Israel-Hamas war updates: Palestinians buried in mass grave as truce nears

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For a firsthand account of a mother waiting for the release of her teenage son from Israeli captivity, read our story here.

To read more about how the truce deal between Hamas and Israel has divided Israeli politicians, read our story here.

The temporary truce deal suggests that Israel and the US are nowhere near ‘wiping out’ Hamas, writes Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya. Read more about why he thinks so in this opinion piece.

We’ll soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of today’s main events:

• Israel has launched air strikes and heavy artillery shelling in southern Gaza, just a few hours before the truce is expected to come into effect.
• In a news conference, Netanyahu stressed that the war in Gaza will continue despite the Qatar-mediated truce.
• An Israeli official has said that there will be no captive release until Friday.
• At least four people were killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon. Earlier, the Israeli army said it attacked Hezbollah “infrastructure” in Lebanon and struck a “terrorist squad”.
• The Palestinian Red Crescent said three paramedics and a companion of a wounded patient being transferred from al-Shifa Hospital have been detained.
• White House spokesman John Kirby said US support for Israel will not waiver following the truce agreement.
• Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched a barrage of missiles towards military posts in Israel’s Red Sea port of Eilat. Israel says it shot a missile down.
• The number of Palestinians killed since October 7 has risen to 14,532, including about 6,000 children, according to the government media office.
• More than 100 bodies of Palestinians previously held at al-Shifa Hospital by Israeli forces have been finally buried in a mass grave.
• Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that the group is seeking a permanent ceasefire and is ready for a comprehensive prisoner swap.
• In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, an Israeli attack destroyed a residential building, killing six people.
• A Palestinian teenager has been killed in the occupied West Bank. Mutaz Eid, 16, was shot by Israeli forces during a raid on the town of Burin near Nablus.

The pair “agreed that the work is not yet done and the president assured the prime minister that he will continue working to secure the release of all remaining hostages” in Gaza, the White House said in a readout of the talks.

“The president further emphasised the importance of maintaining calm along the Lebanese border as well as in the West Bank.”

Turkey’s relations with Israel go back decades, even if there have been many bumpy moments.

Despite fiery rhetoric from Turkey’s leadership, the country has not gone as far as some other countries – such as Bolivia – in cutting ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sat down with Al Jazeera to explain why.

Watch below:

Ubai was arrested by Israeli forces on August 8, just as he was due to receive surgery to regain the use of his hand, destroyed by an Israeli bullet.

His mother, Fidaa, worries about him daily because his medical treatment has stopped in the Israeli prison system.

But now, and for the families of 300 others, hope has once again been rekindled. Ubai’s name was on a list of imprisoned Palestinians who might be freed as part of the Israel-Hamas truce.

“I keep saying that I will happily make him dessert for breakfast every single day, as much as he wants … Everybody is calling me, family and friends. Everyone is excited and wants to come share our joy and welcome him,” Fidaa told Al Jazeera

Read more about one Palestinian family anxiously awaiting the start of the truce deal here.

Our most recent episode of Inside Story takes a look at what might come after the deal between Hamas and Israel is implemented – if it goes ahead, of course.

There has been some optimism, but one of the guests, Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu, expressed some caution.

“The problem is the bigger picture,” said Buttu. “The Israeli army is going to remain in the Gaza Strip; they’ve already indicated that people won’t be able to get back to the north, which means effectively ethnic cleansing, and it doesn’t mean that we’ve addressed the root causes.”

So what’s next – a return to war, as Israel warns? Or could an end be in sight?

Watch below:

In what would be a setback for the Qatari-brokered truce deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli media outlets are reporting that the truce will not begin on Thursday morning, as Hamas had earlier said, and would instead be delayed until details of the captive deal are finalised.

The Times of Israel reported that a government source had said that it was not clear whether the head of Mossad – currently in Qatar – has received the names of the captives who were to be released on the first day of the truce.

The source added that a truce document needed to be signed by both parties, which is expected to happen in the next 24 hours.

Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, also reported that there would be “war tomorrow”.

Haaretz said that there would be “no halt to the fighting in the Gaza Strip as long as there is no finalised timeline for the agreement with Hamas”.

Al Jazeera cannot confirm the veracity of the reports.

The medical service said 14 red crescent ambulances, two UN buses and other vehicles were involved in the evacuation of 190 wounded and sick people, as well as “a number of medical teams” from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to the south.

However, the group said the evacuation lasted “for almost 20 hours as the convoy was obstructed and subjected to careful inspection” at an Israeli checkpoint.

Three paramedics and a companion of a wounded person were detained, PRCS said. Two of the paramedics and the companion were released, while a third paramedic – identified as Awni Khattab – remains detained.

PRCS has been documenting the obstruction and detainment throughout the day on social media.

Reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said the ceasefire is still expected to begin at 10am (08:00 GMT) on Thursday, even after Israeli National Security Adviser Hanegbi said the captive release would not happen “before Friday”.

“The Israeli media is reporting that there was some sort of delay, but they did not elaborate on the discussions, neither did the national security adviser,” she said. “But we do know that this deal has passed, it will go through. There will be that tentative temporary ceasefire that will start around 10am tomorrow, local time”.

“As for the release of the captives that some were anticipating to start tomorrow, it will start on Friday instead,” she said.

President Biden’s comments came during a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, according to the White House.

It said that the US president reiterated to el-Sisi that “under no circumstances” will the US allow the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the occupied West Bank.

Biden also said that the US would not permit the permanent besiegement of Gaza or any re-drawing of its borders.

The Israeli prime minister made the comment during his news conference alongside Gallant and Gantz earlier this evening, Israeli media reported.

The remark has raised questions and concerns from observers, coming before the Gaza truce deal is expected to come into effect.

At least four people were killed, the Reuters news agency reported, citing three unnamed sources.

Earlier, we reported that the Israeli military said that it carried out strikes targeting “Hezbollah infrastructure” and two “terrorist” squads in southern Lebanon.

Violence on Lebanon’s border with Israel has steadily grown since its outbreak on October 8, with Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanging daily barrages of fire.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis, said Israel has launched air strikes and heavy artillery shelling just a few hours before the truce is expected to come into effect.

Attacks have “increased in terms of scale and magnitude”, he said, adding that artillery shelling struck eastern areas of Khan Younis, namely the towns of Abassan, Bani Suheila and Khuzaa.

Residents in the area have said that Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning them to leave.

Netanyahu’s pledge that the war would continue after the truce was “very depressing and devastating” for many Palestinians in Gaza, Mahmoud said. This means “more bombing, more killing, more traumatising … and terrorising of people”, he said.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud received a phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Saudi state news agency reported.

“The two ministers discussed ways to stop the dangerous military escalation in Gaza and its surroundings, and to adhere to any humanitarian truce and ceasefire agreement, in addition to discussing efforts to bring in humanitarian relief and medical aid to prevent the worsening of the humanitarian crisis,” it said.

During the call, the Saudi minister also “stressed the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of the forced displacement of the residents of Gaza” and the importance of confronting “the Israeli occupation forces and their repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law”.

The Palestine Red Crescent said three paramedics and a companion of one of the wounded patients being transferred from the Gaza City hospital have been detained for more than three hours in the cold.

But the agency said the wounded had reached the European Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

“Kidney dialysis patients are being transferred to Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah,” PRCS said.

It’s 11:15pm (21:15 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Let’s bring you up to speed with the latest updates in the past few hours:

• In a news conference, Netanyahu stressed that the war in Gaza will continue despite the Qatar-mediated truce.
• Speaking alongside the Israeli premier, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he is committed to bringing home all Israeli captives taken on October 7.
• The Israeli army said it attacked Hezbollah “infrastructure” in Lebanon and struck a “terrorist squad”.
• The United Nations humanitarian chief expressed hope that the truce will turn into a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.
• Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they launched a new barrage of missiles towards military posts in Israel’s Red Sea port city of Eilat.
• The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces are preventing ambulances from evacuating patients from al-Shifa Hospital.

Justin Trudeau praised the captive release deal and the coming four-day humanitarian pause.

“I thank Canada’s partners in the international community, including the United States, Qatar and Egypt, for their efforts in helping negotiate this agreement,” he said in a statement.

Trudeau also said that Canada is working with its “regional partners” to secure the exit of Canadian nationals from the besieged Gaza Strip.

Commenting on the recent news conference by Israeli leaders Netanyahu, Gallant and Gantz, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, said the trio all repeated what has been said in Israeli media for weeks.

The Israeli officials wanted to “give the impression” that the war will be continuing as soon as the four-day pause is over, Bishara said.

“This was a continuous justification of why this [truce] should not be understood as weakness – that they are, in fact, strong, and they are doing great in the war, they are achieving their objectives and will continue to do so,” he added.

But Bishara said three men are “pretending to be in agreement, pretending to be in harmony”, despite being in disagreement over multiple issues.