Palestine-Israel Conflict: Latest key events on Nov 13

Here is the situation as Monday morning - Nov 13, 2023:

The latest developments:

• Israel continues to target hospitals in Gaza from the air as its ground forces have also surrounded several hospitals in the northern part of the besieged enclave. Ahmad Mokhallalati, a surgeon at the al-Shifa Hospital, told Al Jazeera that medical staff and patients “are in the middle of the warzone”.
• The United States government has asked Tel Aviv to clarify Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments on “not giving up security control of Gaza” that clash with US suggestions that the Palestinian Authority should take over the strip after Hamas is “destroyed”.
• Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday in his second speech since the start of the war that the Lebanese war front remains “active” and that the armed group has used new weapons against the Israeli military.
• Major cities around the world, including New York, London, Melbourne, Paris, Baghdad, Karachi, Berlin and Edinburgh have continued to see large demonstrations, involving hundreds of thousands, in support of Palestinians and an immediate ceasefire.

Diplomacy:

• Leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world convened on Saturday in Riyadh as Saudi Arabia hosted members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to discuss Gaza. They rejected justifying the Israeli aggression as self-defence and called for a ceasefire.
• Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met with the King of Jordan King Abdullah II on the sidelines and discussed the need to address the tension in the West Bank and Baitulmaqdis, especially the Israeli settlers’ aggression against the Palestinians.
• Anwar also told member countries to consistently and assertively call for an immediate ceasefire and expedite humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza during his speech. “Ummah expects tangible results and concrete action from the one-day Islamic summit,” he said.
• Tense talks are ongoing at the United Nations Security Council to break a deadlock that has prevented the world’s most powerful decision-making authority from having any real effect on stopping the killing of civilians. A new resolution has been circulated among members, coming after several failed efforts.
• Ireland’s parliament is expected to vote next week, based on a motion by the left-wing Social Democrats, on whether it will expel the Israeli ambassador.

Human impact and fighting:

• More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the agression began on Oct 7 but the United Nations said on Sunday that the “collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north of Gaza” would delay the Ministry of Health in Gaza from updating the numbers.
• The World Health Organisation says it has managed to restore communication with health professionals at Al-Shifa Hospital but the WHO chief said it is no longer functioning as a hospital.
• Gaza’s two largest hospitals, Al-Shifa and Al-Quds, have both closed. Israeli snipers continue to fire at anyone near Al-Shifa Hospital, trapping thousands inside.
• At least two premature babies have died on Nov 11 at Al-Shifa hospital due to power blackouts and dozens more are at risk. Thirty-seven other babies, also in the neonatal intensive care unit, are at risk of losing their lives as the hospital runs out of fuel to power their incubators, according to its Director Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
• Tens of thousands have fled the northern parts of Gaza in recent days as the Israeli military ramps up its operations there. Israeli forces also continue attack Rafah and other spots in the south, leaving no safe place in the strip. More than 70 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are now displaced.

No breaks for the occupied West Bank:

• Israeli forces increases their raids in the occupied West Bank with sources from the Palestinian Authority telling Al Jazeera that the number of raids has increased to about 40 per day in the past week.
• The number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since Oct 7 has now risen to 185, and about 2,500 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces in that time.
• Families, many of them carrying children, attempt to flee areas in the occupied West Bank that are heavily raided, including the Jenin refugee camp. People were allowed a two hour window to flee the clashes while the fighting spread to the city centre and the Israeli army surrounded the camp.