Israel-Palestine live: Israel and Palestinians agree to truce, hostage deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and discussed the increased levels of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank against Palestinians.

"Secretary Blinken stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence," the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.

UN figures have shown that daily settler attacks have doubled since 7 October.

Earlier on Thursday, France strongly condemned the rise in Israeli settler violence, calling it a "policy of terror".

The editorial board of the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest newspapers in the US, has issued a call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

"The world cannot stand by to witness more slaughter of civilians," the board said in an opinion published on Thursday.

"Remaining mindful of America’s mistakes, it is incumbent upon the Biden administration now to avoid complicity with Israel’s. We are past the time to excuse the horror in Gaza. Biden has to press Netanyahu hard to stop the indiscriminate killing. That starts with a call for a cease-fire."

The LA Times is the first major newspaper in the US to issue a ceasefire call. At the end of October, the Financial Times, a British newspaper, issued a similar call.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should use "fire and brimstone" to negotiate with Hamas instead of relying on a process led by Qatar. 

Writing on X, Smotrich said Israel should "cut off contact" and take control of the situation by not letting Hamas set out how it will free hostages held by the group in Gaza.  

Describing Hamas as "nazis", the Finance Minister said Israel should have refused to cooperate with Qatari negotiations a long time ago and use force till Hamas is "begging" for a deal. 

Good evening, 

It's midnight in Gaza, and here are your latest updates on the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 

• The Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza has "completely shut down" after enduring weeks of Israeli bombardment. 
• The Palestinian Health Ministry said a dialysis patient had died during Israel's raid of the al-Shifa hospital. 
• The Israeli army said it found the body of an Israeli hostage in a building "adjacent" to the al-Shifa hospital. Hamas-affiliated groups abducted Yehudit Weiss on 7 October and was taken to Gaza. 
• The head of US Centcom, General Michael Erik Kurilla, is scheduled to visit Israel for the second time since 7 October. Kurilla will meet with Israeli army officials to discuss the Gaza war and tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border. 
• The Palestine Prisoner Society said Israel has detained nearly 3,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October. 
• Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting at the Tunnels checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 
• The Palestine Red Crescent said Israeli tanks had laid siege to Gaza's al-Ahli hospital. 

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said that Israel had arrested more than 2,760 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October. 

The compiled figures include arrests made from homes, military checkpoints, and Palestinians forced to surrender "under pressure" by Israeli forces. 

Two Israeli officials told Axios that General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, will visit Israel on Thursday and meet with senior Israeli army officials to discuss the war in Gaza and the situation on the Lebanese border. 

Axios reports that Kurilla will visit Israel for the second time since 7 October, and meet with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli Army's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and other senior defence and intelligence officials. 

Israeli sources told Axios that army officials will brief Kurilla on the ground operation in Gaza and what the military plans for the besieged enclave. 

The Israeli military said it recovered the body of a 65-year-old Israeli from Gaza on Tuesday. 

A military statement claimed it found the body of Yehudit Weiss in a building near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza and later transferred her remains to Israeli territory. 

The military did not confirm the causes of death but added: "In the structure in which Yehudit was located, military equipment including Kalashnikov rifles and RPGs were also found."

Hamas previously said over 50 Israeli prisoners held by the group in Gaza had been killed in Israeli air strikes. 

The Times of Israel said that Weiss, a mother of five, was taken from Kibbutz Be'eri on 7 October. Her husband was found dead in the safe room of their home. 

The Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza has completely shut down after enduring weeks of Israeli bombardment. 

Atef al-Kahlout, who heads the Indonesian hospital, told Al Jazeera that the situation had meant leaving 45 patients needing urgent surgery in the reception area. 

“The Indonesian hospital has completely stopped serving and operating,” said Kahlout.

"Due to our clinical inability to accommodate patients from Gaza and the north, we announce that the hospital has completely stopped operating." 

Around 200 protesters have shut down a key commuter bridge in San Francisco, which is currently hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Protesters are calling for an immediate ceasefire and for the US to end military aid to Israel.

The US provides nearly $4bn in military aid to israel every year.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health said a dialysis patient died during Israel's raid of the al-Shifa hospital. 

Ashraf al-Qudra warned that several premature babies are at risk of imminent death as there is no electricity to power their incubators. 

He added that no food and water remained for the 650 patients and 7,000 people sheltering in the hospital. 

Qudra also called out Israel's claim that the hospital stored weapons and described the claim as a "lie" during his press conference. 

The United States has doubled down on claims that Hamas had operated from the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza after Israeli forces raided the medical facility. 

Speaking on Thursday, White House spokesperson John Kirby was responding to questions from reporters on the limited evidence provided by Israel to back its claim that Hamas used al-Shifa as a command centre. 

"We have our own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using al-Shifa as a command and control node and most likely as well as a storage facility," Kirby told reporters. 

"They were sheltering themselves in the hospital, using the hospital as a shield against military action, placing the patients and medical staff at greater risk. We are still convinced of the soundness of that intelligence."

Kirby did not confirm whether Israel had shared any intelligence it had gathered from the al Shifa hospital after raiding the facility.

The Jewish Community Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which hosts one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.

The European Jewish Congress posted a picture on Thursday that showed vandals had defaced the doors of the centre with a swastika in Ljubljana. 

This latest attack comes as antisemitic incidents continue to rise across Europe, following Hamas's attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent bombardment of Gaza.

It is horrible to see that the Jewish Community Centre and theater in Ljubljana, Slovenia has been defaced with antisemitic graffiti.

The building also hosts the local synagogue and the Museum of the History of the Holocaust in Slovenia.

We stand with the 🇸🇮 Jewish community. pic.twitter.com/tNEnqbLUld

— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) November 16, 2023

The al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility for a shooting at the Tunnels checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday. 

Earlier, Israeli police said they had shot and "neutralised" a suspect in the shooting, as tensions continue to rise in the occupied West Bank. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli tanks were laying siege to Gaza's al-Ahli hospital in a “violent attack” on Thursday, after a surgeon confirmed the hospital was no longer able to provide surgery. 

“Teams are unable to move and reach those who are injured,” the PRCS said on X, formerly Twitter.

The director of al-Shifa Hospital has given the latest update from inside the besieged medical facility in Gaza. 

The hospital, the largest medical complex in the Palestinian territory, was raided by Israeli troops early on Wednesday. 

As of Thursday 15:30 GMT, tanks are still encircling the hospital while bulldozers raze sections of it and troops raid different wards. 

Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic, gave the following updates:

• Starving children are "crying for milk" after food and water run out.

• The hospital is plunged into darkness and electricity is cut off. 

• Soldiers destroy expensive medical equipment, worth up to $2m. 

• Soldiers separated men and women, interrogating doctors and displaced men.

• Over 7,000 civilians inside are waiting for their death.

•  Three premature babies have died so far, after being taken out of incubators due to power outages. 

• A Palestinian woman gave birth two days ago.