Israel’s military and rescue services reported that Hezbollah, the Lebanese group, carried out attacks resulting in injuries to seven Israeli soldiers and 10 others. Three UN agencies expressed dismay at the conditions in hospitals, revealing that in 36 days, they documented a minimum of 137 attacks on healthcare facilities. As reported by Reuters, these attacks resulted in 521 deaths and 686 injuries, which included 16 medics killed and 38 wounded. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that the World Health Organization has successfully reestablished communication with healthcare professionals at Shifa. He emphasized the severity of the situation, describing it as “dire and perilous,” with ongoing gunfire and bombings intensifying the already critical circumstances. “Tragically, the number of patient fatalities has increased significantly,” he said in a post on social media. “Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore.”
Israel-Hamas War
By Sunday afternoon, a minimum of 80 aid trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt, as reported by two sources. Additionally, Jordan announced that it had air-dropped a second batch of aid into a field hospital. The US conducted airstrikes in eastern Syria on targets linked to Iran, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, while President Joe Biden spoke with Qatar’s ruler about trying to secure the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military pressed on with its offensive against Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, engaging in ground battles in a district in northern Gaza that also contains the Shati refugee camp, the third-largest in the enclave. Israel says it killed militants in the area, which is in a zone it has told civilians to leave.
Saudi Arabia, acknowledged as a de-facto leader in the Muslim world, along with its neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, reportedly opposed a proposal presented at the Islamic-Arab summit calling for the termination of all diplomatic and economic ties with Israel. The proposal also recommended denying Arab airspace to Israeli flights and contemplating the use of oil as leverage to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. This opposition suggests a reluctance among certain Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to completely sever ties with Israel. In a separate development, Israel claims to have presented new evidence suggesting that Hamas planned extensive strikes into Israeli territory on October 7. The evidence reportedly includes drawings, maps, notes, and weapons collected from slain militants. Security officials assert that Hamas militants were prepared for attacks extending as far as the eastern border near the West Bank, potentially escalating tensions in the Middle East.