Back to homepage / Middle East
🔴 Live: White House says Israel, Hamas hostage deal is close
The United States believes that Israel and Hamas are getting closer to a deal that would secure the release of some hostages held in Gaza, even as the Israeli military’s deadly assault on Gaza City continued and rockets were being fired into Israel. US President Joe Biden said on Monday he believed an accord was near. “We’re closer now than we’ve been before,” White House spokesman John Kirby said of a hostage agreement. Follow our live blog for the latest updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
Issued on: 21/11/2023 – 05:16
1 min
Demonstrators calling for the return of hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip gather near the UNICEF offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
Demonstrators calling for the return of hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip gather near the UNICEF offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. © Oded Balilty, AP
By:
FRANCE 24
Follow
|
FRANCE 24
Please refresh the page if the live blog does not appear.
LIVE
Last Update: 31 minutes ago
SUMMARY
US President Joe Biden said that Israel and Hamas are edging towards a deal to secure the release of hostages from Gaza in exchange for pauses in fighting.
Israeli forces continued their offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza.
The Hamas-run health ministry said an Israeli air strike on the Indonesian hospital killed at least 12 people.
The World Health Organization has warned that medical services in Gaza have suffered ‘catastrophic’ damage.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday that the establishment of a Palestinian state would be the best way of ensuring Israel’s security.
Israel launched attacks on Gaza after Hamas militants crossed the border on 7 October and killed 1,200 Israelis. More than 200 others were taken hostage.
The health ministry says 13,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its military operation.
31 minutes ago
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.
“We are close to reaching a deal on a truce,” Haniyeh said, according to the post.
Negotiators have been working to seal a deal to allow the release of around 240 mostly Israeli hostages seized on October 7, during the deadliest assault on Israel in its history.
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.
“I believe so,” Biden said when asked whether a hostage deal was near.
Biden then crossed his fingers to signal he hoped for good luck.
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.
The White House said the negotiations were in the “endgame” stage, but refused to give further details, saying it could jeopardise a successful outcome.
SHARE
About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:
Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every wounded person occupying a bed and every body arriving at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN’s counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
Key Developments from Monday, November 20:
An Israeli strike on northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital killed at least 12, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israel has claimed hostages were taken to Al Shifa hospital on the day of the Hamas attacks.
The Israeli military has released footage that it says shows a tunnel underneath the hospital.
Hamas has denied allegations it used the hospital as a base.
At least 13,000 Palestinians, including at least 5,500 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, the government media office in the Hamas-controlled enclave said on Saturday.
Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial attack by Hamas, and around 240 were taken captive by militants.
Read yesterday’s blog here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
