Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 45

EXPLAINER

most recent events

In response to “Israel’s aggression against Gaza,” Yemeni Houthi fighters kidnapped a Japanese-operated cargo ship in the Red Sea on Sunday and took 25 crew members as hostages. Israel had no connection to the ship’s ownership, management, or crew, according to a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, according to publicly available ownership records, Abraham “Rami” Ungar, an Israeli businessman, is connected to the ship. The ship’s seizure, which occurred as it was traveling from Turkey to India, has been denounced by the Japanese government.
• The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the US, Hamas, and Israel had reached a tentative agreement that would release 50 or more prisoners from Gaza each day over the course of five days of fighting. However, both parties claimed that no agreement had been reached as of yet. Only “minor” challenges that are “more logistical” remain, according to Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, on Sunday.
• Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, expressed his “deep shock” at the two UNRWA schools that were attacked in Gaza in less than 24 hours in a statement on Sunday. He thanked Qatar for leading the mediation efforts and demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

fighting and human impact

At least 31 people were killed by Israeli attacks on the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
• Following an Israeli raid on the hospital last week, 31 premature babies were evacuated to medical facilities in southern Gaza on Sunday at al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza. The World Health Organization reports that they are all battling serious infections, though. According to Mohammed Zaqout, director-general of hospitals in Gaza, “preparations are under way” for them to travel to Egypt with three doctors and two nurses. Following Israel’s early-war ban on fuel entry into the enclave, eight additional premature babies at al-Shifa died as a result of incubators going out of commission.
• The Israeli army announced on Monday that two Israeli soldiers had died during fighting in northern Gaza, bringing the total number of casualties since October 7 to 387.
• According to the most recent flash update from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCH), 69 000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday. The fuel will be distributed by the UN’s Relief and Works Agency to support food distribution and run essential infrastructure like water and sanitation systems and hospital generators.
• According to OCHA, at least six Palestinian journalists were killed in the 24 hours before the update.

hospitals in Gaza are in a crisis

According to Safwat Kahlout, an Al Jazeera correspondent, the Indonesian Hospital’s main operating room has been damaged and is no longer open for surgeries as a result of ongoing attacks that began early on Monday in northern Gaza. There have also been fatalities and injuries to a number of people, including physicians and patients.
• According to Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera, about 250 critically injured people who were unable to leave al-Shifa are still there.
• Within minutes of an Israeli attack nearby, 122 patients showed up at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, according to a report from Doctors Without Borders on Sunday. When they arrived, 70 people were already dead, while others had burns and other wounds.

Diplomacy

According to a statement released by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, Netanyahu was reminded of the significance of achieving an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and that there had been “too many civilian losses” in Israel’s conflict in Gaza. Additionally, the nation will send Gaza a second hospital ship and additional medical supplies.
• According to state media cited by the Reuters news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, urged Muslim nations to sever political ties with Israel on Sunday, at least temporarily.
• According to the AFP news agency, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised to work with an Arab and Muslim visiting delegation on Monday to “restore peace in the Middle East as soon as possible.” While the delegation demanded an immediate ceasefire, he continued, “Bangalore has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests.”
• In an opinion that was published on Saturday in The Washington Post, US President Joe Biden stated that “a revitalized Palestinian Authority” should eventually rule the West Bank.

attacks and arrests in the West Bank’s occupation

According to Palestinian news agency Wafa on Monday, Israeli forces detained at least 30 Palestinian workers who were originally from Gaza during raids in Deir al-Ghusun and the nearby town of Attil.
• According to the news agency Wafa, Israeli forces killed a 21-year-old Palestinian man on Sunday near Hebron and stopped ambulances from reaching him until he passed away. He was then given to the Palestinian Red Crescent by the soldiers.