Gaza (Reuters) – Israel faced mounting international pressure, including from its main ally the United States, to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the death toll rose and fighting intensified between Israeli forces and Hamas militants near and around hospitals.

Global calls for Israeli restraint increased as the number of Palestinians killed rose above 11,000 in a five-week-old Israeli bombardment launched against Hamas in retaliation for its deadly Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel.

In his strongest comments to date on the plight of civilians caught in the Gaza cross-fire, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on a visit to India on Friday: “Far too many Palestinians have been killed; far too many have suffered these past weeks.”

Blinken welcomed daily four-hour humanitarian pauses by Israel that the White House announced on Thursday and said more action was needed to safeguard Gaza’s civilians. But he reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel’s campaign to ensure that Gaza can no longer be used “as a platform for launching terrorism.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a BBC interview published late on Friday, said Israel must stop bombing Gaza and killing civilians. France, he said, “clearly condemns” the “terrorist” actions of Hamas, but that while recognising Israel’s right to protect itself, “we do urge them to stop this bombing” in Gaza.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said world leaders should be condemning Hamas, and not Israel. “These crimes that Hamas (is) committing today in Gaza will be committed tomorrow in Paris, New York and anywhere in the world,” Netanyahu said.

Israel has said that Hamas militants, who are holding as many as 240 hostages of different nationalities taken in last month’s attack, would exploit a truce to regroup if there were a ceasefire.

Saudi Arabia will host an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The joint meeting “will be held in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position,” it said.

Overcrowded Hospitals Hit By Explosions, Gunfire

Fighting intensified overnight into Saturday near Gaza City’s overcrowded hospitals, which Palestinian officials said were hit by explosions and gunfire.

“Israel is now launching a war on Gaza City hospitals,” said Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, director of Al Shifa hospital.

He said later that at least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Al-Buraq school in Gaza City, where people whose homes had been destroyed were sheltering.

Gaza officials said missiles landed in the courtyard of Al Shifa, the enclave’s biggest hospital, in the early hours of Friday, damaged the Indonesian Hospital and reportedly set fire to the Nasser Rantissi paediatric cancer hospital.

Israel’s military said later that a misfired projectile launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza had hit Shifa.

The hospitals are in northern Gaza, where Israel says the Hamas militants who attacked it last month are concentrated, and are full of displaced people as well as patients and doctors.

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said the Hamas headquarters was in Shifa hospital’s basement, which meant the hospital could lose its protected status and become a legitimate target.

Israel says Hamas hides weapons in tunnels under hospitals, charges Hamas denies.

‘No One Is Safe’

Israeli tanks have taken up positions around the Nasser Rantissi hospital as well as the Al-Quds hospital, medical staff said earlier.

Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said Israel had bombed Shifa hospital buildings five times.

“One Palestinian was killed and several were wounded in the early morning attack,” he said by phone. Videos verified by Reuters showed scenes of panic and people covered in blood.

World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the United Nations Security Council that a child is killed on average every 10 minutes in the Gaza Strip. “Nowhere and no one is safe,” he said.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said Israel had created a task force to establish hospitals in southern Gaza. On Oct. 12, Israel ordered some 1.1 million people in Gaza to move south ahead of its ground invasion.

Palestinian officials said on Friday that 11,078 Gaza residents had been killed in air and artillery strikes since Oct. 7.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said around 1,200 people had been killed, mostly civilians, in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, a revision of the earlier death toll, although it added that might change again once all the bodies are identified.

Israel has also said 39 soldiers have been killed in combat since Oct. 7.

The Palestinian Red Cross said Israeli forces were shooting at Al-Quds hospital, and there were violent clashes, with one person killed and 28 wounded, most of them children.

Israeli army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht said at a briefing the army “does not fire on hospitals. If we see Hamas terrorists firing from hospitals we’ll do what we need to do. We’re aware of the sensitivity (of hospitals), but again, if we see Hamas terrorists, we’ll kill them.”

Jerusalem (Reuters) – The executive director of Israeli media advocacy group HonestReporting said on Friday he accepted as “adequate” the denials by four media organisations that they had no previous knowledge of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, adding he was “so relieved”.

Reuters, the Associated Press, CNN and The New York Times issued adamant denials after HonestReporting published an article on Thursday that questioned whether Palestinian photojournalists had tipped off the four outlets, which had used their images.

HonestReporting’s Gil Hoffman told Reuters his organisation had not claimed to know that there had been any prior knowledge by the news groups of the Hamas attack.

“I was so relieved when all four of the media organisations said they didn’t have prior knowledge,” Hoffman said in an interview by telephone about the article.

“We raised questions, we didn’t give answers,” he said. “I still very much think that the questions were legitimate and the answers were adequate from the media organisations themselves.”

He added that there was nothing “problematic” with the two photojournalists from whom Reuters acquired images.

Reuters said it acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of Oct. 7 and with whom it did not have a prior relationship.

HonestReporting also distanced itself from Israeli government accusations that were sparked by its article.

“There are those who took our story and pretended that they knew the answers – the Israeli government, cabinet ministers, various Twitter personalities – we didn’t claim to know,” Hoffman said.

Reacting to the HonestReporting article posted on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry had described the use of the various images by the four news groups as “a serious violation of journalistic ethics.”

‘Shocked’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office wrote on X: “These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics.”

Danny Danon, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a former Israeli envoy to the United Nations, wrote on X after the release of the HonestReporting article that the Palestinian photojournalists should be eliminated.

“We will hunt them down together with the terrorists,” he wrote.

Hoffman said he had been “shocked” to read Danon’s comments. He also said: “There are clearly things in the prime minister’s office statement that are not based on fact. We did not say anything firmly.”

Danon and Israel’s government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment in response to Hoffman’s remarks.

“We are deeply concerned about the irresponsibility of HonestReporting in publishing such damaging accusations. Its executive director has accepted that there is no evidence to support the incendiary insinuations in the report,” Reuters said in a statement.

“The baseless speculation in HonestReporting’s post, presented as ‘raising ethical questions,’ has posed grave risks to journalists in the region, including those working for Reuters,” the news agency added.

The AP, CNN and The New York Times referred back to their previously published statements, which included denials that they had any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack.

‘Ideological Prejudice’

Hoffman, who was a veteran reporter with the Jerusalem Post newspaper before joining HonestReporting, defended his group’s decision to post its article without first seeking comment from any of the news organisations it had named.

He said that after the article was posted he had asked his team why they had not sought comment before publication.

“They said ‘well we do not claim to be a news organisation’,” he said. “With media monitoring it’s more effective (to ask for a response) afterwards, in general.”

HonestReporting describes itself on its website as “a charitable organisation” with a mission “to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel.”

Hoffman said he thought international media coverage of the ongoing war against Hamas was no longer giving prominence to the Oct. 7 events, when Hamas killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped a further 244, according to an Israeli tally.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza since then has killed more than 11,000 people, according to Palestinian figures.

“(Our) article for two days now has returned the international public discourse to Oct. 7. That alone is a very important accomplishment,” he said.

Despite HonestReporting’s suggestions that the Palestinian photojournalists had secured their images in coordination with Hamas, he said he was “happy” their pictures had been published. “Absolutely I want the world to know what happened on Oct. 7,” he said.

After speaking to Reuters, HonestReporting issued a statement saying: “We unequivocally condemn calls for violence or death threats aimed at bona fide media workers.”

Jerusalem (Reuters) – A spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the death toll from the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel had been revised to around 1,200 from a previous government estimate of 1,400.

“Around 1,200 is the official number of victims of the October 7 massacre,” spokesperson Lior Haiat said in a written statement.

Haiat said the figure had been updated on Thursday. He did not provide a reason for the revision.

The death count, which includes foreigners, “is not a final number. It (is) an updated estimate. It might change when (they) identify all the bodies,” Haiat said.

Gaza (Reuters) – Israeli air strikes hit Gaza’s biggest hospital, the Al Shifa, on Friday, killing one person and wounding others sheltering there, Palestinian officials said, one of several hospitals reported struck at dawn as Israel battles Hamas in the heart of the enclave.

Officials said other strikes had damaged parts of the Indonesian Hospital and hit vehicles outside the Rantissi cancer hospital in the northern part of Gaza, where Israel says Hamas militants who attacked it last month are concentrated.

Israeli tanks, which have been advancing through northern Gaza for almost two weeks, have taken up positions around the Rantissi, Al-Quds and Nasser Children’s hospitals, raising concern for patients, doctors and evacuees there, medical staff said.

“Israel is now launching a war on Gaza City hospitals, on Rantissi, Nasser hospitals and on Al Shifa,” Mohammad Abu Selmeyah, director of Gaza’s main Shifa hospital, told Reuters.

Israel did not immediately comment but says it does not target civilians and goes to great lengths to avoid hitting them. It says Hamas militants have hidden command centres and tunnels beneath Al Shifa and other hospitals, allegations which Hamas denies.

“While the world sees neighbourhoods with schools, hospitals, scout groups, children’s playgrounds and mosques, Hamas sees an opportunity to exploit,” the Israeli military said.

The month-old Israeli military campaign to wipe out Hamas, following the militants’ Oct. 7 raid on southern Israel, has left Gaza’s hospitals struggling to cope, as medical supplies, clean water and fuel to power generators have been running out.

Israel has faced growing calls for restraint as the Palestinian death toll increases, but says Hamas will just take advantage of any significant pause in its military campaign.

Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gaza residents had been killed as of Thursday, about 40% of them children, in air and artillery strikes.

Israel says 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 240 taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct.7 raid that triggered its assault. Israel says it has lost 39 soldiers in Gaza.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, said Israel had bombed buildings of Al Shifa hospital five times since Thursday night.

“They shelled the maternity department and the outpatient clinics building. One Palestinian was killed and several were wounded in the early morning attack,” he told Reuters.

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

But Qidra said it was impossible to clear it completely.

“There is no way that we can evacuate, there is no practical way of doing it too. 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.

Air Strikes At Dawn

Palestinian media showed video footage of the aftermath of the Al Shifa strike, with people shouting and crying and several figures covered with blood. Reuters confirmed the location as the covered, outdoor area near the hospital’s outpatient department.

A World Heath Organization spokesperson said she did not have details of Friday’s incident but quoted colleagues from the hospital as saying it had been coming under bombardment and there was “intense violence” at the site.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said an adult was killed and a child was wounded at Al Shifa, one of several medical facilities hit.

“Israel…targeted at dawn a number of hospitals in the Gaza Strip,” her statement said.

Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera television, ministry spokesman Qidra said strikes on the hospital grounds at Rantisi had set vehicles on fire but they had been partly extinguished.

A person who said they were a member of staff of Nasser Children’s Hospital posted an appeal on social media.

“We are blockaded inside the hospital by tanks, and we are exposed to heavy fire against us. We don’t have electricity, no oxygen for patients, no fresh water or salt. The situation here is very difficult and dangerous,” it said.

Indonesia said there were explosions near the Indonesian Hospital overnight, which damaged parts of the hospital, located at the northern end of the narrow coastal enclave. It did not say who was responsible for the explosion and it did not report any deaths or injuries.

“Indonesia once again condemns the savage attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.

Gaza’s health ministry has said 18 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals and 40 other health centres were out of service either due to damage from shelling or lack of fuel.

“With ongoing strikes and fighting nearby (Al Shifa), we are gravely concerned about the well-being of thousands of civilians there, many children among them, seeking medical care and shelter,” Human Rights Watch posted on social media.

U.S. Says Israel Agrees To Pauses

Israel’s military advance on central Gaza City, which brought tanks within about 1.2 kilometre (3/4 mile) of Shifa, according to residents, has raised questions about how Israel will interpret international laws on protecting medical centres and displaced people sheltering there.

The Israeli military has allowed some wounded Palestinian civilians to cross into Egypt for treatment and has announced daily windows for civilians to flee northern Gaza for the south.

Deadly air strikes on refugee camps, a medical convoy and near hospitals have already prompted fierce arguments among some of Israel’s Western allies over its military’s adherence to international law.

U.N. agencies have issued regular calls for a ceasefire, which both sides have rejected. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Turk said any use of civilians by Palestinian armed groups to shield themselves would contravene the laws of war but that such conduct did not absolve Israel of its obligation to spare civilians.

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy posted a statement saying: “Your daily reminder that Hamas HQ is located in the basement of the Shifa Hospital, and that under international law, this exposes it to lose its protected status and become a legitimate target.”