UK expressed deep concern and frustration over a recent surge in attacks on its London-based building, accusing the British government of neglecting repeated requests for diplomatic protection.
In a statement shared on X, it revealed that the embassy had been targeted in yet another assault on Saturday night, marking the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
It included security camera footage capturing one of the attacks, underscoring the severity of the situation.
09:44 GMT — London Jews rally for 'immediate' ceasefire in Gaza
Hundreds of Jews gathered at London's Victoria Embankment Park in response to a call from Na'amod: British Jews Against Occupation.
The demonstrators demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling for a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, a hostage exchange and an end to the siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian enclave.
Carrying banners bearing slogans such as "Jews are against genocide," "End the occupation" and "This Jew is for a ceasefire," they expressed their dissent in both English and Hebrew.
08:00 GMT — Yemen's Houthi rebels said they had seized an Israeli ship in the Red Sea, a claim immediately denied by Israel.
The allegation came days after the rebel group had threatened to target Israeli vessels in the waterway over Israel's war on Gaza.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the rebels "seized an Israeli ship and took it to the Yemeni coast".
Houthi "military forces will continue to carry out military operations against the Israeli enemy until the aggression against Gaza stops and the ugly crimes... against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza and the West Bank stop", Saree said.
06:30 GMT — Killed several Israeli soldiers, destroyed 29 army vehicles: Qassam Brigades
The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, said it killed a number of Israeli soldiers and destroyed 29 Israeli military vehicles in several areas in Gaza.
The brigades, in a statement on Telegram, said that its fighters on Sunday killed and wounded Israeli forces holed up inside a building in Juhor Addik, a neighbourhood in Gaza City, after targeting it with two anti-fortification and anti-individual TBG shells and clashing with them with machine guns.
The statement added: "29 Zionist vehicles were completely or partially destroyed in all areas of the incursion into Gaza."
04:34 GMT — Colombia's president slams Netanyahu, compares him to Herod
Colombia's president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "crazy man" who is "killing many people" in Gaza in the style of Herod, the king of Judea who ordered the slaughter of innocents according to the Christian New Testament.
"Today we are seeing a crazy man who is Netanyahu," Gustavo Petro said over the weekend in Caracas at the Book Fair of Venezuela, where he also criticised the US for supporting Israel's war on Palestine's Gaza because "the Israeli capital owns American banking."
"They don't realise that they are killing a lot of people, not just people and babies," said Petro, who compared Netanyahu to "a very powerful Herod killing and killing children on Earth."
04:03 GMT — Palestine Mission in UK raises alarm over repeated attacks on its building
The Palestine Mission in the UK expressed deep concern and frustration over a recent surge in attacks on its London-based building, accusing the British government of neglecting repeated requests for diplomatic protection.
In a statement shared on X, it revealed that the embassy had been targeted in yet another assault on Saturday night, marking the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
It included security camera footage capturing one of the attacks, underscoring the severity of the situation.
03:54 GMT — London Jews rally for 'immediate' ceasefire in Gaza
Hundreds of Jews gathered at London's Victoria Embankment Park in response to a call from Na'amod: British Jews Against Occupation.
The demonstrators demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling for a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, a hostage exchange and an end to the siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian enclave.
Carrying banners bearing slogans such as "Jews are against genocide," "End the occupation" and "This Jew is for a ceasefire," they expressed their dissent in both English and Hebrew.
00:50 GMT — Doctors Worldwide Türkiye sets out to deliver aid to Gaza
Members of Doctors Worldwide Türkiye headed to the Rafah border crossing to deliver medical supplies and food aid to Gaza.
“Every day, a limited amount of humanitarian aid materials are being transported to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing. We are also on our way to Egypt today to deliver the specified medical equipment and supplies from the Rafah crossing to our team in Gaza, and from there to Kuwait Hospital,” the association said on X.
It said that part of their medical team in Gaza has moved from Al Shifa Hospital to Kuwait Hospital in southern Gaza, where they are striving to provide health services.
00:50 GMT — Bombing of Gaza has only incited ‘hunger for justice': Julian Assange's father
Israel’s bombing of Gaza has only incited more anger and a “hunger for justice” across the world, the father of imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said.
John Shipton was addressing thousands of people attending a pro-Palestine rally in Australia’s Victoria state, one of numerous such rallies being held across Australia for the sixth straight week calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in support of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The rallies were the latest in a string of marches held across Australia since October 7.
