Raffi Berg
BBC Online Middle East editor

Image source, Reuters

Unconfirmed Israeli media reports say Hamas is demanding that Israel stop flying over Gaza for the duration of any truce.

Walla news website says Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, wants flights suspended over all of Gaza, while the YNet news site says Hamas is seeking to limit flights to six hours a day over northern Gaza only.

A major part of Israel's offensive is its air campaign, in which its aircraft have struck thousands of times since the war began after Hamas attacked Israeli communities on 7 October.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 13,300 people, including more than 5,000 children, have been killed in the strikes. Some 1,200 people were killed in the 7 October Hamas attacks and about 240 people abducted.

As well as fighter planes, Israel operates an unknown number of drones over Gaza for both attack and surveillance, including for identifying targets and threats to its ground forces. Pausing aerial operations would hamper Israel's intelligence gathering, including monitoring hostage releases.

If true, such a demand to completely halt flights could be a sticking point for Israel, and in the event of an agreement, difficult to verify compliance.

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has a long history of supporting people detained by conflict.

Under the Geneva Conventions, it is mandated to visit prisoners of war, check on their welfare, and pass messages between them and their families.

Today, this mandate extends to detainees and to hostages.

The ICRC is in contact with Hamas and has repeatedly asked for access to the Israeli hostages.

But, the Red Cross does not negotiate releases, that is for the warring parties.

Once an agreement has been reached, as with the huge exchange of Yemeni prisoners of war last year, the ICRC will be there, to transport those freed safely home and reunite them with their families.

This is what happened with the four Israelis released so far.

Now, it's rumoured a much larger number could be freed, among them small children.

Retrieving them, possibly from many different parts of the conflict zone, will be a logistical challenge.

Hammering out the details is perhaps why the ICRC president herself went to Qatar on Monday, to meet Hamas leaders.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, there's hope a deal mediated by Qatar could see the release of some hostages taken by Hamas in return for pauses in fighting in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners being freed by Israel.

As we try to understand what it could mean, let's recap what key people have said:

• Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement earlier today: "We are close to reaching a deal on a truce"
• The Arabic word used in the statement - "hudna" - is associated with a non-permanent kind of pause
• Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said: "We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement," adding the negotiations have reached a "critical and final stage"
• There has been no immediate response from Israel, but speaking before Haniyeh's statement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "We will not stop fighting until we bring our hostages home"
• Top US officials have also hinted about a "hostage deal" being on the brink - White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters last night "we believe we're closer than we've ever been" and it they were continuing to "advocate for humanitarian pauses"
• Although the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is not part of hostage release negotiations, its president Mirjana Spoljaric is in Qatar, and the organisation said it was ready "to facilitate any future release that the parties agree to"

Let's bring you some fresh comments from a Qatari mediator who says the Gaza hostage release talks are at the "closest point" since the conflict began.

"We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari says.

He adds negotiations have reached a "critical and final stage".

As we've just been reporting, a Lebanese broadcaster has said that two of its journalists were killed by Israeli strikes in the south of the country.

The Israeli military has not commented on the specific allegations but has given more details of strikes along its northern border with Lebanon, saying it "identified and struck three armed terrorist cells".

"In addition, IDF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah terror targets, including military infrastructure and structures used for directing terrorist activity," a spokesman said.

"A short while ago, terrorists fired mortar shells at an IDF post in northern Israel.

"No injuries were reported. IDF artillery is currently striking the source of the fire."

Earlier, broadcaster Al-Mayadeen said that its reporter Farah Omar and photographer Rabih Al-Me'mari had been killed.

Wyre Davies
reporting from Lebanon

As we reported earlier, there has been more exchanges of fire in on the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to the Al-Mayadeen TV station, two of its staff – reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih al-Maamari - were killed in what it says was an Israeli strike near the village of Tayr Harfa

The state news agency also said that a third person was killed in what would appear to be the third attack on journalists working in southern Lebanon since the start of the war.

A fourth person, an elderly woman, was also killed today in a strike, the aftermath of which was witnessed by our BBC team, further east along the border. A house was hit and badly damaged in the village of Kfarkela.

As firefighters from local civil defence units rushed to the scene to put out the fire, ambulances took other injured family members, including children, to hospital.

In recent days the cross-border shelling and rocket fire on the Lebanese-Israeli border has become increasingly intense. Israel also accused Hezbollah of firing anti-tank missiles towards an Israeli village this morning. No-one is reported to have been injured.

Hopes are rising for a deal that could see hostages freed and possible pauses in fighting.

In the meantime, there has been no let-up in fighting and strikes. Israeli forces say they are now looking to intensify their operations against Hamas in southern Gaza, where civilians from the north were told to flee.

The death toll in Gaza continues to rise. The latest figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry are that some 13,300 people have been killed since Israel began its offensive, including more than 5,500 children. The World Health Organization says it believes the figures are reliable.

On Sunday, UN Chief Antonio Guterres called the civilian death toll "staggering and unacceptable".

Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, most of them civilians. Israel says 40 children and babies are among the hostages kidnapped by Hamas and that the group - designated as a terror organisation by the UK, US and EU - purposely hides itself under civilian infrastructure.

Holding everything up are the logistics involved in this potential dealpublished at 09:53 Greenwich Mean Time 21 November 2023

09:53 GMT 21 November 2023

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

This is not the first time we've been told a deal is close at hand to release a sizeable number of hostages held in Gaza.

Not surprisingly, their relatives are holding their breath after previous disappointments.

But sources indirectly involved in the negotiations are more optimistic than ever that between 50 to 70 Israeli hostages could soon be released. This would be in exchange, they say, for some limited pauses in the fighting over a period of three to five days, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including fuel, and the release of a small number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Holding everything up are the practical logistics involved in this potential hostage release.

It takes time for messages to get passed from Doha, where negotiations have been taking place, to Gaza, where Hamas’s military commanders are fighting a war.

There is also the task of gathering up hostages from different locations, many of them presumed to be in underground tunnels and some held by militant from groups other than Hamas.

But one of the more hopeful signs of progress is that the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross has travelled to Qatar to meet officials from there and from Hamas, to "advance humanitarian issues".

In the last few days there have been numerous cross-border skirmishes on the border between northern Israel and Lebanon.

A short while ago Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has given an update on social media.

Three anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanese territory towards the Metula area, Hagari wrote on X adding there are no reported casualties.

"IDF forces are attacking the source of the shooting in Lebanese territory," he added.

Israel's army says it has surrounded the northern Gaza city of Jabalia as it says its forces are "ready for the next phase".

Jabalia lies to the north of Gaza City, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

In an update a few hours ago, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has carried out attacks on 250 Hamas targets in the last day using fighter jets and "remotely manned aircraft".

This included three tunnel shafts in the Jabalia area and killed dozens of fighters, the IDF added.

As a reminder, the BBC is not able to immediately verify most battlefield claims

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Unicef's Toby Fricker says the agency would welcome a truce agreement between Hamas and Israel allowing for hostages to be released.

Although details of the reported agreement are vague right now, one Hamas official has told Al Jazeera negotiations have centred around how long it would last, aid deliveries into Gaza and a prisoner and hostage exchange.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, Fricker told the BBC: "If there's an immediate humanitarian ceasefire which Unicef and many others have been calling for, then yes, then we need to bring in the supplies as quickly as we can and to get them to shelters, to get them to people wherever they are inside the Gaza Strip, wherever they are in need, which is pretty much everywhere.

Fricker said the aid would be vital in terms of saving lives and preventing "another catastrophe" in terms of the outbreak of diseases over winter.

Image source, EPA

We mentioned in our round-up that US President Joe Biden hinted a hostage release deal being on the brink.

Let's bring you some remarks from the White House national security spokesperson who gave reporters an update at a briefing last night.

John Kirby explained:

Nick Beake
Reporting from Jerusalem

The positive noises coming out of Qatar about a potential truce deal echo similar sentiments expressed in Washington.

The statement from the Hamas leader, who lives in Qatar, came after he'd met the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the capital Doha.

Ismail Haniyeh was quoted as saying Hamas was “close to reaching a truce agreement" with Israel.

The ICRC helped deliver the four hostages who were released last month.

A Hamas official told the Al Jazeera news network that the agreement now being discussed would include the release of Israeli women and children as well as Palestinian women and children in Israeli detention.

More aid would also be allowed into Gaza.

It’s assumed there would be a pause in the fighting to allow hostages out and aid in.

There has been no response from Israel yet.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

But to be clear, no deal has been announced and previous attempts have faltered despite making reportedly positive progress.

Israeli diplomats said over the weekend they hope a significant number of hostages will be released.

Some families of the kidnapped expressed anger after meeting the Israeli war cabinet in Tel Aviv last night, arguing retrieving their loved ones should be prioritised over the mission to destroy Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the more the enemy is weakened the greater the chances of bringing home the hostages.

As we've been telling you, Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh has sent a statement to news agencies, including AFP, saying the group is "close" to a truce deal with Israel.

The Reuters news agency is also now reporting it has seen it.

In the statement, Haniyeh says Hamas has delivered its response to Qatari mediators.

If you are just joining our coverage, welcome, and let's bring you up to speed with what has been happening:

• Hamas's leader has issued a statement saying the group is nearing what he called a "truce agreement" with Israel
• Ismail Haniyeh didn't say what form a truce would take but a Hamas official told Al Jazeera negotiations had centred on how long it would last, aid deliveries into Gaza and the exchange of the hostages for Palestinian prisoners
• US President Joe Biden crossed his fingers at a Thanksgiving ceremony as he told reporters he believed a deal was close
• BBC's Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman suggests the two sides would be looking at a phased release of hostages
• Elsewhere, the Palestinian news agency Wafa says at least 17 people have been killed in an air strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight - Israel is yet to comment on this
• Earlier, the director of Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, which has become a focal point of the fighting, said "intermittent shooting" had continued into the night

Image source, Family handout

There are thought to be about 240 people being held hostage by Hamas.

Hamas says it has hidden the hostages in "safe places and tunnels" within Gaza. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have previously said the hostages include 20 children and between 10 and 20 over-60s.

The IDF have notified some families that their loved ones are being held hostage, while other families - whose relatives remain unaccounted for - believe they have been taken.

Among those taken were twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, 26, who were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

Ziv was messaging a friend as the attack happened. Their family said the IDF has told them the brothers are being held in Gaza.

Their brother Liran told CBN news the pair had "twin power" and were the centre of attention wherever they went.

Gali and Ziv's story is just one of many which have been either confirmed by the BBC or credibly reported. You can read more stories of hostages here.

Tom Bateman
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

We've been getting positive signals recently about a potential hostage deal, from the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Herzog. And the Qataris are saying they think a deal is pretty much done, aside from small details.

My sense - talking to a figure familiar with the talks around a fortnight ago as a deal was still being worked up - is that the two sides would be looking at a kind of phased release.

So you would have, perhaps, a smaller number of hostages released to start with, alongside a ceasefire. If that ceasefire holds, more hostages could be released.

Elsewhere, it’s been suggested part of the package could be the release of some Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, possibly women and minors.

There have been no releases of hostages since the four (in two sets of two) who were released early on in the war. They were handed over to the Red Cross who then delivered them to the Israeli side.

There are a lot of logistics to work through, as this is now much more of an active war zone on the ground than it was during that earlier period.

• Read more: Stories of the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel

We reported earlier about shooting being heard at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. Here's a recap of what our correspondent Tom Bateman gathered.

Dr Marwan al-Sultan, the hospital director, had sent several messages to the BBC last night saying there was still “intermittent shooting” being heard at the medical facility.

He also said there were some 500 patients remaining inside.

Al-Sultan had described it as a deadly Israeli strike. The Israeli military said its troops had fired back at gunmen who shot at them from the hospital - and that it took "numerous measures to minimise harm" to non-combatants.

Al-Sultan also said last night there was “some news” that two buses would be sent to evacuate wounded people requiring surgery, destined for southern Gaza.

“Still we are waiting, nobody knows what will happen,” he said.

We'll bring you more updates from the hospital when we get them.

The Israeli military has revealed that two more soldiers, aged 20 and 26, were killed in fighting in northern Gaza on Monday.

At least 383 Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers have been killed in the past six weeks, most during the attacks on 7 October.

We're now hearing more details about the potential truce agreement between Hamas and Israel.

Just to recap, Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh has released statements to wire news agencies and Palestinian outlets saying they are "close to reaching a deal". But we have yet to hear anything from Israel.

According to AFP, a tentative deal could include:

• A five-day truce that would include a ceasefire in ground fighting and limits on Israeli air operations over southern Gaza
• Palestinian militant groups would release 50-100 hostages, who would be Israeli civilians or those from other nationalities, but not soldiers
• In return, 300 Palestinians including women and children would be released from Israeli jails

AFP cited this information to anonymous officials from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad group, who also told the news agency that their organisations have agreed to the terms of the deal.

Separately a Hamas official, Issat el Reshiq, told Al Jazeera that negotiations are centred on the duration of a truce, the delivery of aid into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Both sides would free women and children, he said.

He said the details of the deal would be announced by Qatar, which has brokered negotiations between Hamas and Israel.