Coverage on this live blog has ended. Follow live updates here.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend a temporary truce for an additional two days on the pause’s fourth and last day, Hamas and Qatari mediators announced.
Hamas will free 20 more women and children during the pause in fighting, the Pentagon’s top spokesman told reporters today. Today, Hamas released 11 hostages. In exchange, Israel released 33 Palestinian prisoners.
An extension could mean more hostages are released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt in fighting. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by a day for every 10 additional hostages who are released.
Israel also said it reached an agreement with tech billionaire Elon Musk to bring his SpaceX company’s Starlink communications to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported. Musk has proposed using Starlink to support communication links in the blackout-hit Gaza enclave with “internationally recognized aid organizations.”
Velshi: ‘Where does this go now?’ — Israel and Hamas extend the humanitarian pause
As 11 hostages were freed by Hamas militants tonight and 33 were released by Israel earlier, more of these exchanges were expected under a two-day cease-fire extension scheduled through Thursday morning.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Hamas has committed to releasing 20 women and children through the end of the extension.
That figure meets the expectation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the release of 10 hostages per day would be needed to maintain the cease-fire between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
The releases have been happening at a rate of about three prisoners held by Israel for every hostage returned. The United States would like the cease-fire, described by Kirby as a humanitarian pause, to remain as long as possible.
CORRECTION (Nov. 28, 2023, 2:22 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this post misstated John Kirby’s title. He is the spokesman of the National Security Council, not the State Department.
U.N. secretary-general says negotiations must continue into full cease-fire
The negotiations that have led to a temporary pause in hostilities must continue until they result in a full cease-fire, the office of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today.
Guterres' spokesperson said in a statement that the humanitarian "catastrophe" in Gaza is worsening by the day, as even recently increased aid has barely touched the needs of 1.7 million displaced Palestinians.
The secretary-general "urges all States to use their influence to end this tragic conflict and support irreversible steps towards the only sustainable future for the region: a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side, in peace and security," the statement said.
The statement also reiterated the call to release all hostages "immediately and unconditionally."
Palestinians celebrated in the streets of the West Bank tonight amid another release of prisoners by Israel under the cease-fire agreement with the militant group Hamas.
But the jubilation may be masking underlying anger over Israel's administrative incarceration of Palestinians based on allegations that are sometimes never tested by due process.
Abdulqader Khatib is the father of 17-year-old Iyas, who was released tonight after having been held since February without formal charges. "I don't know why my son was in jail," said Khatib, a U.N. worker.
50 detained Palestinians approved for possible release in deal extension
The Israeli government has approved the potential release of 50 additional Palestinians in detention, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The decision was made in light of the extension of the temporary truce agreement with Hamas, in which the group agreed to release an additional 20 Israeli hostages. All 50 of the Palestinians were described as "female" prisoners; there was no information about their ages.
All of the Palestinians released from Israeli detention over the last few days have been women or children.
Macron 'extremely happy' over news that French children are among released hostages
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that he was "extremely happy" over the news that three French citizens, all under age 18, we among the hostages released today.
They are Eitan Yahalomi, 12, and siblings Sahar Kalderon, 16, and Erez Kalderon, 12. In a statement, France's foreign ministry also thanked representatives from Egypt, Qatar and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their roles in the hostages' release.
"The release of French hostages in the Gaza Strip is a top priority, and we are working tirelessly to achieve this goal," the ministry said. "Five of our compatriots are still missing at this time. They can count on France."
Arab states, EU agree on need for two-state solution to Israel crisis
BARCELONA, Spain— Arab states and the European Union agreed at a meeting in Spain today that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza.
Borrell said all EU members attending the meeting of Mediterranean nations in Barcelona and almost all attendees had agreed on the need for a two-state solution.
The Palestinian Authority must hold elections as soon as possible to gain further legitimacy and improve its functioning as the only “viable solution” to the future leadership of Gaza, currently run by Hamas Islamists, he said.
“I believe is the only viable solution, but it will be viable if the international community backs it," Borrell said at a news conference. "Otherwise, we will see a power vacuum that will be fertile ground for all sorts of violent organizations."
33 released Palestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah
A Red Cross bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah early Tuesday.
Israel’s prison service said it was releasing 33 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth such release as part of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The prisoners were greeted by cheering crowds who surrounded the bus as it made its way through the streets of the West Bank city.
So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons.
Blinken to travel to Dubai, Israel and West Bank
After he travels to Brussels for the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel, the West Bank and Dubai this week, a senior administration official said.
In his meetings in the Middle East, Blinken is expected to stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, the official said.
He will also discuss the principles he laid out in Tokyo for the future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state, according to the official.
At a news conference Nov. 8 in Tokyo, Blinken said a future Gaza “must include Palestinian-led governance," as well as a unified governance between Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. He also said there must be "a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side by side and states of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.”
Relative of five freed hostages is relieved but desperate for word about two others in captivity
Moran Alony feels like he and his family "finally are able to exhale."
Hamas today released Alony's sister, Sharon Cunio, and her twin 3-year-old daughters, Emma and Julie. The militants last week freed Alony's sister, Danielle, and her 5-year-old daughter, Emilia.
Alony is overjoyed to be reunited with his family in Israel, but he is still desperate for more information about the status of his brother-in-law David (Sharon's husband) and David's brother Ariel.
"We will keep fighting in order to bring them home cause our family is not complete without them," Alony said in a WhatsApp message. "Them, and the rest of the hostages."
Eleven more hostages have been released by Hamas and are currently on their way to Israeli territory, according to the Red Cross.
