Israel-Hamas war updates: Terror group in talks for hostage release; boast Israel in ‘permanent war’
Israel’s military says tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have fled to the south of the Gaza Strip in a sign Hamas is in trouble. Follow updates. Warning: Graphic
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Israel’s military says Hamas has “lost control” of northern Gaza as thousands of Palestinian civilians fled south.
“We saw 50,000 Gazans move from the northern Gaza Strip to the south. They are moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north,” Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defense Force’s spokesman, said.
He also shared a video purporting to show Palestinians fleeing to the south.
החל מהשעה 10:00 ×לפי ×ª×•×©×‘×™× ×ž×¦×¤×•×Ÿ הרצועה × ×¢× ×• לקרי×ות צה״ל ×•×¢×•×©×™× ×‘×©×¢×” זו ×ת ×“×¨×›× ×œ×“×¨×•× ×”×¨×¦×•×¢×”, ×ž×“×¨×•× ×œ× ×—×œ ×¢×–×”, דרך כביש צל××— ×לדין. pic.twitter.com/JZeq3HyUaL
— דובר צה״ל ×“× ×™×ל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 8, 2023
It comes as a source close to Hamas said talks were underway for the release of a dozen hostages in Gaza, including six Americans, in return for a humanitarian pause.
Earlier a source briefed on the process told AFP that Qatar was mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of hostages.
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“Negotiations mediated by the Qataris in co-ordination with the US are ongoing to secure the release of 10-15 hostages in exchange for a one to two-day ceasefire,” the informed source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.
In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected any talk of a ceasefire without the release of hostages.
“I’d like to put to rest all kinds of false rumours we’re hearing from all kinds of directions, and reiterate one clear thing: There will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” he said.
As Israel relentlessly bombards Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the death toll had reached 10,569, including more than 4300 children.
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HAMAS POSED AS ISRAELI SOLDIERS TO KIDNAP CIVILIANS
Hamas terrorists dressed in IDF uniforms to take Israeli civilians, bodycam footage shows.
The footage appears to have been filmed on October 7, when the terror group launched its bloody assault on Israel.
It shows the group beating and shouting at a male and demanding he tell them how to get to the Re’im Israeli military base.
The video ends with the man on the ground, his hands tied behind his back.
Previous reports highlighting Hamas’s tactics included disguise but, according to The Sun, this is the first time it has been revealed on camera.
RARE AID DELIVERY REACHES GAZA’S LARGEST HOSPITAL
A rare delivery of emergency medical supplies and medicines reached Al-Shifa hospital in the war-ravaged north of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday local time, the UN said, warning though that far more was needed.
In a joint statement, the heads of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees and the World Health Organisation said the aid had reached Gaza’s largest hospital “despite huge risks to our staff and health partners due to the relentless bombardments”.
They highlighted that the delivery of life-saving supplies was only the second to reach the hospital, located in Gaza City, since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted over a month ago.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, described conditions at the hospital as “disastrous”, with “almost two patients for every bed” as “the number of wounded increases by the hour”.
Doctors were being forced to treat wounded and sick patients in corridors, on the floor and outdoors, “while patients are undergoing immense and unnecessary pain as medicines and anaesthetics are running out,” they said.
At the same time, tens of thousands of displaced people had sought shelter in the hospital’s parking lots and yards.
US CONFIRMS HUTHIS SHOT DOWN US DRONE
Yemen’s Huthi rebels shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, a senior US defence official said, confirming an earlier claim by the Iran-backed group.
The Huthis – who have downed an American drone before – said the MQ-9 was spying as part of US support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
“A US military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Huthi forces,” the official said.
The Huthis – who seized Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country – claimed the shoot-down earlier in the day.
THREE KILLED BY ISRAELI STRIKES IN SYRIA
Israeli air strikes killed three pro-Iran fighters on Wednesday as they hit sites belonging to the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah group near the Syrian capital Damascus, a war monitor said.
Israel has struck Syria several times in the past month as regional tensions simmer over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
“Three non-Syrian pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on farms and other sites belonging to Hezbollah near Akraba and Sayyida Zeinab,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Akraba houses a military airport, the monitor said, more than 10 kilometres from Damascus International Airport.
TWO CHARGED OVER ‘HEZBOLLAH-BACKED TERROR’ PLOT
Brazilian police said they arrested two people for involvement in plotting “terrorist attacks” in the country, which Israel’s Mossad spy agency said were backed by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against Israeli and Jewish targets.
Federal police said they had detained two suspects in Sao Paulo in an operation to “disrupt the preparation of terrorist attacks and secure evidence on the possible recruitment of Brazilians to carry out extremist acts in the country.”
The Mossad said in a statement it had worked with Brazilian security services and international agencies to “foil a terrorist attack in Brazil,” which it said was “planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, directed and financed by the Iranian regime.”
It said the planned attacks targeted “Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil.”
“This was an extensive network that operated in additional countries,” it added.
It did not specify which countries.
Brazil is home to around 107,000 Jews, the second-biggest Jewish community in Latin America, after Argentina.
YEMENI REBELS SHOOT DOWN US DRONE
Yemen’s Huthi rebels claim they shot down a US drone off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula country, saying it had been deployed in support of Israel.
“Our air defences were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support for Israel,” the group, allied to Iran, said in a statement.
The US military did not immediately react to the statement.
The Huthis are part of the “axis of resistance” of groups opposed to Israel.
They have claimed responsibility for multiple drone and missile attacks against Israel during its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
‘HEZBOLLAH SITES’ IN LEBANON HIT
The Israel Defense Force says fighter jets hit a number of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon after recent rocket and missile attacks on the border.
The sites included Hezbollah posts and areas housing “technological assets”.
Israel’s military also said it targeted a cell preparing to carry out an attack near the Biranit military camp.
מטוסי קרב תקפו ×œ×¤× ×™ זמן קצר תשתיות טרור של ×רגון חיזב×ללה ×‘×œ×‘× ×•×Ÿ, בתגובה ×œ×©×™×’×•×¨×™× ×œ×¢×‘×¨ שטח ישר×ל ביממה ×”××—×¨×•× ×”.
— דובר צה״ל ×“× ×™×ל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) November 8, 2023
בין המטרות ×©× ×ª×§×¤×•, ×ž×‘× ×™× ×•×¢×ž×“×•×ª צב×יות ×‘×”× ×¤×¢×œ×• מחבלי ×”×רגון, ומספר ××ž×¦×¢×™× ×˜×›× ×•×œ×•×’×™× ×©×©×™×ž×©×• ×œ×”×›×•×•× ×ª טרור × ×’×“ ×ž×“×™× ×ª ישר×ל >> pic.twitter.com/Ir7UevoAPo
HAMAS BOASTS MASSACRE TRAPPED ISRAEL INTO ‘PERMANENT WAR’
Hamas terrorist leaders revealed the goal of its brutal massacre was to provoke Israel into Gaza and create a “permanent” war in the Middle East and not to improve the lives of Palestinians.
Speaking from Qatar, the group boasted their “great act” of October 7 was never intended to “improve the situation in Gaza” but to “change the entire equation” with the expected response from Israel.
“I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders and that the Arab world will stand with us,” Taher El-Nounou, a Hamas media adviser, told The New York Times.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s top leadership body, added the indiscriminate massacre of 1400 people, and kidnapping of 240 hostages, was necessary to “change the entire equation and not just have a clash”.
“We succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm,” he said.
“What could change the equation was a great act, and without a doubt, it was known that the reaction to this great act would be big.”
The bombshell admissions debunk claims Hamas was acting on behalf of Palestinians, with Mr al-Hayya himself boasting the group’s goal was to instigate a battle “to completely overthrow the situation”.
“Hamas’s goal is not to run Gaza and to bring it water and electricity and such,” he said. “Hamas, the Qassam and the resistance woke the world up from its deep sleep and showed that this issue must remain on the table.”
“This battle was not because we wanted fuel or labourers,” he added. “It did not seek to improve the situation in Gaza.”
THOUSANDS FLEE AS ISRAEL TIGHTENS ‘STRANGLEHOLD’
Thousands of Palestinians were fleeing on foot in a surge away from the fighting and intense bombardment in Gaza as Israel said it was tightening the “stranglehold” around Hamas.
People walked south from Gaza City, many with nothing but the clothes they wore, while combat raged over a month after Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
The pace of Palestinian civilians fleeing south from northern Gaza has accelerated as Israel’s air and ground campaign has intensified, according to UN observers.
About 15,000 people fled on Tuesday, compared to 5000 on Monday and 2000 on Sunday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, as another surge was underway on Wednesday (local time).
G7 CALLS FOR ‘HUMANITARIAN PAUSE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the G7 foreign ministers have issued a joint statement calling for “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza but have stopped short of urging a ceasefire, as fighting took hold in the heart of Gaza city for the first time.
The G7 group meeting in Tokyo had been urged by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to speak “in one clear Voice” on the conflict.
“All of us want to end this conflict as soon as possible. But as I discussed with my G7 colleagues, those calling for an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how to address the unacceptable result that would likely bring about,” he said.
Blinken also outlined the US position on Gaza, saying it would need to be unified with the West Bank under administration of the Palestinian Authority.
“Gaza cannot continue to be run by Hamas,” Blinken said. “It’s also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza. Now the reality is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict, but it is imperative that the Palestinian people be central to the governance of Gaza and the West Bank.” He said Israeli leaders have told him “that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza.”
“We must also work on the affirmative elements to get to a sustained peace. This must include the Palestinian people’s voices and aspirations at the centre of post-crisis governance in Gaza. It must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “And it must include a sustained mechanism for reconstruction in Gaza, and a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side in space of their own with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.”
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamiwaka said the G7 ministers “need to call on the relevant countries to take humanitarian pauses and ensure humanitarian access, which is a precondition for sufficient and continued humanitarian assistance”.
The G7 joint statement said: “We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza” and called for the release of hostages.
ROAD MAP TO ‘DURABLE PEACE’
Mr Blinken also listed what he said were “key elements” in order to create “durable peace and security.”
“The United States believes key elements should include: no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, not now, not after the war; No use of Gaza as a platform for terrorism or other violent attacks; No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends,” he said.
He added that other conditions included no “attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza” or any “reduction in the territory of Gaza”.
“Gaza cannot be continued to be run by Hamas. That simply invites repetition of 7 October. It is also clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza. Now, the reality is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict. We don’t see a reoccupation and what I’ve heard from Israeli leaders, is that they have no intent to reoccupy Gaza.”
ISRAEL NEARS GAZA CITY CENTRE
The comments came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed troops had reached deeper into Gaza than Hamas ever imagined.
He also warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group that it would be making the “greatest mistake of its life” if it opened a new full-on war front.
It comes as unconfirmed reports said Israeli soldiers were edging closer to the city centre and were only 700m from the al-Shifa hospital, where Israel claims Hamas has a command centre.
‘COUNTLESS’ HAMAS ASSETS DESTROYED
In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the ground operation in Gaza had destroyed “countless” Hamas command centres, positions and tunnels that are believed to run for hundreds of kilometres.
“Hamas is discovering that we are reaching places they thought we would never reach,” he said.
Netanyahu also said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are learning lessons inside the Strip that they are passing on to troops training inside Israel ahead of their entry into Gaza.
US VP CALLS FOR ‘INCREASED STABILITY IN WEST BANK’
The US Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog after a wave of violence erupted in the Occupied West Bank.
The Vice President raised “the need to increase stability and security in the West Bank including the need to hold extremist settlers accountable for violent acts against Palestinians there,” a statement from the White House said.
ISRAEL ‘STRIKING ENEMY HARD’
The head of the Israel Defense Force’s Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, said they had “eliminated dozens of commanders, unveiled many tunnels, and we are striking the enemy hard.”
Finkelman said the troops taking part in the ground operation have the hostages held by Hamas on their mind the entire time, and that “returning them is our compass.”
“For the first time in decades, the IDF is fighting in the heart of Gaza City, in the heart of terror. It is a complex and difficult war, and unfortunately it also has taken a toll,” he said.
Refreshing questions actually pertaining to the fighting and situation on the ground. We're making solid progress according to plan, and we intend to keep at it until we dismantle Hamas and return the hostages. With @ljayes on @SkyNewspic.twitter.com/Zdg8yW2wiT
— Jonathan Conricus (@jconricus) November 8, 2023
It comes as Israeli military spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told Sky News Australia on Wednesday that “our advances are good, solid” amid a “very challenging battle space”.
“Hamas has prepared the battlefield, unfortunately, very well,” Mr Conricus said.
“And it is totally enmeshes with tunnels. Many of them short tactical tunnels that are just basically fighting positions, that allow Hamas to move from one ally to another. To emerge and then submerge.”
He reiterated the Israeli military‘s directive was the “kill or capture” those involved in the October 7 massacre.
“All of them are dead men walking. And it’s only a matter of time inside Gaza and outside of Gaza, until these Hamas leaders will either be captured or killed by Israel,” Mr Conricus said.
BIDEN URGES SHORT CEASEFIRE, REPORTS
News outlet Axios reported US President Joe Biden was privately urging his Israeli counterpart to agree to a three-day ceasefire that could pave the way for Hamas to release up to 15 hostages.
But Axios stated Mr Netanyahu told Mr Biden that he did not trust Hamas and did not believe the terrorist organisation was ready to agree to a deal.
Publicly he has said there will be no ceasefire until all hostages are released.
CHILDREN WITH CANCER ALLOWED TO LEAVE
The UN High Commissioner for human rights Volker Turk has started a five-day visit to the Middle East as hundreds of foreign nationals were evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah crossing and a dozen Palestinian children with cancer were also allowed to leave to get treatment in Egypt.
And tensions in Lebanon have been heightened as the IDF said war planes attacked targets of Hezbollah including a warehouse, launch positions, and key infrastructure sites. These were in response to rocket fire from Lebanese territory, the IDF said.
Hezbollah warned it would respond double to Israeli attacks on civilians after a strike on the weekend that killed three children and their grandmother in Lebanon.
– with AFP
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war updates: Terror group in talks for hostage release; boast Israel in ‘permanent war’
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