90% Palestinians say coexistence with Israel is ‘impossible’

Summary

• Israeli air attacks continue in Gaza through the night, 
• Negotiations to secure release of captives held in Gaza advancing, White House says,
• More than 13,300 people killed in Gaza since Israeli bombardment began on 7 October
• In Israel, the official death toll in Hamas's attacks stands at about 1,200
• Doctors Without Borders (MSF) say staff unable to evacuate from al-Shifa Hospital
• Hundreds remain trapped at the Indonesian Hospital

As the Hamas-Israel war drags on, here are the latest updates:

7:54pm

90% Palestinians say coexistence with Israel is 'impossible'

A survey by the Ramallah-based Arab World for Research and Development has found that 98 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will not "forgive nor forget" Israel's onslaught on the besieged coastal enclave, reports Al Jazeera.

The poll also found that:

• 65 percent perceived the war as targeting all Palestinians, while only 18 percent said it as a war between Israel and Hamas.
• 75 percent supported to some extent the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
• Only 22 percent expected a return of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to Gaza in the war's aftermath.
• 68 percent said their support for a two-state solution to the conflict has declined.

7:11pm

Reports say Hamas wants Israeli air operation to end as part of any truce

Unconfirmed Israeli media reports say Hamas is demanding that Israel stop flying over Gaza for the duration of any truce, reports Reuter.

Walla news website says Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, wants flights suspended over all of Gaza, while the YNet news site says Hamas is seeking to limit flights to six hours a day over northern Gaza only.

A major part of Israel's offensive is its air campaign, in which its aircraft have struck thousands of times since the war began after Hamas attacked Israeli communities on 7 October.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 13,300 people, including more than 5,000 children, have been killed in the strikes. Some 1,200 people were killed in the 7 October Hamas attacks and about 240 people abducted.

As well as fighter planes, Israel operates an unknown number of drones over Gaza for both attack and surveillance, including for identifying targets and threats to its ground forces. Pausing aerial operations would hamper Israel's intelligence gathering, including monitoring hostage releases.

If true, such a demand to completely halt flights could be a sticking point for Israel, and in the event of an agreement, difficult to verify compliance.

5:39pm

75% of people killed in Gaza are children, women and elderly: UNRWA

In its latest update, the UN Palestinian refugee agency says almost 1.7 million people have been displaced across the Gaza Strip since October 7.

It added nearly 75 percent of the more than 13,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza over the same period are children, women and elderly people, reports Al Jazeera.

5:36pm

Third attack on journalists in Lebanon

Another attack has targeted journalists in southern Lebanon, killing a reporter and a cameraman who worked for the pan-Arabic channel Al Mayadeen. Journalist Zeina Khodr from southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera that the channel management issued a statement saying it was a deliberate targeting of their crew. They were in the southern border village of Tir Harfa and are believed to have been hit by an Israeli armed drone. A third person, who was with them, was also killed.

The Lebanese information minister has asked the army to open an investigation into it.

This was the third attack against journalists in southern Lebanon since October 13, reports Al Jazeera.

4:32pm

More than 5,500 children among Gaza dead: Health ministry

The death toll in Gaza continues to rise. The latest figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry are that some 13,300 people have been killed since Israel began its offensive, including more than 5,500 children, reports Al Jazeera. The World Health Organization says it believes the figures are reliable.

On Sunday, UN Chief Antonio Guterres called the civilian death toll "staggering and unacceptable".

Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, most of them civilians. Israel says 40 children and babies are among the hostages kidnapped by Hamas and that the group - designated as a terror organisation by the UK, US and EU - purposely hides itself under civilian infrastructure.

4:20pm

Three, including 2 reporters, killed near Israel border: Lebanese media

At least two journalists and another person have been killed by a rocket strike near Lebanon's border with Israel, according to the Lebanese state news agency, reports Al Jazeera.

The incident took place near the town of Tir Harfa, about 1.6km (1 mile) from the Israeli border, Lebanese state news agency added.

3:53pm

Hospitals in northern Gaza are completely out of service.

Ashraf al-Qudra, the Ministry of Health spokesperson, has been speaking to Al Jazeera from Gaza. Here are the key talking points from his interview:

• Hospitals in northern Gaza are completely out of service.
• The occupancy rate in Gaza hospitals has reached 190 percent.
• Israel bombed al-Shifa Hospital and destroyed parts of it.
• About 120 people were evacuated from the Indonesian Hospital to Nasser Hospital.
• The Israeli army has put those inside the Indonesian Hospital in a circle of death.
• There are over 400 injured people still inside the Indonesian Hospital in addition to 200 medical staff and over 2,000 taking refuge.
• The Israeli army is targeting anybody who moves around the hospital or inside it.
• The Israeli army is still besieging al-Shifa Hospital where over 700 people are still held captive. It has become a graveyard for everyone inside it.

2:53pm

Unicef says its ready to bring in aid if there is a truce

Unicef's Toby Fricker says the agency would welcome a truce agreement between Hamas and Israel allowing for hostages to be released, reports BBC.

Although details of the reported agreement are vague right now, one Hamas official has told Al Jazeera negotiations have centred around how long it would last, aid deliveries into Gaza and a prisoner and hostage exchange.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, Fricker told the BBC: "If there's an immediate humanitarian ceasefire which Unicef and many others have been calling for, then yes, then we need to bring in the supplies as quickly as we can and to get them to shelters, to get them to people wherever they are inside the Gaza Strip, wherever they are in need, which is pretty much everywhere.

Fricker said the aid would be vital in terms of saving lives and preventing "another catastrophe" in terms of the outbreak of diseases over winter.

2:00pm

Israeli army surrounds Jabalia

The Israeli military says it has completed the encirclement of Jabalia in Gaza and is ready for the next phase, reports Al Jazeera.

In a statement, the military said it carried out attacks on 250 Hamas targets in the past day, including three tunnel shafts in the Jabalia area and killed dozens of Palestinian fighters.

Israeli attacks on residential areas and around hospitals are increasing, resulting in the killing of dozens of Palestinians, Al Jazeera reminded.

1:43pm

Truce can be expected within hours: Analyst

Abdel Hamid Siyam, a professor at Rutgers University, says the expected deal between Hamas and Israel could be announced in the "next 12 hours" from Doha.

"I believe the last few points that need to be agreed upon is the length of the pause, the volume of humanitarian aid that needs to come into Gaza, especially fuel… and the number of hostages released," he told Al Jazeera.

Siyam said the pause is likely to be between three and five days.

"The Palestinians are insisting on five days… they want to give the people real breathing space," he added.

1:18pm

Details emerging of potential truce and hostage deal

"We're now hearing more details about the potential truce agreement between Hamas and Israel", reports BBC.

The UK media writes: Earlier Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh released statements to wire news agencies and Palestinian outlets saying they are "close to reaching a deal". But we have yet to hear anything from Israel.

According to AFP, a tentative deal could include:

• A five-day truce that would include a ceasefire in ground fighting and limits on Israeli air operations over southern Gaza
• Palestinian militant groups would release 50-100 hostages, who would be Israeli civilians or those from other nationalities, but not soldiers
• In return, 300 Palestinians including women and children would be released from Israeli jails

AFP cited this information to anonymous officials from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group, who also told the news agency that their organisations have agreed to the terms of the deal.

Separately a Hamas official, Issat el Reshiq, told Al Jazeera that negotiations are centred on the duration of a truce, the delivery of aid into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Both sides would free women and children, he said.

He said the details of the deal would be announced by Qatar, which has brokered negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

1:03pm

Indonesian Hospital director said shooting still audible

Dr Marwan al-Sultan, the hospital director, had sent several messages to the BBC last night saying there was still "intermittent shooting" being heard at the medical facility.

He also said there were some 500 patients remaining inside.

Al-Sultan had described it as a deadly Israeli strike. The Israeli military said its troops had fired back at gunmen who shot at them from the hospital - and that it took "numerous measures to minimise harm" to non-combatants.

Al-Sultan also said last night there was "some news" that two buses would be sent to evacuate wounded people requiring surgery, destined for southern Gaza.

"Still we are waiting, nobody knows what will happen," he told BBC.

12:10pm

FIFA slammed for its silence on Israel's atrocities in Gaza

Football's world governing body has been slammed for its inaction over Israel's continuing atrocities in Palestine, with experts calling out FIFA for its double standards.

Following Russia's attacks on Ukraine, FIFA was quick to ban the Russian team from World Cup 2022 qualifiers while the European body kicked out Russian clubs from all of its competitions. However, FIFA and UEFA have yet to take action against Israel despite its attacks resulting in the killing of more than 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, reports Al Jazeera.

"There are players, teams and families who are suffering as a consequence of what's happening [in Palestine]. FIFA has said nothing," Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School, told Al Jazeera.

"Maybe if Palestine was a bigger country, more influential to FIFA, then it would have absolutely made some kind of statement on what is happening."

Palestine will take on Australia in a World Cup 2026 qualifier on Tuesday. While the match was scheduled as a home game for Palestine, it was moved to Kuwait following Israel's attacks on Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

12:06pm

White House criticises 'inappropriate' use of 'genocide' to describe Gaza war

US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has taken issue with the use of the term "genocide" by some critics of Israel's actions in Gaza.

Responding to a reporter's question about some pro-Palestinian protesters calling US President Joe Biden "Genocide Joe", Kirby said people have the right to say what they want, but the word "genocide" is being thrown around inappropriately, reports Al Jazeera.

"What Hamas wants, make no mistake about it, is genocide. They want to wipe Israel off the map. They've said so publicly on more than one occasion — in fact, just recently," Kirby said during a media briefing. "And they've said that they're not going to stop, what happened on the 7th of October is going to happen again and again and again."

Kirby said although civilian casualties in Gaza are "too high", Israel is not trying to "wipe the Palestinian people off the map".

"Israel is not trying to wipe Gaza off the map," he said. "Israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terrorist threat.  So, when we're going to start – if we're going to start using that word, fine, let's use it appropriately."

Experts in international law have offered differing perspectives on whether Israel's actions meet the threshold for genocide under the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which requires "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such".

On Thursday, a group of UN experts, including several special rapporteurs, said Israel's assault on Gaza pointed to a "genocide in the making".

In a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza earlier this month, seven UN special rapporteurs warned that the Palestinian people were at "grave risk of genocide".

12:03pm

Capture of ship by Houthis an attack on the international order: Herzog

The Iran-backed Houthi militia's seizing of a merchant ship in international waters represents an attack "not just [on] Israel but the international order," said Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a post on X Tuesday evening. 

The Iran-backed militia, based in Yemen, captured the ship on Sunday, November 19. Some 25 crew members of different nationalities, including Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Filipinos, and Mexicans were onboard the ship. No Israelis were present on it.

The United States denounced the ship's seizure as a breach of international law and demanded the immediate release of the vessels and its crew.

Herzog called the incident "further proof" that "Iran's network of terrorism and chaos is threatening the world." Israel's president underscored that the Houthis "announced their intent ahead of time and publicized footage glorifying the attack." The "international community," Herzog charged, "watched and did nothing." 

10:28

Hamas leader says they are close to a deal with Israel - reports

Quoting Hamas's leader BBC says, the group is close to a deal with Israel. Negotiations between the two sides have been taking place in Qatar which is acting as a mediator. Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh had said the group had "delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement", according to wire news agencies and Palestinian news outlets, reports BBC.

There has been no update from Israel.

It comes after a US senior official said on Monday that a deal to release hostages taken from Israel during Hamas's attacks last month, in exchange for pauses in fighting, is "closer than ever before".

09:16am

People walking to southern Gaza with injuries

A UN monitoring team has seen an increase in the number of people walking from northern to southern Gaza with injuries.

One woman who walked across the border pressing a towel against wounds in her abdomen said she had come from Tal Az Za'tar in Jabalia, where her home had been bombed, and that she had tried to go to the besieged Indonesian Hospital but was not admitted.

08:41am

Overcrowding in Gaza shelters

More than 1.7 million people in Gaza are now estimated to have fled their homes with overcrowding in shelters contributing to the spread of disease.

On average, there is one shower unit for every 700 people and a single toilet for every 150 people.

08:13am

US Defence Secretary Austin says Israel expected to act according to law in Gaza

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that Washington expects Israel to follow the law of armed conflict and take account of civilians during its war in Gaza.

During a visit to Ukraine on Monday, Austin was asked whether he was concerned about how Israel is using US-provided weapons in its offensive against Hamas.

"We have said every step of the way that our expectation is that the Israelis conduct their operations in accordance with the law of armed conflict," Austin told reporters.

08:10am

17 reported killed in Israeli strike on Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp

According to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, women and children were among those killed in the strike that took place after midnight.

Wafa also said that several people were also injured in the strike on the camp, located in the central part of Gaza.

08:00am

Gaza strikes kill family members of journalist targeted by death threats

Deadly strikes hit the Gaza home of a news photographer days after an Israeli media advocacy group questioned his coverage of Hamas, prompting death threats against him on social media.

Yasser Qudih, who survived the strikes on the night of 13 November, said four projectiles hit the rear of his house, killing eight family members.

The attack was five days after the 8 November report by HonestReporting questioning whether Qudih, a freelance photographer, and three other Gaza-based photographers had prior knowledge of the Hamas attack.

07:50am

Premature babies evacuated from al-Shifa Hospital reach Egypt

Twenty-eight out of 31 premature babies who were evacuated from the besieged al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza on Sunday have now been taken into Egypt.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 12 of them have been flown to Cairo for further treatment - all of whom are fighting "serious infections and other conditions".

07:41am

More shooting reported by Indonesian Hospital head

The director of Gaza's Indonesian Hospital has said there is still "intermittent shooting" being heard at the site.

The World Health Organization has labelled an earlier attack on the building - which it said killed 12 people - as "appalling".

The hospital director said he believed the strike came from Israeli forces. The Israeli military said it had come under fire "from within" the hospital and retaliated, but insisted it did not fire shells toward the hospital.

07:39am

Gaza death toll climbs

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza now says 13,300 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive. Of that figure, at least 5,600 of the dead are children.

Israel began its operation following an attack by Hamas on 7 October that killed 1,200 people.

07:30am

Biden says he believes Gaza hostage release deal near

US President Joe Biden said Monday he believes a deal to free hostages in Gaza is close, as hopes grew for a Qatari-brokered accord to release some captives in exchange for a pause in fighting.

"I believe so," Biden, who was taking part in a Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House, said when asked whether a hostage deal was near.

Biden then crossed his fingers to signal he hoped for good luck.

07:00am

Poet, author Mosab Abu Toha arrested by Israelis in Gaza, family says

Mosab Abu Toha, a well-known Palestinian poet and author, was detained by Israeli forces while attempting to flee the Gaza Strip, quoting his friends and family the Guardian reports. 

Abu Toha had been told by US officials that he and his family would be able to enter Egypt because one of his children is an American citizen. On Sunday, they were travelling from north to south Gaza, heading for the Rafah crossing point, when he was arrested alongside other Palestinian men at an Israeli military checkpoint.

"The army took Mosab when he arrived at the checkpoint, leaving from the north to the south, as the army had ordered. The American embassy sent him and his family to go through the Rafah crossing," the poet's brother, Hamza, said on social media. "We have heard nothing from him."