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

US President Joe Biden and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed the Hamas hostage situation and other developments in Gaza in a phone call on Friday, the leaders' offices said.

"The two leaders discussed the urgent need for all hostages held by Hamas to be released without further delay," the White House said in a statement.

"The leaders also discussed ongoing efforts to increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza and Israel’s decision to resume fuel deliveries for life-saving aid."

The White House said they agreed to remain in close touch on these issues.

Meanwhile, the Vatican has also confirmed that the pope will visit relatives of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinians on Wednesday. 

Oxfam said on Friday that the total amount of bottled water delivered into Gaza so far is equivalent to just 1.6 litres per person. 

The organisation said that the amount of water available to people trapped in Gaza will still be just 17 percent of pre-siege levels. 

In the statement, Oxfam also said that gastroenteritis and dehydration are spreading and the risk of waterborne disease is rife. 

Contaminated water has already caused a range of issues, particularly among children. 

An Oxfam member of staff in Gaza said: “The water is disgusting, most people are having to drink brackish water from wells. There is no electricity, so we have to fill buckets and carry up to the roof tank. Our whole family are sick with diarrhoea.”

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Friday that they will “reach Hamas wherever it exists, including in the south”. 

"We are determined to advance our operation. It will happen wherever Hamas exists, including in the south of the strip," Daniel Hagari told a regular briefing. "It will happen at the time, place and conditions that are best for the military."

After forcing around 1.1 million Palestinians in north Gaza to evacuate to the south, the Israeli military has dropped leaflets in south Gaza telling residents to leave their homes and go to "shelters".

Palestinians have reiterated that there are now no safe areas in Gaza, as even those who have left their homes following the orders have been struck with bombs and air strikes. 

Amnesty International has raised concerns over Israeli orders that Palestinians in south Gaza leave their homes. 

“Fears continue to grow for the safety of civilians across southern Gaza after Israeli air force dropped leaflets in eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis (Al-Qarara, Khuza’a, Bani Suhaila &Abasan) ordering people to leave their homes & go to “known shelters,” they said on Friday. 

The statement comes after around 1.5 Palestinians in north Gaza were forced to leave their homes, following Israeli orders, with no guarantee of return. 
Women, children, the sick, wounded and disabled, were among the Palestinians forced to leave their homes on foot and walk kilometres to reach Salah al-Din road, a main highway. 

Amnesty said that this amounts to “forced displacement and violates international law.” 

“As the occupying power, Israel has the obligation to protect and ensure the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population,” they added.

The Amnesty statement comes after Israel ordered residents in south Gaza to leave their homes in a similar fashion to what happened in north Gaza.

“Amnesty is deeply concerned that the already-horrifying, man-made humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will further deteriorate with the start of the rainy season with devastating consequences for 100s of thousands of IDPs,” they said. 

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Friday that five countries, including South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti have called for a war crime probe over the situation in Palestinian territories.

The ICC has an ongoing investigation into “the situation in the State of Palestine” for alleged war crimes committed since June 2014, Khan said in a statement.  

Khan said the ongoing investigation “extends to the escalation of hostilities and violence since the attacks that took place on 7 October 2023”. 

MEE’s correspondent on the ground in west Gaza has given an update on the situation on the ground. 
Due to poor telecommunication services in Gaza, MEE received the update on Friday morning. 

Israeli air strikes have continued to target homes while people are still in them, many of the residents have not had a chance to leave. 

In the Yarmouk area, another house was bombed, and inside there were many people sheltering from bombs. Two young children were killed in the bombing along with a man. Many were wounded. 

In the al-Tufah and Darraj neighbourhoods, air strikes have not stopped since yesterday. Residents in Gaza do not know where to take wounded people anymore, any remaining hospitals can no longer cope with critical wounds due to the lack of equipment and tools. 

In south and central Gaza, Israeli forces have continued to bomb key areas including close to hospitals, putting them out of service. 

I heard from neighbours there was a medical centre near Salah al-Din Street, but it is very small and I’m not sure it can deal with people with critical wounds. The most it can do is deal with moderate or small wounds. No one can get surgery anymore due to the intensity of the situation. 

Air strikes have also continued to target the Jabalia refugee camp, an entire block of residential towers was levelled yesterday, and there are talks of dozens of people being killed. With the Indonesian Hospital now largely out of service, we don’t know what will happen with the bodies and the wounded.

Inside the hospitals still operating, open wounds are starting to be infected which is adding to the pain of patients. 

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa called on Hamas to release all women and children in its custody in exchange for the release of all women and children in Israeli prisons.

Bahrain normalised ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords but recalled its ambassador to Israel shortly after Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Manama also temporarily suspended all flights between the two countries.

Gaza’s government media office announced on Friday that the death toll for Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October has now reached at least 12,000.

The figure includes at least 5,000 children and 3,300 women.

Here are some of the main updates from the office:

• There are over 3,750 missing people, including 1800 children who are believed to be still under the rubble
• At least 200 medical personnel have been killed, which includes doctors, nurses, and civil defence crew members
• 51 journalists have been killed.
• There has been a large-scale outbreak of infections due to the lack of clean water. The infections are affecting around 30,000 people, the majority of them women and children
• A number of official and civilian buildings have been destroyed. This includes 95 government buildings, 255 schools, 76 mosques and three churches
• Health centres and hospitals have also been targeted, and 55 ambulances have been fully destroyed and rendered out of service. 

In the statement published by the government media office, they said that Israeli forces are “fabricating false scenarios and narratives, and distorting information about hospitals".

They warned that this was a “campaign of incitement and misinformation, with the aim of justifying war and genocide".

They reaffirmed that hospitals are only used to provide health services to the sick and the wounded, and called on the international community to remove Israeli military forces from the al-Shifa Hospital, including the removal of tanks, and supply the hospital with fuel in order to allow patients to be treated. 
 

The captives held in the Gaza Strip are now the most sensitive issue in Israel.

It has been more than a month since around 240 people were taken captive by Palestinian fighters during the Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip.

Yet no one really knows what is going on in the negotiations to free them. There have been various media reports, including by Middle East Eye, suggesting that swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have been close.

Hamas has been relatively open about the issue. It has suggested freeing a handful of civilian captives in exchange for a cessation of hostilities, followed by around 100 more in exchange for Palestinian women and minors being held in Israeli prisons.

Israel nonetheless ploughs on with its offensive in Gaza, which has now killed more than 11,500 Palestinians, including over 4,600 civilians.

This week, the bodies of two Israeli captives were recovered by soldiers. One suffered from cancer and another was a soldier that Hamas said was killed in an Israeli raid, but it is not known for sure how they died.

The question for Israeli society today is: what kind of commitment does the state have to bring these hostages back alive?

For the full story, click on the link below. 

Read more: The fate of Hamas’ captives could tear Israeli society apart 

Ismail al-Thawabta, a spokesperson for Gaza’s government media office, gave an update on the health situation in Gaza on Friday. 

Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said that the situation in the Gaza Strip was dire. 

Here are some of the key points he mentioned. 

• 25 hospitals have now been rendered out of service as a result of Israeli bombardment and a lack of fuel and electricity. 
• A total of 250 medical facilities are no longer operational. 
• There are at least 30,000 wounded people, with any remaining healthcare facilities at full capacity and no longer able to care for or treat patients. 
• 202 health workers have been killed since the start of the war on 7 October. 
   

Tom Potokar, the chief surgeon for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, described the situation in Gaza as a “tragedy” in a video posted by the organisation on Friday.

“I’m so tired today and losing my voice as well, the team has been working non-stop for over 12 hours a day for three weeks now without a single break.

“There are so many destroyed lives, shattered bodies, burned bodies, particularly in children, it's such a tragedy,” he added. 

He also said it was “frustrating” not having the right tools and equipment to be able to carry out their job properly and help civilians. 

Israeli forces have detained a prominent Palestinian photographer and journalist, Abdelafo Bassam, according to local media. 

Israeli forces launched a widespread crackdown on Palestinians in occupied east Jerusalem, where Bassam is based, and other cities in the occupied West Bank. 
 

A video posted by the Palestinian Red Crescent inside Gaza’s al-Quds Hospital taken on 8 November reveals how Israel’s ongoing siege and bombardment has impacted patients. 

The video shows medical machines turned off due to electricity being cut out and smashed windows due to live fire and bombing. 

The patients shown in the video are all described and shown as being in critical condition, with staff unable to help them further. 

In the video, a spokesperson describes how doctors have been forced to use the flashlight on their phones due to electricity being cut out. 

The organisation said they have only just been able to reveal the footage due to communication blackouts. 

Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said on Friday that Israeli hostages were not held in hospitals, but were instead transferred to care centres for treatment due to the seriousness of their condition and to save their lives.

They added that one captive was given intensive care and then was returned to his place of his detention.

“The hostage died from panic and anxiety due to ongoing heavy Israeli bombing around where he was being held, and we will be publishing content documenting and showing this,” they added.

The group later posted a video to their Telegram channel, showing a hostage recieveing treatment and footage of him having died.

Middle East Eye could not independently verify the footage. 
 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday that he congratulated David Cameron on his recent appointment as British foreign secretary and said the pair would meet in Israel next week.

Cohen said they agreed to continue their discussion on efforts to release captives held in Gaza and disrupt funding for Hamas.