Only generator at Gaza's largest hospital shuts down Endangering lives of 90 patients

The only electric generator of the hospital "Al-Amal" in the Gaza Strip has stopped operating.

The generator failure has had a serious impact on the work of the hospital and the organisation's headquarters, Gazeta.ru reports, citing the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

According to the PRCS, the non-operating generator has also threatened the lives of 90 patients, 25 of whom are in the medical rehabilitation department, and there are now risks to their lives.

In addition, about 9,000 displaced people have taken shelter in the hospital premises.

The hospital is currently using a very small generator to power only the maternity ward and emergency lighting and the remaining fuel is expected to run out within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Israel side has said it recorded a decrease in the intensity of Hamas rocket attacks.

After almost six weeks of war, Israel has noted a significant decrease in the intensity of rocket attacks by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.

In the first few hours after the Hamas attack on October 7, more than 3,000 rockets were fired into Israel, allowing the militants to penetrate the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. After the declaration of war and the start of air and ground operations against Hamas, some 7,000 rockets were fired at Israel, but at a much lower intensity.

At the beginning of the war in Israel, air alerts were so frequent that residents of many localities had to flee to bomb shelters several times a day. The situation changed after five weeks.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) figures show that between October 7 and 14, there were more than 3,500 warnings of rocket fire and the danger of drone attacks. From October 29 to November 4, the number of air alerts issued dropped to 582, and from November 5 to 12 there were 455.

The IDF believes Hamas is preparing for a long war and continues to stockpile rockets. However, the group is having considerable difficulty launching attacks from the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military controls a significant amount of territory.

Moreover, the Israeli authorities said at least 98 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on November 13 through the Rafah crossing.

Some 42 trucks delivered to the enclave 963 tonnes of food, 14 - 176 tonnes of medical equipment, 19 - 380 tonnes of water, 15 - 225 tonnes of basic necessities for the organisation of the work of temporary accommodation points, another 8 - 137 tonnes of mixed cargo.

The delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip began on October 21, two weeks after the Middle East conflict began to escalate.

At the same time, Abu Ubeida, a spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, stated that Qatar is working to secure an exchange between the group and Israel that would include the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women from Israeli prisons in exchange for 50-70 hostages - all women and children.

As part of the exchange, Hamas has requested a five-day truce. It includes a ceasefire and permission to deliver humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ubeida said Israel had asked Hamas for the release of 100 women and children, but the group's counter-offer was for fewer hostages. "But the enemy is still slow regarding this offer," said a spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades.

In addition, foreign policy columnist David Ignatius said that Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas are close to reaching agreements that would allow the release of most of the Israeli women and children seized by the militants on October 7.

According to them, if the final details are agreed upon, the agreement could be announced within days.

According to preliminary agreements, Israeli women and children will be released in groups at the same time as Palestinian women and youths held in Israeli prisons.

Israel is demanding the release of all 100 women and children abducted from Israeli territory. The militants are likely to release 70, the article noted. At least 120 Palestinian women and youths are in Israeli prisons, it is not known how many will be released, the paper said.

An Israeli official said the hostage and prisoner exchange will be accompanied by a temporary ceasefire, possibly for five days. This will allow Israelis to move safely through the Gaza Strip. The arrangements will also increase international aid to the Palestinian enclave's civilian population and ease the humanitarian crisis, the Igneisha interlocutor explained.

Israel supports US President Joe Biden’s inclusion of humanitarian aid for Gaza in the $106 billion national security package that he presented to Congress last month to fund Washington’s security support for Israel and Ukraine, a senior Israeli official said.

However, the official clarifies that this support from Jerusalem is conditioned on the aid meeting specific criteria, which Israel is raising with US lawmakers who are currently working to advance the aid package.

These include differentiating between short-term, emergency assistance, which must be fully coordinated with Israel, and funding for rehabilitating Gaza after the war. Israel is also asking for post-war funding to include aid that will help bolster Egypt’s border with Gaza to ensure that the enclave is not re-militarized in a “post-Hamas Gaza,” according to a senior Israeli official.

The senior official’s comments are the first time that Israel has publicly weighed in on the aid package that Biden presented to Congress last month.

House Republicans rejected the proposal and advanced an alternative package that included the same $14 billion in security assistance for Israel but left out the $61 million for Ukraine, as well as the $9 billion in humanitarian aid. The Senate’s Democratic majority along with the White House have vowed not to pass the GOP version, which included massive cuts to the IRS, leading to an ongoing deadlock.

The senior Israeli official is careful not to weigh in on the debate between Democrats and Republicans but says Jerusalem is not opposed to US security aid for Israel being tied to aid for Ukraine.

On November 13, launches were identified from Lebanon toward an IDF post in the area of Kibbutz Malkia in northern Israel. One launch was intercepted by the Aerial Defense Array and the rest fell in an open area.

In response to the launches from Lebanon toward Israel on November 13 evening IDF fighter jets struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon. The military targets struck include a number of operational command centres in which Hezbollah terrorists operated.