Patients die after oxygen supply is cut
FOUR intensive care patients died because their oxygen was cut off when Israeli troops stormed Gaza’s main hospital, doctors have said.
Troops were searching the facility where they believed hostages abducted by Hamas might be located.
The raid came after troops had besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff and patients inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies.
On Thursday, Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex.
Meanwhile, talks over a ceasefire appear to have stalled and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the US vision for after the war – particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state.
DICTATES
After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Mr Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept “international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians”.
He said that if other countries unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, it would give a “reward to terrorism.”
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants’ October 7 attack are freed.
Mr Biden again cautioned him against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a “credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians.
The risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group had their deadliest exchange of fire since the start of the current conflict.
A second day of Israeli airstrikes left 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters dead on Wednesday. That came in retaliation to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others.