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Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Qatar confirms Israel-Hamas deal on four-day truce, hostage release; Biden praises agreement

The deal includes release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in Gaza Strip in exchange for release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli jails.
Families of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip protest outside the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv calling for their release, on November 21, 2023. (AFP)
Families of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip protest outside the ministry of defence in Tel Aviv calling for their release, on November 21, 2023. (AFP)
Online Desk

Israel’s Cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with the Hamas militant group on Wednesday that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week.

The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7 attack over a four-day period.

Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and that it will last for four days. “The starting time of the pause will be announced within the next 24 hours and last for four days, subject to extension,” Qatar's statement said.

“The agreement includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, the number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday that the war would continue even if a deal was reached.

United States President Joe Biden said in a statement late Tuesday that he welcomes the agreement to release at least 50 hostages being held in Gaza and stressed that “it is important that all aspects of this deal be fully implemented.”

“I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls, who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal, will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented,” said Biden, who was in Nantucket, Massachusetts, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

UPDATES FROM DAY 47 OF THE WAR

Major NGOs call for longer Israel-Hamas truce

  • Humanitarian and human rights organisations on Wednesday said a four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war was too short and called for more time to deliver vital aid to the Gaza Strip, AFP reports.

  • Paul O'Brien, from Amnesty International USA, said on a conference call of major non-governmental organisations that the four-day truce was "not enough and it's certainly not enough in human rights terms."

  • Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, in a statement said, "A sustained ceasefire is needed to prevent further civilian deaths and provide safety for people in need of vital humanitarian assistance."

    • UNICEF says Gaza world's 'most dangerous place' for children

  • UNICEF's executive director Catherine Russell said over 5,300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, accounting for 40 per cent of the deaths.

    • READ FULL STORY

    Swiss government proposes ban on Hamas

  • The Swiss government announced Wednesday it would bring forward a draft law by the end of February explicitly banning Hamas activities within Switzerland.

  • "The Federal Council decided to draft a federal act banning Hamas, considering this to be the most appropriate response to the situation that has prevailed in the Middle East since October 7," the government said in a statement.

    • Teenage boys, 59-year-old woman: the Palestinian prisoners listed for release

  • The vast majority of Palestinians slated for release under an Israel-Hamas swap deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, are teenage boys, an official Israeli list shows.

  • Israel released the names on Wednesday of 300 Palestinian detainees who could be set free under the agreement.

  • Under the terms of the deal, the first phase will see 50 Israeli hostages released over the course of four days, with 150 security detainees to be freed in response. (Read here)

    • The number of journalists killed in the conflict has increased to at least 53- Committee to Protect Journalists

  • The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, being missing, detained, or injured.

  • On Tuesday Lebanese channel Al Mayadeen’s reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih al Mamari were killed by an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military said “This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous” about the incident. The TV channel accused Israel of deliberately targeting its workers.

  • The CPJ says the journalist death toll comprises 46 Palestinians, and four journalists from Israel, and three from Lebanon.

    • Turkey hopes Hamas-Israel deal will help 'completely end' conflict

  • Turkey on Monday said it hoped a deal between Israel and Hamas to free hostages and pause the fighting and bombardment in Gaza can help bring a full end to the war.

  • "We hope that this humanitarian pause will help to completely end the conflict as soon as possible and initiate a process towards a just and lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

    • UN welcomes Israel-Hamas deal as 'important step'

  • The United Nations on Wednesday welcomed the deal between Israel and Hamas to free hostages and pause the fighting and bombardment in Gaza, but said much more needed to be done.

  • UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres "welcomes the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar supported by Egypt and the United States. This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done," a spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.

    • Pope meets relatives of Hamas hostages, Palestinian prisoners

  • Pope Francis on Wednesday met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, saying both sides "suffer so much".

  • "They suffer a lot and I heard how they both suffer," he said, urging those gathered in St Peter's Square to pray for peace.

  • "Wars do this, but here we have gone beyond wars. This is not war, this is terrorism," he said, without specifying whether he was referring to the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel's military operation in Gaza launched in response, or both.

    • French President hails Hamas-Israel deal, says working to free 'all' hostages

  • French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday welcomed the deal between Israel and Hamas for release of some hostages and a "humanitarian pause" in fighting in the Gaza Strip.

  • "We are working tirelessly to get all of the hostages freed," Macron wrote on X (formerly Twitter), with eight French citizens missing since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

    • Palestine Red Crescent Society says it is evacuating patients from al-Shifa hospital

    The Palestine Red Crescent Society has posted to social media to say that it is in the process of evacuating patients from the al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza.

    Russia says Israel-Hamas deal is 'good news'

  • The Kremlin on Wednesday hailed a truce deal between Israel and Hamas as "the first good news from Gaza in a very long time".

  • "Russia and most countries in the world have been calling for a ceasefire and for a humanitarian pause. Because it is only on the basis of these kinds of pauses that some outlines of future attempts at a sustainable settlement can be built," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.(AFP)

    • EU chief orders aid 'surge' for Gaza after hostage deal

  • EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said she has ordered her European Commission to step up aid deliveries to Gaza following the announcement of a four-day pause in the conflict under a hostage-release deal.

  • "The European Commission will do its utmost to use this pause for a humanitarian surge to Gaza," she said in a statement, adding that "I wholeheartedly welcome the agreement".

    • The Red Cross stands by to assist any swap

  • The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is standing by to assist any swap in the Israel-Hamas war.

  • “Currently, we are actively engaged in talks with the parties to help carry out any humanitarian agreement they reach,” the Red Cross said. “As a neutral intermediary, it is important to clarify that we are not part of the negotiations, and we do not make decisions on the substance of it. Our role is to facilitate the implementation, once the parties agree.”

    • Britain welcomes Hamas-Israel deal as 'crucial step'

  • Britain on Wednesday welcomed a truce deal between Israel and Hamas as a "crucial step" towards providing relief to the families of the hostages and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

  • "This agreement is a crucial step towards providing relief to the families of the hostages and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.

    • Palestinian Authority welcomes Israel-Hamas truce deal

  • The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday welcomed a humanitarian truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a senior Palestinian official said.

  • "President Mahmud Abbas and the leadership welcome the humanitarian truce agreement, value the Qatari-Egyptian effort made and reaffirm the call for a comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the entry of humanitarian aid," senior official Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

    • 3 doctors killed in strike on Gaza's Al-Awda hospital: MSF

  • Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said that three doctors - Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila. Dr Ahmad Al Sahar. Dr Ziad Al-Tatari - were killed during an air strike on Al-Awda hospital in Gaza on Wednesday

  • "Dr Abu Nujaila and Dr Al Sahar were in the hospital when it was hit on the third and fourth floors. Other medical staff, including MSF staff, were also severely injured. MSF has regularly shared information about Al-Awda as a functioning hospital and the presence of our staff there to the warring parties. GPS coordinates were also shared with Israeli authorities yesterday," they said in a statement

  • "We condemn this strike in the strongest terms, and call yet again for the respect and protection of medical facilities, staff and patients"

    • Biden praises hostage deal and says he won't stop until they're all released

  • United States President Joe Biden said in a statement late Tuesday that he welcomes the agreement to release at least 50 hostages being held in Gaza and stressed that “it is important that all aspects of this deal be fully implemented.”

    • Qatar confirms Israel-Hamas deal on four-day truce, hostage release

  • Qatar confirmed on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of 50 hostages in Gaza

  • "The starting time of the pause will be announced within the next 24 hours and last for four days, subject to extension," Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement

  • "The agreement includes the release of 50 civilian women and children hostages currently held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons. The number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement," it added

  • Qatar has been engaged in weeks of intense, behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at freeing some of the 240 hostages held in Gaza in return for a temporary ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid

    • Israel
    Palestine
    Truce
    ceasefire
    Gaza
    Hamas
    Israel-Hamas war

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