Israel-Palestine live: Israel and Palestinians agree to truce, hostage deal
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Israeli media is reporting tense exchanges between Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over the looming truce and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
Smotrich and other far-right lawmakers are vehemently opposing the agreement in a cabinet meeting, according to Israeli media reports, saying that Hamas will look to prolong the truce and stop Israel’s ground-invasion if it goes through.
“Do you trust [Yahya] Sinwar more than us?” Gantz responded to the claims, according to The Times of Israel, referring to the head of Hamas in Gaza and chief of the group’s military wing.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has also attacked the potential deal.
“This is a decision with generational damage that will come back to hurt us badly,” he told Israel’s cabinet,” according to the Times of Israel.
Smotrich and Ben Gvir are unable to block the deal, but their opposition underscores the deep divide within Israel, and the pressure amongst many lawmakers to take the deadly war in Gaza even further.
As part of the deal, up to 50 Israelis or Israeli dual nationals, mainly women and children, would be released by Hamas over a four-day period when there would be a ceasefire.
In return, Israel will release 150 Palestinian captives being held in Israeli jails, mainly women and children.
A string of Hollywood celebrities have come under pressure for criticising Israel.
Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon was dropped from by her talent agency after she spoke at a pro-Palestine rally, where she said people were “stepping away from brainwashing” about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“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,” Sarandon said at the event.
Meanwhile, actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from starring in Scream VII after she penned a number of social media posts slamming Israel amid the war in Gaza.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” Barrera wrote on Instagram. “Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water ……THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
Barrera has not immediately commented on the reason, but the LA times reported she was dropped from the project because of her posts.
The US has been providing Israel with the coordinates of humanitarian groups in Gaza in a bid to protect them from Israeli strikes, according to a report by Politico.
The report says the US has provided Israel with the GPS coordinates of medical facilities, aid workers' offices, and guest houses, along with their movements within Gaza.
According to Politico, aid groups shared their locations and information about their work with US lawmakers and senior US officials in a bid to protect them from strikes.
Israel unleashed a fierce bombardment on the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ 7 October attack. The strikes have killed 14,128, people, including at least 5,840 children, according to Palestinian health officials.
Such outreach isn't new. Aid workers in the Gaza Strip have historically shared their locations with the UN via mechanisms like the Humanitarian Notification System.
It's unclear what impact the US's sharing of aid groups' coordinates with Israel has had on preventing strikes.
More UN aid workers have been killed in Gaza than in any past war. The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) said that at least 108 staff have been killed by Israeli strikes.
The US has acknowledged flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Gaza to help locate hostages, so it has visibility on the besieged enclave.
But the coordinates of some of the facilities that the Politico report said had been shared by the US, including al-Shifa hospital, are already well known to the Israelis.
Israel attacked the massive hospital despite knowing its location. The US also supported its claim that the hospital contained a Hamas command center. Hamas has denied the allegations.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is planning to visit Israel next week amid a looming prisoner swap deal and truce between Hamas and Israel.
According to Axios, Blinken's trip has not been finalized but would take place after the US Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and before a summit of top Nato diplomats in Brussels on Tuesday.
The US has lobbied Israel to seal a hostage deal and pursue a pause in fighting in Gaza.
Blinken has already visited Israel three times since the outbreak of war on 7 October.
Good evening Middle East Eye readers,
The number of Palestinians killed crossed 14,000 and among the dead are at least 5,840 children.
But Palestinians might get a brief respite from death and destruction as details about a potential prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas slowly emerge.
Senior Israeli officials are holding a series of meetings to discuss a short-term truce deal which would see a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
Up to 50 Israelis or Israeli dual nationals, mainly women and children, would be released by Hamas over a four-day period when there would be a ceasefire.
In return, Israel will release 150 Palestinian captives being held in Israeli jails, mainly women and children.
The deal is widely expected to be approved despite opposition from Israel’s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir the Minister of National SecurityIn other updates:
- The celebrated Palestinian essayist and poet, Mosab Abu Toha, held by Israeli forces on Sunday, was released today and re-joined his family in Gaza
- South Africa’s parliament voted by a strong majority to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa, send the Israeli ambassador home, and suspend diplomatic relations with Israel
- Palestinian media outlets have reported a major strike in the Hamad Town area of Khan Younis which killed 10 and wounded at least 22
- The head of the World Health Organisation mourned the “devastating” loss of one of its employees in Gaza alongside her six-month-old baby, husband, and two brothers
- The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) said that it’s going through one of its “darkest chapters”, as at least 108 staff have been killed by Israeli strikes.
- Stuart Seldowitz, who worked on the National Security Council under the Obama administration was filmed in a racist tirade calling for the murder of more Palestinian children
Stuart Seldowitz, who worked on the National Security Council under the Obama administration, launched a racist tirade against a New York City food truck vendor.
In one of two separate videos posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Seldowitz threatens a food vendor with deportation back to Egypt and potential torture at the hands of the country’s notorious intelligence services.
Three videos have emerged so far, and users on X said Seldowitz has been harassing vendors for two weeks.
“The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents. Does your father like his fingernails?” said Seldowitz, who was a deputy director/senior political officer in the US State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003.
More recently, Seldowitz served as foreign affairs chair for Gotham Government Relations, a political lobbying group.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gotham announced that it had cut ties with Seldowitz, calling his actions “vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practise at our firm”.
While the vendor asks Seldowitz to leave, the former Obama official says: “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough.”
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) said that it’s going through one of its “darkest chapters”, as at least 108 staff have been killed by Israeli strikes.
"I am addressing you during an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” said Philippe Lazzarini, speaking over Zoom to an Unrwa gathering in Cairo.
“We cannot even protect people under the United Nations flag,” said an indignant Lazzarini, adding that almost 67 Unrwa installations had been hit, mostly in areas where people were promised safety by Israel.
“The people of Gaza are not safe anywhere: not at home, not under the UN flag, not in a hospital, not in the North, and not in the South,” said Lazzarini.
The trickle of aid allowed in Gaza over the last month was roughly the equivalent of two days of deliveries before the war started, warned Lazzarini.
South Africa’s parliament also voted by a strong majority to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa, send the Israeli ambassador home, and suspend diplomatic relations with Israel.
The vote is also largely symbolic and it would be up to the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to implement the deal.
Elon Musk, owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, announced that he “will send all money made from advertising and subscriptions associated with the war in Gaza to hospitals in Israel and the Red Cross/Crescent in Gaza”.
Musk has come under fire in recent days for calling an antisemitic conspiracy theory the “actual truth” and as a slew of major corporations pulled advertising funding from X over the alleged proliferation of pro-Nazi content.
Musk said on Tuesday he was open to “better ideas” after receiving criticism for his initiative.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to his ministers on Tuesday ahead of a prisoner swap deal, said that talk of the war ending was “nonsense”.
“So I want to clarify: We are at war, we will continue to be at war, we will continue to be at war until we reach all our goals. We will destroy Hamas, we will return all our abductees and the missing and we will ensure that in Gaza there won’t be any party that poses a threat to Israel,” said Netanyahu ahead of the cabinet vote.
Senior Israeli officials are holding a series of meetings to discuss a short-term truce deal that would see a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli cabinet is the last to vote on the deal.
The head of the World Health Organisation mourned the “devastating” loss of one of its employees in Gaza alongside her six-month-old baby, husband, and two brothers.
According to reports, multiple other family members sheltering in the same house were also killed. "I have no words to describe our grief,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showing a photo of the victim, named Dima Alhaj.
“This loss comes on top of other losses in the UN family since 7 October: 108 UNRWA colleagues have been killed. This horror must end. All humanitarians and civilians must be protected,” he said adding "Ceasefire. NOW."
Palestinian media outlets have reported a major strike in the Hamad Town area of Khan Younis.
At least 22 people are reported to have been wounded in the attack, with many taken to Nasser Hospital for treatment.
The Palestinian health authority said the number of people who have been killed by Israel since the war began has reached 14,128.
Among the dead are at least 5,840 children.
As details about a potential prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas slowly emerge, this is what we know so far, according to multiple reports:
- Senior Israeli officials are holding a series of meetings to discuss a short-term truce deal which would see a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas
- The deal reportedly includes a ceasefire, arrangements for aid trucks, and a prisoner exchange deal
- The Israeli army and the country’s intelligence services support the deal, according to reports
- Up to 50 Israelis or Israeli dual nationals, mainly women and children, would be released by Hamas over a four-day period
- Non-Israelis held, including hostages from Thailand, could also be released on a voluntary basis
- In return, Israel will release 150 Palestinian captives being held in Israeli jails, mainly women and children
- Israeli will also allow more fuel and food to enter the besieged Gaza Strip during the four-day pause, after which deliveries will go down again
- In the 24 hours after the cabinet approves the deal, the names of the Palestinian prisoners will be made public so that Israeli citizens can appeal to the courts against their release
- Israel’s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir the Minister of National Security are reportedly against the deal and will vote against it. Their opposition to the deal, however, would not necessarily mean they have the power to stop it
South Africa’s parliament voted by a strong majority to close the Israeli embassy in South Africa, send the Israeli ambassador home, and suspend diplomatic relations with Israel.
The vote comes after Israel announced it was recalling its ambassador Eli Belotserkovsky from South Africa “for consultations”.
The African country has not had an ambassador in Israel since 2018. The vote is also largely symbolic and it would be up to the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, to implement the deal
