2023-11-24 00:05:55
01:05
End of tracking
Our continuous monitoring of the events of the day of Thursday, November 23, 2023 is over. Find all our articles dedicated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
01:04
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Cuba
Miguel Diaz-Canel and his wife Lis Cuesta demonstrate in Havana, November 23, 2023. — © Ernesto Mastrascusa / keystone-sda.ch
While emphasizing that “all the victims of this conflict are to be deplored”, she considered that “it would be naive to think that (what is happening in Gaza) is a war”. “It’s genocide,” she insisted. Surrounded by his wife Lis Cuesta and the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, the Cuban president took the lead in the demonstration, launched at the call of the Communist Youth and which took place on the Malecon, the coastal avenue of Havana where the United States embassy is located.
For nearly an hour, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and signs reading “Free Palestine,” “No to genocide. Long live Palestine. “More than 100,000 Havana people” participated in this gathering, according to a count from the Ministry of the Interior published on X.
November 23 at 10:03 p.m.
Explication
Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the immense stakes of Friday’s exchange
The truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is scheduled to begin Friday morning, and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners is expected to take place in the afternoon. The two parties will have negotiated dryly until the last moment; announced for Thursday, the exchange had also been postponed for the first time. Behind this unbearable delay for the families, we can imagine “a logistical problem, the hostages dispersed in the south of Gaza not all being in the hands of Hamas,” explains a Swiss negotiator. Moreover, on Wednesday, differences remained between Israel and Hamas regarding the number of detainees in the coastal strip, reported the New York Times.
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November 23 at 6:39 p.m.
Hamas government announces new death toll of nearly 15,000 in Gaza
The Hamas government announced that 14,854 people had been killed in Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7. Among the deaths recorded to date are 6,150 children and 4,000 women, said the Palestinian Hamas government. Additionally, 36,000 people were injured.
The Hamas Ministry of Health, for its part, assures that dozens of bodies litter the streets of the northern Gaza Strip and that it is impossible to count them because of the intensity of the strikes.
November 23 at 6:12 p.m.
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners expected to be released on Friday
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners should be released on Friday, according to Israeli Army Radio, cited by the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera. This step should take place if 13 Israeli hostages, as announced by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are indeed released. What if three Palestinians are released in exchange for each Israeli, according to the exchange agreement.
The release of the prisoners is expected around 8:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. in Switzerland), once the hostages return to Israeli territory. Prisoners will be released from Megiddo, Damon and Ofer prisons.
November 23 at 4:09 p.m.
Thirteen women and children detained in Gaza will be released on Friday
Thirteen women and children detained by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, members of several families, will be released on Friday, said Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry. A still unknown number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will be released at the same time.
“A certain number of civilians will be released each day to reach, as planned, a total of 50 at the end of the four days” of truce, he added. The number of Israeli hostages held by Hamas is approximately 240.
November 23 at 4:01 p.m.
Israel says it has “received a first list” of hostage names
“Israel confirms having received a first list of names. Officials are verifying the details of the list and are in contact with all families,” said the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He did not specify whether he was talking about all the hostages, all the people who could be released or the first potentially affected on Friday.
November 23 at 3:37 p.m.
The truce and the release of hostages will begin on Friday
The truce in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas will come into effect on Friday morning and the first hostages will be released in the afternoon, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. “The humanitarian break will begin at 7:00 a.m. Friday (6:00 a.m. Swiss time) […] and the first group of civilian hostages will be released around 4:00 p.m. the same day,” said Majed Al-Ansari, specifying that 13 women and children will be released.
November 23 at 2:06 p.m.
Iranian Foreign Minister meets with Hezbollah leader
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah engaged in fighting with Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, the Shiite party allied to Palestinian Hamas said on Thursday. In a statement, Hezbollah said the two officials “reviewed the latest developments in Palestine, Lebanon and the region and […] efforts to end Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Hassan Nasrallah and Hossein-Amir Abdollahian in Beirut this Thursday, November 23. — © HEZBOLLAH MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE / keystone-sda.ch
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who warned on Wednesday against an outburst of war if the truce was not lasting, then left Beirut for Doha, the Iranian Nour news agency announced on Thursday.
November 23 at 1:11 p.m.
In the field
Aid truck drivers count on truce to finally access Gaza
In the Egyptian Sinai desert, a line of white trucks seems endless, their drivers stamping their feet in frustration as they wait for the green light that will allow them to deliver their precious aid cargoes to the Gaza Strip, which has been under siege for 48 days.
These truck drivers, all Egyptians, spent tedious days on the side of the road with only canned beans and instant coffee as their diet. They found some comfort, however, in learning that fuel and other essentials could soon be allowed into Gaza as part of a four-day truce that could begin as early as Friday.
Yet exactly when they will actually be able to move remains a mystery and, faced with an ever-longer and more mind-numbing wait, separated from their families and without beds or showers, some are beginning to show clear signs of irritation and fatigue.
November 23 at 10:56
Explication
Spain, a voice in support of the Palestinians within the EU
Historically close to the Arab world, Spain is trying to push a line more favorable to Palestinian aspirations within the European Union. An approach that his Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will defend today, during a visit to the Middle East. The socialist meets with his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, and the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Jerusalem, this Thursday, November 23. — © IMAGO/NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / IMAGO/Belga
This visit will continue on Friday in Egypt where Pedro Sánchez, who holds the rotating presidency of the EU, Alexander de Croo, who will succeed him in this mission on January 1, will meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
November 23 at 09:48
For Iran, Israel “has not achieved any of its objectives”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi said Thursday that Israel had “achieved none of its objectives” in more than 40 days of war against Hamas. “If we want to make an analysis after 40 days, it is because the enemy has been defeated,” declared Ebrahim Raïssi in a speech, quoted by the official press agency, Irna. And with “the temporary ceasefire, we must say that the Palestinian people and the resistance have achieved a great victory.”
Israel and Hamas announced a truce agreement providing for the release of 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a four-day suspension of fighting. But this truce will not come into effect until Friday at the earliest, Israeli officials said Thursday against a backdrop of continuing fighting in the Gaza Strip.
November 23 at 08:58
Middle East: when Switzerland excludes itself from the game
By confirming that it will proclaim Hamas a terrorist organization, Switzerland is scuttling its specific, patiently constructed role in the Middle East.
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November 23 at 08:47
Explication
Searches underway in Germany among Hamas supporters
Searches are underway in four different regions of Germany, on the homes of members and sympathizers of the Palestinian organizations Hamas and Samidoun, banned in the country, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
“We are continuing our consistent action against radical Islamists. By banning Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, we have sent a clear signal that we do not tolerate any apology or support for Hamas’s barbaric terror against Israel,” Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in the statement. “Islamists and anti-Semites should not feel safe anywhere,” she added, indicating “to closely follow Islamist circles.”
November 23 at 07:58
In the field
Al-Chifa hospital doctor announces director arrested by Israeli army
Khaled Abou Samra, head of department at al-Chifa hospital in Gaza City, announces the arrest of the director of the establishment, currently under the control of the Israeli army, which says it is looking for Hamas military installations there.
November 23 at 07:45
Explication
No truce or release of hostages before Friday
The truce agreement between Israel and Hamas providing for the release of 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners will not come into force before Friday, Israeli officials announced Thursday against a backdrop of continued fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Read also: Israeli hostages: the underside of the agreement between the Jewish state and Hamas
After the green light from the Israeli government and the Hamas agreement, Qatar announced on Wednesday the “success” of its mediation for a renewable four-day truce in the fighting, coupled with an exchange of hostages and prisoners. Media and officials had said the truce would come into effect, with a Hamas official saying he expected that day “an initial exchange of 10 hostages for 30 prisoners. But the head of the Israeli National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi declared during the night that the release of the hostages will not take place “before Friday” and that the negotiations “continue incessantly”, without commenting on the latest negotiations in progress.
November 23 at 04:37
US intercepts explosive drones launched from Yemen
A US warship patrolling the Red Sea has intercepted explosive drones launched from a region of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, US military Middle East Command announced. “On the morning of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner fired and destroyed numerous attack drones launched from the Houthi-controlled region of Yemen,” Centcom said on the X social network.
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 drones were shot down while the U.S. warship was on patrol in the Red Sea. The ship and crew sustained no… pic.twitter.com/TqXuaKsgwe
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 23, 2023
November 23 at 04:29
The White House says it hopes the release of hostages will begin on Friday
The US administration of President Joe Biden is “hopeful” that the process of releasing the hostages will begin on Friday morning, says White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement Quoted by CNN. “The deal was done and remains done. The parties are currently ironing out the final logistical details, particularly for the first day of implementation,” she said. “We believe that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin to return home. Our primary goal is to ensure they are returned safely.”
According to a senior American official also interviewed by the American channel, the delay in establishing the ceasefire is notably due to the time necessary “for the location and itinerary of each of the hostages, as well as the logistics of their transport. He explains that “the decision was made to wait one more day to prevent things from going wrong,” adding that Qatar, Egypt and the United States were consulted.
November 23 at 04:28
Wednesday’s day
Find continuous monitoring of the events of November 22, 2023.
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