Israeli death toll drops to 1,200 says foreign minister; 100,000 displaced in Gaza: Day 35 of the Hamas-Israel war

Thank you for following our LIVE coverage of Day 34 of the Hamas-Israel war.

We'll be back tomorrow with more news updates and analysis, right here at L'Orient Today.

BREAKING: Israel's death toll from the Oct.7 Hamas attacks was revised from 1,400 to 1,200, says Israel's foreign minister Lior Haiat, AFP reports.

"This is the updated number. It is due to the fact that there were a lot of corpses that were not identified and now we think those belong to terrorists ... not Israeli casualties," Haiat claims.

The Lebanese army releases a statement to clarify rumors regarding an American plane landing last night in Beirut airport claiming it carried American soldiers. The Lebanese army said that the plane was part of a "routine flight" in which military aid is donated. They also indicate that the flight is used to transport military personnel to the Lebanese army base in Hamat, northern Lebanon.

In Beirut today, more than 500 protestors marched in solidarity with the Palestinians from al-Manara to Ain al-Mreisseh, according to our photographer Mohamad Yassine who attended the demonstration.

This "parental peace march," attended by dozens of parents accompanied by their children, was launched by civilian activists.

They held signs on which were written phrases such as "Don't normalize genocide by remaining silent, speak out" and 'Empathy and humanity versus indifference and greed, what values do you want to teach your children?"

Israel's military spokesperson states that various efforts are underway to release hostages held in Gaza, reports Reuters.

"More than 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza have moved from the north to the south of the strip in the last two days," says the spokesperson.

Israel is shelling areas around the border villages of Kfar Hamam (Hasbaya), Majdil Zoun (Sour), and Aita al-Shaab (Nabatieh), residents and representatives of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour.

In case you missed it:

Nearly 1,500 Hezbollah fighters present “within the ranks of the Syrian regime’s army” have been withdrawn, local sources told Anadolu, the official Turkish news agency. The source added that the party, a loyal supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, re-summoned fighters from different parts of Syria over the past two weeks.

Read our coverage here.

An area located between the south Lebanon border villages of Yater and Kafra in Bint Jbeil district is currently being bombarded by the Israeli army, the head of the municipality of Yaret told L'Orient Today.

Witnesses told AFP that hundreds of people sheltering at Gaza City's Al-Rantisi hospital fled on instruction from the Israeli military, which was surrounding it with armored vehicles.

At least 20 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli airstrike on al-Buraq school in Gaza City, earlier today, says the director of al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, in a Reuters report.

The south Lebanon border village of Houla, Marjeyoun district is currently being shelled by the Israeli army, residents of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour.

Israel bombed al-Shifa Hospital buildings five times since Thursday night, killing one and wounding 20, according to Reuters and a statement from the Gaza Health Ministry on their official telegram. "They shelled the maternity department and the outpatient clinics building," the ministry's spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra says.

In the wake of the blasts, witnesses say many people are starting to leave the grounds of the facility fearing further strikes.

Israel has warned people to evacuate, but Qidra say it's impossible. "We are talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 children in intensive care units, hundreds of wounded and patients, and tens of thousands of displaced people," he said.

Three aircraft crossed over into Israeli territory from Lebanon, the air defense fighters intercepted one aircraft, two other aircraft fell in the northern area, Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on X around 4:20 pm.

Three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the road used for evacuations from north to south Gaza, Gaza health officials say, Reuters reports. This comes after yesterday's announcement from the White House that Israel would implement four-hour pauses in fighting for civilians to move south.

The head of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) says that more than 100 of its staff had been killed in the war in Gaza, AFP reports.

"Devastated. Over 100 UNRWA colleagues confirmed killed in one month. Parents, teachers, nurses, doctors, support staff," UNWRA head Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

Hezbollah announces it attacked and "directly hit" an Israeli infantry group in the Israeli moshava of Shtula at 3:25 p.m. "with guided missiles."

One Palestinian killed, 19 injured in shooting by Israeli forces at al-Quds Hospital, in Tel al-Hawa area, northern Gaza, Palestinian Red Crescent says, according to a report from Reuters. The non-profit organization describes violent clashes currently ongoing at the hospital.

Hezbollah announces they "directly hit" two gatherings of Israeli forces at 2:30 p.m. in an area that is facing the Lebanon border village of Marwahine and another position facing the border village of Dhaira, both located in Sour district, and says it was done "in support of our resistant Palestinian people in Gaza."

Hezbollah further announces it targeted another Israeli position at 2:55 p.m. in the Israeli village of Hunin, adding it also "directly hit the target."

The vicinity of the south Lebanon border village of Yarine, Sour district, was struck by the Israeli army earlier, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told L'Orient Today.

Gaza's health ministry says that 11,078 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. 7, AFP reports.

An Israeli security officer directs a Muslim Palestinian man where to stand as he takes part in Friday Noon prayers in East Jerusalem's neighborhood of Ras al-Amud, on November 10, 2023, following an age restriction by Israeli security to above 50-year-old to worshippers wanting to access the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Credit: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)

Dhaira village in southern Lebanon has been the target of Israeli bombardments, witnesses living on the outskirts of the village, which lies on the border with Israel, told L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon. They also reported observing rockets being fired from Lebanon towards the Jardah point in Israel.

An emergency doctor at Mais al-Jabal governmental hospital suffered a minor injury in his leg caused by a shard of glass, Doctor Hussein Yassin, the hospital's director told L'Orient Today.

Yassin added that the bombing damaged medical equipment in the emergency room, shattered many of the hospital's windows, and created a hole in one of the building's walls.

Residents in the area said they heard artillery shelling on the outskirts of Al-Adaisseh and the outskirts of Kfar Kila, L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon reported.

Hamas fired rockets deep into Israel, causing sirens in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas to go off, in what the militant group called a response to the growing civilian casualties in Gaza, Reuters reported.

Two women were treated for shrapnel wounds.

According to the Israeli military, as they have pushed further into Gaza, fewer rockets have been launched at Israel.

Mais al-Jabal's government hospital has been targeted by two Israeli bombardments, with no casualties, the head of the town's municipality told L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in the same town, strikes also hit seven houses, which had been evacuated. Dozens of shells also continued to fall in the vicinity of Mais al-Jabal.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, called for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel Friday, according to Reuters.

"We condemn what the Gaza Strip is facing from military assault, targeting of civilians, the violations of international law by the Israeli occupation authorities," bin Salman said during an African-Saudi summit being held in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

"We stress on the need to stop this war and the forced displacement of Palestinians," the crown prince added.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss the ongoing war in Gaza and to attempt to chart a path forward that would bring about an end to the fighting, Reuters reported.

According to a statement released by Sisi's office, the two discussed different ways to calm the situation in Gaza and provide humanitarian relief to the estimated 2.3 million people trapped in the besieged enclave.

The Qataris added that the two leaders' "joint efforts to stop the aggression against Gaza, reduce escalation and bring in urgent humanitarian aid" were also discussed during the meeting.

Turkey sent field hospitals and other equipment to Egypt to help treat injured Palestinians in Gaza, according to Reuters.

"A total of 51 containers of medical supplies, generators and 20 ambulances, with necessary permissions, were loaded onto a ship from Izmir's Alsancak port and sent to Egypt," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

"As part of the aid, a fully equipped heavy-climate type field hospital with operating rooms and intensive-care units and inflatable type field hospitals were sent," he added.

The shipment is expected to reach Egypt by Saturday.

Gaza has been in increasingly desperate need of medical assistance as many of its hospitals are no longer operable due to a lack of fuel or supplies while others have become under bombardment by Israel.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, called for an end to the "carnage" in the Gaza Strip and an end to the siege imposed by Israel on this territory.

"Razing entire neighborhoods is not a response to the heinous crimes committed by Hamas. On the contrary, it creates a new generation of aggrieved Palestinians who are likely to perpetuate the cycle of violence. The carnage must simply stop," he declared in a press briefing, according to a UNRWA press release sent to the media on Friday.

“The siege of Gaza must end and continued humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into the Gaza Strip without restrictions,” he added.

Over three thousand worshippers responded today to the call from Dar el-Fatwa and the Saida Waqf for a rally in support of Gaza.

Men, women and children gathered in Saida's municipal stadium to pay tribute to the Palestinians.

"We closed the mosques and called for a unified Friday prayer to say no to genocide," Sheikh Abdallah al-Baqri told L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon.

"Be ashamed, you leaders, when you stand and watch the murder of children and women," said Youssef el-Masri, who joined the public prayer. "Open the borders so that we can fight," the man who came with his son to express his solidarity continued.

Hezbollah has announced the killing of seven of its fighters. Their names are: Ali Khalil al-Ali, from the southern Lebanon village Maleekh, Mohamad Ali Assaf from Boudai village in Bekaa, Abed al-Latif Souweydan from Yater village in South Lebanon, Mohammad Tleis from Bretal in Bekaa, Jawad Hashem from Khiam in South Lebanon, Jaafar Sarhan from Mashghara in Bekaa, and Mohammad Awada from Jouya in South Lebanon.

Hezbollah did not specify the date and place of the killing. The total number of Hezbollah fighters who were killed in skirmishes in southern Lebanon since Oct. 8 now stands at 72 according to our count.

Israel fired three shells on the outskirts of Labouneh village in the western sector of southern Lebanon, L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon reported citing a security source.

A spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) said that al-Shifa Hospital has come "under bombardment" and that 20 hospitals in Gaza are no longer operational, according to Reuters.

Al-Jazeera reported that the al-Rantisi hospital complex, which is near al-Shifa, has been surrounded by Israeli tanks.

Israel claims that Hamas has a command center near al-Rantisi and al-Shifa.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for bombing raids targeting a group of Israeli soldiers at the Assi position, opposite the village of Mais al-Jabal in southern Lebanon.

Residents of Mais al-Jabal told L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon that shelling had targeted the outskirts of their village, without specifying whether these were Israeli strikes.

For its part, the Israeli army claimed that anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon towards Israel, which it retaliated against, Haaretz reported.

The Hamas-led government in Gaza said 13 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured in an Israeli strike Friday on the al-Shifa hospital complex, the largest in the enclave, reported AFP.

“Thirteen martyrs and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on the Al-Shifa compound today” in the center of Gaza City, said Salama Maarouf, the head of the Hamas press office.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the operation.

Russia announced on Friday the sending of 25 tons of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip from neighboring Egypt.

“A special plane of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry delivered 25 tons of humanitarian aid to the Arab Republic of Egypt,” the Russian ministry said in a statement on Telegram. “The humanitarian cargo has already been handed over to representatives of the Egyptian branch of the Red Crescent,” he added. “More Russian aid will be sent to the residents of the Gaza Strip.”

The ministry, however, did not specify when this aid should be delivered to civilians.

Since Oct. 19, Russia, which calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state while maintaining long-standing relations with Israel, has repeatedly sent tens of tons of humanitarian aid to residents of the Gaza Strip. via Egypt.

While on a trip to India, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the daily pauses in fighting in Gaza all the while saying that more needs to be done to protect Palestinian civilians in the besieged enclave, AFP reported.

"Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many who 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," the top US diplomat said from the Indian capital New Delhi.

"I think some progress has been made," he added. "But I was also very clear that much more needs to be done in terms of protecting civilians and getting humanitarian assistance to them."

Over 10,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war on Oct. 7 with most of the dead being civilians.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian Authority is ready to assume responsibility for Gaza as part of a comprehensive political solution that encompasses the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, Reuters reported.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have become increasingly unpopular in the West Bank, where it governs, while the authority was kicked out of Gaza in 2007.

The Israeli army claimed that Hamas has its command center on the outskirts of Gaza’s Shifa Hospital and the Rantisi Hospital, The Times of Israel reported.

Reports also said special Israeli forces are operating in the area and armored forces are closing in.

Hamas has repeatedly denied claims that it uses Shifa Hospital as a base for command centers.

People started gathering at Saida's Municipal Stadium where a public prayer will be held in solidarity with Gaza, L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon reports.

Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the entrance to a factory belonging to the UK's largest weapons supplier, BAE Systems, in Rochester, Kent on Friday, Reuters reported.

The several dozen protesters were demanding an end to arms sales to Israel in the wake of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel that has left over 10,800 Palestinians dead, with health authorities saying that around two-thirds of them being women and children.

BAE said that it does not directly supply weapons to Israel but that it does produce the US F-35 fighter jet that Israel uses.

"We're horrified by the situation in Israel and Gaza and the devastating impact it's having on civilians in the region and we hope it can be resolved as soon as possible," a BAE spokesperson said.

"We respect everyone's right to protest peacefully. We operate under the tightest regulation and comply fully with all applicable defense export controls, which are subject to ongoing assessment," they added.

A large protest is planned for Saturday in London but has garnered some controversy due to it coinciding with the end of World War One which has prompted fears that there could be clashes should counter-protesters decide to go down to the streets.

Overnight and early Friday morning, Israeli bombardments on several hospitals in Gaza killed multiple civilians and injured several others, Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported.

Israeli shelling killed seven civilians and wounded several others after it targeted al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza, including tents set up in the locality for displaced families and a tent designated for journalists, according to WAFA.

An Israeli airstrike on the Old Gaza Street in northern Gaza killed two civilians and wounded others.

Israeli warplanes carried out intense airstrikes near al-Quds Hospital in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said as reported by WAFA.

Israeli fire also targeted the Rantisi Children's Hospital in western Gaza, causing a fire in its facilities. An airstrike also hit the gate of Al Nasr Children's Hospital, adjacent to the Rantisi Hospital, killing two people.

The Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, also fell victim to a series of Israeli airstrikes, according to WAFA.

In a joint statement Friday, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security service said that Israeli forces that operated in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Jabalia killed members of Hamas' Nukhba Force who participated in the attacks on Israel's south on Oct. 7, Haaretz reported.

Among the Hamas's dead are Ahmed Musa, commander of a Nukhba (Elite) Force squad who directed attacks on the Israeli army's Zikim base, Kibbutz Zikim and the military post in Iftah, and Hamas field commander Omar Alhandi.

The statement further said that Muhammad Kahlot, the head of Hamas's northern sniper unit, was also killed, as reported by Haaretz.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said that at least 19 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house near a hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Wednesday, without specifying if they were Hamas operatives or not, Reuters reported.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem has previously denied any presence of senior commanders in the Jabalia camp and called the claim an Israeli pretext for killing civilians.

A man gestures as flames rise in a field near the border village of Burj Al-Mamluk in southern Lebanon's Khiam plain following Israeli bombardment on Nov. 9, 2023. (Credit: Hassan Fneich/AFP)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday that Israel must take immediate measures to ensure that Palestinians in the West Bank are protected as they find themselves under increased attack since Israel's war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, Reuters reported.

"I also appeal, as a matter of urgency, for Israeli authorities to take immediate measures, to take steps to ensure the protection of Palestinians in the West Bank, who are being on a daily basis subjected to violence from Israeli forces and settlers, ill-treatment, arrests, evictions, intimidation and humiliation," Volker Turk stated while on a visit to the Jordanian capital Amman.

Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria, targeting an organization that it says launched a drone that later crashed into a school in southern Israel, AFP reported.

The Israeli military did not name the organization that it believes was responsible for the drone, but added it "holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for every terror activity emanating from its territory."

No injuries were reported as a result of the drone crashing into the Eilat school.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country discussed the possibility of having 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid passing into Gaza daily with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Ankara on Nov. 6, according to Reuters.

The Turkish president added that Blinken seemed receptive to the idea during his talks with Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and that Turkey would work to increase pressure on Israel to ensure "injured Palestinians could be evacuated from Gaza."

Erdogan said that his country would work to provide ambulances, food, water and medicine to Gaza in cooperation with other countries and that Turkey was willing to open up its hospitals to injured Palestinians and patients with chronic illnesses.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that the expansion of the Hamas-Israel has become "inevitable" Friday in comments cited by the foreign ministry's website, according to AFP.

"Due to the increasing intensity of the war against the civilian residents of Gaza, the expansion of the scope of the war has now become inevitable," Amirabdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during a phone call.

Iran is a major financial and military backer of Hamas.

Another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, has been involved in near-daily clashes with Israel on the Lebanese-Israeli border with major figures in Hezbollah stating that the party would remain involved in the war as long as Israel continues its offensive on Gaza. Militias affiliated with Iran in Iraq and Syria have also launched over 40 attacks on US military sites in their respective countries.

Yesterday, US Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues David Satterfield dismissed the idea that Iran and its proxies were planning on joining the war in any meaningful way.

"We do not believe that a conflict involving Lebanon and Israel is in any way inevitable," Satterfield stated. "The here and now reality is there is no indication on any side that there is an intent to precipitate a conflict or a war." 

Six Israeli shells hit the outskirts of Labbouneh, Naqoura and Alma el-Shaab in southern Lebanon this morning, L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon reported, citing security sources. On Thursday evening, a series of Israeli bombardments also targeted several villages in southern Lebanon, without causing any casualties.

Before we get started, take a minute to read today's edition of the Morning Brief to ensure that you are caught up with some of the latest news.

Israel to begin 4-hour pauses, Hezbollah targets Israeli tanks, looming power vacuum within Lebanese Army: Everything you need to know to start your Friday

Israel to begin 4-hour pauses, Hezbollah targets Israeli tanks, looming power vacuum within Lebanese Army: Everything you need to know to start your Friday

Good morning!

Welcome to day 35 of L'Orient Today's live coverage of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.