A spokesman for Hamas stated that the organisation tasked with protecting a few hostages had lost communication. According to a top US official, Hamas has to release more prisoners before substantial aid to Gaza and a ceasefire can be achieved. Threats of US visa restrictions were made by President Joe Biden against “extremists” who harm Palestinians in the West Bank.
Family members of Israelis taken captive by Hamas marched for five days, arriving in Jerusalem on Saturday. The US and EU have branded Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
A UN delegation granted access to Gaza’s main hospital, Al Shifa, described the facility as a “death zone” and “desperate,” pointing out a mass grave near the entrance that may have held 80 victims. The World Health Organization-led team was given one hour to spend in the hospital, which was made possible by the Israeli military, according to a news release from the organisation.
Shifa was “essentially” no longer functioning as a hospital, according to the team, but 291 patients, including 32 infants in “extremely critical condition,” are still there. According to WHO, the “vast majority” of patients had battle wounds, including as burns, amputations, and spinal damage.
In an effort to find safe havens, “WHO and partners are urgently developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff, and their families.”
In an opinion piece, President Joe Biden laid out a plan for Gaza’s post-war future, which calls for an end to Israeli occupation, unified rule by “a revitalised Palestinian Authority,” and a long-term rebuilding project that includes temporary security measures.
“To begin with, Gaza must never be utilised as a staging ground for terrorism ever again,” Biden stated on Saturday in the Washington Post. “There must be no reduction in territory, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.”
He threatened to restrict US visas for “extremists” who assault Palestinian people in the West Bank, so sending a signal to Israel.
200 Palestinians who were taking refuge at the Al-Fakhoura school were injured and killed as a consequence of the bombardment, according to the government media office managed by Hamas.
The UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, described as “horrifying” the photos he got from the school that houses thousands of displaced people.
Reports of an incident in the Jabalya region were forwarded to the Israeli military. The event is being examined, according to the IDF.
Israel declared that it is moving into the “next stage” of its conflict with Hamas, focusing on the southern city of Khan Younis instead of the debris that formerly covered Gaza City. At a press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to clarify whether he thought senior Hamas commanders were sheltering there. We’ll deal with them, he promised. “Every leader in Hamas is a walking dead man.”
During Israel’s war cabinet press briefing, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated, “The places where Hamas can circulate are shrinking.” “Anyone who was in the western part of the city knows full well that they have already experienced the lethal force of the IDF.” People in the east are starting to grasp it tonight and will continue to do so over the coming several days.+
Israel has been distributing flyers in Khan Younis, the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, alerting locals to the need to evacuate the city and seek refuge in a secure area to the south of the Gaza Strip where help is available. Since the start of the conflict, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have relocated to the safe zone, despite Hamas’s attempts to stop them from leaving the combat zone.
Netanyahu also denied rumours that an agreement between Hamas and Israel to free Israeli captives detained in the Gaza Strip was close to being reached.
“No contract has been viewed by us. As tens of thousands of Israelis gathered to the streets on Saturday night to demand the release of the captives, Netanyahu stated during the press conference that “many things that didn’t come to fruition.” “We’ll say something when the time is right.”
The Israeli army declared on Saturday that six additional soldiers had perished in combat inside Gaza against Hamas terrorists. This raises the number of deceased troops to 378, many of whom were killed in Hamas’s surprise strike on October 7 that started the conflict and for whose identities may be made public, indicating that their families have already been told.
At 7:22 p.m., Hamas claims to have lost contact with a few of its hostages.
The armed wing of Hamas has lost communication with the teams tasked with protecting certain captives. He did not specify the number of unaccounted-for captives among the roughly 240 detained in Gaza.
In a statement, the spokesperson, Abu Obaida, stated, “The fate of the captives and captors is still unknown.”
The declaration is probably going to make the negotiations to free hostages in return for many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention even more difficult.
5:04 p.m.: Army Reports Gaza Attack Expanding to Additional Neighbourhoods
According to an IDF statement on Saturday, Israel is extending its strike on Hamas into further parts of northern Gaza, killing “numerous” terrorists and hitting “significant” targets, including subterranean infrastructure, in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City and Jabalya.
According to the IDF, one of Hamas’s “most significant terror strongholds” is located in Jabalya, along with the Northern Gaza Brigade’s headquarters.
Five Israelis were injured when a Hamas team launched a flurry of rockets towards Tel Aviv and the surrounding regions on Friday night. The Israeli Defence Force stated on Saturday that the crew was destroyed in a drone attack shortly after.
Separately, the force said that it had hit sophisticated surface-to-air missile systems in Lebanon as well as “terrorist targets” affiliated with Hezbollah. That was the day after an Israeli aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon.
Tens of thousands of Israelis concluded a five-day march that culminated in Jerusalem on Saturday by joining the relatives of the hostages held in Gaza. Later in the day, a demonstration outside the Knesset asking that the government ensure the release of all captives will take place, according to a report by public channel Kan News.
Members of Israel’s war cabinet, former Defence Minister Benny Gantz and former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, will meet with representatives of the captive families on Saturday night, according to Haaretz.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. On Saturday, she is also anticipated to go to Jordan.
Von der Leyen thanked Egypt for its assistance in enabling humanitarian relief to Palestinians and stated that the two countries had reached an agreement on the principles of no Palestinians being forcibly relocated and a political outlook centred on a two-state solution.
One of the top US envoys to the Middle East stated on Saturday that Hamas has to free more captives in exchange for a major boost in supplies to Gaza and a halt to conflict.
US Says Gaza Cannot Get More Aid Unless Hamas Releases Hostages
“When hostages are freed, there will be a spike in fuel, humanitarian aid, and a break in hostilities,” stated Brett McGurk, Joe Biden’s Middle East and North Africa Coordinator.
Speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue, a regional security conference held in Bahrain, McGurk said that thus far, the US’s strategy had aided in hostage negotiations.
The United Arab Emirates, which had earlier said that it would treat 1,000 children in Emirati hospitals, reported that it had received the first plane transporting wounded individuals from Gaza.
According to Director of Strategic Communications for the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Afra Al Hameli, the jet carried 15 individuals, including children and their families, when it departed from Egypt.
Israel Attacks a West Bank “Terrorist” Hideout (8:40 a.m.)
In the West Bank city of Nablus, the Israeli military claimed to have “eliminated several terrorists” throughout the course of the night in the Balata refugee camp.
After forces and Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, coordinated an operation, they hit a “hideout flat” and killed Mohammad Zahed. He was a “key terrorist figure,” according to the military, who plotted additional strikes against Israel.