A humanitarian team led by the World Health Organization (WHO) visited Šífa Hospital on Saturday. He described the medical facility as a “death zone” and discovered a mass grave reportedly containing more than 80 bodies. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Israel risks losing international support for the war in Gaza if the country blocks international aid. However, there are concerns that Hamas will use it for its military purposes. Israel and Hamas have reached a non-binding US-brokered deal for a five-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages. The commandos allegedly ignored warnings from soldiers from observation posts along the border with Gaza, who had observed unusual Palestinian activity near the border for several months before the Hamas attack.

A humanitarian team led by the World Health Organization (WHO) visited Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza on Saturday to assess the situation, the agency said Reuters quoting the WHO statement. The team consists of public health experts, logistics experts and security personnel from various UN departments.

Due to security risks, the team could only spend one hour inside the hospital. Observers call it a “death zone”, WHO said. According to aid workers, there were signs of shelling and shelling. WHO further said in its statement that the team saw a mass grave at the hospital entrance and was informed that more than 80 people were buried there. 25 health workers and 291 patients, including 32 children in critical condition, remained at Šífa hospital, WHO said.

“WHO and its partners are urgently preparing plans for the immediate evacuation of remaining patients, staff and their families,” the statement said, adding that in the next 24 to 72 hours, after securing safe passage through both sides of the conflict, additional missions would be organized immediately. to transport patients to other hospitals in southern Gaza. The Israeli army has not commented on the WHO team’s visit to the hospital.

WHO is leading a high-risk joint humanitarian mission to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza

18 November 2023 – Earlier today, a joint UN humanitarian assessment team, led by WHO accessed Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza to assess the situation on the ground and carry out rapid checks… pic.twitter.com/JD5lnpOqvH

— WHO in the occupied Palestinian territories (@WHOoPt) November 18, 2023

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time that Israel could lose international support in its war on Gaza when he said late Saturday that it was important to supply humanitarian aid to the enclave. Jerusalem Post. “Humanitarian assistance is also needed to maintain guarantees of international support,” Netanyahu said.

Without humanitarian assistance, even our friends will find it difficult to support us for a long period of time and it will be very difficult for us to continue the war to the end, he added. He defended the war cabinet’s decision to comply with a US request that limited quantities of UN fuel reach Gaza via the Egyptian crossing at Rafah. Israel is worried that Hamas will misuse the fuel for its military purposes, including launching rockets at Israel.

Israel, Hamas and the US have reached a tentative deal that would see the release of at least 50 hostages and a five-day pause in the ongoing fighting. The hostages must be released in small groups every 24 hours. The deal was reached between Israel, the US and Hamas in a round of talks in Doha and led by Qatari mediators, the newspaper said. Washington Post. The temporary suspension of ongoing operations in Gaza is also intended to allow large amounts of humanitarian aid to flow in.

Israel and Hamas reach tentative US-brokered deal to end five-day conflict and free women and children hostages https://t.co/NCvM2MVqBN

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 19, 2023

Israeli station N12 published new testimony from soldiers from observation posts stationed near the border with Gaza. In their statement, they stated that several months before the Hamas attack, they had warned their commanders about unusual activities taking place in the border region. However, they received orders from the command to stop harassing their commanders and were even threatened with court-martial.

According to the report, observers warned that they had seen unusual training and other actions taking place near the border, with increasing numbers of people gathering at the fence in the months leading up to the attack. The soldiers felt that they were not being heard, and one of them decided to go directly to the senior commander in the area, who allegedly replied: “I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense. If you all annoy us with something like that one more time, you will be brought to court martial.”

Additionally, N12 reported on Saturday that soldiers from observation posts along the Gaza border who took part in fighting during the October 7 attack received no psychological help from the military and were recently told that they must return to duty within two weeks. or they will be moved elsewhere. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the claims, stating that “their return to duty will be gradual, sensitive and appropriate to their individual circumstances, and that the army will not take any disciplinary action against them.”