Qatar releases statement on hostage deal and "humanitarian pause"
From CNN's Becky Anderson in Doha
Qatar, which played a key mediation role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, has issued its own statement announcing what it called “an agreement for a humanitarian pause.”
In line with earlier announcements from both Hamas and the Israeli government, the statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the pause in fighting would last four days, with the possibility of being extended longer.
It said the start of the pause would be announced within 24 hours.
What's in the deal: The statement confirmed the deal sees the release of 50 civilian women and children currently held in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons.
The statement did not put a number on how many Palestinians would be released, but appeared to indicate the number would increase the longer the truce agreement is in place.
It also said the pause will allow for a “larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid including fuel designated for humanitarian needs.”
Israel has been highly reluctant to allow fuel into Gaza since October 7, and only agreed at the weekend to allow minimal deliveries to power sewage facilities and water supply systems.
The statement said Qatar was committed “to ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, stop the bloodshed, and protect civilians,” and paid tribute to Egypt and the United States for helping get the deal over the line.
12:16 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
Israeli cabinet met for 6 hours before approving hostage deal, official says
From Jeremy Diamond and Mike Schwartz in Sderot
A sign illuminates a square calling for the release of Israelis being held in Gaza on November 21, in Tel Aviv. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
The Israeli cabinet meeting to discuss the hostage release deal lasted about six hours – and topics ranged from the morality of the proposed deal to its battlefield implications, an Israeli official told CNN’s Jeremy Diamond.
“The cabinet meeting did grow tense and emotional at times, but ended with the government overwhelmingly approving the deal,” the official said.
Another government official, Gal Hirsch, told CNN that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had previously voiced concerns about the deal, ended up supporting it.
Only two people voted against the agreement, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Hirsch, who acts as a hostage coordinator for Israel, said he had told the hostages’ families early Wednesday the government "will do everything to bring all the hostages back home.”
The timeline for the first hostages to cross into Israel was still unclear, he added.
What the deal entails: The agreement would see the release of at least 50 hostages in Gaza, women and children, in exchange for a four-day pause in Israel's air and ground assault on the enclave, according to the Israeli government.
The deal will also include the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners — women and children — held in Israeli jails, according to a Hamas statement. It would also allow the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying aid relief, medical supplies and fuel to Gaza.
12:00 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
150 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli jails as part of hostage deal, Hamas says
From CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury
One hundred and fifty Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will be released as part of a deal reached with Israel over hostages held in Gaza, according to a Hamas statement early Wednesday.
The prisoners are women and children, the statement said.
Hamas confirmed the deal, brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediation, which will see the release of 50 hostages, also women and children, held in Gaza since October 7. It also said the agreement involves the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying aid relief, medical supplies and fuel to all parts of Gaza.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Conricus said the full list of relevant prisoners has yet to be released, but unlike the last hostage deal, this group does not include anyone who was involved in the October 7 attacks.
“The mastermind behind many of the horrible things that are unfolding since October 7th, was indeed released in the latest hostage deal,” Conricus told CNN. “What I know is that the Palestinians that are being freed from prisons are not at all that caliber of terrorists that we were talking about before, not serious offenders.”
Conricus suggested the list of prisoners included in the deal will be released soon, following a short window for appeals.
12:00 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
It's unclear when the pause in fighting will begin, diplomatic source says
Though Israel's cabinet early Wednesday approved an agreement for the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a four-day truce in fighting, the “details on when the pause starts are still unclear," a diplomatic source familiar with the talks told CNN.
The Israeli government statement confirming the deal held out the potential for the truce to extend beyond the four-day period, in exchange for more hostages released.
12:00 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
Israel says 4-day truce in Gaza could be extended if more hostages are released
From CNN's Andrew Carey
The Israeli government held out the potential for a truce to extend beyond the original four-day period, saying in a statement that an extra day would be added to the truce for each 10 additional hostages available for release.
The statement also made clear that Israel plans to resume its air and ground campaign “to complete the eradication of Hamas” once this round of hostage releases concludes.
Israel’s cabinet approved a deal that would see the release of some hostages from Gaza on Tuesday in exchange for a four-day truce in Israel’s air and ground campaign in the enclave. The deal was approved by a significant majority of the cabinet, a government source told CNN.
12:00 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
Israel’s cabinet votes to approve deal to release at least 50 hostages in exchange for 4-day truce
From CNN's Andrew Carey
Israel’s cabinet has approved a deal that would see the release of at least 50 hostages — women and children — held in Gaza by Hamas, in exchange for a four-day truce in Israel’s air and ground campaign in the enclave, according to an Israeli government statement.
The statement held out the potential for the truce to extend beyond the original four-day period, saying that an extra day would be added to the truce for each 10 additional hostages available for release.
The statement also made clear that Israel plans to resume its air and ground campaign “to complete the eradication of Hamas” once this round of hostage releases concludes.
The statement made no mention of the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, though it is understood this is also a key part of the deal. Earlier reports Tuesday suggested about 150 Palestinian prisoners — also predominantly women and children — would be released.
The deal was approved by the Israeli cabinet by a significant majority, a government source told CNN.
A more detailed statement will be sent to families of the hostages later today, the statement read.
This post was updated with additional details from the Israeli government statement.
12:18 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
1.7 million people displaced in Gaza as UN agency warns of increased spread of disease
From CNN's Tim Lister
A UN-provided tent camp for Palestinians displaced by Israeli bombardment in Khan Younis, on November 19. Fatima Shbair/AP
In its latest update on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the main United Nations agency in the Gaza Strip said that almost 1.7 million people have been displaced since October 7.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said that 930,000 internally displaced people were sheltering in its premises across Gaza as of November 19. The shelters are already severely overcrowded and have no more room for new arrivals, it said.
The organization said the displacement of so many people was resulting in significant spread of diseases, including acute respiratory illness and diarrhea, instances of which have increased by 40% in the last two weeks.
Heavy rain and limited access to water and sanitation in Gaza are also posing a “serious threat of a mass disease outbreak” among children, the United Nations Children's Fund warned Tuesday.
“Let’s be clear: the control of fuel and the access to water is to control whether thousands – perhaps tens of thousands – of children live or die,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva.
On average, there is one shower unit for every 700 people and 160 people share a single toilet, according to UNRWA.
UNRWA also said it was told 120 liters of fuel would be allowed into Gaza every second day — but even that would only cover half of the critical daily requirement.
Without more fuel, the agency said it would be forced to handle a reduced number of aid trucks carrying humanitarian aid crossing daily into Rafah, and large parts of Gaza would continue to be flooded with sewage, further increasing risks of disease.
The agency also provided some other updates on its operations in Gaza. According to UNRWA, as of November 19:
A total of 1,268 aid trucks had entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Of these, 200 were UNRWA trucks, carrying food, water, medical supplies and other essential non-food items.
At least 778 internally displaced people sheltering in UNRWA premises have been injured and at least 176 killed since 7 October. That number is an estimate and is expected to be higher.
17 installations were directly hit and 45 were impacted by collateral damage.
More than 100 UNRWA workers have been killed since the beginning of the war. At least half have been killed south of Wadi Gaza, in the area where Israel's military has told civilians to move.
Nine out of 22 of its health centers are still operational in the middle and southern areas of Gaza.
There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with more than 180 giving birth every day.
Wells continue to operate, and water trucking operations to the shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis continue. However, due to the reduced availability of fuel, the production of water wells had decreased from an average of 10,000 cubic meters to 7,000.
CNN’s Niamh Kennedy in London contributed to this reporting.
12:19 a.m. ET, November 22, 2023
UN calls for ceasefire but would welcome shorter pause in fighting to get more aid into Gaza, relief chief says
From CNN's Christiane Amanpour and Sugam Pokharel in London
Palestinians receive bags of flour at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) distribution center in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza on November 21. Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images
The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war but said it would welcome a pause in fighting for the organization to be able to get more aid into Gaza, according to to UN relief chief Martin Griffiths.
“We’ve called for an immediate ceasefire, which is a long-term stopping of the fighting, but that doesn’t mean to say that we wouldn’t grab the opportunity of any time when the fighting stops to get much more aid in,” Griffiths told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
Griffiths comment comes after sources told CNN a deal to release hostages taken by Hamas in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza could be announced as soon as today.
“It does seem this time that it’s much more likely than it has been in the past weeks. It does seem to be more confirmation from across the landscape that there’s going to be this release and an associated stoppage of fighting for a certain number of days,” the UN official said.
Griffiths has described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “the worst ever” he has seen during his long career at the UN working in many war zones.
He went on to describe the scenes in Gaza a "complete and utter carnage.”
“Nobody goes to school in Gaza, nobody knows what their future is. Hospitals have become places of war, not of curing. No, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before," Griffiths said.
11:59 p.m. ET, November 21, 2023
Satellite data indicates up to 50% of buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged in 6 weeks of war
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy and Henrik Pettersson in London
Up to 50% of the buildings in northern Gaza and Gaza governorates have been damaged since October 7 in the Israel-Hamas war, according to an analysis of radar satellite data, called SAR, carried out by researchers at the City University of New York Graduate Center and Oregon State University.
Here's what researchers found about different regions in Gaza from October 7 to November 18:
At least 20% of buildings in the entire Gaza Strip were likely damaged.
About 18,300 to 23,500 buildings are likely to have been damaged in northern Gaza, equating to 40% to 51% of the governorate's buildings.
In the Gaza governorate, which is home to the enclave's capital, Gaza City, 24,600 to 31,300 buildings are likely to have been damaged by fighting, equating to 40% to 50% of the buildings there.
Researchers also told CNN that since November 10, there has been a marked increase in the damage to buildings in the governorates of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, where Israel has repeatedly told civilians from the north to flee to.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last week that the country's forces were in control of northern Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces have dropped leaflets on parts of southern Gaza, warning communities east of Khan Younis to "head towards known shelters," indicating a potential expansion of the Israeli ground offensive south.
About the satellite data: A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is unlike normal satellite imagery. It is created by transmitting radar beams that are able to pass through clouds. The beams bounce off objects on the ground and echo back to the satellite; what they bounce off of is then mapped out by the satellite and the SAR image is created.
