Israel-Hamas war: Gaza truce to start Friday, says Qatar

Israeli military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said achieving control over the northern half of the Gaza Strip was only the "first step of a long war." 

"We are preparing for the next stages, we are looking forward in the coming days we will focus on planning and fulfilling the next stages of the war," he said at a daily media briefing. 

His statement comes after Qatari mediators announced a four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will begin at 7 a.m. local time on Friday.  

Hagari's statement is in line with statements by the Israeli government that the truce won't end the war. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said fighting would continue for at least two more months, The Times of Israel reported.  

The online newspaper quoted Gallant as telling troops they should "organize, get ready, investigate, resupply arms, and get ready to continue.” 

“There will be a continuation because we need to complete the victory and create the impetus for the next groups of hostages, who will only come back as a result of pressure,” he said. 

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said fighting would continue "until we achieve all our goals." 

It includes destroying Hamas' military capabilities, ending its 16-year rule in Gaza and return of all the captives held in Gaza by Hamas and other groups. 

Hamas previously said it considered the cease-fire as temporary and its "fingers remain on the trigger." 

Israel, Germany and the United States among other nations designated Hamas as a terror organization. 

US President Joe Biden said he was keeping his "fingers crossed" that a 3-year-old Israeli-American girl will be among the hostages released on Friday. 

He spoke briefly to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, but said he was "not prepared" to give an update on the hostages.

Asked what message he had for hostages that can be in the US for the Thanksgiving holiday, he said, "We ain't giving up. We're going to keep going until we get them."

The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York was briefly disrupted when about a half-dozen pro-Palestinian protestesters glued themselves to the street along the parade route.

They wore jumpsuits covered in fake blood and carried a banner that said "Free Palestine" and "Genocide then. Genocide now," The Associated Press news agency reported.

The Thanksgiving holiday in the United States takes place against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that has provoked a surge in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the country.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, when asked earlier about protests during the parade, told reporters the city respected free-speech rights but would not tolerate any disruption.

NYPD officers detained the protesters and secured them with zip ties.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says relatives of hostages to be released as part of a temporary cease-fire agreement have been notified.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari announced that 13 civilian hostages held in Gaza would be released at 4 p.m. on Friday.

All 13 are women and children

"Those hostages who are from the same families will be put together within the same batch. Obviously, every day will include a number of civilians, as agreed, to total 50 within the four days," al-Ansari said.

Qatar mediated the four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to allow the release of 50 hostages held in the strip in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

During the truce 50 hostages, among about 240 taken by Hamas in their October 7 terror attacks on Israel, are expected to be released in batches.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the United Nations of being slow to respond to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

He said relief workers had not entered a designated "safe zone" for Palestinian refugees in southern Gaza. 

"I have yet to see the effort that I would like to see on the part of the UN and international agencies to build their shelters," Netanyahu told visiting Spanish and Belgian prime ministers.

"Winter is coming and there's no reason not to build tens of thousands of tents in the safe zone," Netanyahu told the two leaders. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Belgian counterpart, Alexander de Croo, were visiting Israel on an official trip to represent the current and upcoming rotating presidencies of the Council of the European Union.

"It is in Israel's interest to work for peace. And today, peace means the establishment of the Palestinian state," Sanches told Netanyahu.

De Croo told reporters that both Israel and the Palestinians would need to show "political courage" to achieve peace.

Qatar gave more details of the four-day cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

"The pause will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Friday... and the first batch of civilian hostages will be handed over at approximately 4:00 p.m. on the same day," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid al-Ansari said. 

He said the first batch of hostages to be released includes 13 women and children. They will be handed over to the Red Cross. There was, however, no indication if the Red Cross would be able to visit the remaining hostages, a key demand from the Israelis. 

Israel has confirmed it had received an initial list of hostages to be released from Gaza, according to Reuters news agency. 

"The relevant authorities are checking the details of the list and are presently in contact with all the families," a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said. 

The release of 50 hostages captured by Hamas militants during terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7, in which some 240 people were taken hostage, would also see 150 Palestinian detainees released from Israeli jails.

Israel previously published the names of 300 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, at least some of whom are expected to be released during the truce. 

Israel has previously said the truce would be extended by a day for every 10 additional hostages released.

The deal, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, is to take effect in stages that can be extended and broadened. 

"We hope this humanitarian truce will start greater work for a permanent truce," Qatar's al-Ansari said. 

He also announced humanitarian aid would start to enter "as soon as possible" after the suspension of hostilities.

The temporary truce between Israel and the militant group Hamas is set to start at 7 a.m. (05:00 GMT) on Friday, said Qatar, the deal's key mediator.

Israel's war Cabinet approved on Wednesday a four-day cease-fire with Hamas militants in which militants were to release some 50 hostages held in Gaza.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said the first batch of 13 hostages was to be released at 4 p.m. He added a list of civilians to be released by Hamas has been received. 

"Obviously, every day will include a number of civilians as agreed to total 50 within the four days," he added.

Qatar, which has been leading mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas, expects Palestinians to be released from Israeli jails as part of the deal.

The deal would also allow for aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip as hundreds of thousands remain displaced and in dire humanitarian conditions since the conflict broke out on October 7.

Qatar said aid would be "going in as soon as possible."

Israeli troops detained the director of the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza on Thursday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media.

The IDF claimed that the hospital had been used as a Hamas command center under the watch of Mohammed Abu Selmia, who has been taken for interrogation.

"In the hospital, under his management, there was extensive Hamas terrorist activity," it said in a statement.

Shortly before the confirmation of the arrest, IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner told DW that Abu Selmia "should definitely be questioned in order to answer what exactly he knew and what he didn't know."

Hamas — which is categorized as a terror group by the US, the EU, Germany and others — denounced the arrest and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations to push for his release.

"We strongly condemn the arrest of the director of al-Shifa Hospital, Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, and a number of medical personnel who remained in the hospital to facilitate the evacuation of the remaining patients and wounded there," Hamas said in a statement. 

Khalid Abu Samra, a chief of department at the hospital, also told the AFP news agency that "several other senior doctors" were among those detained.

As the agonizing wait goes on for the families of those being held in Gaza, DW's Ben Fajzullin reports from Tel Aviv, where some relatives are holding a permanent vigil.

Israel's army said its air force struck more than 300 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip within one day.

The targets included "military command centers, underground terror tunnels, weapon storage facilities, weapon manufacturing sites, and anti-tank missile launch posts," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on social media.

The IDF also continued its ground offensive, with troops "striking terrorists, locating underground sites and striking terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip," it added.

Israeli forces also located a tunnel shaft inside a mosque in northern Gaza, the IDF said.

Hamas, which has been classified as a terror group by the US, EU, Germany and others, operates using a network of tunnels underneath Gaza.

The exact timing of the pause in fighting between Israel and militant group Hamas is set to be announced "in the coming hours," according to Qatar.

Qatar was one of the mediators, along with Egypt, that brokered the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group by a number of governments including the US, the EU and Germany.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid al-Ansari told the state-run Qatari News Agency that finalization of the deal "continues and is going positively."

"The truce agreement that was reached will be concluded in the coming hours," he said on Thursday.

Al-Ansari said Qatar is working with both sides, as well as with Egypt and the United States, to make sure the pause in fighting begins quickly.

DW special correspondent Aya Ibrahim said there was "certainly disappointment" among some Israelis on Thursday over delays in the hostage deal.

"People were really holding their breath," she said from Jerusalem.

"So this will undoubtedly be disappointing and frustrating until they finally see their loved ones hopefully rejoin them and come back home."

At a rally in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the mother of 22-year-old musician Alon Ohel kidnapped from the Supernova dance festival told DW that everyone "had to come back."  

"For this country to be able to continue to thrive, all of the captives have to return — all of them. It’s really important," Idit Ohel said.

Actor Avi Dor said he had hope and fear in equal measure. "I don’t trust Hamas," he said. "I don’t trust people who can kidnap children, three years old, kill and rape innocent girls. I don’t trust them."

DW's Aya Ibrahim said the delay of the hostage deal also means hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid are still waiting to enter Gaza.

"It's important to note that while this delay is disappointing, it's not completely unexpected," she added.

"Officials have been saying since the beginning of the negotiations of this deal that this kind of thing is only done when it's done, just because there are so many moving parts to a deal like this."

A US warship in the Red Sea has intercepted a number of drones that were launched from parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebel group.

"On the morning (Yemen time) of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen," the US Central Command said on social media on Thursday.

"The ship and crew sustained no damage or injury," it added.

Earlier, on Wednesday, the Houthis said they launched a series of long-range missiles towards Israel.

The Iran-backed rebel group has vowed to attack Israel in retaliation for its war against Islamist militants Hamas.

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah "terror infrastructure" in Lebanon overnight, the military said on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on the social media platform Telegram that its aircraft and troops also "struck a terror cell that attempted to launch rockets into Israeli territory, and a terror cell that fired at IDF troops."

Hezbollah said at least five of its members were killed in the attack, including the son of Mohammad Raad, who is the chairman of Hezbollah's bloc in the Lebanese parliament.

The Israeli government says Iran-backed Hezbollah has links to Hamas in Gaza. Both are considered a terrorist group by Israel, the US, Germany and other governments.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels said that they launched a batch of long-range large missiles toward southern Israel, including the Red Sea city of Eilat.

The Iran-backed rebel group haslaunched at least six aerial attacks against Israel since the conflict broke out on October 7.

The Houthi are staunch foes of Israel and have vowed to continue aerial attacks and hijackings of Israeli ships.