Patients and displaced Palestinians are fleeing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital – the last functioning medical facility in central Gaza – after Israel issued more evacuation orders for the city of Deir el-Balah.

       United Nations chief Antonio Guterres appealed for “immediate de-escalation” after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged heavy fire across Lebanon’s southern border.

       Hamas rejected new Israeli conditions in ceasefire talks in Egypt and insisted that Israel be bound by the terms of a proposal laid out by United States President Joe Biden and the UN Security Council.

       At least 40,334 people have been killed and 93,356 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7.

    US envoy urges UNSC to condemn ‘brazen’ Houthi attack on oil tanker

    Linda Thomas-Greenfield says “brazen” Houthi attacks have left a Greek-flagged oil tanker in flames in the Red Sea, threatening “to create an ecological disaster with devastating consequences”.

    She called on the UN Security Council, which has previously demanded the Houthis stop their attacks, to condemn the new assault.

    As we reported earlier, the Sounion’s 25 crew members were rescued by an EU warship on Thursday, a day after the Houthi attack set the oil tanker on fire.

    The ship is reportedly carrying 150,000 metric tonnes of crude oil.

    ‘Displacement, again and again’: Fleeing Palestinians decry latest Israeli evacuation orders

    We heard from several Palestinians who fled Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on Sunday.

    Among them was Ismail Abderrahman Siam, who was pushing his wounded niece, Wiam, in a wheelchair. He said he felt powerless to protect her.

    “Displacement, again and again! From Khan Younis to Rafah, from Rafah to Nuseirat,” he said. “We went back to our house in Nuseirat and they attacked the house and killed my brother. I’m her uncle, her father and mother were killed, now I’m responsible for her,” he said.

    Another Palestinian man said he did not know where he and his sick son would sleep in the coming days.

    “On the street! Imagine. I’m with my six kids on the streets,” said Rasim al-Attab, who was sitting in the yard of the hospital with his son.

    “We were displaced four times, from northern Gaza, from Khan Younis, from Deir el-Balah. Nobody’s taking care of us. People want to live a normal life, people are looking for money, and instead, they die on the streets.”

    What leverage does Biden have over Israel?

    More from Slim at the Middle East Institute.

    The analyst said the US appears to be the only negotiating party who seemed optimistic about the progress of ceasefire talks.

    “I haven’t heard such optimism being expressed by either the Israelis or by Hamas. In fact, the mistrust between them, the enmity between them continues to grow. I did not hear the same optimism expressed by the other mediators – meaning Qatar and Egypt. When we have only mostly US officials continuously trying to be optimistic, [it makes me] wonder whether this has to do with our own election cycle and with what’s going on domestically,” Slim said.

    She added that every US president will have leverage over Israel and that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W Bush had not been afraid to condition military aid to get concessions from Israel.

    But Biden, “from the beginning, espousing this unconditional support of Israel” has “robbed” himself of the ability “to put the relationship on the line and force Netanyahu himself to change his cost-benefit calculus”, Slim said.