Israeli forces searched the grounds of southern Gaza’s Nasser Hospital hospital Friday, a day after raiding the complex. The hospital’s generators stopped working after the raid, the Hamas-controlled Gazan health ministry said, and five patients in intensive care died when their oxygen was cut off.
Israel’s military said it took control of the hospital because it had intelligence that there were Israeli hostages and hostages’ bodies in the hospital. So far, no hostages or their bodies from the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel have been found at the site, according to Israeli military officials.
Gaza’s health ministry has accused the Israelis of disrupting the care of the hospital’s patients when they raided the building. The Israelis have denied that claim.
Meanwhile, Egypt is building a wall near its border with Rafah, the southern Gazan location teeming with over a million Palestinians who have been forced out of their homes by the Israeli offensive.
Satellite pictures reveal that Egypt is also bulldozing land in the area. Israel has announced it plans to launch an invasion into Rafah. Egypt has said it would not open its border to Gazans, but news of the wall and the adjusting of the ground could indicate that Egypt may be ready to reverse that decision.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media early Friday that recognition of a Palestinian state “would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism.”
His comments came after talking with U.S. President Joe Biden and an Israeli Cabinet meeting, as well as a Washington Post report that the United States and its Arab allies plan to promote a two-state resolution to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding permanent arrangements with the Palestinians,” Netanyahu posted on X, formerly Twitter.
He wrote that any arrangements with the Palestinians “will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.”
In southern Israel, six people were wounded in a shooting at a bus stop Friday. The shooter was killed by police. At least two victims are reported to have died.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
