​After 46 days of war, a possible agreement between Israel and Hamas for a temporary ceasefire and prisoner exchange appears to be on the way, according to information from both warring camps. US President Joe Biden, for his part, confirmed that an agreement on the release of hostages in Gaza may be reached in the near future. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their offensive against Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that seventeen Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.

Israel-Hamas war – all information for the 46th day LIVE on HotNews.ro:

05:22Head of Hamas: “We are getting closer to an agreement”

The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniya, told Reuters that Hamas was “close to concluding a deal” and that the militant group had given its consent to Qatari officials.

Qatar acts as an intermediary for Hamas in negotiations with Israel and the United States regarding the release of Israeli hostages.

05:00 Israeli bombing kills 17 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in Gaza – Wafa

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that seventeen Palestinians were killed in midnight Israeli shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza.

04:30 Israeli forces continued their offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza, closing in on an Indonesian hospital where thousands of patients and displaced people have been holed up for weeks. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was “appalled” by reports that 12 people, including patients, were killed overnight in explosions at the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza. About 200 patients were evacuated from an Indonesian hospital on Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

01:26 Jeff Merkley became the first US senator to unconditionally call for a ceasefire

Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley has become the first US senator to unconditionally call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Times of Israel reports.

“I call for a ceasefire – for the cessation of hostilities on both sides. The cease-fire and negotiations that follow must be consistent with other critical goals, including the release of all hostages and a massive influx of humanitarian aid,” Merkley tweeted.

About 40 left-leaning members of the US House of Representatives have also called for a ceasefire in recent weeks.

01:01 Josep Borrell: The Palestinian state is a guarantee of Israel’s security

The creation of a Palestinian state is the best way to guarantee Israel’s security, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday after a meeting with 27 foreign ministers, AFP reports.

“The best guarantee of Israel’s security is the creation of a Palestinian state,” Borrell said in a written summary of a video conference with 27 ministers after a tour of the Middle East.

00:41 President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spolyaric, met today with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, her office said in a statement.

“The ICRC constantly calls for the immediate release of the hostages. The ICRC insists that our teams be allowed to visit the hostages to check their condition and deliver medicine, and that the hostages be able to communicate with their families. Agreements must be reached to allow the ICRC to carry out its work safely. The ICRC cannot forcibly enter the place where the hostages are being held, nor do we know their whereabouts,” the statement quoted by the Times of Israel said.

“The ICRC does not take part in negotiations on the release of hostages. As a neutral humanitarian mediator, we remain ready to facilitate any future release agreed to by the parties to the conflict, as ICRC staff have already done twice,” the statement added.

00:18VIDEO Israel published a video of the execution of a woman by Hamas

Israel on Monday released security camera footage on October 7 showing armed Hamas militants who had infiltrated Israel chasing people at an open-air music festival, with one of them executing a woman nearby, Reuters reported.

At the end of the video, in the background, one of the women being watched crouches down on the ground with an armed man next to her. A few minutes later, the gunman raises his gun and shoots the woman at close range, who falls to the ground.