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The senior US official also said Hamas needed the pause in fighting in order to locate some of the hostages, meaning they may be able to identify and collect additional women and children to be released.
They also said a rigorous inspection regime would ensure the militant group did not use the pause to get more weapons, according to Reuters.
Officials hope the pause in fighting will also be observed in northern Israel where there have been clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
The total number of hostages freed could rise, a senior US official has said.
“The deal has ultimately been structured to incentivise releases beyond 50,” the official said adding that the agreement “is now structured for women and children in the first phase, but with an expectation for further releases.”
The Israeli military will remain “vigilant” during the truce, spokesman Jonathan Conricus has said, adding that it will “use the time to prepare for future operations”.
He said:
After the hostage deal is implemented, we will continue dismantling Hamas while respecting humanitarian law on the ground.
Hamas will release 50 women and children under the age of 19 in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons, the militant group has said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The statement said the two sides had agreed to stop all fighting for four days and that Israel had agreed not to attack or arrest anyone in Gaza during that period.
Air traffic would stop completely in southern Gaza during the four days and for daily six-hour periods in the north, Hamas said.
Hundreds of trucks would be allowed in carrying humanitarian aid to all areas of Gaza, it continued.
Here’s our full report on the hostage deal:
Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in return for a four-day partial ceasefire, the Israeli government announced early on Wednesday.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office said the lull in Israeli military operations would be extended for an additional day for every 10 more hostages released. It did not say when the ceasefire would start, though in his address to his cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu said the first hostages should be free within 48 hours of the agreement.
Hamas confirmed an agreement had been reached and added that 150 Palestinian women and children would be freed from Israeli jails.
“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abductees home,” the government statement said in a WhatsApp message. “Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 abductees — women and children — will be released for four days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting. The release of every 10 additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite.”
Three US citizens held by Hamas to be released as part of deal, US official says
Three Americans held by Hamas in Gaza are expected to be among at least 50 hostages to be released by the Islamist Palestinian group under the deal arranged with Israel, the US and Qatar, a senior US official said according to Reuters.
The three include a 3-year-old girl whose parents were among the more than 1,200 people killed in Hamas’ initial 7 October attack on southern Israel, the official said.
The official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said it was likely that more than 50 hostages, largely women and children, will be released once a pause in fighting takes hold.
The hostage group will include two American women and an American girl named Abigail who will turn four on Friday, the official said.
Initial releases of hostages are expected within 24 hours of the deal’s announcement, with the first likely to be freed Thursday morning, the official said.
“I would say it’s at least 50 of the women and children over a period of four to five days,” the official said, without providing details of any other nationalities expected to be released.
Updated
Israeli cabinet backs hostage deal that will free dozens held in Gaza: what we know
Here is what we know about the hostage deal approved by Israel’s cabinet:
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced that Israel’s cabinet has voted to approve a deal that will see the release of 50 hostages, who are women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting in Gaza.
A government statement on the deal said, “The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.”
The deal cannot be enacted until Thursday to allow time for Israeli judges to review potential legal challenges to the release of prisoners, the New York Times and reports, citing Israeli officials.
Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports, and fighting may be paused for more days if more hostages are released.
Israel believes Hamas could potentially locate some 30 more Israeli mothers and children beyond the initial 50, the Times of Israel reports, and that the halt in fighting could be extended by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages who are located and freed, the government official said. “Hamas is claiming it cannot immediately track down around 10 children taken from Israel during the shock October 7 attack,” the Times of Israel reports.
Axios reports that the deal also includes an agreement by Israel to allow “around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt” as well as additional fuel.
Only three cabinet ministers opposed the deal, Axios and Al Jazeera report. The ministers opposed each belong to the Religious Zionism Party.
Israeli government statement
Here is the full statement on the deal from the Israeli Government:
The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.
The Government of Israel, the IDF and the security services will continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.
Only three cabinet ministers opposed the deal, Axios and Al Jazeera report. The ministers opposed each belong to the Religious Zionism Party.
Deal includes 'around 300 aid trucks per day' to enter Gaza from Egypt
Axios reports that the deal also includes an agreement by Israel to allow “around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt” as well as additional fuel.
Details on the hostage deal and pause in fighting that was just approved, from @BarakRavid https://t.co/X49wMctYac pic.twitter.com/BdjH9rLHrR
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) November 22, 2023
The deal cannot be enacted until Thursday to allow time for Israeli judges to review potential legal challenges to the release of prisoners, the New York Times reports, citing Israeli officials.
The government has said in a WhatsApp message announcing the deal:
“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all abductees home,” and:
Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 abductees — women and children — will be released for 4 days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting. The release of every 10 additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite.”
Pause in fighting could be extended if more hostages located by Hamas - Times of Israel
The Times of Israel also reports that there may be 30 more hostages released and that the pause in fighting could be extended “by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages”:
Israel believes Hamas could potentially locate some 30 more Israeli mothers and children beyond the initial 50, and that the halt in fighting could be extended by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages who are located and freed, the government official said.
Hamas is claiming it cannot immediately track down around 10 children taken from Israel during the shock October 7 attack.”
50 hostages, women and children, to be released over four days of pause in fighting - Israeli government
Reuters reports that the Israeli Prime Minister’s office has announced that the deal, which has been approved by the cabinet, will see the release of 50 hostages, women and children, over four days, during which there will be pause in fighting. Groups of 12-13 hostages will be released per day, the Times of Israel reports.
The Times of Israel also reports that there may be 30 more hostages released and that the pause in fighting could be extended “by a day for each group of 10 more Israeli hostages”.
Earlier, Israeli media, including Channel 12 news, reported that if the deal was approved, the first release of hostages is expected on Thursday.
The delay is because if the deal is agreed to, there must be a 24-hour waiting period before it is implemented, to give Israeli citizens the chance to ask the Supreme Court to block the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to reports in Israeli media.
Updated
Ceasefire to last at least four days, Times of Israel reports
The Times of Israel reports that in exchange for the release of hostages, “Israel has agreed to a ceasefire for at least four days for the first time since the outbreak of the war.”
First hostages may be released on Thursday, if there is no challenge in Supreme Court
Earlier, Israeli media, including Channel 12 news, reported that if the deal was approved, the first release of hostages is expected on Thursday.
The delay is because if the deal is agreed to, there must be a 24-hour waiting period before it is implemented, to give Israeli citizens the chance to ask the Supreme Court to block the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to reports in Israeli media.
50 Israeli citizens to be released over a number of days, Times of Israel reports
The Times of Israel reports, citing an unnamed government official, that the deal voted on by Israel’s cabinet will see the release of “50 living Israeli citizens, mostly women and children, in groups of 12-13 people per day.”
“There was no immediate details on how ministers voted. While the vast majority of the government’s 38 ministers backed the deal, representatives from the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties expressed opposition to the agreement ahead of the meeting,” the Times of Israel reports.
“Not all details of the agreement have been formally released to the public, but an Israeli government official briefing reporters earlier Tuesday said that the deal is expected to see the release of 50 living Israeli citizens, mostly women and children, in groups of 12-13 people per day.”
Hospitals in Israel preparing to receive hostages
Six hospitals in Israel are preparing to receive hostages, Haaretz reports. “They have established designated compounds to receive them, separate from other patients and the media.”
The official Haaretz cites says that “all the branches of the Israeli security services – the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Mossad – support the planned deal. The official added that the agreement is only for Israelis who are still alive, adding that Hamas may release foreign nationals at the same time, in accordance with deals reached with those countries.”
Israeli government approves hostages deal – Israeli media
In breaking news: Israeli news organisations Haaretz and Kan, the national broadcaster, report that Israel’s cabinet has voted to approve the hostage deal, which would, Haaretz reports, “involve the exchange of hostages being held by the organization for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.”
Citing a senior Israeli official, Haaretz reports that “the plan will see Hamas release 30 kidnapped children, eight mothers and 12 more women during a five-day cease-fire.”
Updated
If you’re just joining us, here is where things stand: Israel’s government is meeting into the early hours of Wednesday to consider a deal for Palestinian Hamas militants to free some hostages in Gaza in exchange for a multi-day truce and the release of a greater number of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
It is currently nearing 3am in Tel Aviv and Gaza City.
Officials from Qatar, which has been mediating negotiations, as well as the US, Israel and Hamas have for days been saying a deal was imminent.
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said the proposal on a hostage release deal was delivered to Israel in the early hours of Tuesday.
“The State of Qatar is awaiting the result of the Israeli government’s vote on the proposal,” he said.
Before gathering with his full government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday with his war cabinet and wider national security cabinet over the deal.
A US official briefed on the discussions said the deal would include 50 hostages taken from Israel, mostly women and children, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a pause in the fighting of four or five days.
The pause would also allow for humanitarian aid into Gaza.
US strikes two "facilities" in Iraq
The United States on Tuesday carried out strikes against two facilities in Iraq, the US military said.
“US Central Command forces conducted discrete, precision strikes against two facilities in Iraq,” a statement from the USmilitary said.
“The strikes were in direct response to the attacks against US and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups,” the statement added.
These strikes appear to be in addition to the strikes reported a short while ago, which were described as being on “an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in [an attack last night by Iran-backed militias].”
Al Jazeera reports that a Palestinian has died, “as a result of being shot by occupation forces in the town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, in the northern West Bank.”
UN seeing 40% increase in diarrhoea cases in last fortnight, warns of child pneumonia risk
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports in its daily update from Gaza that there has been a 35% increase in skin diseases and a 40% increase in diarrhoea in the last two weeks as a result of “extremely overcrowded conditions” in UNRWA shelters.
“The poor sanitary conditions, combined with cold rain recently, has exacerbated the risk of epidemics and may lead to a spike in child pneumonia, according to the WHO,” UNOCHA writes.
The Times of Israel has this report from the cabinet meeting where the hostage deal is being debated. “Ministers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party have left the meeting after leaving a note saying they back the agreement,” the Times of Israel reports, and there have been tense exchanges between ministers:
Several tense exchanges have reportedly occurred during the ongoing cabinet vote on a deal that will see Hamas release some 50 hostages — children, mothers, and women — in exchange for a ceasefire of 4-5 days and the release of 150-300 Palestinian prisoners.
According to leaks reported by Hebrew media, Minister Benny Gantz responds angrily to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for expressing concern Hamas will seek to extend the ceasefire. Smotrich and his far-right Religious Zionism party have come out against the agreement.
“Do you trust [Yahya] Sinwar more than us?” Gantz is quoted as saying, referring to the Hamas chief in Gaza who Israel has accused of helping mastermind the October 7 massacres.
In another exchange, Likud ministers Miki Zohar and Gila Gamliel confront National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for holding a faction meeting of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party before the cabinet convened, after announcing he and his faction would vote against the agreement. Gamliel reportedly stresses to Ben Gvir the importance of unity.
“But we are not united,” Ben Gvir says. “This is a decision with generational damage that will come back to hurt us badly.”
Ministers from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party have left the meeting after leaving a note saying they back the agreement.
Which hostages have been released since 7 October?
Hamas has to date released only four hostages: US citizens Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17, on 20 October, citing “humanitarian reasons,” and Israeli women Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, on 23 October.
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, which participated in the 7 October raid with Hamas, said late on Tuesday that one of the Israeli hostages it has held since the attacks on Israel had died.
“We previously expressed our willingness to release her for humanitarian reasons, but the enemy was stalling and this led to her death,” Al Quds Brigades said on its Telegram channel.
First release of hostages expected on Thursday if deal approved
Israeli media, including Channel 12 news, report that if the deal is approved, the first release of hostages is expected on Thursday.
This delay is because if the deal is agreed to, there must be a 24-hour waiting period before it is implemented, to give Israeli citizens the chance to ask the Supreme Court to block the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to reports in Israeli media.
US strike kills 'several' members of Iran-backed forces in Iraq
A US warplane killed multiple Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq after they fired a short-range ballistic missile at American and allied personnel in the country, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
It is the first time the United States has announced a strike on Iranian proxy forces in Iraq since targeting Tehran-linked sites in Syria on three occasions in recent weeks, in response to a spike in attacks on American personnel.
“We can confirm an attack last night by Iran-backed militias using a close-range ballistic missile against US and coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase, which resulted in eight injuries and some minor damage to infrastructure,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
The Ain al-Asad Air Base is located in the desert of Iraq’s Western Anbar province and hosts forces of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq.
“Immediately following the attack, a US military AC-130 aircraft in the area conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in this attack. This self-defence strike resulted in several enemy KIA (killed in action),” Ryder said.
Islamic Jihad says an Israeli hostage has died – report
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad announced late on Tuesday the death of one of the Israeli hostages it has held since the 7 October attacks on Israel.
“We previously expressed our willingness to release her for humanitarian reasons, but the enemy was stalling and this led to her death,” Al Quds Brigades said on its Telegram channel.
This report is via Reuters and the claim has not been independently verified by the Guardian.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will visit Israel next week, Axios reports.
This is Helen Sullivan taking over the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and hostage and temporary ceasefire negotiations.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 1am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
At least 14,128 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the war began, according to the government in the territories on Tuesday. The latest death toll update includes at least 5,600 children and 3,550 women, it said.
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked his government to back a deal for the release of some of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Israel will continue its war against Hamas even if a temporary ceasefire is reached to release hostages, the Israeli prime minister said at the start of Tuesday night’s meeting. Ismail Haniyeh, the most senior political leader of Hamas, said a truce agreement with Israel was near and that the group had delivered its response to Qatari mediators. Joe Biden has also said a deal was “very close”.
A potential deal could result in 50 hostages, all women or children, being freed in exchange for the return of 150 Palestinians in Israeli jails, also all women or children, according to Israeli media reports. The deal would also reportedly result in a pause in hostilities for at least five days; restrictions on Israeli surveillance of Gaza; and additional aid sent into the territory. The Israeli government is expected to have a majority in the cabinet to approve a hostage deal, despite opposition from the far-right parties.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it stands in solidarity with health workers at al-Awda hospital in north Gaza after three doctors and “a patient companion” were reportedly killed in an attack on the facility. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have said two of its doctors and a third health ministry doctor were killed after what it said was a strike on al-Awda hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said three doctors were killed in what it said was an Israeli strike on al-Awda, one of the last remaining functional hospitals in northern Gaza.
The WHO also confirmed that one of its staff was killed in Gaza on Tuesday alongside her six-month-old baby. Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29, was a critical part of the WHO’s trauma and emergency team and had been part of the organisation since 2019, it said. She was killed when her parents’ house in southern Gaza, where she had evacuated from Gaza City, was bombed, the WHO said in a statement. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “devastated” by the news of her death.
The UN has warned that a “tragic … entirely avoidable surge” in child deaths is expected in Gaza, where on average a child is killed every 10 minutes. The UN children’s agency (Unicef) said the number of children dying could skyrocket due to the serious additional threat of a mass disease outbreak in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian poet and author Mosab Abu Toha has been released after he was detained by Israeli forces along with scores of other Palestinian men trying to leave northern Gaza, according to his friends and Israeli officials.
At least 52 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On Tuesday, a Hezbollah-affiliated news channel said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the south of Lebanon, near the boundary with Israel.
The European Commission has said it will continue to provide financial aid to Palestinians after an investigation found no evidence that the money was going to Hamas. The EU is the world’s biggest provider of assistance to Palestinians, with almost €1.2bn earmarked for 2021-2024.
The Scottish Labour party have formally backed demands for a full ceasefire in Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Anas Sarwar supported a motion put forward by Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, on Tuesday calling for an immediate truce, widening the Labour party’s divisions on the conflict.
Updated
Two prematurely born babies who were being cared for at Gaza’s biggest hospital died before 31 other premature babies were evacuated from the hospital on Sunday, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson said.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva earlier today, Christian Lindmeier said the two babies had died “because of the lack of care available to them”.
On Sunday, 31 premature babies were evacuated from al-Shifa hospital in north Gaza, and 28 of them were taken to Egypt for urgent treatment on Monday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 12 babies had been flown on to Cairo.
All of the evacuated babies were “fighting serious infections”, a WHO spokesperson said at the time.
The mother of one of the three babies who stayed in Gaza told Reuters on Tuesday that she “felt alive again” to have her newborn son, Anas, safely in her care after he was moved to a hospital in southern Gaza.
Warda Sbeta, 32, was offered the option of being evacuated to Egypt with Anas so he could receive further medical care, but she refused the offer in order to stay with her husband and her seven other children.
Of the other two premature babies rescued from al-Shifa hospital, one was unidentified, according to doctors at the Rafah hospital. They did not give information about the third baby.
The Hollywood talent agency UTA has dropped Susan Sarandon as a client after she spoke at a pro-Palestine rally over the weekend, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to Deadline.
The Oscar-winning actor attended several rallies in support of Palestine and drew criticism for saying:
There are a lot of people afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country.
In remarks captured on video, Sarandon encouraged others to keep speaking up in support of Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
People are questioning, people are standing up, people are educating themselves, people are stepping away from brainwashing that started when they were kids.
Sarandon is the latest public figure to find themselves in hot water over their stance on the war, particularly in support of Palestine. Last month, Maha Dakhil, the co-head of film at Hollywood powerhouse agency CAA, faced internal backlash and resigned from the agency’s board after she reposted an image on Instagram that read, in part: “You’re currently learning who supports genocide.”
Updated
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that one of its staff was killed in Gaza on Tuesday alongside her six-month-old baby.
Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29, was a critical part of the WHO’s trauma and emergency team and had been part of the organisation since 2019, it said. She studied at the University of Glasgow as part of the Erasmus exchange programme in 2018-19, it said.
Alhaj was a “wonderful person with a radiant smile, cheerful, positive, respectful”, Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said.
Her work was crucial, and she had been requested to take on even more responsibilities to support the Gaza suboffice and team. This is a such a painful loss for all of us.
Alhaj was killed when her parents’ house in southern Gaza, where she had evacuated from Gaza City, was bombed, the WHO said in a statement. More than 50 family and community members sheltering in the same house also were reportedly killed. It added:
The death of Dima and her family is another example of the senseless loss in this conflict. Civilians have died in their homes, at their workplaces, while evacuating, while sheltering in schools, while being cared for in hospitals. When will it stop?
WHO staff member killed in Gaza
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) November 21, 2023
With heavy hearts, @WHO announces the death of one of our staff in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territory. Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29 years old, had been with WHO since December 2019. She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb… pic.twitter.com/NBwPJxizGf
Updated
Yahya Sinwar, 61, was a founding member of Hamas and has risen to become perhaps its most powerful figure.
Israeli officials have described him as the architect of the 7 October attacks, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and so “a dead man walking”. Now he may hold the key to the current negotiations over the release of the hostages in Gaza.
Born in a refugee camp at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, Sinwar was drawn into Islamist activism when he studied at the Islamic University of Gaza in the early 1980s, as a religious resurgence across the Middle East gathered momentum.
In 1987, he joined the newly created group Hamas, and was made head of its nascent intelligence service. Duties included uncovering spies or other “collaborators” with Israel as well as people in Gaza who infringed Hamas’s strict “morality” codes.
Arrested in 1988 and sentenced to four life sentences for attempted murder and sabotage, he then spent 23 years in Israeli jails. In prison, Sinwar refused to talk to any Israelis and personally punished those who did, pressing the face of one into a makeshift stove, according to one Israeli former interrogator who worked at the institution where Sinwar was held.
“He’s 1,000% committed and 1,000% violent, a very, very hard man,” said the interrogator.
He is also a sophisticated political operator with a sharp mind. Sinwar used his time in prison to learn Hebrew and study his enemy, gaining knowledge that may be helpful now.
Updated
Here’s more from Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been addressing his cabinet ministers as they prepare to vote for a deal for the release of hostages.
Speaking after a meeting with his war cabinet and the wider security cabinet, the Israeli prime minister said accepting a deal was “a difficult decision but it’s a right decision”.
Netanyahu said the US president, Joe Biden, had helped “improve the framework being laid out before you ... to include more hostages at a lower price”, adding:
The entire security establishment fully supports it.
Updated
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it stands in solidarity with health workers at al-Awda hospital in north Gaza after three doctors and “a patient companion” were reportedly killed in an attack on the facility.
Many other people were reportedly injured, the WHO said in a statement. The hospital also sustained “substantial” damages, it said, adding:
WHO has documented 178 health attacks in the Gaza Strip that have resulted in 553 fatalities and 696 casualties, including 22 fatalities and 48 injuries of health care workers on duty.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) earlier today said it was “horrified” by the killing of two of its doctors and a third doctor following what it said was a strike on al-Awda.
.@WHO stands in solidarity with health workers at Al Awda Hospital in North Gaza, as well as colleagues at @MSF, and mourns the deaths of three doctors and a patient companion who were reportedly killed in an attack on the hospital today.
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) November 21, 2023
Reportedly, many were additionally… pic.twitter.com/5Ppmlmy57v
Updated
Qatar is awaiting the result of the Israeli government’s vote on the hostage deal, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Majid al-Ansari told CNN that the proposal for a humanitarian pause and the release of hostages was delivered to the Israeli side in the early hours of Tuesday, after weeks of continuous negotiations.
The proposed deal includes the International Committee of the Red Cross visits to hostages from Israel still being held in Gaza, and medical assistance for those who need it, Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly told his ministers.
Updated
Netanyahu: Israel will continue war 'until we achieve all our goals'
Benjamin Netanyahu has been addressing his ministers during a meeting of the government to discuss the hostage deal.
Israel will continue its war against Hamas even if a temporary ceasefire is reached to release hostages, the Israeli prime minister said in a televised video statement, AP reported.
“We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said.
We will continue until we achieve all our goals.
The full Israeli cabinet is now meeting to discuss a potential hostage deal, following meetings of the war cabinet and the security cabinet.
Updated
Israel is telling its ministers that the International Committee of the Red Cross will be allowed to visit unreleased hostages in Gaza and provide medical assistance as part of a possible hostage deal.
From the UK’s Channel 4 foreign correspondent Paraic O’Brien:
Netanyahu told ministers that Red Cross will be allowed to visit hostages that haven’t been released inside Gaza & give them medication as part of the deal.
— Paraic O'Brien (@paraicobrien) November 21, 2023
Israel’s full 38-minister cabinet is meeting on the possible hostage release deal, following earlier meetings with Israel’s war cabinet and security cabinet.
Updated
Death toll passes 14,000 Palestinians in Gaza, says Gaza government
At least 14,128 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the government in the occupied territories.
The latest death toll update includes at least 5,600 children and 3,550 women, it said.
Updated
Full Israeli cabinet is meeting to discuss possible hostage deal
Israel’s full 38-minister cabinet is now meeting to discuss the hostage release deal, Israeli media is reporting.
The meeting of the coalition follows a meeting of the war cabinet and the security cabinet. No vote was held in the earlier meetings, Channel 12 in Israel reported.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 9.15pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Benjamin Netanyahu has been meeting his most senior ministers on Tuesday evening amid strong indications his government is due to approve a deal for the release of some of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli prime minister’s office said that “in light of developments in the matter of the release of our hostages” Israel’s war cabinet would be convened followed by meetings of his wider security cabinet and the full cabinet.
Ismail Haniyeh, the most senior political leader of Hamas, said a truce agreement with Israel was near. “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said on Tuesday, adding that the group had delivered its response to Qatari mediators. Joe Biden has also said a deal was “very close”.
A potential deal could result in 50 hostages, all women or children, being freed in exchange for the return of 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, also all women or children, according to Israeli media reports. The deal would also reportedly result in a pause in hostilities for at least five days; restrictions on Israeli surveillance of Gaza; and additional aid sent into the territory. The Israeli government is expected to have a majority in the cabinet to approve a hostage deal, despite opposition from the far-right parties.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have said two of its doctors and a third health ministry doctor have been killed following what it said was a strike on al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said three doctors were killed in what it said was an Israeli strike on al-Awda, one of the last remaining functional hospitals in northern Gaza.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said he is “devastated” that a colleague had been killed in Gaza. Dima Alhaj was “tragically killed alongside her six-month-old baby, her husband and two brothers”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted to social media on Tuesday. A WHO spokesperson said on Tuesday that three hospitals in Gaza had requested help with evacuating patients and that planning had started.
The UN has warned that a “tragic … entirely avoidable surge” in child deaths is expected in Gaza, where on average a child is killed every 10 minutes. The UN children’s agency (Unicef) said the number of children dying could skyrocket due to the serious additional threat of a mass disease outbreak in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The Palestinian poet and author Mosab Abu Toha has been released after he was detained by Israeli forces along with scores of other Palestinian men trying to leave northern Gaza, according to his friends and Israeli officials.
At least 52 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On Tuesday, a Hezbollah-affiliated news channel said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the south of Lebanon, near the boundary with Israel.
The European Commission has said it will continue to provide financial aid to Palestinians after an investigation found no evidence that the money was going to Hamas. The EU is the world’s biggest provider of assistance to Palestinians, with almost €1.2bn earmarked for 2021-2024.
Britain has deployed an extra 1,000 military personnel around the Middle East since Hamas’s deadly 7 October attack on Israel junior defense minister James Heappey said on Monday in a parliamentary answer, revising upwards the deployment to the region.
The Scottish Labour party have formally backed demands for a full ceasefire in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Anas Sarwar supported a motion put forward by Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, on Tuesday calling for an immediate truce, widening the Labour party’s divisions on the conflict.
South African lawmakers have voted in favour of closing down the Israeli embassy in South Africa and suspending all diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, accused Israel of war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza as he chaired an extraordinary summit of the Brics group on Tuesday.
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The White House has said it is hopeful about a hostage deal and believes that Israel and Hamas are getting closer to an agreement.
The US national security council spokesperson John Kirby, at a press briefing on Tuesday, said:
We are closer than we’ve been. We believe we’re getting closer.
We won’t say and do not want to say anything in these delicate hours that could put a deal at greater risk.
Earlier today, Joe Biden said a deal is “very close” to bringing home some of the hostages held in Gaza.
“We’re now very close, very close. You could bring some of the hostages home very soon. ... But things are looking good.”
— The Recount (@therecount) November 21, 2023
— President Biden sounds an optimistic note on the potential for a deal around Hamas releasing 50 Israeli women and children held hostage. pic.twitter.com/9mx8UI2X1w
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Hostages to be released in potential deal likely to be mostly children - reports
The hostages who are expected to be released if a deal is reached will include 30 children, eight mothers and 12 women, Haaretz is reporting.
The hostages who are expected to be released will mostly be children, according to a separate CNN report, citing a source.
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A majority in the cabinet of the Israeli government will approve a hostage deal, despite opposition from the far-right parties Religious Zionist Party and Otzma Yehudit, the Times of Israel reported.
The war cabinet supports the deal and will rally 19 votes held by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and five votes held by Benny Gantz’s National Unity party, it reported.
The Religious Zionist and Otzma Yehudit together hold six cabinet votes, it writes.
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Protesters have gathered outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv as Benjamin Netanyahu met his most senior ministers amid growing expectations of a deal for the release of some hostages held in Gaza.
About 200 protesters have gathered alongside the families of hostages, Haaretz reported.
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South African lawmakers have voted in favour of closing down the Israeli embassy in South Africa and suspending all diplomatic relations with Israel until it agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
The vote, which was adopted by a 248-91 margin, is largely symbolic as it will be up to the government whether to implement it.
Meanwhile, South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, accused Israel of war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza as he chaired an extraordinary summit of the Brics group on Tuesday. Ramaphosa said:
The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide.
He called for an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” and the deployment of a UN force “to monitor the cessation of hostilities and protect civilians”.
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Scottish Labour has formally backed demands for a full ceasefire in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, widening the party’s divisions on the conflict.
Anas Sarwar supported a motion tabled by Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, in Holyrood on Tuesday calling for an immediate truce, in defiance of Keir Starmer’s instruction that Labour should only support “pauses” to allow evacuations and aid to arrive.
Sarwar then directly criticised Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to consider the full cessation of military action in Gaza. Sarwar told MSPs he believed the Israeli prime minister “has no interest in peace”, implying he needed to be removed from power for lasting peace to be achieved.
Tomorrow @ScottishLabour will vote for an immediate ceasefire.
— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) November 20, 2023
Here I explain why and what I believe needs to happen to make it a reality. pic.twitter.com/cgiuWy6ljf
The coalition between Labour and the Scottish National party at Holyrood echoed last week’s revolt in the Commons, when 56 Labour MPs, including eight frontbenchers, broke the party whip to support an SNP motion at Westminster calling for a ceasefire.
Sarwar has repeatedly urged Starmer to take a far tougher line on Israel’s retaliation after Hamas’s atrocities on 7 October, openly distancing himself from Starmer’s refusal to support UN calls for a full ceasefire.
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The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “devastated” that a colleague had been killed in Gaza.
Dima Alhaj was “tragically killed alongside her six-month-old baby, her husband and two brothers”, he wrote in social media post alongside a photo of Alhaj.
He said multiple other family members were also killed as they sheltered in the same house, adding:
I have no words to describe our grief.
My colleagues and I are devastated: we have lost one of our own in #Gaza today.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 21, 2023
Our young @WHOoPt colleague Dima Alhaj was tragically killed alongside her 6 month old baby, her husband and 2 brothers. Reportedly multiple other family members sheltering in the same house were… pic.twitter.com/vURpNFRXe6
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The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has said three doctors were killed in what it said was an Israeli strike on Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has confirmed that two of its doctors and a third health ministry doctor were killed following what it said was a strike on Al-Awda.
🚨Update: Three doctors and one injured companion have been martyred, in addition to three medical staff members sustaining critical injuries. https://t.co/2ktHWOE8Jm
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 21, 2023
ActionAid said it was “horrified” to learn from the hospital, which is a partner to the organisation, that three doctors were killed after the fourth floor of the building was hit by bombing. It added:
While we are still awaiting further information, our position is in no doubt. This bombing of Al-Awda is yet another potential breach of international humanitarian law in a crisis where the rights of patients to access lifesaving care are being violated daily. Healthcare workers, ambulances, and hospitals are never a legitimate target.
In a statement, Al-Awda said that it “adhered to the medical and health principles and practices in times of conflicts and war” and that “only medical personnel, patients and the injured” were inside the hospital.
MSF says its doctors were killed in strike on northern Gaza hospital
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said it is “horrified” by the killing of two of its doctors and a third health ministry doctor following what it said was a strike on Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza.
The MSF doctors, Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila and Dr Ahmad Al Sahar, were in the hospital when it was hit on the third and fourth floors, the charity said in a statement. Other medical staff, including MSF staff, were severely injured, it said.
More than 200 patients are still in Al-Awda and must be urgently evacuated to other hospitals in Gaza that are still functioning, MSF said.
It said it has regularly shared information about Al-Awda – one of the last remaining functional hospitals in northern Gaza – and that it had shared GPS coordinates with Israeli authorities on Monday. The statement continued:
We condemn this strike in the strongest terms and yet again call for the respect and protection of medical facilities, staff and patients.
Attacks on medical facilities are a “serious violation of international humanitarian law”, it said, adding that such attacks have become “systematic” in the past weeks.
This is yet another incident that MSF staff have been subject to in the last few days. Our colleagues who are assisting hundreds of patients in Gaza are facing extremely difficult times in providing the little medical care they can. Seeing doctors killed next to hospital beds is beyond tragic, and this must stop now.
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Israel’s Religious Zionist Party, led by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, has said it cannot agree to a proposed deal for the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza.
In a statement, the party described the deal as “bad for Israel’s security, bad for the hostages, and bad for the soldiers of the IDF”, the Times of Israel reported.
It said the deal will “abandon” some of the hostages for an uknown period of time, “raise the price” for their release, and give Hamas the opportunity to reorganise.
The only way to return all the hostages “is by continuing the unceasing military pressure on Hamas until total victory”, it said, adding:
Religious Zionism will stand strong for the continuing of the war until the total destruction of Hamas, the return of all the hostages, and the elimination of the threat posed by Gaza to Israeli citizens.
UN warns of 'tragic, avoidable surge' in child deaths in Gaza
The UN has warned that a “tragic … entirely avoidable surge” in child deaths is expected in Gaza, where on average a child is killed every 10 minutes.
“About 160 children are killed every day; that’s one every 10 minutes,” said World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, he said that “every 10 minutes, two children are injured” and that children and families have been dying “in terrifying circumstances”.
The UN children’s agency (Unicef) warned that number could skyrocket due to the serious additional threat of a mass disease outbreak in the besieged Palestinian territory. The Unicef spokesperson James Elder said:
If youngsters continue to have restricted access to water and sanitation in Gaza, we will see a tragic yet entirely avoidable surge in the number of children dying.
“The death toll among children is sickening,” he said, noting that more than 5,350 Palestinian children had reportedly been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
Grief is becoming embedded in Gaza. So this then is a stark warning: without sufficient fuel, without sufficient water, conditions for children will plummet.
He said the daily minimum need in emergency situations was 15 litres of water per person, but that in parts of Gaza as little as three litres a day is available, and none on some days.
Pointing to “a desperate lack of water, faecal matter strewn across densely populated settlements [and] an unacceptable lack of latrines”, Elder said it was a “perfect storm for the spread of disease”.
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At least 52 journalists and media workers have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The press group updated its death toll after the news that two journalists from the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen were reportedly killed while working in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
The toll now includes 46 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese killed since 7 October, as well as 11 journalists injured and three missing journalists.
Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, said:
Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Many have lost colleagues, families, and media facilities, and have fled seeking safety when there is no safe haven or exit.
Biden says 'very close' to hostage deal
The US president, Joe Biden, has said a deal is “very close” to securing the release of potentially dozens of hostages held by Hamas.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Biden said:
We’re now very close, very close – we can bring some of these hostages home very soon, but don’t want to get into the details of things.
He added:
Nothing is done until it’s done and when we have more to say we will, but things are looking good at the moment.
Meanwhile, a US official told Reuters that Israel and Hamas were “very, very close” to agreeing a deal.
The deal would include Hamas releasing 50 hostages, mostly women and children, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a pause of four or five days, the official said.
We believe we are very, very close to having a deal. There is still a lot of work to be done, still approval that has to be achieved. But we believe we are very close.
It comes as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has convened his war cabinet amid growing signs of an imminent deal on the release of hostages.
Netanyahu is expected to then meet his security cabinet at 7pm local time (5pm GMT) and the full government at 8pm (6pm GMT).
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EU approves continued Palestinian development aid
The European Commission has said it will continue to provide financial aid to the Palestinians after an investigation found no evidence that the money was going to Hamas.
On 9 October, after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, the EU’s executive branch announced a review of the use of hundreds of millions of euros in development assistance meant to help the Palestinians fight poverty.
The European Commission executive vice-president, Valdis Dombrovskis, at a press briefing in Strasbourg today, said:
The review found no indications of EU money having directly, or indirectly, benefited the terrorist organisation Hamas.
The EU is the world’s biggest provider of assistance to the Palestinians. Almost €1.2bn is earmarked for 2021-2024.
In a statement, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the review was “necessary” and that it has “confirmed that the safeguards in place are effective”, adding:
Work is now ongoing on the design of our future support to the Palestinians in view of the changing and still evolving situation.
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A celebrated Palestinian poet and author, Mosab Abu Toha, has reportedly been released after he was arrested by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and taken into questioning.
Abu Toha was detained on Monday by Israeli forces while trying to leave Gaza, according to his friends and family.
He had been told by US officials that he and his family would be able to cross into Egypt, as one of his children is an American citizen. They were on the way from north to south Gaza, heading for the Rafah crossing point on Sunday, when he was rounded up along with other Palestinian men at an Israeli military checkpoint and taken away.
Abu Toha had been writing in the New Yorker magazine about his experiences under bombardment in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The newyorker.com’s editor Michael Luo said Abu Toha had now been released and reunited with his family in central Gaza.
Some promising news: Just spoke to editor David Remnick, who told me that, according to two Israeli military officials, the poet Mosab Abu Toha, who lives with his family in Gaza, has been released.
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) November 21, 2023
New update from Remnick: Mosab is back in central Gaza and reunited with his family.
— Michael Luo (@michaelluo) November 21, 2023
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More than 1,800 writers and publishers have signed an open letter in support of the pro-Palestine protesters who disrupted the ceremony of a prestigious Canadian literary award last week.
Among the signatories is the Canadian author Sarah Bernstein, the winner of the C$100,000 (£58,000) Scotiabank Giller prize.
The Giller prize event was first interrupted when protesters jumped onstage with signs that read “Scotiabank funds genocide”, while another protester shouted that Scotiabank “currently has a $500m [£398.7m] stake in Elbit Systems” and that “Elbit Systems is supplying the Israeli military’s genocide against the Palestinian people”.
The event was interrupted a second time when the winner’s announcement was being made. As Bernstein’s name was called, a protester posing as a photographer began shouting, so the organisers repeated the announcement.
The letter states that protesters were booed by the audience, forcibly removed, detained by police for three hours after the event ended and are now facing charges, which it says should be dropped.
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We reported earlier that a Lebanese news channel said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the south of Lebanon, near the UN-marked boundary with Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it is reviewing the incident. In a statement, the IDF said:
We are aware of a claim regarding journalists in the area who were killed as a result of IDF fire.
This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous. The incident is under review.
The Al-Mayadeen news channel earlier accused Israel of a direct attack on its journalists, a correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman Rabih Maamari, who were reporting on military activity along the border with Israel.
A third civilian was killed along with the two journalists, according to the broadcaster’s director Ghassan bin Jiddo, who said it was “a direct attack, it was not by chance”.
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China’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for the convening of an “international peace conference” to resolve the Israel-Hamas conflict, as he urged the release of “civilian detainees” and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Xi, addressing a virtual summit of fellow Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders on Tuesday, was quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency as saying:
All parties in the conflicts should immediately cease fire and hostilities, stop all violence and attacks targeting civilians, and release civilian detainees to avoid more loss of lives and suffering.
He said there could be no “sustainable peace and security” in the Middle East “without a just solution to the question of Palestine”, adding that China has been “working actively to promote peace talks and a ceasefire”.
Beijing “calls for an early convening of an international peace conference” to “work toward an early solution to the question of Palestine that is comprehensive, just and sustainable”, he said.
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Patrick Wintour is the Guardian’s diplomatic editor:
A revolt by leaders of the global south against US support for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is brewing as Arab diplomats met their counterparts in China and Moscow, while South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa convened a virtual meeting of the leaders of the Brics countries to condemn Israel.
The Biden administration has been repeatedly warned, including by its own diplomats, that it risks serious loss of support among global south nations that accuse the US of displaying double standards by condemning Russian war crimes in Ukraine, yet remaining largely silent over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The Brics group consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and new Brics entrants whose full membership commences next year, including Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, were also invited. South Africa has already cut off diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Arab diplomats have been on a tour of capitals of permanent members of the UN security council to gather support for a further UN security council resolution instructing Israel to stop preventing humanitarian aid reaching Gaza. It may also ask for the security council to upgrade the call made on Israel to implement a humanitarian pause to an instruction. Israel immediately rejected a UN security council last week to introduce humanitarian pauses.
The delegation started their tour in China before heading to Russia on Tuesday in a sign that the Arab countries now realise they will have to demonstrate to the US president Joe Biden he cannot take an Arab-US alliance for granted if he continues to provide such strong support to Israel.
It is also expected that some members of the delegation will visit France and the UK. The Qatar prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulraham bin Jassim Al Thani had announced he is due to visit Moscow and London this week.
An Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson said the diplomats had “drafted a new resolution to be submitted to the security council by the Arab and Islamic groups; to deal with existing obstacles and imbalances of humanitarian aid entry to Gaza.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Gaza and Israel.
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Britain has deployed 1,000 extra troops in Middle East since 7 October
Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor:
Britain has deployed an extra 1,000 military personnel around the Middle East since Hamas’s deadly 7 October attack on Israel, junior defence minister James Heappey said on Monday in a parliamentary answer, revising upwards the deployment to the region.
The figure is notably higher than the 600 mentioned by Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, to British MPs yesterday, but it is understood that he was incorrectly referring to an older figure that also did not fully include the UK’s naval commitment.
Responding to a question from opposition Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey, Shapps also confirmed that UK forces personnel “have been moved to Tel Aviv” in Israel as well as Beirut and Jordan to help protect British military and civilians in the region.
Defence sources indicated on Tuesday these were British officers to provide liaison with the Israeli Defense Force, and to draw up emergency evacuation and other plans in event of a wider war involving Hezbollah and possibly Iran – but not combat-ready soldiers providing force protection.
Healey asked on Monday whether the government was right to continue to pursue planned cuts to the size of the British army to 73,000, given the Israel-Hamas war, but Shapps said the UK could manage the extra deployment and more if needed. “I am satisfied that we cut our cloth in order to react to events around the world,” the defence secretary said.
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Netanyahu announces series of government meetings tonight 'in light of developments' on hostage releases
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced a series of government meetings tonight “in light of developments on the issue of the release of our hostages”.
The war cabinet will meet at 6pm (4pm GMT), the security cabinet at 7pm (5pm GMT) and the full government at 8pm (6pm GMT).
Prime Minister's Office Announcement:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 21, 2023
In light of developments on the issue of the release of our hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will, this evening, convene the War Cabinet at 18:00, the Security Cabinet at 19:00, and the Government at 20:00.
Emine Sinmaz reports from Shefayim for the Guardian on Israelis displaced from their homes by the 7 October Hamas attack:
Yali Shamriz was celebrating her second birthday when Hamas gunmen arrived at the kibbutz where she lived and opened fire.
For 22 hours, she sheltered with her father, Jonathan, 33, and mother, Natali, 31, in the safe room at their home while the attackers murdered 63 of the kibbutz’s 700 residents and kidnapped 19 others, including Jonathan’s brother, Alon, 26.
When the family was finally evacuated from Kfar Aza, they left with just the clothes on their backs and a handful of belongings. They are now among the 126,000 displaced Israelis living in hotels across the country in the wake of the 7 October attacks.
“It’s horrible. It’s a nightmare,” Jonathan Shamriz said. “We still don’t fully understand what happened. We still haven’t fully grieved for everyone.
“My best friends are dead, my brother is kidnapped, and when you walk through the kibbutz, it’s no place to return to.”
Displaced Israelis are now residing in 280 guest houses and hotels across the country, including in the Red Sea resort of Eilat, according to the Israeli defence ministry.
It added that as well as those in Gaza border communities, it had evacuated 23,000 people from the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and 38,000 from areas nearby. The ministry said a further 49,000 people were moved as part of a “revitalisation programme” for those affected by the war.
In Gaza, two-thirds of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced to the south, according to the United Nations, and the death toll from Israeli bombardment has reached 13,000, including 5,500 children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
Read more of Emine Sinmaz’s report here: ‘I’ll never go back’: the Israelis displaced from homes by Hamas attack
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged all parties in the Gaza conflict to immediately cease fire, end all attacks against civilians and release civilian detainees to avoid more loss of lives and suffering, according to Chinese state media.
It is also important to ensure the safe and smooth passage of humanitarian relief, expand humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, and stop the forced relocation and the cut-off of water, electricity and oil that targets people in Gaza, Reuters reported it quoted Xi saying at a virtual Brics leaders summit. The meeting was also attended by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Summary of the day so far
It has just gone 4pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines:
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said today progress was being made on the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “We are making progress. I don’t think it’s worth saying too much, not at even this moment, but I hope there will be good news soon,” he told reservists, according to a statement from his office.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this Tuesday morning: “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce”. Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said “we are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement”, adding that negotiations were at a “critical and final stage”.
It is reported that the deal would involve a multi-day pause in hostilities, the release of about 50 civilian hostages by Hamas and the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli custody. Any agreement would mark the biggest hostage release and first prisoner swap since the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel. To date just four of the estimated 240 people seized and abducted into Gaza have been returned to Israel. Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a statement this morning warning against a deal.
Israel’s air force has said on social media that in the last 24 hours it has “struck approximately 250 Hamas terror targets”. The Israeli military also issued a video of its troops in action within the Gaza Strip, claiming that “division 162 completed the encirclement of Jabalia tonight and is ready for the continuation of the attack”.
The Al-Mayadeen news channel has accused Israel of a direct attack on its journalists, after correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari were killed on Tuesday while working in the south of Lebanon, near the UN-marked boundary with Israel. “It was a direct attack, it was not by chance,” AFP reports Bin Jiddo said in an interview on the channel, noting it came after an Israeli government decision this month to block access to the website of Al-Mayadeen. Hezbollah said in a statement that the attack and others on civilians in Lebanon “will not pass without a response”.
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that three hospitals in Gaza had requested help with evacuating patients and that planning had started.
Unicef, the UN children’s agency, has said there is a serious threat of a mass disease outbreak in besieged Gaza. “It’s a perfect storm for tragedy,” Unicef spokesperson James Elder said. “We have a desperate lack of water, faecal matter strewn across densely populated settlements, an unacceptable lack of latrines, and severe, severe restraints on hand-washing, personal hygiene and cleaning.”
Avi Shoshan has left his position as spokesperson for Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Centre. He was responsible for organising the press conference that presented exchanged hostage 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz to the media after her 16 days as a hostage in Gaza. The interview was criticised in Israel as a PR victory for Hamas, after Lifshitz described what she said was “care” and “gentleness” from her captors after the initial violence of being abducted by Hamas, and criticised the Israeli government and military.
In Germany, authorities on Tuesday raided the homes of 17 people in the state of Bavaria accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online.
Updated
Vladimir Putin has called for a ceasefire in Gaza and international efforts to de-escalate the situation. The Russian president was speaking in Moscow while attending an online summit of the Brics group.
Russian state-owned news agency Tass quoted Putin saying:
Russia’s position is consistent and non-opportunistic. We call for the joint efforts of the international community aimed at de-escalating the situation, a ceasefire and finding a political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
He spoke of a human catastrope in Gaza, with Tass quoting him as saying: “The death of thousands of people, the mass expulsion of civilians and the humanitarian catastrophe that has erupted cause deep concern.”
Tass reports Putin drew attention to the fact that children also died during the conflict, quoting him saying: “This is terrible. When you watch how operations are performed on children without anesthesia, it certainly evokes strong emotions.”
In March 2023 the international criminal court inThe Hague issued an arrest warrent for Putin for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children. In granting the request for warrants by the ICC prosecutor, a panel of judges agreed that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, bore responsibility for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said today progress was being made on the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“We are making progress. I don’t think it’s worth saying too much, not at even this moment, but I hope there will be good news soon,” Reuters reports the Israeli prime minister told reservists, according to a statement from his office.
The Times of Israel earlier reported Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari as saying “we are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement,” adding that negotiations were at a “critical and final stage”.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said this morning: “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce [with Israel]”, adding that the group had delivered its response to Qatari mediators.
It is reported that the deal would involve a multi-day pause in hostilities, the release of about 50 civilian hostages by Hamas and the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli custody.
Any agreement would mark the biggest hostage release and first prisoner swap since the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel. To date, just four of the estimated 240 people seized and abducted into Gaza have been returned to Israel.
Before the war, Israel was holding about 5,200 Palestinians in custody, and since 7 October there have been more than 2,900 further arrests. Human rights and monitoring groups believe Israel is holding at least 95 women, 37 journalists and 145 children among them.
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The Palestine football team were due to be playing their first home game since 2019 in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Because of the war, it has been moved to Kuwait. They face Australia in a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup.
Fans attending the match are expected to stage protests against Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that: “At seven minutes into the match, fans will raise Palestinian flags and wave keffiyehs to mark the start of the war on 7 October [the date of the Hamas attack inside Israel]. Thirteen minutes into the match, fans will stand and turn their backs on the pitch to protest the killing of more than 13,000 people since the start of the attacks. On 75 minutes, fans will raise their arms and join hands in protest against 75 years of occupation.”
It also reported that at another signal, fans will be raising keys during the match, to “symbolise those taken by the Palestinians when they locked their doors and fled during the Nakba”.
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The Al-Mayadeen news channel has accused Israel of a direct attack on its journalists, after correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari were killed on Tuesday while working in the south of Lebanon, near the UN-marked boundary with Israel.
Al-Mayadeen director Ghassan bin Jiddo said a third civilian killed with the two journalists was a “contributor” to the channel. “It was a direct attack, it was not by chance,” AFP reports Bin Jiddo said in an interview on the channel, noting it came after an Israeli government decision this month to block access to the website of Al-Mayadeen.
Elsewhere in south Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said “enemy aircraft raided inhabited houses in Kfar Kila, leading to the death of citizen Laiqa Sarhan, 80, and the wounding of her granddaughter,” whom it identified as a Syrian national.
AFP reports that, speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in a local hospital told it the seven-year-old granddaughter was in a serious condition.
Hezbollah said in a statement that the attack and others on civilians in Lebanon “will not pass without a response”. The Israeli military said it was “looking into the details” of the incident.
Since the cross-border exchanges began after the Hamas attack in southern Israel on 7 October, at least 95 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in the north. According to an AFP tally, most of them were Hezbollah combatants but the number includes at least 14 civilians, three of them journalists.
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Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday hosted counterparts from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.
Speaking at the start of the talks in Moscow, AP reports Lavrov said Russia condemns any form of terrorism, but added that “terrorism must be fought using methods that don’t amount to collective punishment and don’t contradict, or to put it bluntly, rudely violate the norms of international humanitarian law”.
Lavrov also stressed the need to engage the countries of the region in the search for a long-term Israeli-Palestinian settlement, adding that they “understand better than anyone else how to reach a solution that will satisfy everyone”.
The group – made up of representatives of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Qatar, Jordan and the Palestinian territories – has already visited China and travels to London and Paris on Wednesday.
Since 24 February 2022, which marked the start of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN has recorded 27,149 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including more than 9,600 people killed.
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The Times of Israel reports that Avi Shoshan has left his position as spokesperson for Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Centre. He was responsible for organising the press conference that presented exchanged hostage 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz to the media after her 16 days as a hostage in Gaza.
The chaotic press conference sparked controversy in Israel, after Lifshitz described what she said was “care” and “gentleness” from her captors after the initial violence of being abducted by Hamas.
Describing the events of 7 October, Lifshitz said “They killed and kidnapped both old and young with no distinction,” adding that she was tied to a motorcycle and driven to Gaza.
“As we rode, the motorcycle rider hit me with a wooden pole. They didn’t break my ribs, but it hurt me a lot in that area, making it difficult to breathe. They stole my watch and jewellery,” she said.
Later on though she described being held underground, but with a doctor visiting daily and providing medication and treatment, and said the captors were “very concerned with hygiene … we had toilets which they cleaned every day”.
The Times of Israel reports:
Lifshitz criticised Israeli failures and spoke well of her captors. The event was considered a propaganda win for Hamas. The 24 October press conference in the hospital lobby appeared to be hastily put together and disorganised. Some criticised the government for failing to oversee the event, and the hospital was blamed by others for arranging it.
Shoshan, who had acted as the medical centre’s spokesperson for 13 years, announced his departure on social media.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Updated
The Lebanese prime minister has reportedly condemned the Israeli attack that has killed two journalists in southern Lebanon.
Najib Mikati is quoted by local media as saying: “This attack proves once again that there are no limits to Israeli crime, and that its goal is to silence the media that exposes its crimes and attacks.”
Updated
Erum Salam reports for the Guardian from New York:
US officials say they have helped some 800 US citizens leave Gaza. But more than 1,200 people with ties to the US – including citizens, green card-holders and their families – remain trapped in the embattled territory.
The Abushaabans had left Texas for Gaza in August, excited to catch up with relatives. But what was supposed to be a joyful holiday, became a waking nightmare.
When Israeli military officials issued a sweeping evacuation order for nearly half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to move south or else risk being killed, the Abushaabans initially sought shelter at the Khan Younis refugee camp.
But as the siege continued, conditions became increasingly grim. Food, water and electricity became scarce and all the while Israel was still bombing Gaza from the land, sea and air.
The Abushaabans’ only connection to the outside world was via WhatsApp – and only when there was limited access to the internet. The communication blackouts in the territory meant they had to decide each day whether to call Kari to discuss their attempts to escape, or dial their family, knowing that any conversation might be their last.
Read more of Erum Salam’s report here: ‘Why can’t I get them out?’: Palestinian Americans who fled Gaza devastated over leaving family behind
Reuters has a quick snap that Lebanese media is reporting an Israeli strike on a car inside Lebanon, near Tyre, has killed four people.
Earlier Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television said two of its staff were killed in an Israeli attack in the south of the country today. It named them as correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari. The network has accused Israel of deliberately targeting its journalists.
"Israel" deliberately targeted #AlMayadeen's correspondent, Farah Omar, and cameraman Rabih Me'mari, killing them both after they had just ended their live broadcast from South #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/EOvyiRkiM9
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 21, 2023
More details soon …
There has been very little official comment from Israel on the prospect of a deal with Hamas over the release of hostages. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has frequently insisted there could be no ceasefire until all the hostages were released, and earlier today national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, cautioned against a deal.
However, Reuters notes that Israel’s Channel 12 television quoted an unidentified senior government source earlier today saying “they are close” but gave no further details.
Any agreement would mark the biggest hostage release and first prisoner swap since the latest war began on 7 October. Hamas is thought to have taken about 240 hostages during its attack inside Israel, which Israeli authorities claim killed 1,200 people. Four hostages have been released so far, with some people initially thought to have been held, including Noa Marciano and Shani Louk, later declared killed.
Earlier Al Jazeera presented statistics on Palestinians held in Israeli jails, reporting that before 7 October, there were about 5,200 Palestinians held, and there have been at least 2,960 arrested since then. It reports that among those being held by Israel are “at least 95 women and 37 journalists” and “at least 145 of them are children, according to rights and monitoring groups”.
Updated
Qatar foreign ministry: negotiations for hostages at 'critical and final stage'
Qatar has said that negotiations to free hostages seized by Hamas during the 7 October attack are at a “critical and final stage”.
The Times of Isreal reported Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari saying “we are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement”, adding that negotiations were at a “critical and final stage”.
It is reported that the deal would involve a multi-day pause in hostilities, the release of about 50 civilian hostages by Hamas and the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli custody, according to a source who briefed Reuters.
Updated
A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that three hospitals in Israeli-besieged Gaza had requested help with evacuating patients and that planning had started.
Reuters reports that Christian Lindmeier said in Geneva that evacuations were a last resort, and that the situation in Gaza was “robbing the entire population of the north of the means to seek health”.
He said the three hospitals were the al-Shifa, the Indonesian hospital, and al-Ahli hospital, adding “so far it’s only in planning stages with no further details”.
Updated
Unicef: 'perfect storm for tragedy' in Gaza amid warning on serious threat of mass disease outbreak
Unicef, the UN children’s agency, has said there is a serious threat of a mass disease outbreak in besieged Gaza.
“It’s a perfect storm for tragedy,” Unicef spokesperson James Elder said. “Without enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services. So we have then, on top of the mortars and the bombs, a perfect storm for the spread of disease.”
“We have a desperate lack of water, faecal matter strewn across densely populated settlements, an unacceptable lack of latrines, and severe, severe restraints on hand-washing, personal hygiene and cleaning.”
Speaking in Geneva via videolink from Cairo, Elder said the potential for wider loss of life in Gaza was being significantly exacerbated because an estimated 800,000 children are displaced from their homes.
“If children’s access to water and sanitation in Gaza continues to be restricted and insufficient, we will see a tragic yet entirely avoidable surge in the number of children dying,” AFP reports Elder said.
“It’s also important to note it’s starting to rain in Gaza. Now combined, children face a serious threat of mass disease outbreak. This, of course, would be lethal.”
Updated
A protest to highlight the number of children killed in Gaza since Israel began its military campaign has been taking place in Istanbul, Turkey. Childrens’ shoes and the photographs of victims of Israeli airstrikes have been left in Üsküdar Square. Health officials in Gaza have claimed that at least 5,000 children have been killed by the assault so far.
At the same time the Times of Israel reports that another protest is taking place in Tel Aviv, where Hadas Calderon, the mother of two children abducted by Hamas on 7 October, is protesting outside the IDF headquarters in Israel’s capital.
“We must not miss this chance for a deal,” she told reporters. “I call on all the mothers to come to the entrance to the Kirya [the name of the IDF HQ], and to stand alongside me. We must bring them home.”
Her children Erez, 12, and Sahar, 16 are believed to be in Gaza, among the 30 teenagers and young children thought to have been kidnapped.
Updated
Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen television says two of its staff were killed in an Israeli attack in the south of the country today. It named them as correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari.
The state-run national news agency in Lebanon has also reported “the death of three citizens – two journalists and another civilian – in enemy bombing” which it said occurred in the Tayr Harfa area, which is close to the UN-drawn blue line that marks the boundary between Israel and Lebanon.
Earlier today the IDF said it had been exchanging fire with anti-Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Updated
Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting for Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in Gaza, has told the network: “In the last hour, new airstrikes targeted a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where several Palestinians were wounded. The same camp was targeted this morning in an attack that killed 20 Palestinians. In the north, attacks continued in the vicinity of the Indonesian hospital and Kamal Adwan hospital.”
Updated
Israel is again telling residents in northern Gaza to move to the south of the territory, saying that it is opening up a corridor via the Salah Al-Din Road until 4pm local time (2pm GMT).
The Israeli military Arabic spokesperson has also said that “a temporary tactical suspension of military activities” will operate until 2pm local time (noon GMT) in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood area, west of Rafah.
#عاجل يا سكان غزة، وخاصة سكان شمال القطاع:
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 21, 2023
🔴 الى سكان أحياء جباليا والدرج التفاح والشجاعية نحثكم على ضرورة اخلاء مناطق سكنكم بشكل فوري حفاظًا على سلامتكم وذلك عبر طريق صلاح الدين حتى الساعة الرابعة (16:00) مساء للوصول الى جنوب وادي غزة وللمنطقة الانسانية. نحثكم على الاخلاء بشكل… pic.twitter.com/4KmemWROi8
UN agencies estimate that 1.7 million Palestinians have fled their homes since Israel began its campaign against Hamas on 7 October. A small number of foreign nationals have been able to exit Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, but the vast majority remain internally displaced while the entire Gaza Strip is bombarded by Israel’s air force and resources are blockaded.
Updated
German authorities on Tuesday raided the homes of 17 people in the state of Bavaria accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online.
According to the Bavarian criminal police, the suspects were 15 men and two women, aged between 18 and 62, German news agency dpa reported. Police questioned the suspects and confiscated evidence from their homes, including mobile phones and laptops, the agency said.
The suspects were said to have celebrated the attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October, and were accused of spreading hate speech against Jewish people on social media, using symbols of banned terrorist organisations, AP reports.
The police operation focused on Bavaria’s capital city of Munich.
“Unfortunately, antisemitism has an impact on the daily life of many Jews in Germany,” Michael Weinzierl, the Bavarian police commissioner against hate crime said, “the terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel also has an impact on their lives in Germany”.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
It is noon in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv. Here are the latest headlines …
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said early on Tuesday morning that Hamas is “close to” a truce agreement with Israel. “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said, adding that the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators.
Hamas official Izzat el Reshiq told Al Jazeera that ongoing talks were for a truce that would last “a number of days” and include arrangements for the entry of aid in to Gaza, and a swap of hostages taken by Hamas for people imprisoned by Israel.
Two sources familiar with the truce talks told AFP a tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprising a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza. In return, between 50 and 100 prisoners held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – a separate Palestinian militant group – would be released. They would include Israeli civilians and captives of other nationalities, but no military personnel.
Qatar’s prime minister said on Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on “minor” practical issues.
Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir issued a statement Tuesday morning warning against a deal.
Israel’s air force has posted to social media to claim that in the last 24 hours it has “struck approximately 250 Hamas terror targets”. The Israeli military also issued a video of its troops in action within the Gaza Strip, claiming that “division 162 completed the encirclement of Jabalia tonight and is ready for the continuation of the attack”.
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, has claimed this morning that Israeli airstrikes targeted the house of the deputy undersecretary of the health ministry, with at least 17 people killed.
Israel’s military has issued a statement to say that fire is again being exchanged over the UN-drawn blue line boundary between Israel and Lebanon. There are unconfirmed media reports that two journalists and one other person have been killed in the region.
Reuters has a quick snap that Lebanese state media is reporting two journalists and one other person have been killed in southern Lebanon near the UN-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has already produced the deadliest month for journalists since statistics began more than three decades ago.
More details soon …
Interfax reports that the Russia’s ministry of emergency situations says it has delivered more humanitarian aid to Egypt for Gaza, with a plane departing for El-Arish airport at 6.20am Moscow time.
The ministry said it had sent seven previous shipments, including “mattresses, pillows, personal hygiene products, food and baby food.”
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, has spoken to Al Jazeera. It reports he told them:
Israeli airstrikes targeted the house of the deputy undersecretary of the health ministry this morning. There were 56 of his relatives in the house who were displaced from different areas of Gaza. Rescue teams managed to find 17 bodies while the rest are still under the rubble.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel’s military has issued a statement to say that fire is again being exchanged over the UN-drawn blue line boundary between Israel and Lebanon.
On the Telegram messaging app it wrote:
A short while ago, IDF aircraft identified and struck three armed terrorist cells in the area of the border with Lebanon. In addition, IDF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah terror targets, including military infrastructure and structures used for directing terrorist activity. A short while ago, terrorists fired mortar shells at an IDF post in northern Israel. No injuries were reported. IDF artillery is currently striking the source of the fire.
Toby Fricker of Unicef has spoken to the BBC, saying the agency would act to bring in aid to Gaza if there was a deal on a truce. He told the broadcaster from Amman:
If there’s an immediate humanitarian ceasefire which Unicef and many others have been calling for, then yes, then we need to bring in the supplies as quickly as we can and to get them to shelters, to get them to people wherever they are inside the Gaza Strip, wherever they are in need, which is pretty much everywhere.
A newly formed group made up of senior officials from several Muslim countries will visit the UN security council’s five permanent members and others to urge an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a Turkish foreign ministry source told Reuters on Tuesday.
The group will meet British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and French president, Emmanuel Macron, during visits to Britain and France on Wednesday, the source said.
The group includes foreign ministers and representatives from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Organisation of Islamic cooperation (OIC) secretary general.
“The primary goal of the contact group is for a ceasefire to be announced as soon as possible and for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza,” the source told Reuters.
Updated
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has just posted to social media to say that on average it has been receiving “around 42 trucks per day” of humanitarian aid, and that since 21 October, “a total of 1353 trucks have been received.”
🤚Since October 21, 2023, a total of 1353 trucks have been received, averaging around 42 trucks per day.#Gaza#HumanitarianAid pic.twitter.com/JwfInNg1r1
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 21, 2023
The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has issued a statement warning against a deal with Hamas.
It quotes him saying “I’m very concerned because there is talk of some deal. We are being kept out, and we’re not being told the truth. The rumours are that Israel is again going to make a major mistake in similar vein to the Shalit deal.”
In a 2011 deal, Israel released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners it held in return for the hostage Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Ben-Gvir said, according to the Times of Israel report, that Israel might be about to make “a deal that might bring disaster”.
Yesterday Ben-Gvir was involved in angry exchanges with families of those being held hostage by Hamas.
Updated
Israel’s air force has posted to social media to claim that in the last 24 hours it has “struck approximately 250 Hamas terror targets”.
The Israeli military has also issued a video of its troops in action within the Gaza Strip, claiming that “division 162 completed the encirclement of Jabalia tonight and is ready for the continuation of the attack”.
אוגדה 162 השלימה הלילה את כיתור ג׳באליה וערוכה להמשך המתקפה; מחבלים חוסלו ותשתיות הושמדו.
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 21, 2023
כוחות ארטילריה של 215 וכלי טיס של חיל האוויר פעלו להכנת השטח ללחימה במרחב ג'באליה. הכוחות תקפו מטרות טרור בסיוע מטוסי קרב וכלי טיס מאויישים מרחוק >> pic.twitter.com/oOhTguNHbO
Al Jazeera is reporting that people are trapped under rubble after Israeli air raids targeted eight houses near Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
The network reports:
Images from site, verified by Al Jazeera, show widespread destruction as rescuers searched for victims. One man crying loudly can be seen searching under the rubble for friends and family using the phone flash. According to an ambulance official at the site, they only had two ambulances to carry those killed and injured. One paramedic said the houses had more than ten people residing in there, with one home having up to 18 people.
It is unclear how many people remain in the north of Gaza after over a month of Israeli bombardments and repeated instructions by Israel’s military that civilians should flee to the south of Gaza, which has also been repeatedly bombed.
AP notes the UN agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that about 160,000 people are still in its shelters there, even though it is no longer able to provide services. About 1.7 million Palestinians, about three fourths of Gaza’s population, have fled their homes.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Gaza, Israel and Egypt.
In our First Edition newsletter today, Archie Bland has spoken to Daniel Levy, president of the US / Middle East Project and an Israeli peace negotiator under prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak, about what it will take to get the hostages out – and why both sides are considering it when each has so much to lose:
“My sense is that the Israelis are always trying to get another day, and another day, and another day of operations before agreeing to a deal,” Levy said. “Each day, they hope that they’ve won the lottery and killed [Hamas leaders] Mohammed Deif or Yahya Sinwar and that they will be able to point to a major military success.”
Hamas took the hostages in part because it knows the leverage that comes with the high value that Israeli society places on the release of its citizens: the most famous example is the deal struck by Netanyahu for the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, in 2011. (One of those prisoners was Sinwar himself.)
By its refusal to accept a deal before now, Israel has kept that leverage to a minimum. “But once that path is taken, Hamas can play that card much more effectively,” Levy said. “They’re not going to roll over for the release of the rest of the prisoners – they’re going to demand as much as they possibly can for each one.”
One reason for Netanyahu’s resistance to a deal may be his understanding that once the war comes to an end, his own position will come under far more urgent scrutiny because of a wide consensus that the failure to protect civilians near the Gaza border was his responsibility. “He is almost certainly toast the morning after the war is over,” said Levy. “The same is probably true of the military leadership, so they have not played the moderating role that they might ordinarily be expected to.”
Read more here: Tuesday briefing – How a deal that could mean a truce in Gaza became possible
Updated
Israel’s military has issued its latest update on the operational situation, and has said that it is “operating against terrorist infrastructure and operatives in the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip”.
In the update posted to social media and to the Telegram messaging app, the IDF claimed “during the battle, the division struck three tunnel shafts in the area of Jabalia, in which terrorists were hiding” and that “troops killed dozens of terrorists with air support, captured enemy weapons in various locations, including private houses and children’s bedrooms, and located and destroyed tunnel shafts.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Hamas says truce agreement is 'close': what we know
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said early on Tuesday morning that Hamas is “close to” a truce agreement with Israel. “We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said, adding that the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators.
Hamas official Izzat el Reshiq told Al Jazeera that ongoing talks were for a truce that would last “a number of days” and include arrangements for the entry of aid in to Gaza, and a swap of hostages taken by Hamas for people imprisoned by Israel.
El Reshiq said the deal would include the release of Israeli women and children from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian women and children from “occupation prisons”.
El Reshiq said that Qatar would announce the agreement.
Two sources familiar with the truce talks told AFP a tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprising a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza. In return, between 50 and 100 prisoners held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – a separate Palestinian militant group – would be released. They would include Israeli civilians and captives of other nationalities, but no military personnel.
Qatar’s prime minister said on Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on “minor” practical issues.
On Monday, the US president, Joe Biden, said he believed a deal to free the hostages was close. “I believe so,” Biden said when asked whether a hostage deal was near, and crossed his fingers. The White House said the negotiations were in the “endgame” stage, but refused to give further details, saying it could jeopardise a successful outcome.
Updated
Here is the beginning of the latest entries from Ziad’s diary in Gaza:
I have been having nightmares. I believe it is due to a variety of reasons: fear, stress, the cold weather and lack of proper sleep. I would manage to sleep for a few minutes or an hour from time to time. At first, my nightmares were about me or a loved one dying by a bomb. But now they are different, they are about not being able to find food. I have been so lucky that, till now, we have food, regardless of what it is; today one thing is available and tomorrow another. This is a blessing.
This night, I dreamed about going to many shops, fancy ones. None of them had anything edible. The last one did have, but the seller refused to sell to me. I kept screaming at him: “I have money, I have money.” I woke up with half of my body off the couch I was sleeping on.
Jack the cat’s health has deteriorated suddenly. We don’t know why. He feels cold even though we are covering him properly. My sister held him all night, he had his arm around hers. He refused to even drink water. I hope he gets better.
Updated
If you’re just joining us: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has said his militant movement is nearing a truce agreement with Israel, more than six weeks after its deadly assault sparked retaliatory strikes on Gaza in which thousands have been killed.
“We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said, and the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators.
Hamas official Izzat el Reshiq told Al Jazeera that ongoing talks were for a truce that would last “a number of days” and include arrangements for the entry of aid in to Gaza, and a swap of hostages taken by Hamas for people imprisoned by Israel. Reshiq said the deal would include the release of Israeli women and children from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian women and children from “occupation prisons”.
Negotiators have been working to secure a deal to allow the release of around 240 mostly Israeli hostages who were seized on 7 October. Qatar, where Hamas has a political office and where Haniyeh is based, has been mediating.
Talk of an imminent agreement has swirled for days. Qatar’s prime minister said on Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on “minor” practical issues, while on Monday, US president Joe Biden said he believed a deal to free the hostages was close. “I believe so,” Biden said when asked whether a hostage deal was near, and crossed his fingers.
The White House said the negotiations were in the “endgame” stage, but refused to give further details, saying it could jeopardise a successful outcome.
Israel-Hamas war is deadliest conflict on record for reporters, says watchdog
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has produced the deadliest month for journalists since statistics began more than three decades ago, and created a news blackout in the embattled territory, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said.
The reporters’ watchdog has recorded the deaths of 48 reporters since Hamas embarked on a murderous killing spree in Israel on 7 October, triggering a concerted Israeli bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza in response.
The committee had already labelled the first month after the Hamas attacks as the most lethal suffered by journalists since 1992 before six more Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza over the weekend.
Five were killed on Saturday alone, making it the second deadliest of the war apart from the day of Hamas’ attack, when six journalists lost their lives.
The spiralling death toll over a six-week period compares with the 42 journalists killed worldwide in the whole of 2022, including 15 who died covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, widely considered a highly dangerous conflict for news media.
The CPJ says the lethal trend also far outstrips the 30 journalists killed at the height of the Syrian civil war, previously regarded as the deadliest war zone for journalists in recent times.
IDF strikes 'about 250' places in Gaza
The IDF says that it has carried our airstrikes on “about 250” sites in Gaza in the last day, which it describes as “targets of the terrorist organisation Hamas”.
Updated
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs reports that on Monday, “one Palestinian man died of wounds sustained after being shot by Israeli forces during a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin Refugee Camp on 9 November, bringing the death toll during that operation to 15, including four children.”
Israel’s raid on Jenin on 9 November is the deadliest West Bank raid since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, of the 2000s.
In an in-depth profile of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Guardian, Joshua Leifer, an associate editor at Dissent formerly based in Jerusalem, writes:
An attack like Hamas’s 7 October massacre was not supposed to have been possible. Certainly not while prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in charge. He was, as his acolytes put it, “Mr Security”. He wanted to be remembered, he said, as “the protector of Israel”. He boasted that Israel had never known a more peaceful and prosperous time than the roughly 16 years he has been in power. It was under his successive administrations that Israel installed the Iron Dome system to intercept rockets from the Gaza Strip, and constructed, along the Gaza border, a 40-mile, $1.1bn fence, equipped with underground sensors, remote-controlled weapons and an expansive camera system. The success of Netanyahu’s vision of Fortress Israel could be measured in the imperceptibility of the Palestinians and their suffering from the comfort of a Tel Aviv cafe.
But the relative calm of the last decade-and-a-half was built upon a series of illusions: that the Palestinians and their aspirations for freedom could be hidden behind concrete barriers and ignored; that any remaining resistance could be managed through a combination of technology and overwhelming firepower; that the world, and especially Sunni Arab states, had grown so tired of the Palestinian issue that it could be removed from the global agenda, and consequently, that Israeli governments could do as they pleased and suffer few consequences.
Updated
Meanwhile Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have struck communications towers in Gaza City and northern Gaza, cutting off communications. The Guardian has not verified this report independently.
Details of truce to be announced by Qatar - Hamas official
“The expected agreement will include the release of Israeli women and children hostages in exchange for release of Palestinian children and women in the occupation’s prisons,” Izzat el Reshiq told Al Jazeera.
The details of the truce will be announced by Qatari officials, el Reshiq said.
As far as we know, Hamas says that a truce deal is “close”. Just to be clear: we do not know whether a deal has been reached or terms finalised, and there has not been announcement to this effect yet.
We will bring you more information as it emerges.
Updated
Possible truce terms include swap of women and children hostages for women and children prisoners
Hamas official Izzat el Reshiq told Al Jazeera that the conditions of the truce deal will include the release of Israeli women and children from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian women and children from “occupation prisons”.
Truce under discussion would last 'a number of days' – Hamas official
Hamas official Izzat el Reshiq has told Al Jazeera that the ongoing talks are for a truce that would last “a number of days” and include arrangements for the entry of aid in to Gaza, and a deal, arrangements for entry of aid into Gaza, and a swap of hostages taken by Hamas for people imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas leader Haniyeh says ‘we are close to reaching a truce agreement’
The chief of Hamas told Reuters on Tuesday that the Palestinian militant group was near a truce agreement with Israel.
Hamas officials are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel and the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators, Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement sent to Reuters by his aide.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday he believed an accord was near. “We’re closer now than we’ve been before,” White House spokesman John Kirby said of an agreement aimed at securing the release of some hostages held in Gaza and a pause in the fighting that would allow much needed aid into Gaza.
Two sources familiar with the truce talks have told AFP a tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprised of a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza.
In return, between 50 and 100 prisoners held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – a separate Palestinian militant group – would be released.
They would include Israeli civilians and captives of other nationalities, but no military personnel.
Opening summary
This is the Guardian’s live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war with me, Helen Sullivan.
The chief of Hamas told Reuters on Tuesday that the Palestinian militant group was near a truce agreement with Israel.
Hamas officials are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel and the group has delivered its response to Qatari mediators, Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement sent to Reuters by his aide.
There were no more details about the terms of the potential agreement.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday he believed an accord was near. “We’re closer now than we’ve been before,” White House spokesman John Kirby said of an agreement aimed at securing the release of some hostages held in Gaza and a pause in the fighting that would allow much needed aid into Gaza.
Here are the other key recent developments:
Gaza authorities said at least 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. The death toll, published by Gaza’s government media office on Monday, includes 5,600 children and 3,550 women.
Israeli forces continued their offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza, closing in on the Indonesian hospital where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was “appalled” by reports that 12 people, including patients, were killed in overnight shelling at the last hospital operating in northern Gaza. Some 200 patients have been evacuated from the Indonesian hospital on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry has said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that health services in Gaza have suffered “catastrophic” damage, with most hospitals no longer functioning. Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, warned that the thousands of injuries sustained by civilians across Gaza, combined with the growing public health crisis in the besieged enclave, is a “recipe for epidemics”. He also described Israel’s cooperation for humanitarian relief in Gaza as “subpar”.
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said a clinic it operated in Gaza City was attacked on Monday morning. Part of the building was engulfed in flames, it said, and four marked MSF cars were burned while a fifth was found crushed by a heavy vehicle or a tank. The charity said it was not immediately aware of the status of one member of staff and 20 family members.
Twenty-eight premature babies were rescued from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and taken to Egypt on Monday. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 31 “very sick” babies were moved from al-Shifa hospital in a joint operation with the UN and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, and 12 of them had been flown to Cairo. Three babies remain in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas appear to be edging towards a deal that would see the release of a significant number of hostages, possibly in return for a limited ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Joe Biden on Monday said he believed a deal is near, and the White House later said the US is “doing everything we can” and that it believed “we’re closer than we’ve ever been”.
Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas have clashed with far-right Israeli politicians who want to bring in the death penalty as a possible sentence for captured Hamas members. The families said on Monday that even talk of doing so might endanger the lives of their relatives. The row underlines the deep divisions in Israel over how to deal with the hostage crisis.
The UN secretary general has said it is clear that the war in Gaza has seen “a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict” since he began his role in 2017. At a press conference on Monday, António Guterres also said he did not believe a UN protectorate in Gaza would be a solution to the conflict and that war must “move in a determined, irreversible way to a two-state solution”.
Relief trucks originally from Jordan entered Gaza from Egypt on Monday with the intention of setting up a new field hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Jordanian state media said it hoped the facility would help ease some of the humanitarian crisis as Israel’s forces seize medical facilities in the north.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they have seized what they called an Israeli cargo ship in the Red Sea, and warned that all vessels linked to Israel “will become a legitimate target for armed forces”. They have since released video footage reportedly showing armed men seizing a ship. Israel said the vessel was a British-owned and Japanese-operated cargo ship.
