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Israel has launched an overnight raid on Gaza’s largest medical facility – al Shifa hospital – hours after the US backed claims it was being used by Hamas fighters.

Israeli forces said they entered a “specified area” of the medical complex for a “precise and targeted” operation “against Hamas“.

The raid came hours after the US backed Israel’s claims that the medical facility had been used by Hamas as a base of operations.

Hamas – which flatly denied the claims – blamed US President Joe Biden and his administration for the Israeli raid, saying that the “adopting” of the allegations had effectively given Israel the “green light” to launch the operation.

However, in a statement, the White House said it did not support air strikes on the hospital and that it “did not want to see” a firefight inside the facility.

The White House also urged that patients “must be protected” during the raid.

Israel-Gaza latest: Israeli forces enter al Shifa hospital in ‘targeted operation’

Map showing Israeli operations in Gaza
Image:
Map showing Israeli operations in Gaza

While thousands have fled the hospital since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, around 650 patients and 500 staff – along with around 2,500 displaced Palestinians – are thought to still be in al Shifa, according to UN estimates.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, said their intelligence put the number of people still inside the facility at around 1,000.

However, he told CNN that Israeli forces were “not overrunning the hospital” and instead were carrying out a targeted operation in a “specific location” of the al Shifa medical complex.

He did not give further details of the “complex” operation, but said it was a “military necessity” based on Israeli and US intelligence.

He also said IDF forces would “perhaps” rescue some of the estimated 240 hostages who were taken into Gaza during Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October.

Israel has repeatedly claimed that al Shifa – a large medical complex in Gaza City – along with other hospitals, have been used as bases by Hamas.

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari shows what he says are weapons stored by Hamas in the basement of Rantissi Hospital
Pic:Israel Defence Forces/Reuters
Image:
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari shows what he says are weapons stored by Hamas in the basement of Rantissi Hospital
Pic:Israel Defence Forces/Reuters

It has previously threatened to target al Shifa and has warned about the potential for the facility to lose its protection under international humanitarian law if used to hide fighters or store weapons.

On Monday, President Biden said that the hospital “must be protected” and said it was his “expectation” that there would be “less intrusive action”.

However, on Tuesday, the White House’s national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US had its own intelligence that showed Hamas were operating out of al Shifa.

Hamas responded to “strongly condemn and reject the claims”. However, hours later, the IDF announced it had launched its “targeted operation” at the hospital.

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What status do hospitals have in war?

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In a statement announcing the raid, the IDF said it had “publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the hospital jeopardised its protected status under international law”.

“Yesterday [Monday], the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, they did not.”

The IDF urged any Hamas fighters in the hospital to surrender immediately.

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‘Shifa hospital is Hamas HQ’

In response, Hamas said it held Israel, President Biden, and his administration, “fully responsible for the repercussions of the occupation army’s storming of the Shifa Medical Complex, and what the medical staff and thousands of displaced people are exposed to, as a result of this brutal crime against a health facility protected by international law”.

The raid came amid claims of a humanitarian crisis at the hospital, which has been encircled by Israeli troops.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said 32 patients, including three babies, had died since the hospital’s emergency generator ran out of fuel on Saturday.

This photo released by Dr. Marawan Abu Saada shows prematurely born Palestinian babies in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Gaza's Shifa Hospital has become the focus of a days-long stalemate in Israel's war against Hamas.(Dr. Marawan Abu Saada via AP)
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Premature Palestinian babies in Shifa Hospital. Pic: Dr Marawan Abu Saada via AP


On Monday, the ministry released images of about a dozen premature babies wrapped in blankets together on a bed to keep them warm.

Israel’s military said it was working to bring incubators into Gaza and on Tuesday shared an image showing a soldier unloading incubators from a van.

An images shared by the Israel Defence Forces showing an incubator being taken out of a van
Image:
An images shared by the Israel Defence Forces showing an incubator being taken out of a van

The military did not make it clear if the incubators had been delivered or how they would be powered.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, at least 11,255 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its retaliatory strikes after the 7 October attack.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

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These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

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The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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