‘Israeli tanks surround Al-Nasr hospital’ – NRC

Israel and Hamas negotiate hostage release

Israel and Hamas are negotiating the release of hostages through mediators from Qatar and the United States. According to The New York Times there are two proposals that are being discussed. One of the proposals concerns the release of a small number of hostages.

The other proposal concerns a larger release, up to about a hundred prisoners. In exchange for such a greater release, Hamas wants a break from fighting, more humanitarian aid, fuel for hospitals and the release of women and children in Israeli prisons. That last point would be an obstacle for Israel.

Currently, Hamas and other militant Palestinian movements are holding some 240 people hostage in Gaza. Less than half of them are civilians: they would be released if Israel and Hamas reach an agreement to release a larger number of people.

‘Israeli tanks surround Al-Nasr hospital, Al-Quds hospital threatens to close’

The Al-Nasr hospital in northern Gaza is surrounded by Israeli tanks. Mustafa al-Kahlout, director of the hospital, said: to CNN. “We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital and we cannot leave,” al-Kahlout said. According to the hospital director, there is no more electricity, and the hospital also has no oxygen or medicine for patients.

Earlier in the day wrote the BBC to have verified images of children and elderly patients of the hospital, who try to leave the site with white flags in their hands, but return because shots are being fired outside the complex.

Other hospitals in Gaza also became the focus of fighting on Friday. For example, the Palestinian aid organization Red Crescent wrote that “intense fighting” took place around the Al-Quds hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip and that Israeli snipers had opened fire on the hospital. According to the BBC, tanks and an Israeli naval ship were also involved in those attacks. According to the latest update from the Red Crescent, the hospital is in danger of closing within hours due to a lack of fuel. “500 patients and injured people will be deprived of medical care. Those in ICU and babies in incubators will die,” the aid organization writes.

There is also heavy fighting around Al-Shifa Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Gaza. Tanks are said to have approached the building within a hundred meters. The hospital is said to contain mainly elderly and injured people who were unable to escape. The BBC spoke to the hospital’s director. According to him, about 15,000 people are in hospital. Furthermore, the Al-Awda hospital in Tal al-Zaatar, in the north of Gaza, was also reportedly hit by Israeli attacks on Friday.

Macron calls for ceasefire: ‘babies and women are being killed’

Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza. French President Emmanuel Macron said this on Friday an interview with the BBC. Macron said there is “no justification” for the continued Israeli bombings.

“Babies, women, the elderly are bombed and killed. There is no reason for that and it has no legitimacy,” the French president said. “We urge Israel to stop.” Macron was also one of the first Western leaders to call for a ceasefire and said he hoped other allies would join his call.

Later on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Macron’s statements. “The responsibility for what happens to civilians lies with Hamas and not with Israel,” Netanyahu said. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, the terrorist movement uses people as human shields.

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