Officials and diplomats are negotiating a days-long ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages, including children, women, elderly and sick people, the Guardian understands.
The discussions include the possibility of a one- to three-day ceasefire, although nothing has been agreed, sources with knowledge of the negotiations have said.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly said there will be no ceasefire in Gaza until hostages – of which there are believed to be more than 240 – are released. Hamas says hostages will not be released until a ceasefire is agreed.
Netanyahu said on Wednesday night: “I want to put to the side all sorts of idle rumours that we are hearing from all sorts of directions, and repeat one clear thing: there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages.”
Qatar has been mediating between Israel and Hamas.
An unidentified drone has hit a building in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, the military has said.
Israel usually announces if attacks come from Gaza, suggesting the drone may have come from elsewhere.
The Israeli military said earlier this month it had deployed missile boats in the Red Sea as reinforcements, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and vowed to carry out more.
The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has said calls for a ceasefire in Gaza are understandable. The UK has backed Israel’s war and not called for a ceasefire itself despite intense international pressure.
“Well, what we have said, is that calling for a ceasefire is understandable,” Cleverly said during a visit to Riyadh, where he met Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
“But what we also recognise is that Israel is taking action to secure its own stability and its own security. Of course, we want to see this terrible situation resolved as quickly as possible,” he added. “The immediate challenge is the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza.”
At least 10,812 Palestinians, including 4,412 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the health ministry in Gaza has said in its latest update.
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, will visit the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a Middle East trip starting on Friday, her ministry has said.
Reuters is reporting that a trilateral meeting was held in Qatar on Thursday between CIA and Mossad chiefs and the Qatari prime minister to discuss the parameters of a deal for hostage releases and a pause in the Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Citing a source said to be briefed on the meeting, Reuters said the talks also included a discussion over allowing humanitarian imports of fuel into Gaza.
Nato allies support humanitarian pauses in the war to allow aid to reach Gaza, the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said.
International law must be respected and civilians be protected in the conflict, he told reporters in Berlin as he addressed the media before a meeting with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Reuters reported.
“The war in Gaza must not turn into a major regional conflict. Iran and Hezbollah must stay out of this fight,” Stoltenberg added.
The president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, has called for “the immediate and unconditional” release of the estimated 240 hostages taken by Hamas, which include 21 Argentine citizens – the youngest of whom is reportedly just nine months old.
In a full-page advertisement published in many of Israel’s major newspapers on Thursday, Fernández wrote: “Argentina demands the immediate and unconditional release of the people who were abducted by the group Hamas, and in particular our fellow citizens.”
The Argentinian baby is reportedly the youngest of all the hostages taken by Hamas when the militant group launched its attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October.
Fernández said he was working with other countries in the region to secure the freedom of the hostages and “to bring an end to the terrible consequences the conflict is having on Palestinian and Israel women, children and civilians”.
As well as the kidnapped Argentinians, at least nine Argentine citizens were reportedly killed during the Hamas assault. Citizens of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay were also killed. Argentina is home to Latin America’s largest Jewish community with about 180,000 Jews.
Fernández’s advert – which appeared in newspapers including Haaretz, Israel Hayom and the Jerusalem Post – will reportedly be published in other countries, including the US, on Friday.
The defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said Israel is in a “prolonged war”.
“We need to resolve things quickly, even if not perfectly,” Gallant said during a meeting with directors general of government ministries and local officials, according to the Times of Israel news outlet.
He said the military’s plan was to stop Hamas rocket fire so that Israeli public life near Gaza could continue.
“We are in a prolonged war, and the issue of the [Israeli] civilian economy is a main factor in the management of the war,” he was quoted as saying.
Speaking at the aid conference in Paris, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has criticised Israel’s war on Gaza.
Here is the tweet, quoting Philippe Lazzarini:
Two former international prosecutors have called on the international criminal court to issue arrest warrants for political and military leaders of Israel and Hamas.
Carla Del Ponte served as chief prosecutor of the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Graham Blewitt was deputy prosecutor of the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
They write in Politico:
Thousands of lives have already been lost, and many more have been destroyed. Respect for international law is in short supply, with attacks on civilians, hostage taking, and the indiscriminate bombing of urban areas. Such acts can constitute international crimes.
We have prosecuted such war crimes before, as well as crimes against humanity and genocide. It is never an easy task, but it is a vital one.
Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians and wounded 13 others during a raid on Jenin city and refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry has said.
Israel’s military said it was conducting raids in Jenin, but gave no further details.
Here are more photos from today:
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2023-11-09 14:32:00Z
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