Morning Briefing: Nov. 15, 2023

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA)- Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including the storming of Al-Shifa hospital by Israeli forces, a lack of fuel hindering UN aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, and Hamas rejecting Israel’s call to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• Israeli forces storm Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital

The Israeli army stormed Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City early Wednesday.

The head of the burns department at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex said Israeli tanks and bulldozers were inside the complex, reported Al Jazeera.

Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli army said it had launched a military operation in “a certain part” of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Hamas said it held Israel and US President Joe Biden fully responsible for the repercussions of the storming of the complex and the safety of the medical staff as well as the displaced people taking shelter there.

• Fuel shortage halts UN aid delivery to Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA was not able to receive aid that entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday through the Rafah border crossing due to a lack of fuel, its commissioner-general said late Tuesday.

“No fuel has entered Gaza since 7 Oct. Our trucks were not able to receive aid coming through the Rafah crossing today,” said Philippe Lazzarini.

He warned that the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip, on which over 2 million people are dependent, is gradually coming to an end.

• Hamas rejects Israeli call for displacing Gaza’s population

Palestinian resistance group Hamas rejected Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich comments Tuesday in favor of displacement of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“We tell Smotrich and his like that we are the ones who will stay on this land,” senior Hamas member Osama Hemdan said a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

He accused the Israeli army of deliberately targeting hospitals to push Palestinians into “forced migration.”

Egypt called the remarks by the Israeli official “irresponsible.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Israel on Tuesday to exercise maximum restraint for the protection of civilians in Gaza, saying the killing of women and babies "has to stop."

• Lebanon filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against Israel’s targeting of Lebanese journalists, its Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said Tuesday.

• Hamas claimed Tuesday to have killed seven Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip from “point-blank range” north of Gaza City. Israel says 49 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 27.

• The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip has surged to 11,320 people, the government media office said on Tuesday, with the victims including 4,650 children and 3,145 women.

• Families of Israelis held captive by Hamas staged a march in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to demand the release of their relatives held hostage in Gaza.

• Lebanese group Hezbollah said Tuesday that it had struck Israeli military sites near the border with Lebanon amid rising tensions along the countries’ shared frontier.

• More than 60 left-wing politicians from Europe and Latin America signed a petition calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Israeli leaders for genocide.

• Israel’s war cabinet met Tuesday night to discuss a deal to release Israelis being held captive by the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Channel 13 reported.

• Nearly 15,000 babies are expected to be born in Gaza between Oct. 7 and the end of 2023, all of them at “grave risk amid escalating violence" and with “medical care, water and food at crisis levels,” said Save the Children.

• More than 400 US government officials from 40 government agencies sent a letter Tuesday to President Joe Biden opposing his support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip, and demanding a cease-fire

• France's Senate passed a bill Tuesday seeking to control immigration by toughening measures and making it easier for authorities to expel foreigners who commit crimes.

SPORTS

• UEFA initiates proceedings against Kosovo for booing Israel’s national anthem

UEFA, the governing body of European football, initiated proceedings against the Kosovo Football Federation due to booing and whistling during Israel’s national anthem on Sunday, local media reported.

Kosovo beat Israel 1-0 on Sunday in a Group I qualifying match to seal a spot in UEFA EURO 2024.

Kosovo fans booed Israel's national anthem during the pre-match ceremony.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Annual US consumer inflation at 3.2% in October

Annual consumer inflation in the US came in at 3.2% in October, slowing from a 3.7% gain in September, according to figures released Tuesday.

The figure was also lower than expectations of a 3.3% increase, year-on-year.

The consumer price index (CPI) showed an annual increase of 3.7% in August.

• High interest rates reducing credit growth in developed countries: Fitch

High interest rates are reducing credit growth in developed countries, according to a report released Tuesday by Fitch Ratings.

"Lending growth to households and corporates is declining swiftly in Europe, the US, Australia and Canada as monetary tightening takes hold," said the report.

"Bank lending in Spain and Italy is contracting in annual terms, while in France and Germany, it is decelerating rapidly."