Israeli armed forces were at the gates of Gaza’s largest hospital on Monday as thousands of civilians, including several newborns, remained trapped at the facility cut off from the outside world.
What there is to know
- Close-quarters fighting is taking place in the heart of Gaza.
- Israel says Hamas has “lost control” of Gaza.
- Ten Canadians were able to leave Gaza on Monday, bringing the number of Canadians who left the territory to 346.
Intense fighting was reported by various media outlets in the immediate vicinity of al-Chifa hospital, while the lack of electricity in the hospital threatened the lives of many babies born prematurely, some of whom have already lost their lives in the last days.
“Yesterday I took care of 39 babies, and today there are only 36,” said Dr.r Mohamed Tabasha, head of al-Chifa’s pediatric department, in a telephone interview with Reuters on Monday. I can’t say how long this will last. I could lose two more babies today, or in an hour. »
On
PHOTO MOHAMMED SALEM, REUTERS
Palestinian woman consoling her son after an Israeli air raid on Monday at Khan Younes hospital in the southern Gaza Strip
“We have no electricity, no food, no water in the hospital,” he explained. People will die in a few hours without working ventilators. »
Some 10,000 Palestinians – patients, staff and displaced people – are crammed into the hospital, according to the UN.
A “break” between the street and politics
Rachad Antonius, a researcher and retired sociology professor from UQAM, says he is stunned by the level of violence documented against the civilian population of Gaza, including children.
“Even my friends who are usually sympathetic to Israel are absolutely outraged by the way Palestinians are treated,” says the professor.
We are talking about 11,000 people killed, including more than 4,000 children. If one hundredth of this treatment were given to Israelis, Western governments would come forward. But the fate reserved for the Palestinians provokes only silence.
Rachad Antonius, retired sociology professor from UQAM
Mr. Antonius observes a “break” between the response of the streets in the West, with numerous demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, and the timid response of their political leaders.
“There were 300,000 people on the streets in London. There were 40,000 people on the streets in Montreal. Public opinion has changed dramatically, but it doesn’t seem like it matters much. »
Craig Mokhiber, director of the New York office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, resigned at the end of October to denounce the Israeli bombings on Gaza, which he described as “genocide”, notes Mr. Antonius.
“UN lawyers do not use the word “genocide” lightly. They are not activists, they are experts in humanitarian law. Hamas committed war crimes by intentionally targeting civilians. But Israel commits them every day. The world population sees it. There are only a few Western governments that seem to want to turn a blind eye. »
For his part, President Joe Biden, whose country is a key ally of Israel in its offensive against Hamas, declared at the White House: “I hope and expect less intrusive actions regarding from the hospital » Al-Chifa. And added: “the hospital must be protected”.
“Lost control”
Also on Monday, Israel claimed that Hamas had “lost control in Gaza,” on 38e day of the war with the Islamist movement. The Palestinian movement, classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, did not react to these assertions.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE ISRAELI ARMY, REUTERS
Israeli soldiers taking up positions in the Gaza Strip on Monday
The Israeli army, which on Monday reported 44 soldiers killed since the start of the war, estimates that some 240 people were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip on October 7, and are still there.
The army said Monday it had evidence that Hamas fighters held hostages at a children’s hospital.
Beneath the Rantisi hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army says it has gathered “clues that suggest that Hamas was holding hostages here”, such as a baby’s bottle or a piece of rope attached to a chair, said army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, supporting video.
Ten Canadians crossed into Egypt
In addition, ten other Canadians, permanent residents and members of their families were able to cross the Rafah border crossing, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on Monday to find refuge in Egypt.
PHOTO ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, REUTERS
Israelis walking on a street lined with houses destroyed during the initial Hamas assault in the Kibbutz of Kfar Aza on Monday
This was confirmed by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in a press release, reiterating that the Canadian embassy in Cairo “is currently providing them with consular assistance, food, accommodation and basic necessities while ‘they organize their travel plans’.
A total of 356 Canadian nationals have so far been able to cross into Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. On Sunday, the federal government said that 234 of them had already reached there, which was in addition to the hundred people who had already evacuated on Tuesday and Thursday of last week.
On Monday, Canadians who fled the Gaza Strip say Canada’s definition of family forced them to make the heartbreaking choice to leave loved ones behind. The Canadian Refugee Council, for its part, advocates a broader definition of family, so that people fleeing Gaza can find refuge with their loved ones in Canada.
Meanwhile in the West Bank, five Palestinians aged between 21 and 29 were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in Tulkarem, in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Amin Khader, the director of Thabet Hospital where the dead were observed.
With Agence France-Presse