Israel at war: What happened on day 37?

Hamas's original plan for October 7 went beyond just a massacre in the Gaza border area and taking hundreds of hostages, but to continue their assault up to the border with the West Bank, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing Western and Middle Eastern security officials briefed on collected evidence.

This information was obtained from numerous maps, notes, supplies, and other written instructions found among the bodies of dead Hamas terrorists in the Gaza border area, as well as from interrogations of Hamas captives. 

Thirteen Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis, health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Sunday.

This is a developing story.

As Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza enters its third week, a number of hospitals in northern Gaza have become the center of an international spotlight. This is because the frontline of fighting has now reached several of these medical facilities.

In addition, Israel has accused Hamas of using these facilities, and Gazan civilians in general, as human shields. On the other hand, Palestinian voices and reports portray the hospitals as under siege or in the line of fire. 

It's worth surveying the various medical facilities so that, as news unfolds, more is known about them. On Sunday morning the WHO said it “has lost communication with its contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. As horrifying reports of the hospital facing repeated attacks continue to emerge, we assume our contacts joined tens of thousands of displaced people and are fleeing the area.” Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said this was “deeply worrisome and frightening.” 

Israel has been asking people to evacuate northern Gaza, including Gaza City and neighborhoods around it, since mid-October, after Hamas attacked Israel and massacred 1,200 people in Israel. According to Ynet “there are six hospitals and 25 health facilities” in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel had called on them to evacuate. Most of them refused.” Palestinian news media Wafa said on November 8 that 16 hospitals and 34 health centers in all of the Gaza strip had already been affected by the war with some closing. Countries are rushing medical aid to Gaza, with Jordan conducting two airdrops in the last week; and the UAE is establishing a field hospital in southern Gaza.  

The following hospitals are in northern Gaza and have been affected by the war.  

Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DOAA ROUQA)

Shifa Hospital 

Shifa hospital is the center of much of the concern in Gaza, because it is the largest hospital in Gaza. CNN reported on Sunday overnight that “hostilities around Al-Shifa Hospital Saturday ‘have not stopped,’ according to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.” Reports at CNN also quoted the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry as claiming the hospital was under siege. “Staff and patients have been unable to leave the Al-Shifa Hospital,” the Hamas-run ministry said. The report quoted the director-general of the ministry, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, as making several claims. Israel’s IDF spokesperson Read Admiral Daniel Hagari said Saturday that “there has been a lot of misinformation from Gaza today. So, I want to clarify the facts. There is no siege, I repeat no siege, on Shifa Hospital. The east side of the hospital is open for the safe passage of Gazans who wish to leave the hospital.” 

The modern structure of Shifa hospital was built when Israel controlled Gaza. An article at Ynet notes “the iconic structure, which has gained international recognition and drawn considerable attention, was designed by Israeli architects.” Its roots date back many decades. After Israel left Gaza in 2005 and Hamas took control in 2006, the underground areas of the hospital are alleged to have become a command and control center for the terrorist group. The hospital has between 700-1,400 beds, depending on the source; and a staff of more than 1,400. Another report puts the number of employees at the complex, which covers several acres, as 4,000.  

The hospital is located near the coastline, south of Shati refugee camp and near the marina of Gaza city. As such it is near Rashid Road, the main north-south road that runs along the water. This road is now the center of activity of two IDF divisions, one south of Gaza city, and one to the north. As such, the hospital is said to be near clashes at the front near Shati camp and elsewhere. It is also near the Rimal neighborhoods which make up the environs of the hospital. 

Quds Hospital 

Quds hospital was established in 2001 in the affluent Tal al-Hawa neighborhood southwest of Gaza city, located about a mile from the coast. It is run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, according to reports. It has around 200 beds. According to a Time Magazine report on November 11 “the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli tanks were 20 meters (65 feet) from al-Quds hospital in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, causing ‘a state of extreme panic and fear’ among the 14,000 displaced people sheltering there.” The area of the hospital is residential, although the hospital itself is six stories high. There is an Islamic University campus nearby.  

Nasr and Rantisi hospitals 

The Nasr area of Gaza City includes several medical facilities. It is about six kilometers south of the Israeli border. To the West of this area is the Shati camp and to the south is the Rimal neighborhood. It is only around a ten-minute drive to Shifa hospital, which is around two kilometers to the southwest of the area. The Sheikh Radwan neighborhood is to the north and the beach resort area to the northwest. The IDF found a drone manufacturing facility in a civilian home in Sheikh Radwan on Thursday as they moved toward the Nasr neighborhood.  

“The Al-Nasr Children's Hospital in western Gaza City was rendered inoperative on Friday due to Israeli attacks, leading to the tragic death of a child because of oxygen deprivation,” Anadolu media in Turkey claimed on Friday. According to reports at Al-Arabiya this hospital and the medical facilities around it had been evacuated over the weekend. The area includes the Al-Nasr hospital, as well as the Al-Rantisi hospital and Gaza Eye hospital. Mustafa al-Kahlout, who was said to be the “head of the Al Nasr hospital and Al-Rantisi pediatric hospital in northern Gaza,” had told CNN: "We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave." 

The Rantisi hospital is one of the few in the area that specialize in treating children with cancer. According to the Daily Beast “the medical facility—called the Dr. Musa and Suhaila Nasir Pediatric Cancer Department—operates in Gaza City’s al-Rantisi hospital, in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave. For the patients in al-Rantisi pediatric cancer ward, “It’s an impossible situation,” said Dr. Zeena Salman, an American pediatric oncologist who has volunteered at the facility with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, the US charity that founded the cancer ward in 2019.” 

According to the IDF on Saturday, “following the repeated calls for the residents of Gaza City to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip for their safety, due to the military activity in the area, the IDF enabled the evacuation of the Rantisi and Nasser hospitals. IDF troops opened and secured an evacuation route yesterday (Friday), along which civilians can go on foot and in ambulances. During the IDF activity to secure the corridor, armed terrorists approached the troops and fired RPGs toward them. IDF troops struck the terrorists.” Around 1,000 people had been sheltering in the area. Hamas gunmen were seen in the area as well.  

Kamal Adwan Children’s Hospital 

This facility is in the Beit Lahiya area north of Gaza city, near the Israeli border. In mid-October various media quoted Hussam Abu Safiya, the head of pediatrics at the hospital in northern Gaza, saying it did not evacuate despite calls by Israel. At the time the UN had warned hospitals would run out of fuel in two days on October 15. The fuel continued to flow despite the warnings. On November 4 CNN reported that “MedGlobal, a US-based organization that supports local health programs for vulnerable populations across the globe, issued an urgent appeal for fuel to power a generator at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.”

The Indonesian Hospital 

 A new hospital was opened in 2015 with support from Indonesia on the outskirts of Jabalya. It is easily access from Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya, the areas that border Israel in northeast Gaza. Middle East Monitor noted that “the old hospital that served the area, Kamal Adwan hospital, has been closed down for renovations and maintenance. The new hospital, built by the Republic of Indonesia, contains 110 beds, including 10 for intensive care cases.” 

 “The Indonesian hospital is an important healthcare addition, with high-quality medical facilities to serve the residents of north Gaza,” the ministry’s spokesman Dr Ashraf Al-Qudra told Quds Press at the time. The hospital is near to areas where Israel’s ground operations began. The Indonesian humanitarian organisation the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) plays a role at the hospital. The IDF claimed the hospital is located next to Hamas terrorist infrastructure in early November.  

Displaced Palestinians gather at Al Shifa hospital where they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DOAA ROUQA)

 It is a four-floor complex shaped like an octagonal fort. Al-Jazeera report on November 12 that “Atef al-Kahlot, the director of the Indonesia Hospital, said his facility is operating only at between 30-40 percent of capacity and he made an appeal for the world to help.” The report noted “we call on the honorable people of the world, if any of them are left, to put pressure on the occupation forces to supply the Indonesian Hospital and the rest of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip,” he said. 

Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in Gaza 

 The facility is located north of Shati camp near the Blue Beach resort a short walk from the beach. It was established in 2016 and opened in 2019 with support from Qatar. On November 4 the IDF spokesperson said that “the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Hospital is located north of Gaza city, along the coast. Its construction was funded by the Qatari government, and it is called The Qatari Hospital. Here you can see the IDF soldiers exposing a tunnel opening. This is part of our operation, a ground operation on the hospital and revealed the tunnel that was being used for terror infrastructures in the Qatari hospital.” 

 Qatar’s ambassador for Gaza reconstruction Mohamed al-Emadi disagreed with this claim and said it is “without concrete evidence or an independent investigation…and a blatant attempt to justify the occupation’s targeting of civilian facilities, including hospitals, schools, gatherings of population and shelters of displaced people.” Qatar had said back in mid-October that the facility was severely damaged.  

Awda hospital 

The Awda hospital is located in Jabalya east of Shati camp and northeast of Gaza City. It is one of the largest hospitals in Gaza, according to reports. the IDF warned the Awda Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) rights group said on October 13. In late October it claimed it was close to running out of fuel. ActionAid’s partner “Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza yesterday warned that it will completely shut down operations by Wednesday night as fuel stocks near depletion,” reports posted online by Action Aid said on November 8. Turkish media said the area near the hospital was affected by airstrikes on November 9. Palestinian Wafa media said that “Al-Awda Hospital is the main and only provider of maternity services in the northern Gaza Strip.” 

A large IDF force conducted operations in the Shati refugee camp outside of Gaza City overnight, successfully eliminating terrorists across multiple battles, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced on Sunday morning.

In one of the battles, soldiers from the Givati Brigade identified numerous civilians inside of a building in the area. The IDF troops subsequently secured a corridor so the Gazans could safely evacuate.

During the evacuation, the Givati soldiers came under fire from terrorists. The Israeli troops responded with gun and tank fire, eliminating the Hamas terrorists.

Israeli soldiers operate inside the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Hamas, November 11, 2023 (photo credit: IDF/Handout via REUTERS)

Another battle saw Hamas combatants barricading themselves inside a house. The IDF eliminated the terrorist threat with gunfire and targeted airstrikes.

The IAF also targeted a weapons depot following a rocket launch from the site.

In a separate encounter, IDF personnel of the Nahal Brigade used a drone to target a squad of four terrorists. Although three were successfully eliminated, the fourth fled into a crowded area.

Matan Meir (38), a member of the production crew on the hit Israeli television series, Fauda, was killed while serving on duty in Gaza on Friday.

The name of St-Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Meir was one of the most recent names of fallen soldiers published by the IDF.

In the wake of the publication of the IDF reservist’s death, an outpouring of condolences flooded Israeli social media accounts.

We are devastated to share that one of our Fauda family members, Matan Meir, was killed in action in Gaza. Matan was an integral crew member. The cast and crew are heartbroken by this tragic loss. We extend our condolences to Matan’s family and friends. May his soul rest in peace pic.twitter.com/kuaJ2gclGk

— Fauda Official (@FaudaOfficial) November 11, 2023

“We are devastated to share that one of our Fauda family members, Matan Meir, was killed in action in Gaza,” Fauda’s official X, formerly Twitter, account stated in a post on Saturday evening. “Matan was an integral crew member. The cast and crew are heartbroken by this tragic loss. We extend our condolences to Matan’s family and friends. May his soul rest in peace.”

An Israeli hero

Meir was from Odem, the IDF stated in its publication of his death. The Fauda crew member fought in the 697th Battalion of the IDF’s 551st Brigade.

Fauda’s creator, Avi Assacharoff, also took to X to share his condolences, explaining that the production crew member had fallen in battle in northern Gaza.

הערב משפחת פאודה התבשרה, שחבר צוות ההפקה של הסדרה, רס״ר (מיל׳) מתן מאיר בן 38, מאודם, לוחם בגדוד 697, חטיבה 551 (עוצבת חצי האש), נפל בקרב בצפון רצועת עזה. יהי זכרו ברוך. pic.twitter.com/kjkKps9Aoq

— avi issacharoff (@issacharoff) November 11, 2023

Meir had also been on the production of other shows, including the series, "The Cops."

A large installation demanding that the death penalty for the perpetrators of Hamas's deadly October 7 massacre in southern Israel was set up in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, Israeli media reported on Sunday morning.

The structure features a rope gallows framed by a pair of giant wings. The faces of those murdered during the massacre cover the surface of the wings.

The installation sits in front of Dizengoff Square's iconic "Fire and Water Fountain," which itself is likewise covered with tributes to the murdered.

Thomas Hand, the father of Irish-Israeli Emily Hand, 8, who was announced dead following the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, then later confirmed as one of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, looks at a poster of Emily, November 10, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Israel's public defense refuses to represent the October 7 terrorists who were captured and await trial, they announced last week.

"Thus far, no lawyer from the public defense has been appointed to a single case of Hamas terrorists or any other terrorist-related to October 7," said the Public Defenders' Office. "In our opinion, the procedure against these terrorists is not suited to the judicial procedure available today to deal with terrorists and terrorism."

This came on the same day that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) announced it had begun processing Hamas terrorists caught since the October 7 attacks into the prison system in Israel.

"Last week we started the process of accepting captured Hamas terrorists into the Israeli prison service," IPS Commissioner Katy Perry said. "These are the most dangerous terrorists held in Israel and we take all necessary security measures, at the most secure operational level. Our security guards are strong, motivated, and ready to face any scenario and threat."

In weekend fighting, the IDF killed 150 Hamas terrorists in one extended battle in Gaza, along with additional senior Hamas figures, and captured key Hamas positions.

By Friday night, the IDF announced that the 401st Brigade had destroyed Outpost “Badr” of Hamas’s Shati Battalion, killing 150 terrorists in the stronghold.

However, six soldiers were killed in other fighting in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced. Four were in the 551st Brigade – Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter; Warr. Ofc. (res.) Yossi Hershkovitz; St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Matan Meir; and St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Sergey Shmerkin.

The other two soldiers killed over the weekend were St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.).  Netanel “Nati” Harush of the Givati Brigade and Yehonatan Samo.

In the attack on Hamas’s Shati Battalion, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the mix of integrated attacks from air force, tank, and artillery units led to the remarkably one-sided result regarding the main outpost of the Shati Battalion located near a refugee camp and civilian buildings.

IDF's 401st Brigade clearing Outpost ''Badr'' in the Northern Gaza Strip, November 10, 2023. (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

1,500 Hamas killed in the first week

Though the IDF has said it has killed thousands of Hamas gunmen including 1,500 in the first week of the war, this was the largest single number the IDF has announced for any single battle in Gaza.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s combined forces are estimated at between 15,000-50,000.

IDF sources have not claimed that they are anywhere close to killing or arresting a majority of Gazan terror forces, suggesting the IDF will still need to intensify its activity still more to topple Hamas’s broader military apparatus.

Some have said Hamas will not fall before its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, and its military leader Mohammed Deif, are killed or arrested.

As part of the weekend raid on the large outpost, the forces of the 401st Brigade destroyed various military headquarters and launch positions. Before it was destroyed, the outpost had been the last remaining outpost on the Shati border.

The IDF also found and destroyed a site for the production of munitions, launch stations, and an underground network.

The division operated at the “Blue Beach” hotel located on the northern coast of the Strip.

About 30 Hamas terrorists barricaded themselves in this hotel and fired several anti-tank missiles at IDF forces. After the takeover, it was found that they had  used the hotel rooms as a protective shelter and to plan attacks above and below ground.

The battle over this large military position contributed to the IDF’s success in seizing control of 11 large military positions held by Hamas since the conflict began, the IDF said Saturday morning.

The military said that ground troops had struck terrorists, infrastructure, and weapons specifically belonging to Hamas’s Zabra Tel Elhua Battalion.

These activities were a part of the joint intelligence effort of the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) to significantly degrade the battalion, including the elimination of the battalion’s commander, announced on November 3.

IDF troops also conducted raids, which included extensive battles in the southern area of Sheikh Ijlin, in western Gaza City, where a significant number of Hamas operatives were located. During those raids, the troops eliminated numerous terrorists and their infrastructure, including rocket launchers, weapon depots, observation posts, and terror tunnels.

Meanwhile, the army expanded the fight into the Shati  (Beach) refugee camp on the northern outskirts of Gaza City, which is also near Shifa Hospital. More than 10 gunmen were killed in those battles while hundreds of civilians fled the camp.

Soldiers from the Nahal Brigade identified and destroyed an underground tunnel apparatus near a school. The coordinated attack by Brigade 215 identified a group of terrorists moving towards IDF soldiers from the Givati Brigade and, using aerial assets, neutralized the group.

Overnight Friday, naval forces attacked structures used by Hamas against IDF forces in the northern Gaza Strip, including storage facilities of naval equipment.

Separately, a granddaughter of Ismail Haniyeh the political head of Hamas, was killed in an IDF attack in Gaza, according to Palestinian media reports. Haniyeh lives in Qatar.

The IDF eliminated Ahmed Siam, a company commander of Hamas’s Naser Radwan Company. Siam was responsible for holding approximately 1,000 Gazan residents hostage in Gaza’s Rantisi Hospital preventing them from evacuating south to safety, the IDF said on Saturday.

The assassination was coordinated by the IDF and the Shin Bet, including ground and air forces.

Though announced Saturday, IDF aircraft struck Siam two days ago. He was killed while hiding in the “al Buraq” school, where additional terrorists under his command were also hiding and were killed.

“Siam demonstrates once again that Hamas uses the civilians of the Gaza Strip as human shields for terror purposes,” the IDF said.

Israel's military said it was ready to evacuate babies from Gaza's largest hospital on Sunday, where Hamas officials said two newborns died and dozens more were at risk after fuel ran out amid intense fighting in the area.

As the humanitarian situation worsened, Gaza's border authority said the Rafah crossing into Egypt would reopen on Sunday for foreign passport holders after closing on Friday.

Hamas said it had completely or partially destroyed more than 160 Israeli military targets in Gaza, including more than 25 vehicles in the past 48 hours. An Israeli military spokesperson said Hamas had lost control of northern Gaza.

At a news conference late on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the deaths of five more Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The Israeli military said 46 had been killed since its ground operations there began.

Israel said rockets were still being fired from Gaza into southern Israel, where it has said about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage by Hamas last month.

Hamas officials said on Friday that 11,078 Gaza residents had been killed in air and artillery strikes since Oct. 7, around 40% of them children.

Displaced Palestinians gather at Al Shifa hospital where they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DOAA ROUQA)

Reports of possible hostage deal

Israel's three major TV news channels, without citing named sources, said there was some progress toward a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu said he would not discuss details of any possible deal, which according to N12 News would involve 50 to 100 women, children and elderly being released in stages during a three to five day pause in fighting.

According to the reports, Israel would release women and minor Palestinian prisoners and consider letting fuel into Gaza, while reserving the right to resume fighting.

In Tel Aviv, thousands joined a rally to support families of the hostages.

Gaza residents said Israeli troops, who went to war to eliminate Hamas after its deadly terrorist attack on Oct. 7, had been clashing with Hamas gunmen all night in and around Gaza City where the Al Shifa hospital, Gaza's largest, is located.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, who represents the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, said the hospital suspended operations after fuel ran out. He said two babies had died in an incubator as a result. He said there were 45 babies in total.

He said Israeli shelling killed a patient in intensive care and that Israeli snipers on rooftops fired into the medical complex from time to time, limiting people's ability to move.

The World Health Organisation expressed "grave concern" for the safety of everyone trapped in the hospital by the fighting and said it had lost communications with its contacts there.

Israel says it will help evacuate babies

Israel's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli military would help evacuate babies from the hospital, at the request of the staff at Al Shifa.

Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital's director, told Al Jazeera TV, that protecting patients was the priority.

"We contacted the Red Cross and informed them we ran out of water, oxygen, fuel, and everything," Abu Salmiya said.

"The premature babies, patients of the intensive care, and even wounded people couldn't survive with the lack of electricity... If the occupation forces want to evacuate the wounded people to any place in the world that is safer than the Gaza Strip, we are not against that."

Israel has said doctors, patients, and thousands of evacuees who have taken refuge at hospitals in northern Gaza must leave so it can tackle Hamas terrorists who it says have placed command centers under and around them.

Hamas denies using hospitals this way. Medical staff say patients could die if they are moved and Palestinian officials say Israeli fire makes it dangerous for others to leave.

Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter called the evacuations "Gaza's Nakba" - a reference to the mass dispossessions of Palestinians after Israel was founded in 1948.

"Operationally there's no way to conduct a war the way the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) wants to conduct it inside Gaza territories," Dichter said. "I don't know how it will end."

'Totally a war zone'

Ahmed al-Mokhallalati, a senior plastic surgeon at Al Shifa, told Reuters there had been continuous bombardment for more than 24 hours. He said most hospital staff and people sheltering there had left, but 500 patients remained.

"It's totally a war zone. It's a totally scary atmosphere here in the hospital," he said.

The military wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, said it was "engaged in violent clashes in the vicinity of Al Shifa Medical Complex, Al Nasr neighborhood, and Al Shati camp in Gaza."

Al Nasr is home to several major hospitals.

Israel said earlier it had killed what it called a Hamas "terrorist" who it said had prevented the evacuation of another hospital in the north, which Palestinian officials have said is out of service and surrounded by tanks.

It said Ahmed Siam was killed along with other militants while hiding in the Al Buraq school. Palestinian officials told Reuters on Friday at least 25 Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli strike at the school, which was packed with evacuees.

In London, at least 300,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched and police arrested over 120 people as they sought to stop far-right counter-protesters ambushing the rally. Over 20,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian rally in Brussels.

Meeting in Saudi Arabia, Muslim and Arab countries called for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, rejecting Israel's justification of self-defense. A communique issued at the summit urged the International Criminal Court to investigate "war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing."