Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 49

Here is what to know about the situation on Friday, November 24, 2023:

Truce

• The pause in fighting under the deal between Israel and Hamas began at 7am local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday. It followed intense Israeli air attacks on areas in Gaza, including Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
• At 4pm (14:00 GMT) 13 women and children being held captive in Gaza will be released, while 39 Palestinian prisoners are also going to be freed from Israeli prisons on the same day.
• Aid trucks are also expected to enter Gaza from Egypt. A Hamas official has said that 200 trucks carrying aid and fuel will enter every day.

The latest developments

• An investigation by Al Jazeera’s Sanad News Verification Agency on Thursday reveals the presence of American mercenaries fighting in Israel’s military ranks during operations in Gaza.
• Israeli news outlet, Haaretz, is facing a government threat over its critical coverage of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi proposed penalties on Thursday, including banning Haaretz from publishing government notices and cutting off advertisements from any state entity.
• On Thursday, Israeli forces arrested Muhammad Abu Salmiya, head of Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa.
• The BBC has been accused of censorship after ceasefire calls from public figures during the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards were reportedly edited out of the final show.
• Pro-Palestine demonstrators temporarily halted the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thursday.

Human impact and fighting

• An overnight attack by Israeli tanks on the Indonesian Hospital has destroyed all of its first floor, according to Dr Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of the Indonesian charity Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C).
• An infant in an incubator at Kamal Adwan Hospital died on Wednesday due to a lack of electricity, according to the latest situation update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
• After taking in 150 people, mostly cancer patients, from Gaza for medical treatment, Turkey is expecting to evacuate about 50 more people from the enclave today. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the group will mostly consist of children and young people.
• Palestinian photojournalist Mohammad Ayyash was killed by an Israeli bombardment on Thursday while another journalist, Amal Zuhd, and her family were killed by air attacks on their home early on Friday morning.
• A US military official told Reuters two bases in Syria and two bases in Iraq housing American personnel were attacked in quick succession with rockets and armed drones.

Diplomacy

• The United Kingdom’s newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron pledged an additional £30m ($37.38m) of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday. Cameron, who is visiting the region, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and is now travelling to the occupied West Bank for meetings with Palestinian leaders.
• Doctors Without Borders official Joseph Belliveau said on Thursday that the organisation is taking “the unusual stance of calling for a ceasefire”, due to the “brutal annihilation of an entire population’s health system” being more than what just humanitarian aid can fix. In an address to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in Canada, Belliveau said the country should push for a ceasefire as well.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday to discuss efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza. On Wednesday, Amirabdollahian warned that the Israel-Gaza war could spill over in the region if the truce does not hold.
• Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel led a march of thousands of demonstrators in solidarity with Palestine in Havana on Thursday, according to Reuters.