Israel-Hamas war: ‘Deal reached’ on five-day ceasefire

Israel and Hamas are believed to have reached a US-brokered ceasefire to pause the war for five days and free women and children hostages. Warning: Graphic

Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a tentative US-brokered ceasefire to pause the war for five days and free women and children hostages, according to reports.

The Washington Post reported that all sides were on the verge of reaching an agreement that would free dozens of hostages in Gaza.

The White House, however, said that no deal had been reached yet between Israel and Hamas, Reuters reported.

White House spokesperson said the US was continuing to work hard to get a deal between the two parties involved in the conflict.

US National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson tweeted: “We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal.

The apparent breakthrough in the six-week conflict came after the World Health Organisation reported that Gaza’s largest hospital has become a “death zone” as Israel’s army said it was expanding operations to destroy Hamas.

Earlier, a Hamas health official said more than 80 people were killed in twin strikes on a northern Gaza refugee camp, including a UN school used as a shelter for people displaced by the Israel-Hamas war.

A Palestinian girl and her brother sit amid the debris of a house following an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

“At least 50 people” were killed in a dawn strike on the UN-run Al-Fakhura school in the camp, which has been converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians, a health ministry official in Hamas-controlled Gaza told AFP.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths denounced the “tragic news of the children, women and men killed”.

“Shelters are a place for safety,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Civilians cannot and should not have to bear this any longer.”

UNICEF head Catherine Russell wrote: “We’re seeing horrifying images of children and civilians killed in Gaza – yet again – as they shelter in a school which must always be protected. The carnage must end. The suffering must end.”

A separate strike on another building in Jabalia camp killed 32 people from the same family, 19 of them children, the Hamas official said.

Normal hospitals don’t have:
· weapons hidden behind MRI machines
· bodies of hostages lying around their complexes
· terrorist tunnels and headquarters under them

The Shifa Hospital does. pic.twitter.com/sWwfWqjj1d

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 17, 2023

The Israeli army did not specifically comment on the strikes but said its troops were expanding operations in Gaza, including in parts of Jabalia.

It came as hundreds of people left Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital on foot, an AFP journalist at the scene saw, after the hospital director said the Israeli army ordered the hospital’s evacuation.

Hamas health officials said dozens of wounded people remained at the facility, along with an unspecified number of premature babies.

Flares seen in southern Israel that were launched by Israeli forces above the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

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PROTESTS ACROSS EUROPE, UK

Thousands of protesters rallied across France and Britain calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while hundreds of others turned out again in cities across Europe.

Several thousand people marched through central Paris in torrential rain behind a banner saying “Halt the massacre in Gaza and West Bank, immediate ceasefire”.

In Marseille, AFP saw several hundred people stage a minute’s silence for Palestinian victims of the war, while in Toulouse more than 1,200 people took part in a march, according to police.

Demonstrators in support of Palestinians hold a rally to call for a ceasefire at Dorchester Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Picture: AFP

People pray in support of Palestinians during a rally to call for a ceasefire in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Picture: AFP

Elsewhere in Europe, organisers said around 4,000 people marched in Geneva, lighting candles displayed as a map of Gaza in front of the United Nations’ European headquarters.

One large banner read “Stop Genocide in Gaza” and many shouted “Free, free Palestine!” in English.

Two rallies were held in Amsterdam, one urging a ceasefire for Gaza, another demanding the release of the Hamas-held hostages, though police said the protests were calm and no arrests were made.

Several thousands marched in Lisbon, many also shouting in English “Palestine will be free”.

A few hundred people marched through Warsaw, with the protest culminating in a rally in front of Israel’s embassy in Poland.

In Istanbul, which has seen massive protests called by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging an end to Israel’s campaign, about 100 people lit flares and held up anti-war banners under heavy rain outside the Israeli consulate.

BIDEN CALLS FOR TWO-STATE SOLUTION

US President Joe Biden says Gaza and West Bank should be “reunited” under Palestinian Authority

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Mr Biden said the Palestinian Authority should govern Gaza and the West Bank following the war between Israel and Hamas.

“As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalised Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution.

Biden also said that a two-state solution is “the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people”, adding that Gaza “must never again be used as a platform for terrorism”.

MISSILE LAUNCHED FROM LEBANESE TERRITORY

Israel confirmed air defences “successfully intercepted” a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanese territory at a remotely manned military aircraft, prompting air raid sirens to go off in Israel’s north.

The alerts were triggered by the interceptions, the military said, adding that “no crossing into Israeli territory was detected”.

Israel also struck an aluminium factory deep in Lebanese territory, state media in Lebanon said, a week after its furthest strike since border skirmishes began last month.

Artillery fire from an Israeli position hits the hills near the outskirts of the border town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon. Picture: AFP

UK FOREIGN SECRETARY SPEAKS TO ISRAEL

Newly appointed British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has spoken with the Israeli Foreign Minister, and discussed humanitarian pauses for Gaza.

"I spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister @EliCoh1 yesterday and shared my condolences for the Israeli civilians killed in Hamas’ brutal October 7th terror attack.

We discussed the situation in Gaza and the need for humanitarian pauses. We are committed to preventing wider regional…

— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) November 18, 2023

HAMAS OFFICIAL DEAD

Hamas has confirmed the death of official Ahmad Bahar following an Israeli strike in Gaza.Bahar, 76, was a member of Hamas’s political bureau and previously served as vice president of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

HOSTAGE PROTEST NEAR JERUSALEM

A march calling to release hostages held by Hamas has reached the outskirts of Jerusalem.

בדרך לירושלים: צעדת משפחות החטופים הגיעה למבשרת ציון, סביב 25 אלף משתתפים. תושבי מבשרת חיבקו בחום ואהבה, וריגשו את המשפחות#BringThemBackHomeNowpic.twitter.com/tkCwl5S0RI

— Raz Shechnik (@RazShechnik) November 18, 2023

ISRAEL STRIKES HAMAS CELLS

The IDF revealed within an hour of a rocket barrage from Gaza on central Israel on Friday, it struck and killed the cell behind the attack.

Reservist troops of the Jerusalem Brigade’s reconnaissance battalion spotted the cell on the roof of a building, and called in an air strike.

פחות משעה לאחר שיגור מטח הרקטות הכבד לעבר שטח ישראל מרצועת עזה אתמול, לוחמי מילואים מגדס״ר חטיבת ירושלים זיהו את המחבלים שביצעו את הירי מגג של בניין והכווינו כלי טיס של חיל האוויר לחיסולם>> pic.twitter.com/9NFqHl2sKj

— צבא ×”×”×’× ×” לישראל (@idfonline) November 18, 2023

ROCKETS FIRED

The Times of Israel reports 25 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, setting off sirens in the northern communities of Sassa and Shtula, the military said.

26 KILLED IN STRIKE, INCLUDING KIDS

At least 26 people have also been killed, including children, in a strike on a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip’s Khan Yunis region. An area around the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza was hit, as were targets in the Jabaliya camp, also in Gaza’s north.

The director of the Nasser hospital said the facility received 26 dead bodies and 23 people with serious injuries after the strike.

Palestinians injured in air strikes arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Picture: Getty

People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli raids a day earlier, in the southern Gaza Strip in Khan Yunis. Picture: Getty

Volunteers transport a wounded Palestinian child off the plane upon their arrival in Abu Dhabi on November 18, after being evacuated from Gaza as part of a humanitarian mission organised by the United Arab Emirates. Picture: AFP

A volunteer transports a wounded Palestinian child off the plane upon their arrival in Abu Dhabi. Picture: AFP

Another wounded Palestinian child is loaded onto a plane at Egypt's Arish International Airport. Picture: AFP

HOW ISRAEL IS BOMBARDING HAMAS

Israel’s military has a technological nerve centre near Gaza set up to receive thousands of data points directly from the battlefield. Watch the video below to learn how it is using its technological advantage to get ahead.

FUEL ENTERS GAZA AFTER US PRESSURE

It comes as a first consignment of fuel entered Gaza after Israel bowed to US pressure for limited deliveries to allow wastewater treatment and the resumption of communications after a two-day blackout.

The first delivery arrived from Egypt as UN officials warned of an increasingly desperate situation for 2.4 million Palestinians, and pleaded for a ceasefire.

Israel is allowing some aid in from Egypt but barring shipments of fuel over concerns Hamas could divert supplies for military purposes.

An Israeli army tank in the northern part of the Palestinian enclave, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. Picture: AFP

Smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian enclave. Picture: AFP

An IDF soldier makes a heart with his hands while inside a tank on November 17 in Southern Israel. Picture: Getty

CLEAN WATER SCARCE

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said 70 per cent of residents have no access to clean water in south Gaza, where raw sewage has started to flow on the streets.

Israel is continuing its offensive attack, combing Gaza’s largest hospital for the Hamas operations centre it says lies beneath.

It has come under scrutiny for operations targeting hospitals in the northern part of Gaza, but says the facilities are being used by Hamas — a claim the group denies.

The devastated Moshav Netiv HaAsara in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

BODY OF KIDNAPPED FEMALE SOLDIER FOUND

The remains of kidnapped woman soldier Noa Marciano, 19, were found at “a structure adjacent to Al-Shifa hospital”, a day after the body of 65-year-old Yehudit Weiss was recovered.

Soldiers carry the coffin of Israeli soldier Corporal Noa Marcian at Modi'in Military Cemetery. Picture: Getty

HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE

Israel, Hamas and the US have also been working to reach an agreement to release hostages with the help of Qatar as a mediator.

Hamas has demanded Israel stop flying surveillance drones over Gaza as part of its request that Israel pause its military operations, according to two Israeli officials and third source close to the negotiations, according to media reports.

Palestinians injured in air strikes arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital on November 18, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Picture: Getty

1.5 MILLION DISPLACED

In Gaza, more than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced, and Israel’s blockade has left civilians facing the “immediate possibility of starvation”, according to World Food Programme head Cindy McCain.

More than half of Gaza’s hospitals are no longer functional.

Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has surged since the conflict, with the US urging action to rein in settler attacks on Palestinians.

Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: ‘Deal reached’ on five-day ceasefire