November 13, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

The Gaza Strip is facing an imminent, complete halt of communications and internet services by Thursday, the Palestinian telecommunication minister said Sunday. 

The expected interruption is due to the depletion of fuel supplies and is expected to exacerbate the ongoing humanitarian crisis by hindering Palestinians’ ability to reach emergency, relief and rescue services, according to Ishaq Sidr, the minister of telecommunications and information technology.

An outage could prevent Civil Defense and Red Crescent teams from coordinating a response to emergency sites, Sidr said at a news conference from the occupied West Bank.

Any interruption between the crews of these groups on the ground and their centers of communication "may cause the inability to direct these crews to distress sites, which means the loss of many lives, and deliberately depriving our people in Gaza of their right to communicate, especially in light of the displacement and continuous bombing,” Sidr said. 

The minister characterized these developments as a “violation of international law and basic human rights.” 

Since Friday morning, CNN hasn’t been able to reach Palestinians in northern Gaza via the internet, although regular phone calls have been possible despite frequent disconnections. In southern Gaza, intermittent internet access is still available. 

At least 102 United Nations staff members have been killed in Gaza since the war began, a UN aid agency operating in the enclave said Monday.

"In the last 24 hours, one UNRWA staff member was killed with her family in the north of the Gaza Strip due to strikes," bringing the death toll to more than 100, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement. 

At least 27 staff members have also been injured since the start of the war, it said.

United Nations offices around the world lowered their flags to half-mast on Monday and all UN staff held a moment of silence to mourn and honor their colleagues who lost their lives in Gaza, according to the statement.

The White House sought to clarify comments from President Joe Biden on Monday that hospitals “must be protected” in Gaza. It comes as Israel defended military action around the Al-Shifa hospital, saying Hamas has a command and control center under the enclave's largest hospital.

Biden was referring to "this extra burden that faces the IDF as they go into Gaza – because Hamas does shelter themselves behind civilian infrastructure," said John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. This includes places like hospitals, schools or tunnels under residential buildings, he said.

Hamas operating this way places civilians in Gaza at greater risk, which is a tough problem for the IDF when “legitimate targets” are buried inside civilian infrastructure, Kirby said.

Remember: Biden on Monday expressed concern about the enclave's hospitals.

“Well, you know, I have not been reluctant expressing in my concern with what's going on, and it’s my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospitals, we’re in contact with the Israelis,” the president said.

Biden added that there is an effort to take “this pause to deal with the release of prisoners, and that's being negotiated as well, and the Qataris are engaged, so I remain somewhat hopeful, but the hospitals must be protected.”

Indonesia's president is calling on the United States to do more to stop “atrocities” in Gaza and advocated for a ceasefire in the conflict.

The US president did not respond to Widodo’s comments on Gaza, but he touted a number of steps the two countries have taken “taking our relationship to launching the highest level of cooperation."

Biden called it a "comprehensive strategic partnership … to mark a new era of relations between the United States and Indonesia across the board, affecting everything.”

The US president pointed to new efforts to expand military cooperation, “particularly maritime cooperation,” and efforts to build a more secure supply chain and fight climate change.

Some background: Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Before traveling to Washington, DC, Widodo met with Arab and Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia.

Before coming to the US, Jakarta he would convey to Biden the outcomes of the Riyadh summit, where leaders criticized Israel.

"I will be delegated to tell President Joe Biden that the Hamas-Israel war should immediately be stopped,” Widodo previously said, according to Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged disagreements within the State Department over the Biden administration’s approach to Israel-Hamas war in an email to staff Monday.

His message to personnel, sent on the heels of his recent travels, comes amid growing anger and dissent not only from staff at the State Department but within the broader Biden administration.

CNN reported last week that hundreds of personnel at the US Agency for International Development signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and there are reports of a “dissent memo” inside the State Department.

Last month, a State Department official publicly resigned in protest of the administration’s policy on the Israel-Hamas war. 

The top US diplomat noted that “some people in the Department may disagree with approaches we are taking or have views on what we can do better.”

The State Department head then noted that forums have been organized in Washington, DC, so that employees can provide feedback.

In his email, Blinken provided an overview of his trip to the Middle East and Asia last week, saying that the US’ “overarching objective remains the same: to bring this terrible conflict to a close as quickly as possible, while standing by Israel’s right and obligation, in full accordance with international humanitarian law, to ensure a terrorist attack like October 7th never happens again.”

HuffPost was the first to report on Monday’s email.

At a State Department briefing Monday, spokesperson Matt Miller noted that “the State Department, like every organization, not just in government but around the world, contains people with a diversity of views.” 

“One of our strengths as an organization is that we have that diversity of views and that we welcome people to make those views known,” Miller said. He said that Blinken has met with a number of people "from all ranks of the department, from different bureaus in the department, to hear exactly what they think about our policy, both with respect to Israel and its conflict with Hamas, and with respect to other matters, including very controversial matters.”

US President Joe Biden has expressed concern for hospitals in Gaza amid Israeli allegations that Hamas is using them to coordinate attacks.

Earlier on Monday, a US official with knowledge of American intelligence said Hamas has a command node under the Al-Shifa hospital, echoing the Israel Defense Forces' accusations that the militant group is directing rocket attacks and commanding operations from bunkers underneath the building.

"When medical facilities are used for terror purposes, they are liable to lose their protection from attack in accordance with international law," an IDF spokesperson said two weeks ago, appearing to suggest such hospitals are on Israel’s target list. 

Biden on Monday expressed concern about the enclave's hospitals.

Biden added that there is an effort to take “this pause to deal with the release of prisoners, and that's being negotiated as well, and the Qataris are engaged, so I remain somewhat hopeful, but the hospitals must be protected.”

Some background: On Sunday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, said hostilities around Al-Shifa “have not stopped,” with constant bombardment preventing evacuations and making it too dangerous for ambulance journeys.

A freelance journalist told CNN the situation is dire, with medics working by candlelight, food being rationed, and other resources dwindling.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CNN there's "no reason" patients can't be evacuated from Al-Shifa. Israel opened an evacuation corridor there Sunday, but the International Committee of the Red Cross said no one left through it. The hospital director says people are afraid to step outside.

US President Joe Biden will discuss the Israel-Hamas war during his meeting this week with China's President Xi Jinping in San Francisco, a top administration official said Monday.

The conflict will be among several topics on the agenda for the meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine will also be discussed, Sullivan said.

Some context: For several years now, US officials have stressed that China is the US’ top competitor — deemed “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge” in last year’s National Security Strategy.

Last month, Xi last month called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, a step the US has resisted taking.

Biden has been under growing pressure domestically and abroad over US support of Israel. While the administration has resisted calls for a ceasefire, officials have worked to ramp up aid going into Gaza and pushed for humanitarian pauses to allow more assistance to flow into the enclave and to allow civilians to flee from the fighting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday doubled down on Israel’s war against Hamas, vowing that Israel will see the “war to the end.”  

Some more context: Netanyahu on Sunday refused to answer whether he would take responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7 attack on Israel, saying that there would be time for such “difficult” questions once the war is over.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Netanyahu acknowledged that it is “a question that needs to be asked,” but that the country for now needs to unite around the goal of defeating Hamas – the militant group that controls Gaza and launched the assault on Israel.

“We’re going to answer all these questions,” the prime minister said, adding that, “Right now, I think what we have to do is unite the country for one purpose; to achieve victory.”

Gaza has faced frequent disruptions in communications and three near-total blackouts since Israel began to expand ground operations on October 27.

Hospitals in the north of Gaza — including the enclave's largest, Al-Shifa — are struggling to report their conditions from the inside with little internet service available or electricity. Humanitarian agencies have expressed concerns for the safety of the medical staff and difficulties providing care.