Day 35 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Nov. 10

The intensified clashes come amid anticipation of a speech by Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Friday, Nov. 10, 2023

3:18 pm: Israel revises Oct. 7 death toll to around 1,200

Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told CBS News.

"Around 1,200 is the official number of victims of the October 7 massacre,” Haiat said in a written statement.

Israeli authorities previously reported more than 1,400 people had been killed in the attacks. Haiat said the discrepancy was because some 200 of those among the dead were “probably terrorists.”

3:15 pm: Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria as conflict with Israel rages

Hezbollah announced on Friday that seven of its fighters were killed as the Iran-backed group continues to clash with Israel. The fighters were killed in Syria early on Friday, the Associated Press reported, citing a Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security source. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X early Friday morning it had struck an unspecified group in Syria that carried out a drone attack on a school in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Thursday. Adam Lucente reports.

12:30 pm: Clashes reported near Gaza’s Al-Quds hospital

Intense clashes were taking place near Gaza City’s Al-Quds hospital on Friday afternoon local time, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

In a post on X, the PRCS said that Israel snipers were “targeting Al-Quds Hospital and firing directly at those displaced people in the building.” One person was killed and 28 injured in the clashes, most of them children, according to the PRCS.

The hospital ceased offering key services yesterday amid a lack of fuel, but continued to serve as a shelter for displaced Gazans.

In a media briefing Friday, IDF spokesperson Richard Hecht said, “The IDF does not fire on hospitals. If we see Hamas terrorists firing from the hospitals, we’ll do what we need to do.”

10:50 am: Israel prepares for long Gaza battle, but diplomatic clock ticking

The IDF is advancing more rapidly than expected in Gaza City, but international pressure for humanitarian pauses and a cease-fire continue to increase.

Although Israel continues to vehemently oppose a humanitarian cease-fire without the release of the estimated 240 hostages held in Gaza, it has given in to a White House demand for humanitarian pauses of several hours a day to allow Gaza residents to stock up on supplies and seek medical care. Ben Caspit reports.

9:00 am: Palestinians flee al-Shifa hospital, AP reports

Palestinians fled the area of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Friday after alleged Israeli strikes overnight.

The Associated Press reported that thousands of people who were sheltering in the hospital complex fled after explosions blamed on Israel. The Israel Defense Forces did not issue a comment.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said earlier that Israel struck the hospital’s courtyard and obstetrics department, according to the Associated Press. The IDF says that Hamas has a command center under the hospital that it uses to carry out military operations, a charge Hamas denies.

On Thursday, the IDF said that its forces were operating in Hamas’ “military quarter” of Gaza City, engaging in heavy fighting with Hamas militants.

8:50 am: Israeli military says 15,000 Hamas targets struck since Oct. 7 attack

The Israel Defense Forces has struck more than 15,000 Hamas targets in Gaza since the war started and located more than 6,000 weapons, including rockets, anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, firearms and ammunition, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday.

8:50 am: Death toll in Gaza passes 11,000

At least 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said in a press statement. Speaking to reporters, spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said that the ministry has received reports of 2,700 missing people thought to be trapped under rubble.

8:20 am: South Africa summons Israeli ambassador for reprimand

South Africa has called in Israeli Ambassador Eli Belotserkovsky to discuss his recent "unfortunate conduct relating to the unfolding, tragic Israel-Palestine war," South Africa's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Earlier in the week, South Africa recalled its diplomatic staff from Israel.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies has criticized calls in South Africa for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled, saying that South Africa is aligning itself with Hamas and has abandoned its support for a negotiated two-state solution.

6:10 am: Egypt’s president hosts Qatari emir for talks on Gaza violence

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad in Cairo. The two leaders discussed the ongoing Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip and ways to end the violence and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians, according to a statement by the president's office. Qatar and Egypt have been trying to mediate a cease-fire and secure the release of some 240 hostages seized by Hamas during its Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel. Sheikh Tamim’s visit to Cairo comes a day after Qatar's prime minister met in Doha with the heads of the CIA and Mossad to discuss efforts to secure the release of the hostages held in Gaza.

6:00 am: ‘Far too many’ Palestinians killed in Gaza war, Blinken says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that “far too many” Palestinian civilians have died as a result of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.

“Much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them,” Blinken told reporters in New Delhi.

The top US diplomat said pauses in Israel’s Gaza operations are a welcome step, but more is needed to minimize civilian casualties and ensure aid is reaching the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.”

6:00 am: Turkey’s Erdogan says Israel must free jailed Palestinians

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas is not averse to releasing the hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. “‘We will let them go.’ they say,” Erdogan said, but added that Israel also must release Palestinians detained by Israeli security forces.

“There are around 10,000 people held in [Israeli] prisons, including women and children. Hamas wants the release of Palestinians detained by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza, starting with women and children.” Turkey doesn’t consider Hamas a terror outfit and maintains direct channels with the militant group. Turkish officials have previously said that they were in contact with Hamas for the release of civilian hostages.

The Turkish president also said his country had concluded preparations to transfer injured Palestinians and some patients with chronic illnesses from Gaza to its hospitals for treatment. Separately, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said a ship loaded with field hospital equipment, ambulances and generators is en route to Egypt’s Al Arish port.

5:50 am: Hezbollah claims missile attack in Menara, northern Israel

Hezbollah said it fired an anti-tank missile toward Menara in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon. The Israeli army confirmed the attack and said it had retaliated by striking the source of the fire on the Lebanese side of the border.

Earlier, local media in Lebanon had reported Israeli strikes in the southern Lebanese towns of Mays al-Jabal and Ramia. The official National News Agency said an unexploded 155-caliber Israeli artillery shell had landed in the courtyard of the government hospital in Mays al-Jabal. A statement released by the Health Ministry condemned the targeting of the hospital, calling it a “serious violation of international humanitarian law.” Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire on the Lebanese border since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel and the subsequent military escalation in Gaza.

2:29 am: Dozens killed, wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital

Israeli missiles and artillery shelling struck the building housing outpatient clinics at al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, leaving dozens of dead and wounded, including women and children, according to the official WAFA news agency. At dawn, at least six people were killed in another series of Israeli airstrikes in the vicinity of the hospital, where thousands of displaced people have set up tents. The hospital has been the target of repeated Israeli bombardment since Oct. 7. Israel claims the facility houses an underground Hamas command center.

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