Weekly World News

Nov 19, 2023

West Asia/Middle East:

Fighting between Israel and Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip continued, with a particular focus on the situation at Gaza City’s Al Shifa Hospital, which has been under siege for multiple days. Israeli troops raided the hospital in search of evidence that would confirm claims made by the Israeli Defense Forces that the hospital was the “main headquarters” of Hamas operations in Northern Gaza. The results of the raid were the discovery of a small cache of weapons that Israel says were used by Hamas, as well as a cavity that Israel claims is a tunnel shaft. Israeli forces then reportedly ordered the evacuation of the 7,000 doctors, patients, and displaced people who resided in the hospital. According to the hospital’s doctors, Israeli soldiers escorted some patients out at gunpoint. However, a social media post by the Israeli army denies that an evacuation was ordered, claiming the evacuation was voluntary. The United Nations and other aid groups expressed concern regarding Israel’s siege of the hospital, with the UN’s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator stating that “hospitals are not battlegrounds.”

Israel’s continued bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of 12,300 people, including at least 6,000 children, and injuring 30,000 others, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Israel conducted two particularly deadly strikes on two different schools in Northern Gaza. The strike on the first school, Al Fakhoura, killed at least 50 people seeking shelter in the United Nations-run school. Many Gaza civilians have sought refuge in UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) schools in the hope that they would be spared from the bombing.

North America:

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held in San Francisco from Wednesday to Friday. Leaders from Asia and elsewhere met to discuss economic relations, cooperation, development, and more. While some leaders expressed the desire to focus solely on economic issues, others discussed the ongoing crisis in Gaza. A group of protesters demonstrated in the plaza outside the ferry building, many waving Palestinian flags and demanding a ceasefire.

Europe:

Russia launched multiple waves of drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv and targets elsewhere in the country. No casualties were reported, but the attacks caused power outages in several areas and damage to an oil depot in Odessa. Both sides have frequently launched drone attacks into the territory of the other, the majority of which are typically downed by air defense systems and electronic warfare technology.

Sources:

Channel - https://t.me/SputnikInt_unc2