(Bloomberg) — A senior US diplomat said Hamas must free more hostages in return for a significant increase in aid to Gaza and a pause in fighting. Jordan’s foreign minister criticized the comments and said aid for civilians shouldn’t be linked to the release of people held by Hamas.
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Israel said its ground offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip may be expanded to the south, where many Palestinians have sought refuge after being urged to evacuate there by the Israeli military.
Officials from Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union — said the death toll in Gaza has passed 12,000 since the war began on Oct. 7.
For more stories on the Israel-Hamas war, click here.
Erdogan Says Turkey to Take Steps on Nuclear Inspections (3:00 p.m.)
Because Israel hasn’t signed the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and thus isn’t obliged to follow its rules, Turkey will apply to the International Atomic Energy Agency “to ask for an inspection mechanism,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he told journalists on his way back from Germany.
“We will continue to pressure from this (angle),” said Erdogan, who met in Berlin on Friday night with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Earlier in the week, the Turkish leader called on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to reveal if Israel has atomic weapons, as is widely assumed.
Read more: Erdogan to Face ‘Harsh Criticism’ From Scholz on Israel Stance
Dependents of EU Staff Starting to Leave Gaza: Borrell (2 p.m.)
Josep Borrell, the European Commission’s top foreign policy official, said 19 dependents of EU staff have left Gaza, according to a post on X. It’s the first group of EU local staff and families to leave the region, he added.
Von der Leyen Says No Forced Displacement of Palestinians (1 p.m.)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. She’s also expected to visit Jordan on Saturday.
The two agreed on the principle of no forced displacement of Palestinians and a political horizon based on a two-state solution, Von der Leyen said, thanking Egypt for its role in facilitating humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Borrell, speaking in Bahrain, said that while more humanitarian support needs to get into Gaza, “what is more needed is to stop the cause that humanitarian aid is needed.”
Israel Strikes Lebanese Aluminum Factory, Says Lebanon Media (11:15 a.m.)
Israel’s military struck an aluminum factory in southern Lebanon around 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, Lebanese state media said.
The factory was in Nabatieh, close to the border with Israel, the National News Agency reported. It’s the first time the region’s been attacked by Israel since its 2006 war with Hezbollah, according to NNA.
US Says Hamas Must Release Hostages for Gaza to Get More Aid (11 a.m.)
Hamas must release more hostages in return for a significant increase in aid to Gaza and a pause in fighting, one of the US’s top Middle East envoys said on Saturday.
US Says Hamas Must Release Hostages for Gaza to Get More Aid
“The surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause in fighting will come when hostages are released,” said Brett McGurk, who’s Joe Biden’s Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
McGurk, speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue, a regional security conference in Bahrain, said the US’s approach has helped hostage negotiations so far.
Israel Denies it Ordered Evacuation of Al Shifa Hospital (9:30 a.m.)
The Israel Defense Forces said it responded to a request from the director of Gaza City’s Al Shifa hospital to allow civilians sheltering there to evacuate through a humanitarian hospital.
It denied reports it was demanding patients evacuate the facility. Al Shifa — Gaza’s biggest hospital — has become a key focus of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel is trying to take control of the complex, saying Hamas operates a base underneath it.
Israel Faces Mounting Global Pressure Over Gaza Hospital Attacks
“If a request for medical evacuation coordination arises, we will act to enable it and transfer the patients to other hospitals,” the IDF said in a statement.
UAE Receives Injured Palestinians From Gaza (9:25 a.m.)
The United Arab Emirates said it received the first plane carrying injured people from Gaza following its announcement that it would provide treatment for 1,000 children in Emirati hospitals.
The plane left from Egypt carrying 15 people, including children and their families, according to Afra Al Hameli, the UAE ministry of foreign affairs’ director of strategic communications.
Jordan Says Arab States Won’t Send Troops to Gaza After Fighting Stops (9:15 a.m.)
Jordan’s foreign minister repeated the country’s calls for a cease-fire and said Arab states will not “clean” up Gaza after Israeli military operations end.
“We’re supposed to come and clean the mess up?” Ayman Safadi, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, said at a security conference in Bahrain. “That’s not going to happen.”
He also said Arab troops will not be involved in peacekeeping in post-war Gaza. “Speaking on behalf of Jordan, but having discussed this issue with many, with almost all our brethren, there will be no Arab troops going to Gaza,” he said. “We’re not going to be seen as the enemy.”
Israel Strikes ‘Terrorist’ Hideout in West Bank (8:40 a.m.)
The Israeli military said it “eliminated several terrorists” in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus overnight.
In a joint operation with Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, troops struck a “hideout apartment” and killed Mohammad Zahed. The military said he was a “key terrorist figure” who planned more attacks on Israel. None of the claims could be immediately verified by Bloomberg.
Iraqi Militias Claim Three More Attacks on US Bases, Says ISW (5 a.m.)
“The Islamic Resistance in Iraq — a coalition of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias — conducted three attacks targeting US positions in Iraq and Syria on Nov. 17,” said the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
The alleged attacks were on bases in northeastern Syria and in Iraq.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq and its affiliates have claimed 81 attacks targeting US forces in the Middle East since the conflict began, according to ISW.
Telecoms Restored in Part of Gaza as Fuel Arrives (10:15 p.m.)
The main telecommunications provider in Gaza said it was able to restore services in part of the strip, after receiving a delivery of fuel from the UN aid agency that was permitted by Israel. Internet and mobile services had been down since Thursday, effectively leaving Gazans in a total communication blackout.
Israel’s war cabinet earlier approved the entry of two diesel tankers a day into Gaza, saying the aim is to support the water and sewage systems and prevent disease outbreaks. Israel has been reluctant to allow fuel in because it says Hamas uses it for military operations. But it has come under increasing international pressure, including from the US.
Israel Says Offensive May Extend to Southern Gaza (9:15 p.m.)
Israel’s main army spokesman said the military could extend its attack on Hamas to southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled from the current fighting that’s mostly confined to the northern part of the strip.
Efforts to destroy Hamas “will happen every place where Hamas is, and Hamas is also in the south of Gaza,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a briefing. Army radio said five Israelis were wounded in a barrage of rockets fired from southern Gaza at Tel Aviv and surrounding areas.
Gaza Death Toll Passes 12,000, Hamas Officials Say (8:10 p.m.)
The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said more than 12,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Oct. 7, when the conflict began.
In a press briefing, the agency said 3,750 people are also reportedly stranded under the rubble of destroyed buildings, or are missing. Because of a communication blackout and logistical difficulties, the health ministry in Gaza has been unable to update the death toll for five days.
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