Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has indicated that he believes a deal that would secure the release of some hostages from Hamas in exchange for pauses in Israel's offensive is near.

The comment came during an annual Thanksgiving ceremony, in which the president pardons a turkey.

Asked by a reporter about whether the rumoured deal was near, Biden crossed his fingers and replied "I believe so".

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported the deal was imminent, and the Israeli ambassador to the US has said on Sunday he's hopeful one will be reached "in the coming days".

Earlier we reported that the director of the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza had told the BBC 10 people had been killed in an Israeli air strike there.

The BBC has verified footage showing tanks close to the hospital - the director said there were tanks just 20m from the building.

We've now heard from the Israeli military in response to these reports.

"Overnight, terrorists opened fire from within the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza toward IDF troops operating outside the hospital," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

"In response, IDF troops directly targeted the specific source of enemy fire. No shells were fired toward the hospital," the IDF added.

The IDF also said that despite challenges of fighting "a terrorist organisation which operates out of hospitals", it was committed to international law and took "numerous measures to minimise harm to non-combatants".

Over 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began attacking the enclave after Hamas's attacks on 7 October, in which 1,200 Israelis were kiled.

Image source, .

Over the past few days a lot of our reporting has focused on al-Shifa hospital - Gaza largest, from the 31 premature babies were evacuated on Sunday.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says there are still 700 people - including 259 wounded and sick people - in the hospital.

In a Telegram post, spokesman Dr Ashraf al-Qudra says there have been no developments regarding "the evacuation of the stranded".

Hundreds of people - many of them displaced people who had been sheltering at the hospital - fled al-Shifa on foot on Saturday.

A World Health Organization (WHO) team visited the hospital on Saturday, and described it as a “death zone” where the situation was “desperate". It said shortages of water, food, medicines and fuel had forced it to "essentially stop functioning as a medical facility".

Rick Brennan of the WHO told the BBC earlier today that the remaining patients were the hardest to move.

He said there were 29 with spinal injuries, 22 with kidney failure, while the others had "complicated war injuries, terrible fractures, amputations, bad burns, many of which are complicated by severe wound infections".

Intense fighting took place around the hospital last week. The Israeli military entered and searched the facility, and shared footage it said showed weapons and military equipment found there and a tunnel running under the hospital.

When we show you footage of Gaza from the Israeli border, it's often of an area called Beit Hanoun, which was one of first places to be hit with airstrikes after the Hamas attack of 7 October.

It can be seen from the Israeli town of Sderot, which is close to the border.

The images below compare the skyline of Beit Hanoun a week into Israel's retaliatory bombing campaign, with how it looked in early November. The maps mark areas damaged during the fighting.

Image source, .

The Israeli military has released CCTV footage which it says shows Hamas bringing hostages, who were abducted on 7 October, to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.

The video, which has not been verified by the BBC, appears to show two hostages being brought into the hospital. Armed men can also be seen in the footage. In one clip, one of the hostages is being brought into the hospital main entrance. In another clip a wounded man is is shown on a stretcher.

IDF spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, who presented this footage, says it is "concrete evidence" of Hamas taking hostages to al-Shifa hospital.

The IDF has been under pressure to substantiate its claim that Hamas operated an expansive command centre underneath the vast medical complex in the north of the territory.

The Israeli military says the footage "clearly proves that numerous buildings in the hospital's complex are used by Hamas as cover for terrorist activities".

Hamas has denied these allegations.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

The mother of one of the 28 premature babies who've been moved to Egypt from Gaza has spoken about the anguish of being separated from her three children during the conflict.

“I didn't even get a chance to hug them... I didn’t say goodbye to them," Lobna al-Saik told the Reuters news agency.

Her baby daughter was being kept at al-Shifa hospital on oxygen, as she had breathing problems. Al-Saik left her at the facility - in the north of the Gaza Strip - with her husband.

But al-Saik then had to evacuate to the south of the Gaza to escape bombardment. "It never occurred to me that the hospital would be targeted and the children would have to go through what they went through," she said.

She added: "My message to the world is 'enough'. These are innocent children."

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, the BBC has verified a video of Israeli tanks close to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, while the director of the hospital has told the BBC that at least 10 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike there.

The hospital was built by the organisation MER-C, with funding from Indonesian donors, and opened in 2016 with 110 beds, external. It is in northern Gaza, close to the Jabalia refugee camp.

There have been mixed messages in recent days about whether it has been continuing to function.

On Thursday, the hospital's director said it had shut down, external and about 45 patients who urgently needed surgery had been left in the reception area.

But on Saturday, the World Health Organization said that, with Gaza's largest hospital, al-Shifa, no longer able to admit patients, the injured and sick were "now being directed to the seriously overwhelmed and barely functioning Indonesian hospital".

Images and videos from the past week have shown patients being treated on the floor and a baby being treated with a manual resuscitator.

On 5 November, the Israeli military said the hospital, external was "being used by Hamas to hide an underground command and control centre" - and that it had been built on top of existing "terror infrastructures".

Both MER-C and the Indonesian foreign ministry have denied the claims, with the ministry saying the hospital was built "entirely for humanitarian purposes and to serve the medical needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza".

The head of MER-C said on Friday the facility was in "dire condition" and that Israel's claims about it were made to "justify attacks to come".

Image source, Getty Images

We can bring you a little more information on the premature and newborn babies evacuated to Egypt.

BBC Arabic correspondent Yasmine Shahine reports from Cairo that some of the babies are being admitted to hospital in al-Arish, which is some 40km (25 miles) from the border with Gaza. Others, in more serious conditions, are being flown to Cairo for treatment.

The babies were admitted to a hospital in southern Gaza yesterday, to be stabilised ahead of their transfer today, she says.

Five family members have accompanied the babies to Egypt, but some of the babies are known to be orphaned, she reports.

Image source, Reuters

Equipment to set-up the first field hospital in Gaza since the war started has arrived in the territory, Palestinian officials say.

The temporary hospital sent by Jordan is going to be established in Khan Younis to receive the wounded and the sick, according to Mohammed Zaqout, director-general of hospitals in Hamas-run Gaza.

Jordan has been operating another field hospital in Gaza since 2009, and has sent medical aid to it a few times since air strikes on the Palestinian enclave started.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us or need a recap, here are some of today's key developments:

• Twenty-eight premature babies evacuated from Gaza's al-Shifa hospital on Sunday have been transferred into Egypt - another three are still in hospital in Gaza
• An Israeli strike on the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza has killed 10 people, the director of the hospital has told the BBC
• The BBC has verified footage showing tanks close to the hospital - the director said there were tanks just 20m from the building
• The Israeli military has not commented on the reports, but has previously said Hamas has a command centre under the facility - which the hospital denies
• Speculation continues that a deal for the release of some hostages in exchange for some form of ceasefire is imminent
• Senior Israeli adviser Mark Regev told the BBC such a deal would be due to IDF pressure on Hamas, which he said now needed to "rest and regroup" - he added there will only be a ceasefire if there is a release of hostages

Lucy Manning
Reporting from the Israeli embassy in London

Iris Haim’s 28-year-old son Yotam is a drummer for a heavy metal band and has a chronic medical condition.

He was kidnapped from his home in Kfar Aza on 7 October.

At a news conference at the Israeli embassy in London, Iris says: "We are really worried. As a mother I cannot explain what I feel that my son is not with me."

She adds: "This evil isn’t against Jewish people but it’s against the world.

"It starts in Israel but it will continue to harm every person in the free world…it’s monsters against children."

How common is heavy rain in Gaza?published at 13:33 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2023

13:33 GMT 20 November 2023

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Image source, EPA

As we reported earlier, the UN says heavy rain in Gaza is making life for displaced people in temporary shelters "unliveable".

The rain seen in Gaza recently is not uncommon. The region’s "rainy season" begins in late October and the chances of daily rainfall are increasing rapidly into the winter period.

In normal circumstances the rain is welcome after the dry and hot weather of summer. Over the past week or so, people have been collecting it in buckets as fresh water in Gaza has become so limited.

But, when the rain turns a heavier, flooding is a problem for those in makeshift accommodation.

This will continue to be an issue at times in the coming months. It is also expected to start to get much colder at night.

In late November the average maximum temperature is 23°C (73.4F), falling to 17°C (62.6F) in December and January, dropping to 10°C (50F) at night.

Image source, Reuters

Around 25 rockets were fired towards Israel from Lebanon on Monday, according to the the Israeli Air Force.

Posting on X, external, they said that Israeli air defence fighters intercepted several rockets and that others "fell in open areas".

The air force said it attacked Hezbollah "terrorist infrastructures" in Lebanese territory in retaliatory strikes.

Earlier today, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for some strikes into Israel via its Al-Manar TV channel.

As we've been reporting, hopes of a deal to release hostages being held in Gaza - in exhange for some sort of ceasefire - have risen in recent days.

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog, said on Sunday he was hopeful some hostages could be released by Hamas "in coming days".

Mark Regev, senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, says any possible deal is down to Israeli military pressure on Hamas.

“The reason people are a bit more upbeat about it is because Hamas needs a ceasefire. They need some time to rest and regroup,” Regev tells the BBC.

“There will be a ceasefire only if there is a release of our hostages," he adds.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from the West Bank

In a dense and fortified district of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, about 750 families have been under lockdown since the Hamas attack on Israel six weeks ago.

They are residents of the tensest part of H2, an area of Hebron that is home to 39,000 Palestinians and around 900 Israeli settlers - considered some of the most extreme settlers in the West Bank.

Despite being overwhelmingly populated by Palestinians, H2 is under the total control of the Israeli military.

"This is the closed place inside the closed place," said Muhammad Mohtaseb, a 30-year-old hospital security guard, smoking a cigarette on his roof and looking out over empty streets. "We are completely surrounded by checkpoints.”

For the past six weeks, Palestinian residents here have had difficulty accessing food and water. The schools are closed, so children are at home. Many residents have been unable to reach their jobs and are running out of money.

"In these jobs, if you work you eat," said Fawaz Qafisha, a falafel cook. "And if you don't work you don't eat."

The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem has accused the military of collective punishment of the H2 residents. The military told the BBC it operates in the West Bank "in order to provide security to all residents of the area”.

Read more here.

Sirens have been sounding across Israel today, both at the border with Lebanon and near the Gaza Strip, warning Israelis of incoming rocket fire.

There have so far been no confirmed reports of any casualties.

Since 7 October, thousands of rockets have been launched from inside Gaza and Lebanon towards Israel.

Image source, Reuters

How we verified the picture of Israeli tanks near the Indonesian hospitalpublished at 12:29 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2023

12:29 GMT 20 November 2023

Image source, Telegram

As we've just reported, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says an Israeli air strike on the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza killed 12 people overnight.

A video posted on a Palestinian Telegram account at 07:23 on Monday shows four tanks close by the hospital.

BBC Verify has confirmed the location of the tanks as roughly 240 metres north-east of the Indonesian hospital, from where the video was shot.

In the footage, a parade of tall buildings on the left of a main road, the concrete wall, a shorter building with a terracotta-coloured roof extension, plus the empty space before the buildings across the street, helped place the tanks.

We took three frames from the video and reverse-searched them. No other copies have yet been cached by Google, giving a strong indication the footage was recently uploaded.

The cloudy weather is a match for Gaza this morning, rather than yesterday which was sunny in the morning, with a strong wind blowing eastwards, as evident from the tree (bottom left of screen).

Image source, Getty Images

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has condemned the alleged Israeli air strike on the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza.

This morning, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 12 people were killed at the site. Israeli tanks were later seen entering the area.

"The attack is a clear violation of international humanitarian laws," Marsudi said.

"All countries, especially those that have close relations with Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to urge Israel to stop its atrocities."

The Indonesian hospital was set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organisations.

As a reminder, the Israeli military has not commented on the incident at the hospital - but says it's targeting "terrorists" and "terrorist infrastructure" in the Gaza Strip.

Lucy Manning
Reporting from the Israeli embassy in London

While rumours swirl about a possible deal to free some of the hostages held by Hamas gunmen, it is their families who are left with the pain and uncertainty.

This is now the 45th day since they were dragged by armed men from their homes and a music festival. More than 30 of the hostages are children.

At a news conference at the Israeli embassy in London, some of the hostages’ families pleaded for their release.

Thomas Hand is the dad of 9-year-old Emily from Kibbutz Be’eri. It was her birthday on Friday.

“They took her away, led away by terrorists… kidnapped and taken to Gaza,” he says.

“And now we are just waiting for news. This is my worst nightmare - believe me, it’s a nightmare.

“If you have families and kids, just imagine one day [that] one of them is gone. The sheer terror of a 9-year old-girl down in those dark tunnels.

“Sheer terror and panic every hour of every day. She must be saying every day: ‘Where is my daddy - why isn’t he coming to save me’.”

Image source, Family handout

Ethar Shalaby
BBC Arabic

Image source, Reuters

I have been speaking to Dr Mohamed Salama who is head of the neo-natal unit at Al Hilal Emirates hospital, where the 31 premature babies were taken after being evacuated from al-Shifa.

“Some parents arrived yesterday at Al Hilal Emirates hospital to identify their babies," he says. “We asked them to sign a consent form so that their babies will be sent to receive treatment in Egypt.

"We have one baby who is unidentified and his parents are unknown. He is still here with us. The decision to keep him was taken by the Gaza health ministry as his condition is stable and does not need to be moved for treatment.

"Two babies, their parents refused to send them out due to personal circumstances."

Dr Salama says those three babies are in a stable condition.