Israel’s war on Gaza updates: Nasser Hospital doctors work amid sound of tanks

This live page is now closed. Follow along with our ongoing coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza here.

And you can always read more about the conflict here.

It’s past 1:00am (23:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories. We will be closing the live blog soon. Here’s a recap of the day’s major developments:

• Gaza’s Health Ministry says 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 wounded in the enclave in 24 hours.
• Nine countries have announced the suspension of UNRWA aid after Israel alleged yesterday that several of the organisation’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
• UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says humanitarian assistance to Gaza is “under threat” as Palestinians in the enclave experience “unthinkable” levels of deprivation.
• A doctor at the Israeli-besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis says 95 percent of staff have fled to Rafah.
• The Gaza government’s Media Office says the number of journalists killed has risen to 120 since the start of the war.

Commenting on the news that several countries have cut funding to UNRWA, Humza Yousaf has said on X: “The people of Gaza are dying in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe, they cannot be collectively punished.

“Aid must get to those who are already suffering so badly.”

Important statement from @UNRWA head @UNLazzarini that all allegations will be independently investigated.

The people of Gaza are dying in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe, they cannot be collectively punished. Aid must get to those who are already suffering so badly. https://t.co/8q58iwz2V9

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) January 27, 2024

Arab Americans are angry at US President Joe Biden over his handling of the War on Gaza and for his administration’s unconditional support for Israel as it continues to carry out indiscriminate attacks that kill scores of civilians in the Strip.

This week, they let Biden know when many elected Arab-American officials, including municipal leaders and state legislators, declined to meet with the president’s campaign manager, arguing that as long as there are mass killings in Gaza, they will not discuss the elections.

Read more to find out what Arab Americans are saying and what the impact of their anger could be on this year’s US elections here.

The US military has said that it worked with French and Indian forces to extinguish a fire that broke out on a commercial vessel after being hit by a Houthi missile on Friday.

“Thanks to this rapid response by the US, Indian and French navies, the fire is now extinguished,” US CENTCOM said in a social media post on Saturday. “There were no casualties in the attack, the ship remains seaworthy, and has returned to its previous course.”

Al Jazeera has verified more video from local sources that shows Israeli security forces storming the areas of Zawata and Beita, in the west and south of Nablus, respectively.

We will bring you more information on these raids as we have it.

Video shared by local sources and verified by Al Jazeera shows Israeli army vehicle convoys streaming into the occupied West Bank towns of Beit Rima and Deir Ghassana, as security forces begin late-night raids.

Raids on towns and cities across the occupied West Bank are a daily occurrence and have increased in intensity and violence since Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. Homes and infrastructure are routinely vandalised by Israeli forces and fighting, which often breaks out, leads to Palestinians being injured.

We will bring you more updates as information comes in.

Martin Griffiths has said that humanitarian assistance to Gaza is “under threat” as Palestinians in Gaza experience “unthinkable” levels of deprivation.

While not explicitly mentioning announcements by several Western nations to suspend UNRWA support, Griffiths said that assistance needs to be scaled up rather than down.

“The people of Gaza have been enduring unthinkable horrors and deprivation for close to four months. Their needs have never been higher – and our humanitarian capacity to assist them has never been under such threat,” Griffiths said in a social media post on Saturday.

“We need to be at full stretch to give the people of Gaza a moment of hope. Now is not the time to let them down.”

Thousands of Palestinians have survived Israeli bombs and made the dangerous trek to the southern city of Rafah to find that a makeshift shelter is the only place they can live.

And now, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum says winter rain has drenched the ruins of Gaza.

“The weather is very disturbing, the situation is very difficult… the tent falls on us every night,” Maher Abdel-Rahem Matar, a displaced man, told Al Jazeera.

Watch our video report to find out more about life in Rafah’s displacement camps:

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has pledged to prosecute Israeli officials if they do not comply with the International Court of Justice’s orders in regards to targeting journalists.

In a letter addressed to Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, IFJ noted that “the death toll now represents around ten per cent of journalists in the enclave”.

It added that the death rate for journalists is about three times that of health workers and “it is impossible to believe that this is a matter of chance”.

“Our hope would be that humanity and a desire to promote a free media is sufficient to persuade you to take these steps. If this does not happen, however, we will have no hesitation in initiating action in the international courts against politicians and IDF [Israeli army} commanders and encouraging our 187 affiliates to do the same where their domestic jurisdictions allow.”

Juliette Touma, in a post on X, said: “Nine countries suspend funding to @UNRWA in [the] middle of a war as humanitarian needs for people in #Gaza deepen It is indeed a stain on humanity”.

Germany was the latest country to pull funding for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency today, after Israel alleged yesterday that several of the organisation’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.

Nine countries suspend funding to @UNRWA in a middle of a war as humanitarian needs for people in #Gaza deepen
It is indeed a stain on humanity…… it is indeed the last thing that people in #Gaza need right now, collective punishment 👇👇 https://t.co/kQan6JVCK5

— Juliette Touma (@JulietteTouma) January 27, 2024

Germany has announced that it will not approve any new UNRWA assistance as the agency conducts an investigation into Israeli allegations.

“It is absolutely true that UNRWA acted immediately in light of the allegations against employees of the organization and Commissioner General Lazzarini took immediate action,” the German foreign office said in a social media post on Saturday.

Despite those steps and the overwhelming need of Palestinians in Gaza, the foreign office said that it would not approve any new funds.

“Until the end of the investigation, Germany, in coordination with other donor countries, will temporarily not approve any new funds for UNRWA in Gaza – in any case, there are currently no new commitments pending,” the post states.

Philippe Lazzarini has spoken out against the “shocking” decision of several Western nations to suspend aid for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, amid Israeli allegations that several employees may have taken part in the October 7 attacks, during a time of crucial need for displaced Palestinians.

Israel has long criticised and sought to dismantle the agency. UNRWA has launched an investigation into the allegations and fired the employees under review.

“UNRWA lifesaving assistance is about to end following countries decisions to cut their funding to the Agency. Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing,” Lazzarini said in a social media post on Saturday.

“I am shocked such decisions are taken based on alleged behavior of a few individuals and as the war continues, needs are deepening & famine looms. Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment. This stains all of us.”

About 20,000 people have taken to the street in the Spanish capital of Madrid, expressing solidarity with Gaza and demanding an end to the war one day after the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in the strip.

“They have been without water, without food, without anything, for almost 110 days,” 54-year-old Lobna Elnakhala told the news outlet AFP of the situation in Gaza.

“Children are dying and living in a very difficult situation.”

Israeli media is reporting that police cracked down on an antigovernment protest in the country’s capital, as domestic pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to grow.

Earlier in the evening, Israeli reporter Oren Ziv said that police confiscated a banner reading “stop the genocide” at an antiwar protest in the city.

Now in Tel Aviv : Israeli police confiscated a “Stop the genocide” banner during an anti war protest pic.twitter.com/qoO974J3eq

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) January 27, 2024

The office says that Iyad Ahmed al-Rawag, broadcaster and program presenter on Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, died in an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza

“The number of journalist martyrs has risen to (120 journalists) since the start of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip,” the office said in a statement.

CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Jagan Chapagain says that displaced Palestinians sheltering in al-Amal Hospital are living in “constant fear” as fighting escalates in Khan Younis. Israeli forces have also placed Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis under siege, forcing more than 95 percent of medical staff to leave.

“Heavy fighting continue to escalate in the surroundings of Palestine Red Crescent Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, resulting in several injuries and hindering PRCS teams from reaching those in need,” Chapagain said in an X post.

“I urge all parties to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. Civilians, healthcare workers, PRCS teams & headquarters, patients and hospitals must be protected. Rules exist to help preserve humanity in the darkest moments, & they desperately need to be followed today.”

Heavy fighting continue to escalate in the surroundings of Palestine Red Crescent Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, resulting in several injuries and hindering @PalestineRCS teams from reaching those in need.

Thousands of displaced people live in constant fear and anxiety due to…

— Jagan Chapagain (@jagan_chapagain) January 27, 2024

Palestinian activist Salim Abu Ras posted video that we verified to his Instagram account, showing an Israeli tank stationed next to al-Amal Hospital, the headquarter of the Palestine Red Crescent.

Abu Ras said that Israeli snipers stationed outside the hospital prevent anyone from entering or leaving the hospital.

Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals, Khan Younis’s largest, have been siege by Israeli forces for the last several days after the focus of its ground operations was turned to the south Gaza City.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Saleem Z. Aburas (@saleemaburass)

Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq has defended the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency after Israel’s foreign minister called for the organisation to be “replaced” and called on more countries to suspend funding.

“We are not responding to rhetoric,” Haq said on Saturday. “UNRWA overall had had a strong record, which we have repeatedly underscored.”

Riham Jaffari, communications and advocacy coordinator for Action Aid in the occupied Palestinian territories has told Al Jazeera that winter has brought “additional suffering for Palestinians in Gaza”.

“More than 1,300,000 people are now living in the open with weak tents. More than 20 people live in one tent made out of nylon which can’t protect them from this severe stormy and rainy weather,” she said.

“People are flooded with water inside their tents in Rafah and all parts of Gaza after the huge displacement … Children and women are without warm clothes and sometimes they can’t even find second-hand clothes to buy from the local market due to the limited humanitarian items allowed into Gaza and prevention of commercial items from entering Gaza,” she continued.

“The humanitarian aid that is allowed into Gaza does not include winter items; most of it is food, water and some medical supplies … We tried to provide some warm clothes for women, children, but again we are restricted with the availability of those items in Gaza.”