November 22, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Qatar’s lead negotiator said that “intensive” work was needed to broker the Israel-Hamas hostage deal, which was approved by Israel's cabinet in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, who is also the Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs, told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an exclusive interview Wednesday that the deal reached was what “the parties want.” 

“Our work was extremely intensive as you can imagine; it's a period of high escalation, military clashes, humanitarian escalation, ground invasion,” Al-Khulaifi said from Doha. 

During the past few weeks, Al-Khulaifi observed the talks go into “fits and starts.” For example, he said that mediators needed a “period of calm” when Israel announced the second phase its war with Hamas in late October. 

Israel launching a "targeted operation" on Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also put pressure on negotiations, Al-Khulaifi said, adding that Qatar had to ask the parties not to “target vital humanitarian infrastructures.” 

“These are not going to help anyone reach an agreement and definitely is not going to help the mediator,” he added. 

But Al-Khulaifi hailed it “significant” that the parties managed to secure a deal.

He stressed that Qatar's “work is not done,” telling CNN that the country will continue to push for a complete ceasefire in the war. 

He said Qatar hopes that the breakthrough deal will “invite the parties to think more about the current situations and come up with better agreements.” 

“Our, of course, main objective here is really to seek a permanent ceasefire and stopping the bloodshed of the people and improving the lives of the Palestinian people," Al-Khulaifi said. 

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The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that was formed in response to the Hamas attack on Israel, has listed 201 Israelis believed to be alive and held hostage in Gaza since October 7. 

That list includes:

The youngest hostage is Kfir Bibas, who is 10 months old; the oldest are Yaffa Adar, Shlomo Mansour and Arye Zalmanovich, who are all 85.

Eleven of the adult women are mothers of presumed hostages, while five of the men are fathers of presumed hostages. 

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum list does not include foreigners who may have been taken into Gaza on October 7.

Remember: Not all of the hostages taken on October 7 are being held by Hamas. Some are held by another militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and some may be held by other groups or individuals.

In addition to the 201 people taken captive on October 7, the forum's list also includes two dead Israeli soldiers whose remains have been held in Gaza for years — Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul — and Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu, who has been held captive in Gaza since 2014.

The list also includes Shani Gabay, 26, whose death was announced by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday.

The IDF considered Gabay “missing” and not a potential hostage before her death was announced, so the announcement of her death does not change the current IDF estimate of the number of hostages, the IDF told CNN Wednesday.

Tamar Michaelis in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.

The United States and Israel will both pause drone flights over Gaza for six hours each day as part of the deal to secure the release of 50 women and children hostages from Gaza, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told CNN. 

The US military currently flies surveillance drones over Gaza to support Israel in its efforts to find the hostages. US officials have previously said that the American intelligence being gathered is not used for lethal operations. While the pause in Israeli drone flights had been previously reported, Finer’s comments are the first official confirmation that the US will also be taking part in the pause.

CNN was first to report earlier last week that Hamas demanded that Israel stop flying surveillance drones over Gaza as part of any hostage deal. CNN also reported yesterday that a six-hour pause in drone surveillance was in the deal agreed to between Israel and Hamas.

A defense official confirmed the pause and said the US “will adjust our activities in support of hostage recovery efforts in light of the operational pause agreed to by Israel and Hamas.”

Finer also leaned into the expectation that three Americans could be included in the 50 hostages that are expected to be released as part of the deal, but cautioned that “until we actually see people coming out of Gaza we will not know exactly who is going to be released.”

Looking forward, Finer said that this is “not the end of the war” and that the US will remain “intensively” engaged as he pledged they will not rest until they can secure the release of the other Americans being held hostage.

CNN's MJ Lee and Natasha Bertrand contributed to reporting in this post.

David Barnea, head of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, is in Doha today, says a source familiar with his meetings.

CNN has previously reported that Barnea and CIA Director Bill Burns met in Doha with the Qataris to discuss the hostage negotiations.

Remember: The complex agreement between Israel and Hamas was brokered by Qatar, which served as an intermediary in exhaustive negotiations with the close involvement of the United States.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has applauded the agreement to release some of the hostages held by Hamas, but called for continued efforts to free those who remain in captivity.

The forum also demanded the terms of the agreement ensure the security and welfare for remaining hostages held by Hamas, including promised visits from the Red Cross.

“We urge leaders’ utmost efforts to meet their moral charge, with people’s lives in the balance. We are grateful for (US) President (Joe) Biden's support this agreement, and his unwavering call for all hostages’ release,” the statement said. 

Remember: Israel and Hamas have agreed to a four-day humanitarian pause to allow the release of at least 50 hostages – women and children – held in Gaza. The deal will also involve the release of 150 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The vast majority of the prisoners listed as eligible for release are male teenagers aged 16 to 18 – children under the United Nations definition – although a handful are as young as 14. Some 33 are women, according to a CNN count.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Wednesday the death of 26-year-old Shani Gabay who had been missing since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. 

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that was formed to provide support to those affected by the crisis, has been listing Gabay among the presumed hostages.

It was not immediately clear whether her remains were identified in Gaza or in Israel.

A total of 284 injured patients have been evacuated into Egypt since Israel launched attacks on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack, according to Egyptian government press office director Ayman Walash.

He said a total of 2,222 tons of medical aid had been delivered via the Rafah crossing, in addition to 6,063 tons of food, 4,625 tons of water, and 1,407 tons of other aid. Also, 378 tons of fuel had been delivered since November 21, he said.

The number of foreign nationals and dual nationals who have crossed the border through the Rafah crossing has reached 7,730, he said. This is in addition to 1,102 Egyptians. 

International leaders have welcomed an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a truce, which is slated to come into effect on Thursday morning.

The agreement would see the release of at least 50 hostages seized by Hamas, including women and children, in exchange for a four-day pause in Israel’s air and ground campaign. 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails as part of the agreement, Hamas said in a statement.

Qatar and Egypt were key negotiators in the agreement, with both countries saying they hope it’s a step toward a ceasefire and a longer-term solution. The US was another main negotiator, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying the deal marked “significant progress,” but vowing the US “will not rest as long as Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza.”

Here are other headlines from this morning:

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says the UN will “mobilize all its capabilities” to support the implementation of the Israel-Hamas truce.

“I welcome the agreement reached by Israel & Hamas. It‘s an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done. The UN will mobilize all its capacities to support the implementation & maximize positive impact on the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Guterres said in a statement.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland also welcomed news of the four-day pause.

He also called for a continuous stream of humanitarian aid and thanked Egypt, Qatar and the US for their efforts in facilitating the agreement.

“All parties must live up to their responsibilities to uphold this important agreement. This is an important step, but more must be done and I will continue all efforts to bring the suffering to an end,” he said.