Israel intensifies Gaza offensive

By Nathan Morley

A spokesperson for the Hamas run health ministry has said that operations in the Al-Shifa hospital complex have been suspended after it ran out of fuel and water.

Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the regional director of the World Health Organization, says there is a shortage of medical supplies. 'It has gone beyond our imaginations,' he said. 'It is unbelievable'.

At the same time, an advisor to the Israeli prime minister, Mark Regev, claimed that Hamas fighters were using hospitals as headquarters.

Three other major hospitals in the Gaza Strip are also now on the front line of Israel's ground invasion.

On Friday the United States said Israel would implement military pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day to allow civilians to flee.

The American President Joe Biden said the pauses, which will last four hours, were a "step in the right direction," adding that he would continue to advocate for aid to the territory.

The US National Security Council Spokesman, John Kirby, said discussions on the issue were ongoing. ‘We’d certainly like to see longer pauses to get aid in and get people out,’ he said.  

In Jerusalem, the Israeli army said there were tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians, but made clear there were no ceasefires.

At the same time, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was not seeking to capture, occupy or control the Gaza strip after the war with Hamas ends.

Israel began bombarding Gaza after Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel and abducted more than 200 others.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 11,000 people have been killed since 7 October.