Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Truce deal close, says Hamas leader; 200 evacuated from Gaza's Indonesian hospital

"There are still 400 patients in the hospital and we are working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate," Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday a truce agreement with Israel was in sight, raising hopes that dozens of people taken hostage in the October 7 attacks could be released.

The majority of the hostages are Israeli civilians, some of them young children and elderly people. Only a handful have been released, freed by Israeli troops or their bodies recovered.

Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- which also participated in the attacks -- confirmed that their groups had agreed to the terms of a truce deal.

The tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprised of a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza, among other conditions.

Meanwhile, 200 patients were evacuated from Gaza's Indonesian hospital with the help of the Red Cross just hours after it was hit by a deadly Israeli strike that killed 12 people, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday.

Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, "The Israeli army is laying siege to the Indonesian hospital. He told AFP that 200 people were evacuated from the hospital in Jabaliya and were taken by bus to Nasser hospital in the southern town of Khan Yunis.

400 people still remain inside the hospital but efforts continue to move them to other hospitals in southern Gaza, Qudra added.

The evacuation of the 140-bed hospital, which is close to the Jabaliya refugee camp, was carried out in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he said, in a condition laid down by doctors after Israel struck an ambulance in northern Gaza, claiming it was being used by Hamas militants.

On Monday, a shell struck the second floor of the Indonesian Hospital, killing at least 12 people, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza and a medical worker inside the facility. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The advance on the Indonesian Hospital came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory's largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound. Twenty-eight of the premature babies arrived in Egypt on Monday.

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping some 240 others, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel has pounded Gaza relentlessly from the air, land and sea since then which has killed at least 13,000 people, also mostly civilians, health officials in Hamas-run Gaza said. The Hamas government said more than 5,600 children were among the dead, alongside 3,550 women, with another 31,000 people wounded

Israel has refused to heed calls for a ceasefire before Hamas releases all the hostages.

UPDATES FROM DAY 46 OF THE WAR

TODAY:

1. Death toll in the Palestinian territory has reached 14,128

2. US President Joe Biden says Gaza hostages deal 'now very close'

3. Hamas leader says 'close to reaching' truce deal in Israel-Hamas war

4. EU says that no funds given as development aid to Palestinians have gone to Hamas

5. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon kill 2 journalists working for pan-Arab TV channel

6. UN peacekeepers no 'magic wand' for crises, their chief says

7. Israeli bombardment kills 17 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in Gaza: Wafa media

8. 200 patients evacuated from Gaza's Indonesian hospital: Hamas-run ministry

9. Communications blackout in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip after Israeli strike hits telecoms towers

10. WHO official says Gaza hospital situation 'catastrophic'

Gaza war death toll surpasses 14,000: Hamas government

Gaza's Hamas government said Tuesday the death toll in the Palestinian territory had reached 14,128 since war began on October 7 between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.

5,840 children and 3,920 women were among the dead, with another 33,000 people wounded.

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in the hospital in Khan Younis, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (Photo | AP)

US President Joe Biden says Gaza hostages deal 'now very close'

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signaled that a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a temporary truce is "now very close," AFP reported.

"We are now very close, very close. We could bring some of these hostages home very soon. But I don’t want to get into the details of things, because nothing is done until it's done," he said at the White House.

"Things are looking good at the moment," he added.

EU clears continued development aid to Palestinians; says that no funds have gone to Hamas

The EU on Tuesday gave the green light to continuing development aid to Palestinians after a review found no funds had gone to Hamas, but said tighter controls would be imposed going forward.

"The review found no indications of EU money having directly or indirectly benefited the terrorist organisation Hamas," European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping for 'international peace conference' to resolve Israel-Hamas conflict

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for an "international peace conference" to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as he addressed a virtual summit of fellow BRICS leaders.

"There can be no sustainable peace and security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine," Xi said, speaking through an interpreter, urging the "early convening of an international peace conference that is more authoritative to build international consensus for peace".

Gaza hostage talks 'closest' to deal since start of war: Qatar

Negotiations to free hostages seized in Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel are at their "closest point" to a deal and have reached the "final stage", mediator Qatar said Tuesday.

"We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said, adding negotiations have reached a "critical and final stage".

Qatar has helped broker talks aiming to free some of the 240 hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire, a mediation effort that has so far led to the release of four hostages.

"We are very optimistic, very hopeful," Al-Ansari told a briefing.

"But we are also very keen for this mediation to succeed in reaching a humanitarian truce," he said.

Two premature babies died before evacuation from Gaza: UN

Two premature babies being cared for at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza died before the evacuation of 31 others, the UN said Tuesday, adding that most of those who reached Egypt were "unaccompanied".

The United Nations health agency helped evacuate 31 premature babies from the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, lamenting that the hospital had become "a death zone".

Twenty-eight of those babies arrived in Egypt on Monday.

The World Health Organization warned that they were all "fighting serious infections and continue needing health care".

The other three babies moved from Al-Shifa in the north of the Gaza Strip are now in a hospital in southern Gaza and have their families with them.(Read more)

Medics prepare premature babies for transport to Egypt after they were evacuated from Shifa Hospital in Gaza to a hospital in Rafah, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.(Photo | AP)

Israeli bombardment kills four civilians: Lebanon state media

Israeli bombardment of south Lebanon killed four civilians, two of them journalists, on Tuesday, official media said, as Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen television said it employed the two journalists.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported "the deaths of three citizens -- two journalists and another civilian -- in enemy bombing" of the Tair Harfa area.

Al-Mayadeen said its correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari were killed.

The Israeli military said it was "looking into the details" of the incident.

Elsewhere in south Lebanon, the NNA said "enemy aircraft raided inhabited houses in Kfar Kila, leading to the death of citizen Laiqa Sarhan, 80, and the wounding of her granddaughter," whom it identified as a Syrian national. (READ MORE)

Gaza sanitation 'perfect storm for tragedy': UN

Fuel shortages and the worsening sanitation situation in the Gaza Strip is shaping up to be the perfect storm for tragedy through the spread of disease, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

"Without enough fuel, we will see the collapse of sanitation services. So we have then, on top of the mortars and the bombs, a perfect storm for the spread of disease. It's a perfect storm for tragedy," UNICEF spokesman James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva.

Award-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha arrested by Israeli troops

Mosab Abu Toha (Photo | X)

Israel bombardment kills 2 journalists, another civilian: Lebanon state media

Israeli bombardment of south Lebanon killed two journalists and another civilian on Tuesday, official media in Lebanon said, while Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen television said two of its staff were killed.

The state-run National News Agency reported "the death of three citizens -- two journalists and another civilian -- in enemy bombing" of the Tair Harfa area. Al-Mayadeen said its "correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Maamari were killed by an Israeli attack". (AFP)

Israel recalls ambassador ahead of South African parliamentary vote to shut down Israeli embassy

Israel has recalled its ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky, back to Jerusalem “for consultations” ahead of a parliamentary vote in the African country to decide the fate of the Israeli embassy on Tuesday.

The two countries’ diplomatic relations have recently witnessed a rise in tensions over the Israeli war on Gaza. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa previously said his country believes Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

"Following the latest South African statements, the Ambassador of Israel to Pretoria has been recalled to Jerusalem for consultations,” Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs posted late Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter. (Read here)

Latest developments at a glance

HIGHLIGHTS:

An Israeli strike on Indonesian hospital in the north of the territory killed 12 people

28 premature babies evacuated from Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, taken to safety in Egypt through the Rafah crossing

At least 14 Palestinians killed in two Israeli air strikes on houses in Rafah

Yemen's Houthi rebels release video of them hijacking Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea; 25 crew held hostage

Palestinian officials said a field hospital sent by Jordan entered Gaza on Monday, the first since the war erupted, "to receive the wounded and the sick"

Hezbollah said it targeted soldiers west of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel "with three attack drones", adding that it also targeted troops with artillery

Joe Biden says he believes Gaza hostage release deal is close

Iran rejects Israel accusations over ship seized by Yemen rebels

Israel has warned residents of Gaza's largest refugee camp Jabalia and a nearby coastal camp to evacuate

Gaza City telecom blackout

The Hamas government press office said there was a communications blackout in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli strike hit the telecoms towers. (AFP)

What might the tentative truce deal include?

Two sources familiar with the talks told AFP a tentative deal includes a five-day truce, comprised of a ceasefire on the ground and limits to Israeli air operations over southern Gaza

In return, between 50 and 100 prisoners held by Hamas and Islamic Jihad -- a separate Palestinian militant group -- would be released

They would include Israeli civilians and captives of other nationalities, but no military personnel

Under the proposed deal, some 300 Palestinians would be released from Israeli jails, among them women and children (AFP)

Photos that tell many stories....

A Palestinian carrying a mattress walks by buildings destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

A nurse prepares premature babies for transport to Egypt after they were evacuated from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

A wounded Palestinian child receives medical treatment at the Nasser Hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

People gather for a protest calling for the return of 40 children who are among the roughly 240 hostages believed held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip and to mark World Children's Day, across from UNICEF offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

Women evacuated from Gaza are received at the Sarajevo International Airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AFP)

Volunteers from the Zaka rescue service remove blood stains from a public bomb shelter on a road near the Israeli-Gaza border where Hamas militants attacked last month, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AFP)

Palestinians look at the building of the Darwesh family, killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

Israeli soldiers work on armored military vehicles along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (AP)

Israeli bombardment kill 17 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in Gaza: Wafa media

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that seventeen Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza which took place at midnight

At least 15 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, as well as in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Sunday, according to Palestinian media

Fifteen Palestinians were "killed, at dawn on Sunday, after Israeli warplanes bombed two homes in the Nuseirat camp and Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip," Wafa reported

Red Cross president meets with Hamas chief on Gaza war humanitarian issues

The Red Cross said Monday that its president had travelled to Qatar to meet with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh "to advance humanitarian issues related to the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza"

"President Mirjana Spoljaric met with (Ismail) Haniyeh, Chair of Hamas' Political Bureau, and separately with authorities of the state of Qatar," the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement

The ICRC stressed that Spoljaric's visit was part of efforts to hold "direct discussions with all sides to improve respect for international humanitarian law"

It pointed out that she has also met "multiple times in recent weeks with families of hostages held in Gaza, as well as senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders"

The organisation stressed that it had "persistently called for the immediate release of hostages". The ICRC is insisting that our teams be allowed to visit the hostages to check on their welfare and deliver medications, and for the hostages to be able to communicate with their families," it said

Egyptian Red Crescent members load on a truck humanitarian aid for war-torn Gaza brought by a French air force Airbus A400M cargo aircraft at El-Arish International Airport on November 20, 2023. (AFP)

UN peacekeepers no 'magic wand' for crises, their chief says

From Lebanon to the Democratic Republican of Congo (DRC), from South Sudan to the Western Sahara, some 90,000 so-called Blue Helmets serve under the UN flag, engaged in 12 separate operations. These missions do not always meet with unanimous approval on the ground, as in Mali, where UN peacekeepers have been forced by the government to leave, or in the DRC where some inhabitants have expressed hostility

Yet the peacekeepers protect "hundreds of thousands of civilians" daily, Lacroix, the UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, told AFP in an interview

Sometimes such protection mandates "raise expectations that we cannot meet, because of the capacities that we have, because of the budget that we have, because of the terrain and the logistical constraint," he acknowledged

"It raises frustrations from those who are not protected," and such resentments are manipulated "by those who would prefer the continuation of chaos."

According to Lacroix, countries where UN peacekeepers operate face "the weaponization of fake news and disinformation." Would conditions be better there if such missions were absent? "In most cases, it would probably be much worse," he said

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix speaks during an interview at UN Headquarters in New York City on November 20, 2023. (AFP)

READ FULL INTERVIEW HERE

Hamas leader says 'close to reaching' truce deal in Israel-Hamas war

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Tuesday his militant movement was nearing a truce agreement with Israel, according to a statement posted on Telegram

Intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, where Hamas has a political office and where Haniyeh is based, have been under way

Qatar's prime minister said Sunday that a deal to free some of the hostages in return for a temporary ceasefire hinged on "minor" practical issues

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he believed a deal to free the hostages was close

200 patients evacuated from Gaza's Indonesian hospital: Hamas-run ministry

Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP 200 people were evacuated from the Indonesian hospital in Jabaliya and taken by bus to Nasser hospital in the southern town of Khan Yunis

The evacuation of the 140-bed hospital, which is close to the Jabaliya refugee camp, was carried out in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), he said, in a condition laid down by doctors after Israel struck an ambulance in northern Gaza, claiming it was being used by Hamas militants

"There are still 400 patients in the hospital and we are working with the ICRC to evacuate," he said, indicating that "around 2,000 displaced persons" were in and around the hospital

READ HERE | Heavy fighting breaks out around at Indonesian hospital in Gaza, 12 killed