Gaza City has become a battleground between Israeli and Hamas forces, forcing thousands of civilians to head south in search of safety, Reuters wrote. Hamas said it had inflicted heavy losses on the advancing Israeli troops, who entered the city earlier this week. The Israeli military claimed yesterday that Hamas has “lost control” of northern Gaza and that it had destroyed more than 100 tunnels. Neither of the sides’ claims have been verified and neither has disclosed casualty figures.

PAUSE? The rumor mill over the prospect of a temporary ceasefire “pause” went into overdrive yesterday: A number of conflicting press reports yesterday claimed that a breakthrough in the ongoing hostages-for-temporary-ceasefire negotiations was close, only for the Israeli prime minister to issue a denial.

  • Al Qahera News said that Egypt is close to negotiating a “humanitarian truce” in return for the release of hostages, citing a number of Egyptian sources. The state broadcaster did not report how many hostages were part of the agreement or the length of the ceasefire.
  • AFP published comments from a single Hamas source, who claimed that Qatar is trying to broker a three-day ceasefire in return for the release of 12 hostages, half of them Americans.
  • Reuters published a conflicting single-source report claiming that Qatar-led discussions were focused on a 1-2 day ceasefire in exchange for 10-15 hostages being released.

Israel denies, then amends the denial: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called thereports “idle rumors” and reiterated his rejection of a ceasefire without the release of hostages. The IDF spokesman said afterwards that humanitarian pauses may be part of talks but a ceasefire is out of the question.

  • The G7 wouldn’t mind a pause: G7 foreign ministers stopped short of calling for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire during talks in Japan yesterday, and instead offered “support” for the idea.
  • There’s a bit more urgency within the aid community: Thirteen international aid organizations urged governments yesterday “to do everything in their power” to force an immediate ceasefire. This came 48 hours after the heads of 18 UN agencies and NGOs issued a similar call.

PUSHBACK? The Biden administration has called for the Palestinian Authority to be handed control of Gaza should Hamas be defeated, reiterating its opposition to Israel reestablishing a long-term security presence after the war. The post-war arrangement “must include Palestinian-led governance and Gaza unified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday following the G7 talks. Netanyahu said this week that Israel would indefinitely assume “overall security responsibility” for the territory.

AID-US: Rafah border crossing closed due to undisclosed “security circumstance” | Italy is sending ahospital shipto Gaza | The Netherlands wants to send an aid ship to Gaza “when possible” | A UN technical humanitarian team will set up in Arish to facilitate aid and advise the Egyptian Red Crescent.

DIPLO- Paris is hosting an international humanitarian conference for Gaza today | Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will be in attendance | A senior US State Department official is coming to Cairo between 10-17 November | Shoukry received a phone call from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

YESTERDAY IN NUMBERS-

  • 10,515: The number of Gazans who have been killed since 7 October. (Palestinian Health Ministry)
  • 4,324: The number of children who have died in Gaza since the war broke out. (Palestinian Health Ministry)
  • 81: The number of trucks carrying aid crossed the border from Egypt into Gaza yesterday. (Palestinian Red Crescent)
  • 650: The number of trucks that have entered Gaza since 7 October. (Palestinian Red Crescent)
  • 50k: The number of civilians that fled north Gaza yesterday. (AFP)
  • 92: The number of UNRWA staff who have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. (UNRWA)
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