November 14, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said its Gaza fuel depot is empty and – with fuel still not allowed into the enclave – its aid operation there “is gradually coming to an end.”

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, said no fuel had entered Gaza since October 7.

“Since then, we have heavily rationed the use of fuel and accessed pre-existing, limited amounts stored in a depot inside the Gaza Strip, through close coordination with Israeli authorities,” Lazzarini said. “The depot is now empty.”

“It is unbelievable that humanitarian agencies have to beg for fuel and operate on life support … I appeal to all parties to make fuel available now and stop using humanitarian assistance for political or military gains,” he added.

Israel has refused to allow fuel to enter Gaza since the Hamas October 7 attack, saying it would only be used by the militant group in its fight against Israel.

The fuel blockade has resulted in a deepening humanitarian crisis as hospitals, water systems, bakeries and other services reliant on electricity shut down.

An Israeli military spokesperson said Tuesday the fighting in the “heart of Gaza” continues as Israel claims Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza, especially Gaza City.  

Hagari also said the total number of Israeli soldiers killed since October 7 stands at 366.  

Asked whether Israel would expand the incursion to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, Hagari responded:

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have fired ballistic missiles toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Tuesday.

The group’s military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yehya Saree, said the launch had come “24 hours after another military operation carried out by our armed forces with drones on the same targets," according to a statement on their official Telegram channel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Tuesday that its Arrow aerial defense system had intercepted a missile “in the area of the Red Sea” and it had not crossed into Israeli territory.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have claimed several missile and drone attacks against Israel and warned further strikes would come.

Asked about the Houthi launches at a news conference on Tuesday evening, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesperson, said Israel was “monitoring this matter along with the US and other countries in the region threatened by the Houthis for years.”

As winter approaches and Gaza's health system is collapses under the weight of Israel's war on Hamas, a United Nations children's aid organization said Tuesday there is a "massive concern" that waterborne and respiratory diseases will run rampant through the besieged enclave's underage population.

Toby Fricker, UNICEF spokesperson, said the organization has already received reports of rising levels of dehydration and more than 30,000 cases of diarrhea, including among UNICEF staff's children.

"The big concern now is to stop another catastrophe, meaning outbreaks of diseases, particularly as winter is approaching and today with the first rains inside the Gaza Strip," Fricker said.

He also warned about the extreme psychological stress Gazan children are going through and the immediate and long-term consequences of that trauma.

The spokesperson said the critical thing now is to try to alleviate some of the suffering that people living in "horrific conditions" are enduring by massively increasing the scale of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Egyptian officials are working to bring 36 newborn babies from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza to Egypt, according to the country's health minister.

The health ministry is trying to coordinate the transfer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said Tuesday.

“We've been asked to receive 36 newly-born neonates in incubators,” Abdel Ghaffar said, adding that he is working with his team and other officials to get them into Egypt "as soon as possible."

"I have 36 ambulances equipped with portable ventilators waiting on the border to receive those kids … (and) get them immediately to our hospitals," Abdel Ghaffar said.

The health minister said the transfer itself would be dangerous and having movable incubators ready in the ambulances is critical. He said was told by the PRCS that it was attempting to put three babies in one incubator “because they don’t have that much source of energy to support.” 

The minister said Egypt’s Red Crescent was ready at the Rafah border crossing to receive the babies.

The 3-year-old United States citizen being held hostage by Hamas has been identified as Abigail Edan, a family member said.

Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, the child’s great aunt, says Abigail is the child President Joe Biden was referring to in a recent call with the Emir of Qatar. 

The White House did not disclose additional information about the toddler. However, a White House official said the toddler is the youngest American hostage and the only known US minor child currently being held.

Abigail’s father, Roy Edan, was holding her outside their home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas terrorists began their attack on October 7, Naftali told CNN.

“Abigail’s siblings saw their mother being killed by Hamas terrorists in their home. They ran out to their father, who was holding Abigail, and he was murdered,” she said, adding that her niece, Smadar Edan — the child's mother — had also been killed in the attack.

Naftali relayed accounts she heard from the siblings — ages 10 and 6 — as they recalled running back inside their home and locking themselves in a closet for over 12 hours. The children believed their younger sister was dead until the family heard from a witness of the attack, Naftali said.

Naftali said the husband was injured while defending the kibbutz and a witness told the family that they saw a terrorist taking the wife and their three children along with Abigail away from the home.

President Biden discussed the war in Gaza and efforts to free hostages with the Emir of Qatar on Sunday.

"The two leaders agreed that all hostages must be released without further delay," the White House said in a readout from the call.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers — including Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Joni Ernst — joined hands on stage in a show of unity at the pro-Israel rally in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, where they all pledged support for Israel. 

The Republican-led House passed a bill to provide aid to Israel, but the Senate Democrats are objecting to the measure because it does not include further aid to Ukraine, putting the two chambers at odds. The House bill funds the aid to Israel through spending cuts targeting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

In his own remarks, Johnson said calls for a ceasefire were "ridiculous," prompting the crowd to chant, "no ceasefire."

Jeffries, meanwhile, said Congress will continue to support Israel’s “unequivocable right to exist as a Jewish state. Always and forever." And Ernst declared unwavering support for “our Jewish brothers and sisters," encouraging Americans to “stand steadfastly in your solidarity.”

The White House and the Pentagon said Tuesday that Hamas is storing weapons and operating a command center from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

The remarks echo claims made by Israel that there's a Hamas command center underneath Al-Shifa, which is the largest hospital in the enclave. Palestinian hospital officials and Hamas have rejected the claims.

The Pentagon also said the US has newly declassified intelligence that claims to show that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using hospitals — including Al-Shifa — as a “way to conceal and support their military operations and hold hostages."

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh declined multiple times to expand on how the US came to have that assessment, but said there are "multiple agencies that collect and assess and analyze intelligence."

Kirby also cited a “variety” of intelligence sourcing to back up the assertion that Al-Shifa Hospital is being used by Hamas, though he wouldn’t provide further details.

Still, Kirby said the US has been clear that it does not support Israel bombing medical facilities from above.

“We do not support striking a hospital from the air,” Kirby said, adding the US also does not want “firefights” where innocent people seeking medical care are caught in the crossfire.

“This just points out how challenging the military operation is because Hamas has deeply embedded itself within the civilian population,” Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One, saying it added an “extra burden” on Israel to protect civilians.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Tuesday that Hamas has lost control in northern Gaza, including in Gaza City. 

Ground operations will continue, the defense minister said, and the Israeli army will “keep advancing, both today and over the next days, in order to fulfill the tasks in accordance with the cabinet’s directives."