Day 39 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Nov. 14

With the majority of the Gaza Strip’s hospitals “non-functional,” the director of the enclave's largest hospital reports those trapped inside have dug a mass grave for the dead.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023

5:37 pm: French defense chief heads to Israel, Egypt, Gulf 
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu left for the Middle East Tuesday. He will make stops in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel. Lecornu noted that his arrival to Israel on Friday will be the first visit by a French defense minister to the country since 2000. Rina Bassist reports.

2:50 pm: Pentagon accuses Hamas, Islamic Jihad of running command centers out of hospitals

The Pentagon’s deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters that the US intelligence community assesses that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been operating command and control nodes out of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa.

Singh’s comments echoed prior allegations by the Israeli military, which raided the hospital this week.

But Singh provided no evidence for the assertion and would not specify whether the intelligence was collected independently of Israeli sources. "We feel very confident in our sourcing,” she said.

2:40 pm: Only 4% of Israeli Jews find Netanyahu reliable source on Gaza war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's credibility has hit rock bottom, with less than 4% of Jewish Israelis trusting him as a reliable source of information, according to a new poll published Tuesday by Bar-Ilan University. Rina Bassist reports.

12:10 pm: In Egypt, Shin Bet head works for Gaza hostage release

Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar traveled today to Cairo and met with his Egyptian counterpart, Abbas Kamel, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported. Bar reportedly went to Egypt to discuss efforts to release the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The Shin Bet declined to comment.

9:15 am: Hamas drags feet in hostage talks to let pressure on Israel increase

Israel sees Hamas posting another hostage video and demanding a five-day cease-fire as part of a release deal as a way to buy more time against the Israeli ground offensive. Ben Caspit reports.

6:10 am: Israeli army takes over Hamas administrative centers

The Israel Defense Forces has taken control of several Hamas administrative facilities in Gaza, including the parliament, government buildings, the police headquarters and the residence of Gaza’s governor, said IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari. He said they also took over an engineering school that developed and produced weapons and ammunition.

2:24 am: Qatar dispatches aid planes to Gaza via Egypt

Two planes of the Qatari armed forces carrying 54 tons of aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are headed to Egypt’s el-Arish airport, the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced in a statement. The planes carried equipment for a field hospital and shelter supplies as well as medical and food supplies. The besieged enclave has been under intense Israeli bombardment since Hamas’ cross-border attack Oct. 7. The health sector has collapsed with dozens of hospitals out of service and others struggling to meet the needs of thousands of injured people amid shortages of fuel, medicine and medical equipment.

12:37 am: At least 7 Palestinians killed in Israeli raid of West Bank's Tulkarem camp

The death toll from an overnight Israeli raid on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank has risen to seven, the official WAFA news agency said. The Israeli army said it launched a drone strike at a group of Palestinians who were hurling explosives at soldiers operating in the camp in search of wanted Palestinians. Snipers were positioned around the camp and bulldozers razed a number of streets inside it, according to local reports. Over 185 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids and settler attacks in the West Bank since the Hamas-Israel war erupted on Oct. 7

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