By Elena Salvoni
Published: 08:12, November 19, 2023 | Updated: 1:04 p.m., November 19, 2023
Here are the key updates at 1pm UK time (3pm in Israel and Gaza):
- Qatar indicated that the hostage crisis could be nearing completion and that only “very small details” remained to be clarified. The country’s prime minister said he was “more confident.”
- The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had evacuated 31 premature babies from al-Shifa hospital in southern Gaza City, adding that they would be transferred to medical facilities in Egypt.
- The IDF said its paratroopers stormed the homes of senior Hamas officials in an upscale neighborhood of Gaza City, “killing Hamas militants and locating 35 tunnels.”
- According to the United Nations, 10,000 people fled the northern Gaza Strip to the south over the course of yesterday.
Hamas Hostages: A Timeline of the Ordeal So Far
- October 7th: Hamas terrorists stormed across the border with Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 240 Israelis hostage back to Gaza.
- the 20th of October: The first hostages were released – an American mother and daughter who Hamas said were released for “humanitarian reasons.”
- October 24th: Two more hostages were released – 85-year-old Yocheved Lifschitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper.
- October 26th: A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing claimed that about 50 hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, without providing evidence.
- October 29th: Israeli soldier Pvt Ori Megidish is rescued by the IDF.
- 30th of October: The IDF announces that Israeli-German hostage Shani Louk was killed after testing a DNA sample from a skull bone found in Gaza.
- November 17th: The bodies of two hostages are found by Israeli forces near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Israel said they belonged to soldier Noa Marciano and a grandmother and cancer patient named Yehudit Weiss.
- November 19th: Qatar’s prime minister said only “very minor details” needed to be clarified in a possible hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and that he was “more confident that we are close enough to reach an agreement.” Neither Israel nor Hamas have confirmed this.
PICTURED: Buildings were destroyed after an Israeli raid on the Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank – amid heavy rain
The President of the EU Commission says: “The cycle of violence must be broken” and reiterates his support for a two-state solution
- European Union President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned “the unacceptable violence committed by extremists in the West Bank.”
- In a post on X, she reiterated the EU’s support for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
- After meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah, the president said the EU would continue to work together to bring urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The IDF says it has conducted two major operations in refugee camps in the West Bank
- Israeli forces carried out two major raids on refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
- According to the IDF, 38 wanted Palestinians were arrested during operations in the Jenin and Balata camps.
- There were also clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters in the village of Tamum and the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, the Times of Israel reports.
- According to Palestinian media, one Palestinian was killed in Jenin and a second in Dheisheh.
PICTURED: Displaced Palestinian children shelter from the rain in tents after fleeing to the southern Gaza Strip amid Israeli airstrikes
The Palestinian Red Crescent shares images of ambulances in which 31 premature babies were reportedly evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital
Israel’s president says Israel is “leading the fight of the entire civilized world” in a new video message about the war against Hamas.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has sent a new video message to Jewish communities around the world amid the war against Hamas.
Here are some key messages in the video:
This is not just a war between Israel and Hamas. Israel may be fighting on the ground, but it is fighting the battle of the entire civilized world.
After the massacres, we experienced a frightening wave of anti-Semitism around the world. This fact has highlighted the close connection between anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
Sisters and brothers, outside my window here in Jerusalem I see an Israel that is thriving despite everything […] Jewish communities around the world are mobilizing with unprecedented energy.
Is a hostage deal imminent? Here’s what the key players say
Reports are circulating that Israel and Hamas are close to reaching an agreement on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The deal is being brokered by Qatar, with officials there suggesting it could be close to completion pending “minor details.” However, Israel and its backer, the United States, have denied such an agreement.
Here’s what has been said so far:
Qatar: Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said today: “The remaining challenges in the negotiations are very small compared to the bigger challenges, they are more logistical and practical.” He added that he was “more confident that we are close enough.” to reach an agreement”.
US: White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on
Israel: Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied what he called “false reports” that a deal was imminent. “There is currently no deal,” he said.
- A pro-Palestinian supporter invaded the pitch at the Cricket World Cup final and approached Virat Kohli before being removed by security personnel.
- Australia’s clash with India was abandoned after a man wearing a T-shirt that read “FREE PALESTINE” walked onto the pitch.
Read the whole story here:
According to the UN, 10,000 people fled the northern Gaza Strip to the south over the course of yesterday
- According to the United Nations, around 10,000 people fled south from the north of the Gaza Strip yesterday.
- This figure is based on estimates from UN observers on the ground, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
- It found that there were unaccompanied minors among the refugees.
PICTURED: Palestinians in the southern and central Gaza Strip mourn their loved ones killed in the Israeli bombardment
Thirty-one babies were evacuated from al-Shifa hospital in southern Gaza City, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent
The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement to X (translated):
Today, Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crews, in coordination with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), were able to evacuate 31 premature babies from Al-Shifa Hospital. They were transported south by Red Crescent ambulances to prepare for their transfer to Emirates Hospital in Rafah.
Iran’s Ayatollah calls on Muslim states to cut political ties with Israel for a “limited time.”
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslim states to “sever political relations with Israel, at least for a limited period of time,” Tasnim news agency reports.
- It comes weeks after he called for an Islamic oil and food embargo against Israel.
- At a conference on November 11, Muslim states did not agree to impose sweeping sanctions against Israel, as demanded by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
PICTURED: Israeli airstrikes continue to bombard the Gaza Strip, starting fires and filling the air with smoke while leveling buildings
IDF paratroopers “raid homes of senior Hamas officials” in upscale Gaza City neighborhood, “killing Hamas militants and locating 35 tunnels”
- According to the IDF, a paratrooper brigade supported by tanks and the air force is attacking the Sheikh Ejalin and Rimal neighborhoods in Gaza.
- “As part of the fighting, the militants located about 35 tunnel shafts, many weapons and eliminated terrorists,” the Israeli military said on X.
- According to the IDF, troops raided the homes of senior Hamas officials in the posh Rimal neighborhood, much of which was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
Breaking News: Evacuated babies are being taken to Egypt, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health
- A spokesman for the Hamas-run Ministry of Health has claimed that 30 premature babies who were reportedly evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City are being transferred to medical facilities in Egypt.
Breaking news: Hostage deal could be close to completion as only “very small details” remain to be clarified, Qatar says
- Qatar’s leader said only “very insignificant” details remained on a deal between Israel and Hamas to secure the release of some of the approximately 238 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
- “The challenges facing the agreement are purely practical and logistical,” he said during a news conference with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
- It has been suggested that the plan would likely involve the release of hostages in return for the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israel.
BREAKING: The United Nations has evacuated 30 babies from Al-Shifa Hospital, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health
- The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims that 30 premature babies were evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital by a United Nations team.
- This morning a report from the World Health Organization showed that 32 babies were left in a “critical” condition following a mass hospital evacuation.
Medicins Sans Frontieres condemns “deliberate attack” on an evacuation convoy that killed one and injured another
On November 18, 2023, a relative of an MSF worker died and another was injured in an attack on an MSF convoy evacuating 137 people – Palestinian MSF workers and their families. They were trapped in MSF premises near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza for a week. Médecins Sans Frontières strongly condemns this deliberate attack.
World Health Organization team “heading to Al-Shifa Hospital to evacuate the babies”
- According to the Hamas-appointed director of the enclave’s hospitals, a World Health Organization (WHO) team is on its way to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to evacuate the babies.
- An Associated Press reporter said they saw a convoy of ambulances escorted by United Nations vehicles heading north toward Gaza City.
- The WHO has said it hopes to evacuate patients to the southern Gaza Strip.
- The IDF, which has taken control of the hospital, said it was working to evacuate as many patients as possible from the compound, which was reportedly used as a Hamas command center.
PICTURED: IDF troops raise the Israeli flag as they raid the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank
Read the whole story here:
Israel shoots down “drone” that crossed Lebanese border
In a statement, the IDF said:
Following the recent alert in the north of the country, air defense fighters managed to successfully intercept a suspicious air target flying over from Lebanon.
Yemen’s Houthi militia says it will target all Israeli ships
- The Houthi militia in Yemen says it will target all ships owned and operated by Israeli companies or that carry the Israeli flag, Portal reports, citing the group’s Telegram channel account.
Pictured: Houthi fighters conduct military exercises in Sanaa, Yemen, last month.
VIDEO: Troops from Israel’s Golani Brigade exchange fire with Hamas fighters in Gaza City
PICTURED: Palestinians search the rubble for victims after Israeli airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp leveled buildings
Israeli naval forces are supporting ground forces in attacking Hamas targets from the sea
Israeli warplanes have attacked “terrorist infrastructure” in the Jabalia, Zeytun and Beit Lahia neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip
- According to the IDF, its warplanes destroyed Hamas infrastructure in the Jabalia, Zeytun and Beit Lahia neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip.
- Nahal Brigade troops fought on the outskirts of the Jabalia refugee camp, where they met and eliminated Hamas militants with the help of tanks and air support, according to the IDF.
The IDF shared footage of nighttime airstrikes and ground operations here:
PICTURED: Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip
Welcome to Web’s live blog. Here are the most important updates on the Israel-Hamas conflict this morning
- Israel and Hamas have not yet reached an agreement on a temporary ceasefire, a White House spokesman said last night. The US continues to work to reach an agreement between the two sides.
- World Health Organization (WHO) officials described al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a “death zone” after a visit to the complex. They said they saw a mass grave at the site, said to contain the remains of 80 people.
- A large number of people left Al-Shifa Hospital amid conflicting reports about whether the Israeli military had ordered an evacuation, which the IDF categorically denied.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out a full ceasefire with Hamas, saying he would only consider a temporary break in exchange for the hostages’ return.
- The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza announced yesterday that the official death toll was 12,300 people, including 5,000 children.
- Thousands of Israelis completed a five-day march to Jerusalem to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss plans to rescue hostages held by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks.
Israel-Hamas war LIVE: More than 30 babies rescued from hospital ‘death zone’ as IDF bombards Gaza with airstrikes, raising Qatar’s hopes a hostage deal is imminent
