Israel-Hamas war highlights: Israel faces global pressure to protect civilians in Gaza

Over 300,000 demonstrators supporting the Palestinian cause marched through central London on Saturday, leading to the arrest of nearly 100 far-right counter-protesters to prevent potential disruptions, Reuters reported. Conflicts arose between police and the far-right groups opposing the demonstration, coinciding with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War One.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denounced the violence observed at the Cenotaph war memorial and criticised “Hamas sympathizers” participating in the larger rally, accusing them of “singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today's protest.”

Anticipating the march, tensions were heightened, particularly after Interior Minister Suella Braverman labeled the events as "hate marches" orchestrated by "mobs." This demonstration marked the largest in a series, emphasising solidarity with the Palestinians and calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

(With Reuters inputs)

Hezbollah's leader declared on Saturday that the group is employing new weaponry in its attacks on Israel, amid escalating clashes on Lebanon's southern border while Israel engages with Hamas militants in Gaza, AFP reported.

Hassan Nasrallah stated in his second televised address since the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict that over the past week, Hezbollah has "strengthened" its actions "on the Lebanese front in terms of the number of operations, targets, and the type of weapons." He revealed the use of "Burkan missiles" for the first time, emphasizing their capacity to carry "a payload of 300-500 kilograms" (660-1,100 pounds).

Nasrallah noted the unprecedented use of attack drones, stating that they are being employed "for the first time in the history of the resistance" in Lebanon. Additionally, he highlighted the deployment of "reconnaissance drones" penetrating deep into Israel daily, with some reaching locations such as Haifa, Acre, and Safed in the country's north.

(With AFP inputs)

Israeli forces are not firing on Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City but there are clashes with Hamas militants around it, a defence official has said, according to Reuters. The official adds that people there can still leave the hospital safely.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through central London today, following scuffles nearby between far-right protesters and police, who launched a major operation to avert clashes. More details here.

Two premature babies have died due to power cuts at Gaza's largest hospital, Physicians for Human Rights Israel said Saturday citing doctors there, according to AFP.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that an international peace conference should be convened to find a permanent solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Erdogan was addressing a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, where leaders gathered to urge Israel to end hostilities in Gaza.

"Israel is taking revenge...on Gazan babies, children and women," Erdogan said, renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire. "What is urgent in Gaza is not pauses for few hours, rather we need a permanent ceasefire."

Reuters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday that any political process with Israel should halt given the ongoing violence in Gaza.

Assad spoke at a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Saudi Arabia, which gave its blessing to Gulf neighbors United Arab Emirates and Bahrain establishing relations with Israel in 2020 under the previous U.S. administration of Donald Trump.

Reuters

Arab leaders and Iran's president meeting Saturday in the Saudi capital roundly condemned Israel's actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza, as fears mount the conflict could draw in other countries.

The emergency meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) comes after Hamas militants' bloody October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and 239 taken hostage.

Israel's subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, also mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Host Saudi Arabia "confirms that it holds the occupation (Israeli) authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Gulf kingdom's de facto ruler, said as Saturday's summit began.

"We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation, siege and the settlements," he said of Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

AFP

Iran on Saturday asks Muslim countries to designate Israel army 'terrorist group', AFP reports.

Gilad Erdan, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has slammed the UN Security Council for failing to condemn the terror attack against the country on October 7, unleashed by Hamas. Drawing a parallel between the attack and anti-semitic Kristallnacht Holocaust of 1938, he said if the council could see the "barbarity and savagery with your own eyes" it would understand the "evil" Israel is defending itself against.

"The holy Jewish Sabbath is a day of peace and rest. It is the day on which God rested following the creation of the world yet no Jew will ever forget the Sabbath of October 7th. It has been seared into the collective trauma of the Jewish people forever. Exactly 85 years ago, today, another traumatic atrocity was burned into the Jewish people's history. Between November 9th and 10th 1938, the Jewish communities of Germany and Austria suffered Kristallnacht, the Nazis November pogrom which was the first hyper violent exposure of the Nazis murderous Jew hatred," Erdan said at the UNSC meeting.

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that Palestinians are facing an "unmatched genocidal war", calling on the United States to pressure Israel into halting its offensive on Gaza, Reuters reports.

Speaking during an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Abbas also said Palestinians needed international protection in the face of Israeli attacks.

The United Arab Emirates plans to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel despite international outcry over the mounting toll of the war in Gaza, a Reuters exclusive report states.

Abu Dhabi aims to exert moderating influence on Israel's campaign while safeguarding its interests, following the precedent set by the U.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.

This move made Abu Dhabi the most prominent Arab nation to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in three decades, leading to other Arab states normalising relations with Israel without the prerequisite of a Palestinian state.

The ongoing death toll from Israel's invasion of Gaza has sparked outrage in Arab capitals.

In retaliation to earlier rocket fire on northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted airstrikes and artillery shelling on several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, Times of Israel reports.

The IDF targeted infrastructure affiliated with the terror group, as revealed in a video released by the military.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report the successful elimination of Ahmed Siam, a Hamas commander accused of holding around 1,000 Gazan residents hostage at Rantisi Hospital, Times of Israel reports.

The operation, guided by intelligence from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate, involved the Givati Brigade directing a fighter jet to strike Siam, who led Hamas's Nasser-Radwan company, according to an IDF statement.

Official media in Lebanon reported that on Saturday, an Israeli drone carried out a strike on a vehicle deep within Lebanese territory, AFP reports.

This incident follows weeks of skirmishes primarily concentrated along border areas since the Israel-Hamas conflict began. The National News Agency (NNA) stated that the drone targeted a pick-up truck on farmland in the Zahrani area, approximately 45 kilometers from the Israeli border.

No casualties were reported. Ongoing daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah, backed by Iran, and Israel have occurred along the frontier since October 7, initiated by attacks on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Saudi Arabia will gather Arab and Muslim leaders on Saturday for an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh, as the kingdom wields its influence to press the United States and Israel for an end to hostilities in Gaza.

Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are attending the summit, which is expected to strongly condemn Israel's campaign in Gaza and call for a halt to forced displacement of Palestinians there.

Reuters

Calls for Israel to safeguard Gaza civilians escalated as clashes with Hamas intensified around hospitals serving as shelters, AFP reports.

The largest hospital, Al-Shifa, reported multiple strikes overnight, causing power loss after the generator was hit.

The director, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, highlighted challenges in responding to dozens dead and hundreds wounded due to gunfire restricting ambulance movement.

Palestinians report Israeli forces advancing, nearing Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest. Israel claims Hamas's main command center is beneath the hospital. With thousands seeking refuge in Shifa, many evacuated as Israeli troops closed in, and safe routes to the south were expanded, Times of Israel reports.

Iran president lands in Saudi for Gaza summit, says state-affiliated media, AFP reports.

The spokesperson for the Health Ministry in Gaza has announced the suspension of operations at the Al Shifa Hospital complex due to a complete depletion of fuel supplies, Reuters reports.

Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, slammed the United Nations Security Council for failing to condemn the Hamas terror attacks on Israel.

"The holy Jewish Sabbath is a day of peace and rest. It is the day on which God rested following the creation of the world yet no Jew will ever forget the Sabbath of October 7th. It has been seared into the collective trauma of the Jewish people forever. Exactly 85 years ago, today, another traumatic atrocity was burned into the Jewish people's history. Between November 9th and 10th 1938, the Jewish communities of Germany and Austria suffered Kristallnacht, the Nazis November pogrom which was the first hyper violent exposure of the Nazis murderous Jew hatred," Erdan said.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the time had come for action over the war in Gaza. "Gaza is not an arena for words. It should be for action," Raisi said at Tehran airport before departing for the summit of Arab and Islamic nations in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

In November, a poster advertising a far-right rally in Tel Aviv juxtaposed an image of two cherubic Jewish-Israeli children on a beach (presumably in a vision of a future Gaza) with the ominous policy prescriptions of “occupy, expel, settle”.

Israel faced mounting international pressure, including from its main ally the United States, to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the death toll rose and fighting intensified near hospitals.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud reiterated the Kingdom's "condemnation of the Israeli occupation authorities' violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza," Arab News reported.

In his opening remarks at the Saudi-African Summit, he said, "We stress the necessity of stopping this war and forced displacement and creating the conditions for the return of stability and peace."