November 11, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war has moved here.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on his people to stand up against “the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism,” in a letter published Saturday night by French newspaper Le Parisien.

More than one thousand antisemitic acts were committed in France in one month, Macron wrote, adding that this number is three times more than the number of hate attacks executed against French Jews all of last year.

Macron emphasized that this in turn has caused the Jewish community to experience “legitimate anguish,” saying they are going as far as to erase their names to protect themselves.

Macron went on to reiterate his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself, saying “putting Hamas out of harm’s way is a necessity,” while simultaneously stressing that “this defense must be accompanied by the resumption of political dialogue and ensure the protection of civilians and hostages in Gaza.”

“We want justice, peace and security for the people of Israel, for the Palestinian people and for the states of the region,” Macron said. “We want French unity.”

The letter was released on the eve of Sunday’s historic march against antisemitism being held in the French capital. Macron addressed the march in his letter saying he sees it “as a reason for hope.”

This comes a day after Macron called for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it is “the only solution” to the war between Israel and Hamas.

At least 126 people were arrested in London on Saturday following a large pro-Palestinian demonstration and counter-protests, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

Police intercepted a group of 150 people who were launching fireworks toward the end of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PCS) march that attracted over 300,000 people, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said in a statement issued Saturday afternoon.

Arrests were made after some of the fireworks struck officers in the face, the statement read.

A CNN team on the ground also heard shouts and observed a heavy police presence as a group of far-right protesters tried to storm a war memorial, the Cenotaph, on Armistice Day.

The English Defense League (EDL) is a far-right group founded by Tommy Robinson who, according to Robinson’s account on X, was at the Cenotaph to pay his respects on Saturday.

Nine officers were injured while confronting the violent crowd getting to the Cenotaph while a remembrance service was taking place, Twist explained. Two officers will require hospital treatment after sustaining a fractured elbow and a suspected dislocated hip.

Several officers are still deployed across central London in case of anymore “outbreaks of disorder,” Twist concluded.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the violent scenes in London on Saturday in a statement posted to social media.

“I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen today from the EDL and associated groups and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine. The despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully,” said Sunak.

“All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law. That is what I told the Met Police Commissioner on Wednesday, that is what they are accountable for and that is what I expect,” Sunak continued in his statement, adding that he will be meeting the Met Police Commissioner in the coming days.

The families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government to do more to bring the hostages and missing persons home.

“We await the Israeli government to fulfill the basic contract that was broken. We already paid the price on October 7, now it’s your turn,” said a press release from the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum headquarters.

Families of the hostages held a rally on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel, which also included in attendance the former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin.

More than 200 hostages were taken into Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7.

The families are demanding that the international community and the Red Cross ensure medical assistance for the hostages, “as they do for Hamas,” the press release said.

“Two hundred and thirty nine innocent people went to sleep on the night of October 6 and within less than 24 hours we lost all contact with them, without a drop of information. Where is the Red Cross, the organization that is supposed to care for human rights? Why haven’t they demanded to see the condition of the infants,” said Maayan Zin, mother of Dafna (15) and Ella (8) who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in Israel with their father.

Noam Perry, whose 79-year-old father, Haim Perry, was taken from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel said there can be no healing until the release of all the hostages.

“The living hostages can still be returned and we must not stop until they come home. My father is alive and only God knows how he endures in the underground tunnels at age 80. They are waiting for us to save them. We await the prime minister to fulfill the most basic contract he has with Israel’s citizens that was violated,” Perry said.

Rivlin said he joins the families in the demand to return all hostages home, and urged world leaders to get information and act within all arenas to free the hostages.

The former president said he also contacted the Red Cross this week and asked them, “How should we respond to your demand to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza when you do not compel Hamas to allow you to visit all the hostages?”

Orly Gilboa, mother of 19-year-old Daniela Gilboa, who was kidnapped from a party in Re’im, Israel said, “I’ve finished the stage of hugs and empathy. I want to see actions that will bring my daughter and the rest of the hostages home now.”

The number of journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict since October 7 has increased to 40, according to a statement by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Saturday.

The most recent to lose his life was photojournalist Ahmed Al-Qara who was killed in a strike near Khan Younis on Friday, the CPJ said, citing the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and the Cairo-based Al-Dostor newspaper.

The death toll of journalists is comprised of 35 Palestinians, four Israelis, and one Lebanese, according to the CPJ.

The journalism advocacy group says the conflict since October 7 has been the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ starting tracking in 1992.

“CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes,” the statement added.

UNICEF is calling for the protection of hospitals and children in Gaza amid “deeply worrying reports” of the situation in the biggest hospital in the strip.

The UN agency, responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children worldwide called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“Al Shifa hospital in Gaza is without power and we are seeing deeply worrying reports of premature babies dying in incubators,” UNICEF said in its statement released early Sunday local time.

The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza also reported early Sunday shelling in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa Hospital, warning that it is endangering the lives of patients and the displaced people sheltering inside.

CNN cannot independently verify this claim. The Israeli military earlier said there were “clashes” between its troops and Hamas militants around the hospital on Saturday, and rejected suggestions the hospital is under siege.

Earlier, three newborn babies died in the Al-Shifa Hospital after it went “out of service” amid intense fighting in the area, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza.

After more than a month of fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip, only seven out of 18 ambulances run by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) are still working, according to a statement from the PRCS on Saturday.

The few remaining ambulances still working are at risk of “completely ceasing operations in the coming hours” due to a lack of fuel, the statement said.

“Our teams are witnessing numerous casualties and wounded individuals, yet they face challenges reaching them due to Israeli military targeting of ambulance vehicles approaching the affected areas,” the PRCS said.

On November 4, Israel claimed responsibility for an attack on a convoy of ambulances outside Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, according to CNN at the time.

The PRCS said one of its ambulances was damaged in that attack when a shell fell near the convoy.

Israel said it had targeted the ambulance convoy because it was being used by Hamas, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the time of the attack.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has lost communication with its contacts in Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

“We assume our contacts joined tens of thousands of displaced people and are fleeing the area,” it said in a statement early Sunday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the reports on the situation at Gaza’s biggest hospital as “deeply worrisome and frightening.”

On Saturday, Doctors Without Borders said hostilities around Al-Shifa were “non-stop.”

“The ambulances can no longer move to collect the injured, and non-stop bombardment prevents patients and staff from evacuating,” the organization said in a statement.

Jordan’s Air Force used parachutes to air-drop medical aid to the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza for a second time, the Prime Ministry of Jordan announced in a statement early Sunday local time.

The relief operation was in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar to “enhance and develop the hospital’s capabilities and increase the ability of medical personnel to provide health and treatment services to alleviate the burden of the people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.

The operation comes hours after Jordan, the UAE, Qatar and other countries partaking in the Joint Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh issued a statement demanding an end to what was described as Israeli “war crimes and barbaric, brutal and inhumane massacres” in Gaza.

On November 6, Jordan air-dropped its first medical aid package to the field hospital in the strip.

The UN’s top humanitarian aid chief Martin Griffiths on Saturday condemned attacks on healthcare facilities after recent strikes in the Gaza Strip.

“There can be no justification for acts of war in healthcare facilities, leaving them with no power, food or water, and shooting at patients and civilians trying to flee,” he said. 

Griffiths also said that people using and working at Gazan healthcare facilities “must trust that they are places of shelter and not of war.”

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is surrounded on all four sides by Israeli forces and under “complete siege,” a senior official at the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza told CNN Saturday.

Hostilities around the hospital, Gaza’s largest, “have not stopped,” according to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders. Constant bombardment is preventing patients and staff from evacuating and has kept ambulances from collecting the wounded, according to the organization.

A freelance journalist told CNN the situation is dire, with medics working by candlelight, food being rationed, and other resources dwindling.

The Israeli army told CNN it is engaged in “ongoing intense fighting” against Hamas in the vicinity of the hospital complex, but denies firing at the northern Gaza medical center and rejected suggestions the hospital is under siege. Israel has said it is in touch with hospital leaders and has offered assistance with evacuations.

CNN has been unable to confirm whether anyone was able to leave the hospital complex over the course of the day.

Here are other headlines you should know:

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he opposes a role for the current Palestinian Authority government in Gaza once the war between Israel and Hamas ends.

In response to a question about whether the Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the occupied West Bank, may govern Gaza after the war, Netanyahu said: “There will be full security control (in Gaza), with the (Israel Defense Forces’) ability to enter whenever we want, to kill terrorists who can re-appear. I can tell you what will not be: There will not be Hamas.”

“Moreover, there will not be a civilian authority there that educates its children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, eliminate the state of Israel,” he said.

Some context: Israel is at war with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza and carried out devastating terror attacks in Israel on October 7.

The Palestinian Authority is a separate government body, which operates out of the West Bank. It was established in the 1993 Oslo Accords, a peace pact between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that saw the PLO give up armed resistance against Israel in return for promises of an independent Palestinian state.

Hamas — which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and other countries — presents itself as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority, which has recognized Israel and has engaged in multiple failed peace initiatives with it.

Recent US comments: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken about the need to focus on “the day of” and the “day after” the war ends in Gaza, and has suggested the Palestinian Authority could play a role in Gaza’s future if Hamas is eliminated.

“At some point, what would make the most sense would be for an effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority to have governance and ultimately security responsibility for Gaza,” he said at a recent congressional hearing.

Negotiations to release more hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks are moving in a positive direction, but the situation remains fluid — and the continued bombardment of Gaza isn’t helping matters, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Saturday.

Qatar, a key US ally in the Middle East, has a close relationship with Hamas, and has emerged as a broker of sorts as negotiations over the release of hostages and humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip continues.

During a Saturday call, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Qatar to press Hamas on allowing more dual nationals to leave Gaza — particularly US dual nationals, according to a source familiar with the call. Al-Thani told Blinken that Qatar will continue to negotiate with Hamas to make that happen.

CNN has previously reported if a deal were to be struck, the hostages would exit Gaza in stages on a rolling basis – with priority placed on extra vulnerable groups like children and women – in a process that is expected to take multiple days, a senior US official said.

CNN’s MJ Lee contributed reporting to this post.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected growing international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying Saturday that Israel’s battle against Hamas will continue, “with all our force, with all our might.”

The leader said Israel will “continue until the victory.” 

“Hamas lost its grip over the Gaza Strip. It has no safe place to hide. … All Hamas members are marked for death,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech. “Our forces are hitting them above the ground, and our forces are hitting them under the ground.”

Hostilities around Al-Shifa Hospital Saturday “have not stopped,” according to Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

“The ambulances can no longer move to collect the injured, and non-stop bombardment prevents patients and staff from evacuating,” the organization said in a statement.

A freelance journalist based at the hospital told CNN there were still dozens of bodies at the hospital awaiting burial, but that people feared going outside to bury them. 

Medics inside the hospital are working by candlelight, Sarsour said. Other resources are also getting scarce.

“We are running out of canned food. The food is being rationed on patients and medical crews, and I have even seen doctors and nurses giving their own food to patients. … Now the electricity is cut off, people (have) started drinking the pipe water,” the journalist said.

Some background: The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the hospital was under “complete siege” Saturday, and that a floor of the complex’s surgery building was heavily shelled. The ministry says three newborn babies died at the hospital after it “went out of service” due to heavy damage.

Israel’s army has said there is “ongoing intense fighting” around the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital, but denied claims it was firing at or laying siege to the complex.

It has also said it is in touch with the hospital director and willing to help people leave. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday evening that the hospital staff has requested help evacuating babies from the pediatric department, and that the IDF “will provide the assistance needed” Sunday.

CNN has been unable to confirm whether anyone was able to leave the hospital complex over the course of the day.

This post has been updated with additional comments from an IDF spokesperson.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society received 53 aid trucks packed with vital supplies —including food, water, relief items, medical equipment and medications, but no fuel — the group said Saturday.

“Since October 21, 2023, a total of 904 trucks have been received, averaging around 41 trucks per day,” the aid organization said. “Unfortunately, the Israeli occupying authorities have not permitted the entry of fuel so far.”

Operations at the Rafah land crossing will resume Sunday for the departure of foreign passport holders, the General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza said in a statement Saturday.

Only people whose names are specifically included on a list that was released November 1 will be permitted to travel through the Rafah crossing, the authority emphasized.

The Rafah crossing failed to open Friday for foreign nationals wishing to leave Gaza, highlighting once again the frustrations facing diplomats looking to get their nationals out of the strip.

One diplomatic source in Egypt described the process as “long, non-transparent and arduous.”

Remember: Rafah is the only Gazan border crossing that isn’t controlled by Israel, which shut its crossings with the territory following Hamas’ October 7 attack. It has emerged as a crucial location as the humanitarian situation in the territory worsens.

For the first few weeks of the Israel-Gaza war, the Rafah crossing remained shut – leaving Palestinians and other people stranded in the strip with no way out of the enclave.

But it was partially opened late last month to allow a small number of aid trucks into Gaza, and has briefly reopened at times in November to allow safe passage to a limited amount of injured Palestinians and foreign nationals.

CNN’s Abbas Al Lawati, Mohammed Abdelbary and Rob Picheta contributed reporting to this post.

The Israeli military denies it is firing at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, and rejected suggestions the hospital is under siege. 

“There is no shooting at the hospital and there is no siege,” Col. Moshe Tetro, a senior Israeli defense ministry official with responsibilities for Gaza, said in a statement. “The East Side of the hospital remains open. Additionally, (the military) can coordinate (with) anyone who wants to leave the hospital safely.”

In a video sent out by the Israel Defense Forces to accompany the written statement, Tetro said there were, “clashes between IDF troops and Hamas terrorist operatives around the hospital.” 

He added that he was in “constant contact” with the director of Al-Shifa, and had told him the IDF could coordinate evacuations from the hospital.

CNN has been unable to confirm whether anyone was able to leave the hospital complex over the course of the day.

What officials in Gaza have said: A senior official at the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza told CNN earlier Saturday that Al-Shifa is surrounded on all four sides by Israeli forces, under “complete siege.”

In a separate statement sent to CNN Saturday, the ministry said the hospital was “out of service,” with the fifth floor of the surgery building heavily shelled and medical staff unable to move within the complex.

A huge pro-Palestinian demonstration is underway in London as hundreds of thousands of people march through the center of the city Saturday, according to a CNN team on the ground.

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police told CNN that an estimated 300,000 people attended the rally.

There was heavy police presence in central London’s Hyde Park Corner as protesters chanted “free, free Palestine” and “ceasefire now.” They were also heard chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

Police arrested 82 counter-protesters in London who attempted to confront those taking part in the rally. The Metropolitan Police said the people were apprehended “to prevent a breach of the peace.”

Police said they had “faced aggression from counter-protesters” who stormed the area “in significant numbers” ahead of what could be the biggest march yet since the Israel-Hamas conflict began about a month ago.

Elsewhere in Europe, thousands of people in Brussels and Paris also attended pro-Palestinian demonstrations Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the US: A group of pro-Palestinian protesters on Saturday gathered near the street where President Joe Biden lives in Delaware to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

The crowd began forming at roughly 11 a.m. ET. Many are carrying Palestinian flags, and there are large cellophane balloons spelling out “ceasefire now.”

Biden is currently at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia for Veterans Day events. He’s expected to travel to his Wilmington home later on Saturday.

On Friday, about 2,000 people attended a demonstration in New York City, gathering in Columbus Circle before marching to the area around Times Square and eventually to Grand Central, where demonstrations temporarily closed access to the terminal.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah gave his second speech since the Hamas-Israel war started via video link from an undisclosed location Saturday, in which he addressed the situation in Gaza and clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Nasrallah called the situation unfolding in Gaza “big, exceptional and dangerous in this region and the world,” adding that what will emerge from the death and destruction in Gaza “will be generation after generation of resistance fighters.”

“This painful event and these grave crimes are an expression of Israeli revenge. This is the spirit of a vicious revenge that have no moral or humanitarian or legal limits. It expresses the true nature of the entity (Israel),” he said. 

“This isn’t just revenge, it’s not just lashing out. It is aggression with an objective. One of the main objectives is to impose submission, not just Gaza’s people, but also to grind the people of Palestine, Lebanon and the region to submission,” Nasrallah said. 

On clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border: Hezbollah’s strikes on Israeli territory have increased in number and employed more advanced weaponry over the last week of cross-border fire between Israel Defense Forces and the powerful, Iran-backed armed group, Nasrallah said in a speech Saturday.

“In the last week, without a doubt, there was an elevation in resistance activities (on the border). Numerically and in the kinds of weapons that we used,” said Nasrallah.

Hezbollah has in recent days struck deeper into Israeli territory, Nasrallah said, marking an escalation in the month-long flareup, where the fighting has largely stuck to a 4-kilometer (about 2-mile) radius around the border.

He said Hezbollah used self-detonating, explosive-laden drones in an attack on Israeli positions for the first time in the paramilitary group’s history. (The Israeli military has acknowledged Hezbollah’s use of an attack drone in at least one of the strikes claimed by the Lebanese armed group.)

Hezbollah has, also for the first time, fired Iran-made Burkan missiles, which have a payload of up to 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds), on Israeli positions, Nasrallah said. Hezbollah this week released video showing a large explosion caused by a Burkan missile.

The Hezbollah leader accused Israel of hiding its casualty figures from Hezbollah attacks on the border.

Nasrallah accused Israel of hiding its casualty figures from Hezbollah’s attacks on the border.

On the US: Nasrallah accused the US of “administering” the Israeli operation in Gaza and chastised it for supporting the continuation of Israel’s operation in Gaza.

Nasrallah said “all pressure” to bring about a ceasefire should be directed toward the US. He praised militant actions against US positions in Iraq in recent weeks and said they would only “stop” if the US pushes for a ceasefire in Israel.

Hezbollah’s chief described Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria as having created “supporting fronts” for Hamas in Gaza.

CNN reported earlier this month that the US intelligence community believes – for now – that Iran and its proxies are calibrating their response to Israel’s military intervention in Gaza to avoid direct conflict with Israel or the US while still exacting costs on its adversaries. But the US is also keenly aware that Iran does not maintain perfect control of its umbrella of proxies – in particular over Lebanese Hezbollah, the largest and most capable of the various groups. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, the group that attacked Israel on October 7, and has long positioned itself as fighting against Israel. US officials are deeply concerned that the group’s internal politics may cause Hezbollah to escalate simmering tensions.

Nasrallah’s speech last Friday: In his first public, in-person speech since 2006 — when a monthlong war erupted between Lebanon and Israel — Nasrallah said “all scenarios” are possible on the Lebanon-Israel border, warning Israel against further escalation of its operations there. He also urged for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling it Hezbollah’s first priority.

The final resolution issued by the joint Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh demands the end of what it describes as Israel’s aggression against Gaza, as well as “war crimes and barbaric, brutal and inhumane massacres.” 

“We condemn the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, the war crimes and the barbaric, brutal and inhumane massacres committed by the colonial occupation government against the Palestinian people, including in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. We demand it be stopped immediately,” the resolution read. 

The statement said the summit rejects the characterization of this “war of revenge as (one of) self-defense” and demands the end of the siege in Gaza as well as the entry of humanitarian aid convoys, including food, medicine, and fuel immediately. 

It also demanded the United Nations Security Council take a “decisive and binding decision” that imposes a cessation of aggression.

“We demand the Security Council take an immediate decision condemning Israel’s barbaric destruction of hospitals in the Gaza Strip and preventing the entry of medicine, food and fuel,” it added. 

The resolution also called on the International Criminal Court to conduct an investigation into what it described as war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in all occupied Palestinian territories.  

It called on all countries to stop exporting weapons and ammunition to Israel used by its army and the “terrorist settlers who kill Palestinian people and destroy their homes.” 

The summit said that a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace” is the only way to guarantee security and stability for the people of the region. 

“Protection from cycles of violence and wars will not be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation. … We hold Israel, the occupying power responsible for the continuation and aggravation of the conflict as a result of its aggression against human rights,” it added.

Leaders at the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh on Saturday reiterated calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is in the Saudi capital for the summit, marking the first trip by an Iranian leader to Saudi Arabia in 11 years, after the two countries restored diplomatic relations in March. Raisi said attendees had gathered there on behalf of the Islamic world to “save the Palestinians.” Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said “we categorically reject this brutal war” in opening remarks.

Here’s what others are saying:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States, “which has the greatest influence on Israel, bears responsibility for the absence of a political solution.”

“We demand that they put a stop to the Israeli aggression and the Israeli occupation of our land,” he said.

He called on the United Nations Security Council to “immediately put an end to the brutal Israeli aggression on Palestinians,” and he repeated the need to secure the entry of aid supplies into Gaza. 

“My mind cannot believe that this is happening under the eyes and ears of the world, without calling for an immediate halt to this brutal war,” he added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the summit that “the world remaining silent in the face of this brutality shames us all.”

“Gaza has been almost completely destroyed, and Western countries aren’t even calling for a ceasefire. …There is no doubt that whoever remains silent about injustice is a partner in the practice of injustice,” Erdogan added. 

The Turkish president said Israel is trying to seek revenge for Hamas’ attacks on October 7, adding that while nobody supports what happened that day, it is not an excuse for Israel to kill civilians.  

“Words have become insufficient in describing what is happening in Gaza and Ramallah since October 7,” Erdogan said, claiming that Israel was targeting civilians, hospitals, ambulances, and places of worship in a “brutal and barbaric way that is unparalleled in history.” 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad criticized the normalization agreements between Arab countries and Israel, saying the policy does more harm than good.

“More hands extended by us equals more massacres against us … what we have to do to help Palestine is use actual political tools, not rhetorical tools, and that firstly is stopping any political process with the Zionist entity,” he said. 

Assad said what’s happening in Gaza today should not be treated in isolation, but rather looked at as a “manifestation” of the Palestinian cause and a “blatant expression of the suffering” of Palestinians. 

“If we continue to deal with the aggression against Gaza today with the same methodology, then we will pave the way for the completion of the massacre … and the death of the cause,” he said.  

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani slammed the international community for failing to “stop war crimes and massacres” in Gaza.

“We wonder how long will the international community continue to treat Israel as if it is above international law, and how long will it be condoned to flout all international laws in its brutal, never-ending war on the country’s indigenous population,” the Qatari ruler said.  

The emir said Qatar continues to support all regional and international diplomatic efforts for “de-escalation, stemming the bloodshed and protecting civilians, including continuing efforts in humanitarian mediation to release hostages,” adding that “we hope to reach a humanitarian truce in the near future.” 

Staff and patients have been unable to leave the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as the hospital complex remains under “complete siege,” according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza. 

The director-general of the ministry, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, told CNN there were more than 100 bodies wrapped in blankets on the ground within the hospital complex. 

“We can’t bury them,” he told CNN by phone. The sound of explosions could be heard as he spoke.

CNN is unable to verify the number of dead at Al-Shifa.

“There is a complete siege on the Al-Shifa hospital from all sides. The occupation is surrounding the hospital, preventing the evacuation of the injured,” Al-Bursh said. 

He said people who had been injured in Gaza were instead being transported to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, as Al-Shifa was inaccessible. He said there was no water, food or electricity at the hospital.

What Israel’s military says: The Israeli army told CNN it is engaged in “ongoing intense fighting” against Hamas in the vicinity of the hospital complex but refused to comment further on its forces’ proximity to the complex because military activity was still underway.

Israeli army spokespeople in a separate telephone briefing with journalists Saturday did not address reports of shelling in the hospital vicinity.

Angelita Caredda, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Middle East director, said in a statement that the council was “horrified by reports of relentless attacks on Gaza’s hospitals.”

“Patients, including babies, and civilians seeking relief are trapped under attack. It is an affront to wage war around and on hospitals,” she said.

The people of Gaza are being “choked” by the continuous bombardment, a UN agency head warned on Saturday.

The head of UNRWA, the UN relief agency that works in the Gaza Strip, Philippe Lazzarini, made the comments at an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic states in Riyadh.

Lazzarini said that the continuous bombardment of Gaza, “together with the siege, are choking Gaza and its people.”

He continued that more than 700,000 women, children, and men now live in UNRWA schools and shelters.  

“Basic services are crumbling. Everything is running out – food, water, medicine, and fuel. “

He said UNRWA staff were still operating some 150 UNRWA shelters. “They keep one-third of our health centers open and manage mobile clinics. They deliver medicines to hospitals.”

Lazzarini said that Gazans feel de-humanized and abandoned.  He asked the summit to support efforts “to reach a humanitarian ceasefire, with strict adherence to international humanitarian law.”

He also said that a meaningful and continuous flow of humanitarian aid is essential, but claimed that “the logistics and the verification of trucks by Israel are extremely cumbersome. They only allow a limited number of trucks into Gaza.”  

“We must increase the volume of aid and use other crossings, including those within Israel, like Kerem Abu Salem.”

Some context: A significant number of Arab leaders are attending the emergency gathering in Riyadh on Saturday, titled the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit.

The summit is being hosted by Saudi Arabia in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza,” according to a statement released by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has said that attendees at an emergency summit on the Israel-Hamas war in Saudi Arabia had gathered there on behalf of the Islamic world to “save the Palestinians.”

“We have gathered here today to discuss the focus of the Islamic world, which is the Palestinian cause, where we’ve witnessed the worst crimes in history…Today is a historic day in the heroic defense and support of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said in remarks at the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh on Saturday.

Raisi said the story of Gaza is a “struggle between two axes,” and the world must determine which side it is on — the side of “nobility” or the side that “destroys human generations.”

The Iranian president criticized the United States for its support of the Israeli offensive, saying Washington is “the main partner in these crimes.” 

For context: Raisi’s presence at the summit is significant. It is the first time an Iranian leader has visited Saudi Arabia in more than a decade and Iran also has close ties to Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been clashing with Israel.

Three babies have died in the neonatal unit of Gaza’s largest hospital, which is surrounded and “out of service” following persistent Israeli fire in the vicinity, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.

Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, director-general of the ministry, estimated on Saturday that 400 people were being treated at the hospital, with around 20,000 displaced people seeking shelter in the complex.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is hosting a major summit on the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza” attended by a host of Arab leaders.

Here are the key developments:

A hospital on the front line: Doctors in the neonatal ward at the Al-Shifa Hospital are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they are caring for, according to Bursh. Another official said the intensive care unit, pediatric department and oxygen devices have stopped working. Israel has confirmed it is fighting in the area as it bids to destroy Hamas following the October 7 attacks. It accuses the militant group of using hospitals for cover.

Health care system past “point of no return”: “Overstretched, running on thin supplies and increasingly unsafe” is how the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) described the health care system in Gaza in a statement Friday. The ICRC warned the system had “reached a point of no return risking the lives of thousands,” with recent “attacks on medical facilities and personnel” having dealt the system a “heavy blow.” 

Saudi summit: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is one of several leaders to have landed in the Saudi capital Riyadh for an emergency summit to discuss the conflict in Gaza. In his opening remarks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the “summit is being held under exceptional and painful circumstances,” adding that the Kingdom “categorically rejects” the war to which Palestinians are being subjected.

Israel claims victories: In an update Saturday, the Israeli military said it had gained control of 11 Hamas military posts in the Gaza strip and had destroyed a tunnel used by militants, as well as a vehicle packed with explosives that had been parked close to an area used by Israeli soldiers. 

Israel-Lebanon border exchanges: There have been further exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Saturday, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF said sirens had sounded in northern Israel “warning of a hostile aircraft intrusion.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later issued a warning to Lebanese civilians about “Hezbollah’s aggression” in the region. “What we’re doing in Gaza can also be done in Beirut,” Gallant said.

Fresh evacuation window: A seven-hour window opened for Gazans to evacuate south along the Salah al-Deen street Saturday, according to the IDF, which said on social media that the corridor would “remain open between 09:00-16:00 (2 a.m. ET to 9 a.m. ET).”

This post has been updated with remarks from the Israeli defense minister on the cross-border fire with Hezbollah.

The Israeli army has told CNN it is engaged in “ongoing intense fighting” against Hamas in the vicinity of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City but refused to comment further on its forces’ proximity to the complex because military activity was still underway.

Medics at the hospital say the complex has been hit by artillery fire, but Israeli army spokespeople in a separate telephone briefing with journalists on Saturday did not address those reports.

In his opening remarks at the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh on Saturday, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom “categorically rejects” the war to which Palestinians are being subjected.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Saturday in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza.”

 “This summit is being held under exceptional and painful circumstances…we categorically reject this brutal war that our brothers and sisters are being subjected to in Palestine…we renew our demand for an immediate cessation of military operations,” the crown prince said.

He said thousands of civilians had been killed by Israeli airstrikes, and hospitals and places of worship had been destroyed.

“What we have in front of us is a humanitarian catastrophe that is testament to the failure of the UN Security Council and the international community to put an end to the blatant Israeli violations of international laws and norms and international humanitarian law,” he said.

Bin Salman said that events in Gaza call for a “coordinated collective effort to take effective action,” and demanded the opening of humanitarian corridors to provide aid for civilians.

“The kingdom affirms its categorical rejection of the continuation of aggression, occupation, and forced displacement of the population of Gaza. It also confirms that the occupying authority is responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people,” he said.

The crown prince said the only way to find “lasting peace” is to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and to establish a Palestinian state under the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

There have been further exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces said that sirens had sounded in northern Israel “warning of a hostile aircraft intrusion. No aircraft [was] identified infiltrating Israeli territory.”

“In addition, a launch was identified toward the Margaliot area, that fell in an open area. IDF artillery is striking the source of the launch in Lebanon,” the IDF added.

The IDF said that overnight “a launch was identified toward an IDF aircraft operating in the area of the border with Lebanon, [and] an IDF UAV struck the launcher from which the launch was carried out.”

For its part, Hezbollah claimed a series of strikes on Saturday morning, “in support of the Palestinian people.”

It claimed there had been four strikes in a two-hour period which had caused Israeli military casualties.

Israel has reported no casualties along the northern border Saturday.

Some context: Clashes across the border have escalated since Israel began its war in Gaza. Some communities in northern Israel fled southward earlier this week, leaving “ghost towns” behind with only Israeli troops staying to battle Hezbollah militants.

Gaza’s healthcare system has passed the “point of no return,” the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement Friday.

“Overstretched, running on thin supplies and increasingly unsafe, the healthcare system in Gaza has reached a point of no return risking the lives of thousands of wounded, sick and displaced people,” the ICRC warned.

Recent “attacks on medical facilities and personnel” have dealt a “heavy blow” to the healthcare system in Gaza, “which is severely weakened after more than one month of heavy fighting,” according to the group.

The ICRC highlighted the situation at the “largest referral hospital in the Gaza Strip,” the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said in a statement sent to CNN Saturday that al-Shifa was now “out of service”, with the fifth floor of the surgery building heavily shelled and medical staff unable to move within the complex.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for comment on the situation at al-Shifa. The IDF has previously accused Hamas of using civilian infrastructure such as hospitals as bases for launching attacks.

The UN children’s rights organization UNICEF said Friday that the lives of the one million children in Gaza are currently “hanging by a thread” citing two other hospitals in northern Gaza.  

“Over the past 24-hours, medical care at Al-Rantisi and Al-Nasr children’s hospitals has reportedly almost ceased, with only a small generator powering the intensive care and neonatal intensive care units,” UNICEF said. 

Hospitals on the frontline: On Friday, the director of the Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric hospital, told CNN on Friday that his hospital complexes had been “completely surrounded” by Israeli tanks.

“We do not have electricity, no oxygen for the patients. We do not have medicine and water,” Mustafa al-Kahlout said.

With fighting raging in Gaza City, other hospitals reported strikes in their vicinity.

As well as providing medical services, hospitals are sheltering thousands of Palestinians .

Three babies in the neonatal unit of Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza have now died, after the hospital went “out of service,” according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health on Saturday amid persistent Israeli fire in the vicinity.

Doctors in the neonatal ward are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they are caring for, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health told CNN Saturday. Doctors have covered the babies with soft lining and blankets as part of this effort, he said.

Bursh also said the hospital was “surrounded from all four directions,” estimating that 400 people were being treated at the hospital and around 20,000 displaced people seeking shelter in the hospital complex.

The spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra said he was trapped inside the Al-Shifa complex.

Dr. Qidra said in a statement to CNN Saturday the complex is currently “out of service” after repeatedly being targeted by Israeli fire.

“The intensive care unit, pediatric department, and oxygen devices have stopped working,” Dr. Qidra said.

CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the situation in the vicinity of the hospital.

The IDF has regularly said that Hamas is using Gaza hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as cover for its military operations. It has also warned civilians in northern Gaza to move south.

Growing alarm: The Director General for the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), Robert Mardini, said the organization was “shocked and appalled by the images and reports coming from Al Shifa hospital in Gaza.” 

“The unbearably desperate situation for patients & staff trapped inside must stop. Now,” Mardini said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly before 5.30aET Saturday.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said it had lost contact with staff inside the hospital while the World Health Organization said it was “extremely disturbed” about reports of Israeli attacks nearby.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has landed in the Saudi capital Riyadh for a major summit to discuss the conflict in Gaza.

The Iranian President was greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their first encounter since Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic relations earlier this year. It also marks the first visit by an Iranian president to the Kingdom in 11 years.

Saudi Arabia is hosting the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Saturday in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza.” 

The country leaders attending will be working on “uniting efforts and coming up with a unified collective position” on the developments in Gaza, according to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will also be attending.

Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League, an organization of Middle Eastern and African countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization, in May after an 11-year absence.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday said that a seven-hour window is currently in place for Gazans to evacuate south along the Salah al-Deen street.

“The evacuation corridor will remain open between 09:00-16:00 (2aET-9aET) for civilians through the Salah al-Din axis toward south of Wadi Gaza,” the IDF said on social media.

The IDF also suggested that residents could “go to the seashore and move from there along the coastline south towards the marina in order to preserve your lives and the lives of your families.” 

The IDF added there would be a four-hour pause in military operations near the Jabalia camp.

It called on residents there to “join the hundreds of thousands who have moved south … We call on you, in order to preserve your security, to take advantage of the time period available to move south, because the northern Gaza Strip area is an area of ​​widespread combat.”

An estimated 30,000 people fled the areas north of Wadi Gaza, heading southward on Friday, according to the UN.

The number of evacuating residents has dropped in recent days. The Israeli government said that 80,000 fled on Thursday, while the United Nations said that 50,000 did. Both agree that around 50,000 fled on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said it now had control of 11 Hamas military posts in the Gaza strip in an update Saturday.

A statement from the military said Israeli forces had also destroyed a vehicle packed with explosives that had been parked close to an area used by Israeli soldiers. 

It also said it had destroyed a tunnel used by militants.

In addition, the military said naval forces had struck what it said were military targets inside the Al Shati refugee camp, which is located on the seafront just north of Gaza City. 

There was no reference in the statement to operational activity around al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest, and the military has not responded to repeated CNN requests for comment on reports from al-Shifa medics that the hospital complex has been hit by artillery fire.

Fighting has been reported close to hospitals in northern Gaza amid an Israeli ground offensive aimed at destroying the Hamas militants who carried out the deadly October 7 attacks.

Gaza should not be be an “arena for words” but for actions, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said while on his way to a summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

“Palestine is the most important issue in the Islamic world,” Raisi said as he departed Tehran airport.

Raisi is calling on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to make a “decisive, actionable and implementable decision on Gaza.

Some context: Saudi Arabia will host a Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Saturday in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza,” according to a statement released by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Raisi’s trip will mark the first visit by an Iranian president to Saudi Arabia since Tehran and Riyadh agreed to normalize ties last year in an agreement brokered by China.

Iran backs the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which has been engaged in daily cross-fire with Israeli forces on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, as well as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, which have been sporadically firing missiles towards Israel.

Tehran also has strong ties with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Doctors Without Borders says it has lost contact with its staff inside Gaza’s largest healthcare facility, Al-Shifa Hospital, amid reports of “heavy bombing” in the vicinity of the complex.

“Over the last few hours, the attacks against Al-Shifa Hospital have dramatically intensified. [Doctors Without Borders] staff at the hospital reported a catastrophic situation inside,” the humanitarian group said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, at 3:43 a.m. Gaza time (8:43 p.m. ET Friday).

The group said it was extremely concerned about the safety of staff and patients at Al-Shifa Hospital, some of whom were in critical condition and unable to move or evacuate.

Communications inside Gaza have been down periodically since Israel’s military campaign began last month – often as a result of power shortages or widespread network outages.

Some context: There have been reports of Israeli attacks near Al-Shifa Hospital, with hospital staff and the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah posting online videos appearing to show heavy bombing in the area surrounding the complex.

A World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson said Friday that al-Shifa was “coming under bombardment,” adding that 20 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were “out of action.”

Asked about a potential Israeli airstrike on al-Shifa hospital on Friday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in a briefing: “I haven’t got the detail on al-Shifa but we do know they are coming under bombardment.”

The Israeli military has claimed that a “misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip” was responsible for an earlier strike on the hospital.

The news comes a week after Israel targeted an ambulance outside the hospital, killing at least 15 people and injuring 50 more. Israeli authorities said the vehicle was being used by Hamas.

Israel accuses Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and has said it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has responded to CNN questions regarding tanks surrounding the Al Nasr and Al Rantisi Pediatric Hospitals, saying that it is currently “engaged in intense battle against Hamas” and is “unable to address” the queries.

The director of the two hospitals in northern Gaza, Mustafa al-Kahlout, told CNN on Friday that the health facilities had been surrounded by tanks, leaving staff members no way to leave.

Responding to CNN’s enquiries, the IDF said: “Given that your question relates to specific military activity currently underway, we are unable to address or confirm specific queries.”

On Friday, al-Kahlout asked for the Red Cross to assist with an evacuation.

“We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave,” he said.

To be at work by 9 a.m., Joseph Handal gets up at 4:30 a.m., even though his workplace, a Franciscan church in the Old City of Jerusalem, is only a few miles from his home in Bethlehem.

The journey should take 25 minutes by road. But this is the occupied West Bank. Nothing is ever simple here.

“We wait for the bus and see if it comes. If it doesn’t come, the checkpoint is closed. Right now, it’s closed. But it may open later. Or maybe it won’t,” Handal told CNN, standing on the side of the road with a group of other workers.

As a Palestinian resident of the West Bank, Handal needs a permit to enter Jerusalem. He does have one – but whether he can make it to work depends on his ability to get through at least two Israeli checkpoints.

With Israel at war, he says this process has become a nightmare.

After Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people and kidnapping some 240 others, Israel stepped up its security measures and began severely restricting the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents of the West Bank.

CNN has asked Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) for comment on the increased restrictions, but has not received a response.

Israel controls all entry and exit points to the West Bank through roadblocks and checkpoints which are staffed by soldiers and armed police. The security forces have always had the ability to close these checkpoints without warning but, since October 7, the closures have been more frequent and have lasted longer, residents and human rights watchdogs say.

READ MORE: ‘There is no future here’: West Bank Palestinians face restrictions as war escalates

The ferocity of Israel’s military operation shows no sign of letting up. On Friday, Israeli tanks surrounded a Gaza hospital, its director said, as the territory’s largest healthcare facility came under a reported “bombardment.” Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it was “extremely disturbed” by reports of Israeli attacks near another Gaza hospital, Al-Shifa.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is “prepared and operating in any arena that threatens the State of Israel.”

Elsewhere, French leader Emmanuel Macro has said he wants other world leaders to back his call for a ceasefire.

Here’s what to know:

The World Health Organization is “extremely disturbed” by reports of Israeli attacks near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a statement early Saturday.  

“Many health workers we were in contact with have been forced to leave the hospital in search of safety,” Ghebreyesus said on X (formerly as Twitter), adding that “Many of the thousands sheltering at the hospital are forced to evacuate due to security risks, while many still remain there.” 

A doctor inside Al-Shifa Hospital posted a video on Instagram late Friday describing what he’s been hearing and seeing amid “heavy bombing” in the vicinity.

“The occupation now is heavily bombing the vicinity and the yards of Al-Shifa Hospital,” the doctor identified as Ezz Lulu said in a translation of the video. “The hospital is overcrowded with the injured and there’s not even space for medical treatment.” 

Video posted late Friday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah also shows heavy smoke rising from behind the Al-Shifa Hospital and flares in the sky with frequent explosions being heard. 

The Israeli military has claimed that a “misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip”was responsible for a strike on Al-Shifa Hospital.

In another video posted early Saturday local time, the health ministry reported heavy bombardment near the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. The video shows two men in medical scrubs running into a building for cover as heavy bombing can be seen and heard near the hospital. 

The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior in Gaza said the Israeli military struck near the Indonesian Hospital late Friday.  

Earlier in the day, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said an Israeli military attack targeted the Al-Quds Hospital, killing one displaced person and injuring 28 others, including two in critical condition.

Most of the casualties were children, PRCS added. 

“PRCS expresses profound concern for the safety of its medical teams operating in the hospital, especially given the ongoing interruption of internet and communication services for the third consecutive day,” the statement read.

The WHO said it has verified more than 250 attacks on the health sector in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, including five hospital attacks in the strip on one day last week. 

CNN reached out to the Israeli military for comment and has not immediately heard back. The Israeli military has previously maintained that it is targeting Hamas infrastructure across the strip.  

Some context: This comes as Israeli tanks have surrounded the Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, its director Mustafa al-Kahlout told CNN, heightening fears Friday that Israel’s military campaign is further endangering Gazan patients and medical staff.

Patients and babies in the intensive units of Gaza City’s Al-Quds Hospital could die as it faces shut down in coming hours due to lack of fuel supplies, PRCS has also warned.

So far, at least 18 out of Gaza’s 35 functioning hospitals have gone out of service, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Thursday. 

Saudi Arabia will host a Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Saturday in response to the “unprecedented circumstances in Gaza,” according to a statement released by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs early Saturday local time.

Saudi Arabia was initially going to host Arab and Islamic Summits separately on Saturday but has decided to combine the two after consultations with the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. 

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling it “the only solution” to the war between Israel and Hamas. 

While he said Israel had the right “to protect itself and react” to the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas, he also said that Israel should comply “with international rules of war and humanitarian international law.”

Macron added that he hopes other world leaders will join his call for a ceasefire. 

“We share the pain and we do share a willingness to get rid of terrorism. We know what terrorism means in France. But I think there is no justification to attack civilians,” Macron said while speaking to the BBC from the Élysée Palace on Friday. 

Some background: The US administration, for its part, has resisted calling for a ceasefire, although officials have worked to ramp up aid going into Gaza and pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow more assistance to flow into the enclave and to allow civilians to flee away from the fighting.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday gave one of his most direct condemnations of the civilian death toll in Gaza and said more needs to be done to “minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.”

Although Blinken commended Israel for its announcement of daily military pauses in areas of northern Gaza and two evacuation corridors, he said that “there is more that can and should be done to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.”

Gza City’s Al-Quds Hospital could shut down in the coming hours, threatening the lives of patients and babies, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) warns.

“Al-Quds Hospital is at risk of closure in the upcoming 3 hours due to the depletion of fuel supplies and the non-arrival of aid,” PRCS said in a statement early Saturday local time. “500 patients and injured will be deprived from medical care. Those who are at the ICU and babies in incubators will lose their lives.”

On Wednesday, PRCS said it was scaling back most operations amid a fuel shortage to ensure the provision of minimal services.  

So far, at least 18 out of Gaza’s 35 functioning hospitals have gone out of service, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah on Thursday. 

The Israeli military has said Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and that it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.”

CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm contributed reporting.

The parties involved in the ongoing negotiations to secure the release of hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza are working toward a deal that would entail a sustained, dayslong pause in fighting in exchange for a large group of hostages being freed, a senior US official familiar with the talks told CNN Friday.

If a deal were to be struck, the hostages would exit Gaza in stages on a rolling basis – with priority placed on extra vulnerable groups, like children and women – in a process that is expected to take multiple days, the official said.

Still, they repeatedly cautioned that the talks could at any point stall or deteriorate: “It’s been close before. There’s no certainty at all.”

Many details have yet to be worked out — and it would still likely be days, even in the best-case scenario, before a deal could be reached, the official said. But even as a deal was being considered, Israel did not relent in its Gaza offensive. CNN reporters witnessed a heavy bombardment by Israeli forces in Gaza late Friday.

Remember: The US, Israel and Hamas – with Qatar playing a significant mediating role – have been engaged in talks for weeks to free the hostages from Gaza.

Read more about Gaza hostage negotiations here.

Israel now believes around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas in a series of brutal attacks on Israeli communities and gatherings near Gaza on October 7.

The number includes foreign workers and other foreign nationalities, foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said in response to online questions from journalists – and is a downward revision from a previous figure of 1,400.

The current estimate is not a final number, Haiat emphasized, because some of the bodies have yet to be identified.

The spokesperson’s online communication did not include a reason for the reduction, and he did not immediately respond to subsequent requests for an explanation.

Israeli tanks have surrounded a Gaza hospital, its director told CNN, as strikes reportedly hit the area of other healthcare facilities in the Strip — heightening fears Friday that Israel’s military campaign is further endangering patients and medical staff in the besieged territory.

Mustafa al-Kahlout, who heads the Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, told CNN that they were surrounded and asked for the Red Cross to assist with an evacuation. “We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave,” al-Kahlout said.

The hospital complex is close to Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and Al Shati camp, where ground fighting was reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas separately.

“We do not have electricity, no oxygen for the patients, we do not have medicine and water,” al-Kahlout said. “We do not know our fate.”

His call comes after strikes were reported near at least two other hospitals in northern Gaza.

In a Facebook statement, Al Awda hospital said that due to the “targeting (of) the vicinity of Al Awda Hospital… and the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital” by Israeli forces, 10 of its employees were injured, infrastructure was hit and nine vehicles were impacted.

In a separate statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said one of their volunteers had been injured and two ambulances rendered unusable by a strike near Al Awda hospital. The group also shared images and a video of two ambulances with their windscreens shattered in what appears to be the hospital parking lot. It was not immediately clear if PRCS was referring to the same ambulances mentioned in the hospital’s statement.

The IDF has not commented on the incidents but has repeatedly called on civilians to move south of Wadi Gaza, a waterway bisecting the center of the Strip, as it intensifies its assault on Gaza City and the north of the territory. The IDF has said Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and that it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.”

Read about the reported airstrikes near hospitals in northern Gaza.