Evening update

Good evening MEE readers, 

Intense street battles are taking place near Gaza City, as Israeli attacks on hospitals in the beseiged enclave were ongoing late into Friday night.

Here's what you may have missed from the last few hours: 

• The Israeli military has launched relentless air strikes, artillery fire and gunfire for over three hours near the al-Shifa hospital 

•  Israel has also targeted the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza with air strikes

• Columbia University has suspended two pro-Palestinian groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, as official student groups

• The Israeli death toll from Hamas' attack on 7 October has been revised to around 1,200, down from a previous official figure of around 1,400

• Three Palestinian human rights groups have asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel for war crimes, including genocide

• Over 1,000 officials in the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a letter urging the Biden administration to call for an immediate ceasefire