A four-day ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin on Friday morning, a day later than originally announced, after negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which will lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the cease-fire will start at 7 a.m. local time Friday (5 a.m. GMT.)
He said the two sides had exchanged lists of those to be released, and the first group of hostages held by Hamas – including 13 women and children – would be freed Friday afternoon. Increased aid for Palestinians will start to enter “as soon as possible,” al-Ansari said.
The exchange of female and minor hostages and prisoners was due to take place on Thursday but postponed as last minute logistical issues were worked out over 24 hours of frantic diplomacy.
The truce, which initially would last for four days, was announced early on Wednesday after days of speculation and has raised hopes for a more durable pause in the violence.
Under the agreement, Hamas will free at least 50 of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages they have held since launching bloody attacks into southern Israel on 7 October. In turn, Israel will release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow up to 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza after more than six weeks of bombardment, heavy fighting and a crippling blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other essentials.
There will be a halt to Israeli air sorties over southern Gaza, with air activity over northern Gaza restricted to six hours a day. According to a Hamas statement, Israel has agreed not to arrest anyone in Gaza for the duration of the truce.
The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, has met Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit to Israel today.
Cameron, who earlier visited kibbutz Be’eri, the scene of some of the worst violence during the Hamas assault inside Israel on 7 October, told the Israeli leader in Jerusalem:
I wanted to come here in person ... to see just the true nature of the horrific attacks that you faced, I think that’s very important to do that and see that, we stand with the people of Israel.
He added that he believed the announcement of a truce between Israel and Hamas would be an opportunity to get the hostages out and to get aid into Gaza, adding:
I hope everyone who is responsible and behind this agreement can make it happen.
Netanyahu vowed to “continue with our war aims, namely to eradicate Hamas”, adding:
There is no hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and the Arab countries if we do not eradicate this murderous movement, which threatens the future of all of us.
Ziad, a 35-year-old Palestinian in Gaza, on helping a child suffering from toothache, marvelling at a family’s ability to laugh and sing, and how a simple scarf can allow you to dream of better times for her diary for the Guardian:
8am A woman I know once wondered about what life would be like if tears were coloured. If there was a specific colour for tears of joy, sadness, anger, despair and helplessness.
We have reached a stage where it is not a surprise to see someone crying in the street. They might have lost someone, they might have lost their home or maybe they have no place to go. The list could go on and on.
I leave early every day to start searching for anything useful. The shops open early to welcome all the lost souls. I call us the lost souls because we don’t know who we are any more. We had jobs, dreams and somewhat normal routines. Then suddenly we had to leave, and found ourselves in places we have never lived in before. Now we are facing the unknown. Our minds and souls are lost.
I see a man bringing a big bag with Saj bread. He starts calling out to let people know that he has something to sell. I run and reach him first. I ask him for some bread and pay him. Just like that. Then many people start running towards him. I take the bread – no, I hug the Saj bread – and pass through the gathering crowd. I have a big smile over my face. For almost half an hour I keep walking, not focusing where I am going. I’m just feeling happy.
A tear falls down my face, it does not need a colour. It is not a tear of sadness. We have reached a stage where getting bread easily is a victory, and it was a tear of gratefulness. I was grateful.
Read Ziad’s full diary entry here.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has urged Israel to rethink its offensive in Gaza, telling its president and prime minister the number of dead Palestinians is “truly unbearable”.
Sánchez’s blunt pleas came during a visit to the Middle East with the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, during which he called for a peace conference and reiterated that the creation of a Palestinian state remained the best way to bring peace and security to the region.
The response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks last month cannot include “the deaths of innocent civilians, including thousands of children”, Sánchez said.
Speaking as he met Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday afternoon, Sánchez said Spain had repeatedly condemned Hamas’s “shocking acts of terrorism” and acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself. But he added:
Let me also be clear: Israel must abide by international law, including international humanitarian law, in its response … The whole world is shocked at the images that we see coming from Gaza every day. The number of Palestinians killed is truly unbearable. I believe that all civilians must be protected at all costs.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al Qassam brigades or al-Qassam brigades, has confirmed that a four-day pause in fighting will begin at 7am local time in Gaza (0500 GMT).
During the truce, all military actions by al-Qassam Brigades and Israeli forces will cease, according to a statement on Thursday.
It added that Israeli military would stop flights over the southern Gaza Strip and would also cease flying for six hours daily, from 10am to 4pm over Gaza City and the northern areas.
The statement also sayss Israeli “prisoners, women and children under the age of 19, will be released”. Three Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, would be released for every Israeli, it added.
In addition, 200 trucks containing medical supplies would be brought into Gaza on a daily basis, along with four trucks containing fuel and cooking gas.
A four-day ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin on Friday morning, a day later than originally announced, after negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which will lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the cease-fire will start at 7 a.m. local time Friday (5 a.m. GMT.)
He said the two sides had exchanged lists of those to be released, and the first group of hostages held by Hamas – including 13 women and children – would be freed Friday afternoon. Increased aid for Palestinians will start to enter “as soon as possible,” al-Ansari said.
The exchange of female and minor hostages and prisoners was due to take place on Thursday but postponed as last minute logistical issues were worked out over 24 hours of frantic diplomacy.
The truce, which initially would last for four days, was announced early on Wednesday after days of speculation and has raised hopes for a more durable pause in the violence.
Under the agreement, Hamas will free at least 50 of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages they have held since launching bloody attacks into southern Israel on 7 October. In turn, Israel will release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow up to 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza after more than six weeks of bombardment, heavy fighting and a crippling blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other essentials.
There will be a halt to Israeli air sorties over southern Gaza, with air activity over northern Gaza restricted to six hours a day. According to a Hamas statement, Israel has agreed not to arrest anyone in Gaza for the duration of the truce.
While this press conference in Doha has been going on, Israel’s prime minister’s office has confirmed it has received an “initial” list of the hostages expected to be released at 4pm local time on Friday.
It said: “The relevant officials are checking the details of the list and are currently in contact with all families.”
The Times of Israel is reporting that there has also been confirmation from Hamas that the ceasefire will last four days, and that 50 hostages will be released in total.
The Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said 13 Israeli hostages are expected to be released tomorrow and this will be followed by a release of Palestinian detainees from Israel’s jail.
The Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson has described the Israel-Hamas deal as “a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel”.
He has said that the criteria to prioritise hostages was humanitarian with a focus on women and children. He said he hoped there would be momentum generated by the deal to help everybody get out and “lessen the hardship of the people in Gaza through the humanitarian pause that is taking place”.
The press conference is taking place in Doha, where a 7am ceasefire in Gaza and a 4pm Israeli hostage release for Friday has been announced.
One question that has just come from a journalist in the room has been to have reassurance that all the hostages on the list for initial release are alive. The spokesperson said they are alive, but he also said he does not have verifiable information of the total number of hostages and their status.
The Qatar foreign ministry briefing is being given by Majed al-Ansari. He has said a ceasefire will start in Gaza tomorrow at 7am local time Friday morning, and that the first hostages will be released at 4pm local time Friday afternoon. Thirteen Israelis are expected to be returned. This will be followed by the release of some Palestinian detainees from Israel’s jails. He has said for security reasons he cannot disclose the exact mechanics.
The Q&A portion of this press conference is being given in Arabic or English, depending on which media organisation has asked the question.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Gaza is a war zone, and the delay in the plan was to ensure safety all round.
He said the lists and timings of release have only been agreed for the first day and that subsequent days will be announced as it goes along.
He says it is important that lines of communication stay open. He says the truce is a cessation of all hostilities, and could be broken by any resumption of hostilities, however it is defined.
He said he thinks they have reached a point now where they are ready to go on the ground and that there should be no further delays.
The Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson in Doha has said they are unable to discuss for security reasons where hostages will be released to, but has said the Red Cross will be involved.
They have also said it is anticipated that Israel will make a Palestinian prisoner release tomorrow following the release of hostages. It is expected that 13 Israeli hostages will be released at 4pm local time tomorrow. He did not specify how many Palestinians detained by Israel would be released in the first instance.
At a press conference in Doha, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson has said the ceasefire will begin Friday at 7am (5am GMT) and that the first hostage release, of 13 hostages, will be at 4pm Friday (2pm GMT).
The spokesperson said they expect aid to start moving into Gaza through the Rafah crossing as soon as the ceasefire starts.
Hamas is believed to have seized at least 240 Israeli hostages during its 7 October attack inside Israel. The deal, drawn up between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, envisages that 50 Israeli hostages will be returned in exchange for a four-day pause in hostilities, and the release of 150 Palestinians held in Israeli detention.
It had been hoped that the first release could have taken place on Thursday, but last-minute hitches delayed the expected implementation of the ceasefire.
The Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October killed at least 1,200 people. The subsequent Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip has, according to the health ministry there, killed at least 13,000 Palestinians, many of them children. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures issued during the conflict.
More details soon …
Here are the latest headlines …
A long-awaited hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas won’t take effect before Friday, US and Israeli officials have said, dashing the hopes of families who thought captives may be freed earlier and prolonging the suffering of Palestinians under bombardment in Gaza. It was not immediately clear what caused the delay. The deal had been expected to come into force from Thursday.
Under the agreement, Hamas will free at least 50 of the more than 240 mostly Israeli hostages they took on 7 October. In turn, Israel will release at least 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow up to 300 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza after more than six weeks of bombardment, heavy fighting and a crippling blockade of fuel, food, medicine and other essentials.
A Palestinian official told AFP on Thursday a delay in implementation of a truce in the Gaza Strip between Israeli forces and Hamas was due to “last minute” details over which hostages would be released and how. The Wall Street Journal, citing senior Egyptian officials, reported that a failure to exchange lists for the swap and disagreements about access for the Red Cross have caused the delay.
The Israeli military confirmed today that the director of al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip had been held for questioning. Muhammad Abu Salmiya was reportedly detained with other medical staff while heading to the south of the Gaza Strip. In a statement the IDF said: “In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity. Findings of his involvement in terrorist activity will determine whether he will be subject to further questioning.” The Palestinian health minister, Mai Al-Kayl, said the arrests showed that Israel was flouting international humanitarian law.
The Israeli military (IDF) says it struck more than 300 “Hamas terror targets” in total over the past day. In a Telegram post the IDF said it had struck “military command centres, underground terror tunnels, weapon storage facilities, weapon manufacturing sites and anti-tank missile posts”.
Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by the Hamas-led government, has resumed its detailed count of casualties from the Israel-Hamas war in the territory. The director of the health ministry, Medhat Abbas, confirmed the resumption, said it has documented more than 13,000 deaths, and that another 6,000 people have been reported missing and are feared buried under the rubble. Israel’s assault on Gaza followed the Hamas attack on 7 October which killed at least 1,200 Israelis. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures during the conflict.
A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross has told Al Jazeera that its staff were fired upon while trying to deliver humanitarian support in northern Gaza.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, has met Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Beirut.
Israel and Hezbollah have again exchanged fire over the UN-drawn blue line that divides Israel and Lebanon. Israel claims to have intercepted multiple launches.
The US says it has downed drones in the Red Sea that had been launched from Yemen.
The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, is in Israel, where he has visited kibbutz Be’eri, one of the sites attacked by Hamas on 7 October in an assault that one of the survivors described as a “pogrom”.
The Israeli military has provided no details on the circumstances of the detention of the al-Shifa hospital director, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, but Reuters reports the Palestinian health ministry said he and a number of doctors were arrested at dawn at a checkpoint on the road linking northern Gaza to the south.
The Palestinian health minister, Mai Al-Kayla, said the arrests showed that Israel was flouting international humanitarian law. Al-Kayla is the minister for the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, which has no control over the health system in Gaza, which has been governed by Hamas since 2007.
Hamas has condemned the arrest, saying: “We consider it a despicable act that only comes from an entity that lacks all sense of humanity and morals.”
Water is one of the most precious resources in Israel and the Palestinian territories. But there is a stark imbalance in how this resource is distributed. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli-owned farms are flourishing, while Palestinians often do not have enough water to drink. And in Gaza, Palestinians are facing deadly levels of water shortage. Josh Toussaint-Strauss examines how Israel took control of the region’s water supply and created a deadly scarcity crisis for Palestinians.
There has been considerable speculation about why the release of hostages and the implementation of a temporary truce has been delayed. The Wall Street Journal has an account, which it sources to senior Egyptian officials. Jared Malsin and Summer Said write:
Senior Egyptian officials said Hamas failed to formally sign off on the mechanism for the hostages’ release, and didn’t provide Israel with a specific list of around a dozen or more to be freed first.
Israel for its part delayed the handover of a list of the first group of Palestinian prisoners it plans to free, according to officials familiar with the talks.
Among the technical issues gumming up the process is access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to the released hostages, and negotiations over the exit through which they will leave Gaza, according to officials familiar with the situation.
Israel had wanted the hostages to be handed over to the Red Cross before their transfer to Israel, while Hamas is now asking for them to be given directly to Egypt, the officials said. Israel has also asked that the Red Cross be given access to those hostages who remain in Gaza after the first exchange, something Hamas hasn’t agreed to.
Here is the full IDF statement on the detention of Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the director of al-Shifa hospital:
The director of the al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip was apprehended and transferred for ISA questioning following evidence showing that the al-Shifa hospital, under his direct management, served as a Hamas command and control centre. The Hamas terror tunnel network situated under the hospital also exploited electricity and resources taken from the hospital. In addition, Hamas stored numerous weapons inside the hospital and on the hospital grounds.
Furthermore, after the Hamas massacre on 7 October, Hamas terrorists sought refuge within the hospital, some of them taking hostages from Israel with them. A pathological report also confirmed the murder of CPL Noa Marciano on the hospital premises.
In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity. Findings of his involvement in terrorist activity will determine whether he will be subject to further ISA questioning.
The IDF also rereleased the statement from the Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, yesterday, in which he said: “Now, the irrefutable truth of Hamas’s exploitation of hospitals in Gaza is on full display to the world. We have an important question to ask the international community: what will you do to stop Gaza’s hospitals from being turned into terror bases in the future? Will you condemn Hamas? Or will you continue to be silent? Will you remain silent? I want to make it clear that Israel is at war with Hamas. We are not at war with the people of Gaza.”
Hamas and medical staff within Gaza’s hospitals have repeatedly denied the Israeli accusation.
The Israeli military confirmed today that the director of al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip had been held for questioning. Muhammad Abu Salmiya was reportedly detained while heading to the south of the Gaza Strip.
Reuters reports that Israel said it was questioning him over evidence that the facility had been used as a command and control centre for the Islamist movement Hamas.
“In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity,” the military said in a statement.
Abu Salmiya had frequently spoken to international media over the course of the conflict about conditions in and around the hospital during the Israeli bombardment and siege of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its activities, which Hamas and medical staff have repeatedly denied.
Earlier this week Israel released footage, which showing reinforced tunnels allegedly used by Hamas, with what the IDF said showed a meeting room, kitchen and bathroom.
A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross has told Al Jazeera that its staff were fired upon while trying to deliver humanitarian support in northern Gaza.
It said: “Healthcare workers have special protection under international law and we are pressing for immediate protection for all civilians,” adding that hospitals in Gaza had been “turned into cemeteries and war fields”.
Dani Dayan, chair of Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust memorial centre, has told AFP that comparisons between the Hamas attack on 7 October and the Holocaust were “simplistic”, even if “the genocidal intentions, sadism and barbarism of Hamas” had similarities with Nazi atrocities.
He told the news agency: “The crimes that took place on 7 October are on the same level as Nazi crimes, but they are not the Shoah. I do not accept the simplistic comparison with the Holocaust even if there are similarities in the genocidal intentions, sadism and barbarism of Hamas.
“For any Jew who has heard the stories of families putting their hands over a baby’s mouth to stop it from crying, the association of ideas is obvious. We have all thought about it.”
Dayan said, however, that aside from the scale of the events, unlike many of the Jews targeted during the second world war, Israelis are far from defenceless victims, and the state has hit back hard.
“We cannot compare it with the period of the Holocaust because there is an army here, which is fighting and making Hamas pay the price,” he said.
Dayan has previously criticised Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, who pinned a yellow star to his chest insisting he would wear it until the UN security council condemned the Hamas attack. “This act disgraces the victims of the Holocaust,” Dayan said at the time.
He has also criticised the UN secretary general, António Guterres, who had said the Hamas attacks “did not happen in a vacuum”.
“I asked him what context could explain the beheading of children, rapes or shootings of young people at a music festival,” Dayan said.
The memorial centre itself counts some of its own staff among the victims of 7 October. Polish-born Israeli historian Alex Dancyg, 75, who worked at Yad Vashem, was last seen at the Nir Oz kibbutz and is feared to be among the hostages, as is one of the guides, Liat Atzili.
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2023-11-23 15:24:40Z
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