Israel at War: What happened on day 39?

The IDF is currently undergoing operations on Al-Shifa Hospital early Wednesday morning, according to an IDF statement.

"Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Al-Shifa Hospital," the IDF statement said.

"The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians," the statement continued.

"The operation was preceded by an effort to evacuate the hospital from the sick and homeless and even opened a special passageway from it. The hospital management was informed ahead of time about the (IDF) entrance to the complex... Incubators, medical equipment, and baby food are expected to be transferred to the hospital," the statement continued.

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike near the Indonesian Hospital that ran out of fuel and electricity, in the northern Gaza Strip, November 12, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Anas al-Shareef)

Gaza's health ministry spokesperson warned early Wednesday morning of a potential Israeli raid on the enclave's Al Shifa hospital complex, saying Israel informed Gaza health officials that its forces would raid the facility – something the IDF statement seemed to confirm.

Al-Shifa Hospital's terror infrastructure

United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have used some Gaza hospitals to store weapons, hold hostages, and are prepared to fight the IDF from medical facilities.

“We have information that Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad used some hospitals in the Gaza Strip including Al-Shifa and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,” Kirby said.

“Hamas and the PIJ members operate a command and control node from Al-Shifa in Gaza City. They have stored weapons there and they are prepared to respond to an Israeli military operation against that facility," Kirby continued.

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was not fit to head the global body, saying he had not done enough to condemn terrorist group Hamas and was too close to Iran.

His comments, made at a press conference inside the UN building in Geneva, represent an intensification of Israel's criticism of the global body in the same week that the latter mourned the killing of more than 100 of its staff in Gaza.

"Guterres does not deserve to be the head of the United Nations," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said at a press conference in Geneva where he is meeting with the World Health Organization and International Red Cross leaders alongside the relatives of Israeli hostages.

"I think that Guterres like all the free nations should say clearly and loudly: free Gaza from Hamas. Everyone said Hamas is worst than ISIS. Why can he not say it?" he said.

Three people have been wounded after a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip targeted the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Tuesday afternoon, Israel's national emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA) and the police said.

The MDA quickly confirmed that two people were subsequently being treated for wounds sustained from the attack. One of the indiviuals, a 20-year-old male is in serious condition with shrapnel wounds.

The other, a 43-year old woman, is currently in moderate condition.

The head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Ghassan Alian, addressed the public in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in a video posted to his Facebook account. 

In the video, Alian, who is a member of Israel's Druze community, spoke in Arabic.

The IDF conducted an operation overnight in the West Bank Palestinian city of Tulkarm to apprehend wanted individuals, the IDF spokesperson said on Tuesday morning.

Over the course of the operation, seven terrorists were killed.

Gaza Journalist Ahmed Abd al-Salam of The Media Line presents a poignant and unfiltered
 glimpse into the lives of Palestinians affected by the recent Israel-Hamas conflict.

TML: Please state your name.

Dalia Weissman: My name is Dalia Weissman. I’m living in Moshav Maslul. It’s near Kibbutz Be’eri, where my daughter and whole family live. On October 7, many terrorists, hundreds, came into the kibbutz.

Authorities identified the body of 12-year-old Liel Hezroni in Kibbutz Be'eri on Monday. She was killed along with her aunt during Hamas's invasion of Israel and massacre of civilians on October 7. 

The identification comes shortly after Vivian Silver, 74, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist feared kidnapped since the attack, was also confirmed dead. 

Most (67%) Americans believe Israel should continue its military efforts in Gaza until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are released, according to a new HarrisX poll commissioned by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (CoP). 

The survey also found that more than eight in ten Americans expressed their belief that Israel has a responsibility to protect its citizens and strike back when necessary.

Dozens of families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza began a march on Tuesday from a protest encampment in Tel Aviv to the Office of the Rabbinate in Jerusalem. The families intend to arrive in Jerusalem Saturday night to demand a meeting with the government's war cabinet, according to a report from KAN. 

The families called on citizens across the country to join the march and to demand action for the release of all the hostages.