Gaza’s largest hospital has stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said as hundreds of patients remain trapped at this latest focal point of Israel-Hamas ground battle in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

In Gaza, 20 out of 36 hospitals are no longer functioning, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency.

.@WHO has managed to get in touch with health professionals at the Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza.

The situation is dire and perilous.

It’s been 3 days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which has severely impacted our ability to provide essential…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 12, 2023

“The WHO has managed to get in touch with health professionals at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza…the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore, said WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.”

The situation remains grim in north Gaza where hospitals are blockaded by Israeli forces and are not able to provide care to those inside. At least two newborns died at the hospital while more are at risk due to power outages, Reuters reported citing medical staff.

Thousands of Gazans have sought shelter around the Al-Shifa hospital as the battle continued in surrounding areas.

The Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City too is out of service due to lack of generator fuel, said Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel has on several instances alleged that hospitals in Gaza are being used by Hamas for their operations.

The Israel-Hamas war, the deadliest this region has ever seen, began October 7 as Hamas operatives swarmed from Gaza, killing and kidnapping Israelis and foreigners from border towns. At least 1,200 were killed in the multiple wave of attacks on Israel.

In response, the Benjamin Netanyahu government launched airstrikes on Gaza and expanded ground operations inside the strip, vowing to destroy Hamas and their military capabilities. At least 11,180 people including 4,609 children were killed in the counterattack, according to the Hamas government’s media office.

Witnesses saw “violent fighting” over the night near the hospital with sounds of small arms fire and aerial bombardments echoing across the complex, reported AFP.

Around 3,000 patients and staff are trapped at the hospital complex without adequate water and food, said the UN agencies. Besides two incubated babies, a man too died after his ventilator shut down due to power cut.

“It’s been three days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which has severely impacted our ability to provide essential care,” said the WHO head.

Al-Shifa director Mohammad Abu Salmiya also rejected Israel’s claims that their soldiers hand-delivered 300 litres of fuel to the hospital. The 300 litres would power generators for “no more than quarter of an hour” anyway, he said.

As Delhi woke up to poor air quality the morning after Diwali, Environment Minister Gopal Rai accused BJP leaders of pushing people to burst firecrackers despite the air emergency in the capital. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi had been hovering around the 215 mark over the past three days, but saw a sharp rise this morning due to the bursting of crackers, the minister said.

“While many people did not burst crackers, some places saw targeted bursting of crackers. People of Delhi had in mind that the air quality should not deteoriorate. But the BJP encouraged people to burst crackers, Delhi is paying the price. If crackers were not burst, Delhi’s air would be clean now,” he said.

Real-time trends on air quality monitors clocked huge jumps in Delhi’s air pollution levels as the sound of crackers rang through the National Capital Region last evening. According to data recorded by the Central Pollution Control Board, levels of pollutants PM2.5 and PM10 saw a big jump this morning. The AQI this morning was around the 300 mark, representing ‘very poor’ air quality. 

The Delhi minister said the BJP is in power in neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, and at the centre. “Did any BJP leader appeal to people not to burst crackers? It is unfortunate how the BJP did not fulfill its responsibility despite a Supreme Court order (banning crackers). The BJP wanted crackers to be burst. The result is before us,” he said.

The Delhi Minister appealed to people to not be “misled” by the BJP. Mr Rai has called a meeting this afternoon to discuss the air pollution levels in the national capital.

Asked if there is an update on whether the odd-even scheme for vehicles will come into force, he said, “We will discuss all these aspects and decide accordingly,” he said.

Delhi’s air quality had improved following a spell of rain Thursday night, but the AQI was back in the red this morning. Ahead of Diwali, AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had appealed to people not to burst crackers.

The Narcotics Control Bureau has busted an international drug syndicate and seized two kg of cocaine from a Zambian national in a hotel in Mumbai, an NCB official said on Monday.

A Tanzanian woman, who was to receive the consignment, has also been arrested from Delhi, the official said, adding the seized contraband is worth about Rs 15 crore.

Based on a specific information, the NCB Mumbai team conducted a raid in a hotel here and on Thursday apprehended Zambian national LA Gilmore, who was the drug carrier, he said.

The man had visited Addis Ababa (Ethiopia’s capital) from Lusaka in Zambia for the drug consignment. After reaching Mumbai by a flight, he checked into a hotel.

The NCB team, which was monitoring his movements, conducted a search in his hotel room. They found a bag and after cutting it recovered two packets of cocaine weighing two kg, the official said.

During questioning, the man informed the NCB sleuths about some intermediaries in the region linked with drug trafficking.

It was also observed that he was being directed by a handler, the official said.

The NCB team then tactfully monitored the communication of Gilmore’s handler, who told him to go to Delhi to deliver the drug.

The anti-drug agency’s team from Mumbai then rushed to the national capital, where they maintained surveillance in the designated area for delivery.

A Tanzanian woman, named MR Augustino, who was to receive the consignment from Gilmore was intercepted and later arrested in from there on Saturday, the official said.

During the probe, the international network of the syndicate was found spread across multiple cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa, he said.