Day 40 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Nov. 15

Israel rejected a UN Security Council resolution late Wednesday that called for “urgent and extended humanitarian” pauses in Gaza as the fighting approached its sixth week.

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):

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023

4:43 pm: Israel rejects UN resolution for extended humanitarian pause 

"Israel urges the Security Council and the international community to stand firm on the prompt release of all kidnapped Israelis, as outlined in the UNSC resolution,’’ said Israel’s foreign ministry after the adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution calling for an extended humanitarian pause in Gaza. ‘’Israel expects the Security Council to unequivocally condemn Hamas and to address the need to establish a new security reality in Gaza. Extended humanitarian pauses are untenable as long as 239 abductees remain in the hands of Hamas terrorists,’’ noted the statement. 

Israel’s envoy to the UN Gilad Erdan said that the resolution ‘’is disconnected from reality and is meaningless. Regardless of what the Council decides, Israel will continue acting according to international law while the Hamas terrorists will not even read the resolution at all, let alone abide by it.’’ Erdan added it was ‘’truly shameful’’ that the resolution did not even mention the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

4:30 pm: UNSC calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday issued a resolution calling for “urgent and extended” humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The resolution notes the pauses should last a “sufficient number of days” and “would facilitate the continuous sufficient and unhindered provision of essential goods and services.”

The successful passage of Wednesday’s resolution came after the 15-member council failed four times last month to agree on a similar text that also called for the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack.

The United States, Russia and Britain, who all have veto power on the council, abstained from Wednesday’s vote, which was drafted by Malta.

4:15 pm: US Navy intercepts drone fired from Yemen

A US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea on Tuesday shot down a drone fired from Yemen as regional hostilities continue to flare over the Israel-Hamas war, a US defense official confirmed to Al-Monitor. Jared Szuba reports.

4:05 pm: Israel’s Netanyahu ‘must go now,’ says opposition leader Lapid

The centrist leader of Israel’s opposition, Yair Lapid, said Wednesday evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can no longer head the Israeli government. It was the first time since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that Lapid made such a statement.

“He must go now. Security-wise and on the society level, we cannot have a premier who has lost the trust of the public,” Lapid said, without specifying whether he expects Netanyahu to resign or whether he expects his coalition partners to push him out. Rina Bassist reports.

1:40 pm: Israeli army says it located weapons in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital 

The Israeli army released photos and videos of Hamas weapons it said it found inside Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital during a raid early Wednesday morning. 

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said members of the elite Shaldag unit and other forces of the 36th Division found the weapons inside the hospital’s MRI center. “During searches inside one of the hospital’s wards, the troops located a room containing unique technological means, combat equipment, and military equipment used by the Hamas terrorist organization,” Hagari said.

1:00 pm: 7 members of Jordanian field hospital staff injured in Gaza

Seven members of the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza were injured while treating Palestinian casualties of an Israeli strike, Jordanian armed forces said.

In a statement carried by the Jordanian public broadcaster, Jordan’s armed forces said Israel has a responsibility to provide protection for the Jordanian hospital in Gaza and its personnel. It added that it was launching an investigation over what it described as the “incident.” The statement didn’t clarify what caused the injuries of the seven personnel.

The health conditions of the wounded personnel ranged from mild to stable, according to the statement.

12:30 pm: Israeli settler attacks force 963 Palestinians out of West Bank homes

Hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank have been driven from their homes by Israeli settlers since the Gaza war began, according to a leading Israeli human rights organization. Adam Lucente reports.

7:00 am: Rockets fired from Lebanon at Israel’s north

After a day without fire, 20 rockets were launched from Lebanese territory toward the northern Upper Galilee region, reported Kan, adding that 15 of them landed in open spaces near the city of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF responded with artillery fire.

An anti-tank missile was also launched toward the Mount Dov region on the border.

5:00 am: PA president says war on Gaza is war on 'Palestinian existence'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the ongoing Israel offensive on the Gaza Strip as a war against “the Palestinian existence and the Palestinian national identity.” In a statement issued on the 35th anniversary of Palestinian declaration of independence, Abbas expressed his absolute rejection of any plans to displace the Palestinian people.

“Palestine is our only homeland and we will not accept an alternative, and if there is anyone who must leave our land, it is the occupation, and only the occupation,” he said.

More than 11,000 people have been killed and over 1 million displaced since Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip in reaction to Hamas’ cross-border attack Oct. 7, which left more than 1,200 people dead.

4:29 am: Al-Shifa staff hiding from Israeli gunfire, doctor says

Doctors and staff at Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip were staying away from windows amid heavy gunfire as Israeli forces raided the medical complex, a doctor told Reuters. “Bombardment. Shooting around the hospital and within the hospital. It's really horrible you can feel that it's very near to the hospital. And then we realized that the tanks are moving around the hospital,” he added. The Israeli military said its forces have entered the hospital as part of an operation against Hamas, which it claims is using the hospital as a command center. Conditions in the hospital have been deteriorating amid supply shortages and heavy airstrikes. A hospital official told Al-Jazeera that around 700 patients, including 100 in critical condition, were still trapped on site.

4:00 am: First fuel delivery enters Gaza via Rafah

A fuel truck has entered the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing, according to multiple news reports, in the first such delivery since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7. Israel had imposed a total blockade on the already besieged enclave in retaliation for Hamas’ cross-border attack. Since then, aid agencies and rights groups have pleaded for the delivery of much-needed fuel into Gaza, where hospitals and other sectors have collapsed due to shortages of fuel and other materials. Beatrice Farhat reports.

1:00 am: Israeli army enters Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital

Israeli troops, including Arabic-speaking soldiers and medical staff, entered a specific area of Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital early Wednesday morning, said the IDF. "Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Al-Shifa hospital. The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians," read the IDF statement. The IDF added that the operation was preceded by an effort to evacuate patients and that "incubators, medical equipment and baby food are expected to be transferred to the hospital."

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