Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Tuesday night that a hostage deal is the "right decision". US President Joe Biden said earlier on Tuesday that a deal to free some of the more than 200 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza was "very close". Israel, the US and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating for weeks to secure a hostage release deal that would be paired with a temporary ceasefire and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, please click here.
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Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Key Developments from Monday, November 20:
- An Israeli strike on northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital killed at least 12, according to Gaza's health ministry.
- Israel has claimed hostages were taken to Al Shifa hospital on the day of the Hamas attacks.
- The Israeli military has released footage that it says shows a tunnel underneath the hospital.
- Hamas has denied allegations it used the hospital as a base.
- At least 13,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,500 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, the government media office in the Hamas-controlled enclave said on Saturday.
- Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial attack by Hamas, and around 240 were taken captive by militants.
Read yesterday's blog here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
