Fighting raged in Gaza on Thursday as a proposed truce and release of prisoners was delayed for Friday.
Israeli national security adviser said in a late-night announcement on Wednesday that the deal would not take effect before Friday, a day later than originally expected. Tzachi Hanegbi gave no reason for the delay, but Channel 13 TV said there were still some last-minute details being ironed out.
A Palestinian official told AFP that gaps in the delayed hostage and truce deal between Israel and Hamas include questions over the involvement of the Red Cross.
The official, who is close to the negotiations, said that questions are being raised over Red Cross access to the hostages before they would be released into Egypt, and whether the Red Cross will have access to those who remain.
When the ceasefire will go into effect will be announced by mediator Qatar, “in co-ordination with the Egyptians and the Americans, in the coming hours today,” he added.
For his part, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari has stated that the announcement of the effective date for the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip will be made in the next few hours.
Fighting Continues
Meanwhile, Columns of black smoke could be seen rising above northern Gaza’s war zone. The Israeli occupation military said it had launched 300 air strikes in the past day, and sounded sirens warning of cross-border rocket launches by Palestinian resistance.
Palestinian media reported dozens have been martyred or injured by Israeli strikes since dawn on Thursday.
Homes destroyed by the #Isreali occupation’s aircraft in its airstrikes on Rafah, #Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/gxU0G4VS5w
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 23, 2023
‘Israel’ Goes Ahead with War on Hospitals
On the other hand, an official with the Health Ministry in Gaza said that the Israeli occupation has ordered the complete evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
Dr. Munir Al-Boursh, an official inside the facility, told Al-Jazeera television that hospital officials were trying to organize buses to evacuate some 200 patients, including older adults and children with burn injuries.
Fighting has raged outside the hospital for days, and hundreds of people have already been evacuated to the south.
Earlier, the Israeli occupation military arrested Al-Shifa Hospital director while heading to the southern Gaza Strip via a humanitarian corridor.
“Doctor Mohammad Abu Salmiya was arrested along with several other senior doctors,” said Khalid Abu Samra, a chief of department at the hospital.
The Israeli army confirmed Mohammad Abu Salmiya’s arrest.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
