Cease-fire extended by two days; Hamas to release 20 more hostages

11 hostages will be released in exchange for 33 Palestinians, Egyptian spokesperson says

Officials expect 11 hostages will be released today in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners, according to Diaa Rashwan, Egypt’s chairperson for state information.

Disagreements over the fourth release in as many days were overcome through Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts, Rashwan said. Officials anticipate the exchange will take place in the coming hours but Rashwan did not offer additional details on the releases.

The current agreement between Hamas and Israel’s government is that Hamas will release Israeli women and children — 50 from the original four-day framework and 20 more in the next two days — in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children in Israeli detention.

Other countries, such as Thailand and Russia, have also brokered individual agreements for the release of their own citizens being held hostage in Gaza.

200 aid trucks taken into Gaza through Rafah crossing

An aid convoy of 200 trucks was sent today through the Rafah crossing into Egypt to be offloaded by United Nations personnel, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

According to him, this is the largest convoy that has entered Gaza since the start of the war. More than 2,000 trucks of aid have gone into the strip since Oct. 21, after Israel permitted the delivery of food, water and medical supplies.

“Our team has prioritized getting this much needed relief into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians … of course, most of them have nothing to do with Hamas,” Kirby said.

U.S. lacks clarity on who is holding American hostages in Gaza, Pentagon spokesman says

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. does not know whether the American hostages in Gaza are being held captive by Hamas or another group in the enclave.

He added that the U.S. does not have details on the status of all the American citizens who were kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7.

“We think the number is less than 10, probably in the neighborhood of 8 to 9,” Kirby said, referring to the captives. “But we don’t necessarily have firm information on each and every one of them.”

Hamas will release 20 more hostages over the next two days, Pentagon spokesman says

Hamas will free another 20 women and children during a pause in fighting over the next two days, the Pentagon’s top spokesman told reporters at the White House this afternoon.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that a truce between Hamas and Israel would be extended for a two-day window — confirming an announcement first made by Qatar, a key mediator.

Israel struck a deal with Musk to limit Starlink in Gaza, minister says

Elon Musk has struck a deal with Israel that will formally limit use of potential Starlink satellite internet terminals in Gaza, the company’s minister of communications, Shlomo Karhi, said today.

Palestinians in Gaza have experienced severe telecommunications blackouts since the war began, with the area’s largest internet provider citing Israel’s bombing campaigns and fuel and electricity embargoes as the reasons. All broadband internet and phone calls in Gaza are routed through Israeli infrastructure.

Thanks to its fast speeds and ease of use, Starlink, owned by Musk’s company SpaceX, is widely regarded as some of the most effective satellite internet to deploy to conflict zones.

Musk had initially claimed back in October that Starlink “will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.” But Khari, whose office approves internet licensing in Israel, said at the time that “Israel will use all means at its disposal” to stop that deployment.

4-year-old former hostage relaxes with family after her release

Matthew Nighswander

Abigail Edan, who was released yesterday by Hamas, with her aunt and uncle at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Israel. Abigail’s parents were killed by Hamas militants in the same attack in which she was kidnapped.

Hamas and Qatari Foreign Ministry says efforts underway to extend truce for two days

A spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry confirmed today that efforts are underway toward extending the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip for two additional days.

Majed Al-Ansari said the extended truce would allow for the delivery of more aid to Gaza, as well as the release of the largest possible number of hostages and prisoners, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.

In a statement to Qatar’s news agency, Al-Ansari said his nation hopes that the pause would lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas also announced that it has agreed to extend the truce for two days.

Earlier today, a senior Arab official with “direct knowledge of negotiations” told NBC News that there would be a truce extension, though deals of the deal were still being finalized.

Chinese foreign minister to preside over Security Council session on Gaza

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York this week to preside over a United Nations Security Council meeting over the war in Gaza, Chinese state media said today.

“China, as the rotating President of the United Nations Security Council for this month, will hold a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29,” spokesperson Wang Wenbin was quoted as saying on CCTV.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister to visit Israel to bring back released hostages

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara will visit Israel this week to bring home the 17 released Thai hostages, the Foreign Ministry said today in a statement.

He will also visit the three Thai nationals who are injured and are in hospitals, the ministry said, adding that he will meet with representatives of the Red Cross and local embassy staff.

Aid trucks arrive in Gaza

Matthew Nighswander

Hamas, Israel reach agreement to extend truce, senior Arab official tells NBC News

Richard Engel

A senior Arab official with “direct knowledge of negotiations” confirms to NBC News that there will be a truce extension. Details of the deal are still being finalized and it could still collapse.

Palestine Red Crescent worried over arrest of medical staff

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said today it worried about the fate of Awni Khattab, head of the Khan Younis Medical Center in Gaza, who was arrested by Israeli authorities along with the head of Al-ShifaHhospital and other medical staff.

“The Israeli Occupation Forces refuse to provide any information about the whereabouts or the fate of the detainees despite the repeated calls by the WHO and the UN,” it said in a statement, demanding their immediate release.

Khattab was arrested by Israeli forces during the evacuation led by World Health Organization from Al-Shifa Hospital. “The members of the medical team were taken at the checkpoint which separates north and south Gaza on 22 of November, 2023,” it said.

NBC News has reached out to the IDF for comment.

Efforts to extend truce by 2 days ‘close’ to an agreement, Egypt says

An agreement that would see the temporary truce between Hamas and Israel extended is “close,” Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egyptian State Information Service, said in a statement.

“The extended truce includes the daily release of 10 detainees in Gaza, women and children, in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, making the total of those released in the two days of the extended truce, 20 Israelis versus 60 Palestinians,” Rashwan said.

The additional two days of truce would also see a cease-fire and halt of Israeli flights over the Gaza Strip, Rashwan said, adding that it was expected that 11 Israeli hostages will be released today in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners.

Mother of Palestinian prisoner awaits release of her 16-year-old daughter after reports of the girl being hospitalized

TEL AVIV — Nofooth Hammad’s family sat anxiously at the east Jerusalem detention center last Friday after Israeli authorities told them her name was on the list of prisoners to be released under the truce agreement with Hamas.

But a 12-hour wait ended with them being told to leave, Nofooth’s mother Amani Hammad told NBC News. They later found out that Nofooth, 16, had been beaten and was at the Hadassah Hospital, she said, but the hospital denied her presence.

She was arrested two years ago and jailed for 12 years. Now nobody knows where Nofooth is, her mother says.

NBC News has reached out to the Israeli police.

A Palestinian prisoner kisses his mother after his release

Max Butterworth

After being released from an Israeli jail, a Palestinian prisoner kisses his mother in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, late yesterday.

Hostage release negotiations continues, Netanyahu’s office says

Negotiations around the list of hostages to be released under the truce agreement are still continuing, Netanyahu’s office said today in a statement.

“The negotiations regarding the list of the next freed people as part of the release plan for the abductees continues,” the office said.

“We are aware of the stress that families are under, and we will add information when it becomes possible,” it added.

200 aid trucks expected to enter Gaza today, Sinai Red Crescent says

A total of 200 aid trucks are expected to enter Gaza today, the head of the Sinai Red Crescent, Khaled Ziad, told NBC News.

He added that 350 Palestinians who were stranded in Egypt are also returning to Gaza and 17 wounded and injured are being taken to Egypt.

Netanyahu says Israel has to ‘demilitarize’ and ‘deradicalize’ Gaza after war

Netanyahu said today that Israel has to “demilitarize” and “deradicalize” Gaza after it achieves a victory over Hamas, before it can begin rebuilding the strip.

“We have to rebuild Gaza,” he said in a talk hosted with Elon Musk on X, hoping the Arab nations would help in the process.

He also said that Israel is preventing civilian causalities but some were “unavoidable.”

Gaza health officials say more than 14,500 people have been killed after weeks of Israeli bombardment.

Crunch time for Israel and Ukraine aid as lawmakers return to Congress from recess

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers will reignite a debate over approving U.S. aid to Israel and Ukraine when Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess this week, with deep uncertainty underscoring the path forward amid divisions between the two parties.

Along with a defense policy bill and reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of the year, Congress must also grapple with a two-part deadline to fund the government that could creep up on it sooner than expected.

Under the official calendar, the House has just 12 legislative days left this year, during which top lawmakers believe they must break the logjam over foreign aid to maximize its chances of passage.

The goal is complicated by multiple factors. Republicans insist on enacting tougher U.S. border enforcement and stricter asylum laws in exchange for any Ukraine aid. And as the civilian death toll rises in the Middle East, there’s a new division among Democrats about whether or not to condition funding for Israel on its government taking active steps to stop the fighting.

“The blank check approach must end,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a leader in the progressive movement.

Read the full story.

Israel arrests 60 people in the West Bank, prisoners’ group says

Israeli forces have arrested at least 60 people in the occupied West Bank since yesterday evening, including former prisoners, the Commission for the Affairs of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said this morning.

The arrests were mostly concentrated in the town of Hebron and Ramallah, it said, adding a total of more than 3,260 arrests that have been made since the Oct. 7. attacks by Hamas.

“During the arrest campaigns, the occupation forces continue to carry out widespread acts of abuse, severe beatings, field investigations, and threats against detainees and their families,” the statement said.

NBC News has not verified the figures, and Israel has not released further information.

Joy as hostages welcomed back to Israel

Max Butterworth

Tal Almog-Goldstein, a hostage released by Hamas, stands in a bus transporting him to an army base in Ofakim, southern Israel, late yesterday.

Elon Musk tours kibbutz with Netanyahu, agrees plan for using Starlink in Gaza

TEL AVIV  —  Tech billionaire Elon Musk today toured the Kibbutz Kfar Aza with Netanyahu, meeting with the Israel Defense Forces and some family members of those killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, Netanyahu’s office said today in a statement.

The visit comes as Israel said it reached an agreement with Musk to bring his SpaceX company’s Starlink communications to the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported.

“Musk heard about the story of the family of the 4-year-old girl Abigail Mor Edan, whose parents were murdered and she was kidnapped to Gaza and released from Hamas captivity yesterday,” it said.

Musk also visited a youth neighborhood, Netanyahu’s office said, “which took the brunt of the fire in the October 7th atrocities.”

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Palestinians, evacuated from the Gaza Strip, land in Abu Dhabi

Max Butterworth

A woman is helped as she disembarks from a plane upon landing in Abu Dhabi today, as part of a humanitarian mission organized by the United Arab Emirates to aid civilians fleeing Gaza.

A need for a ‘long lasting’ Gaza truce: E.U. official

The European Union’s top foreign policy official Josep Borrell is calling for an extension of the truce in the Gaza Strip. The truce is set to end today.

“The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long lasting while working for a political solution,” Borrell said at the start of a meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona earlier today.

“A political solution that should allow us to break the cycle of violence once and for all,” he added.

Hamas and Israel review lists of hostages and prisoners

There are more challenges today with both the Israeli government and Hamas questioning the lists of hostages and prisoners to be released, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks tells NBC News. There was a similar hurdle on day one and it was resolved, they said, adding that it’s a “slight issue” that all sides are working to resolve.

Bigger challenges lie ahead this week. Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been leading negotiations to secure the release of hostages, agree a cease-fire and enable the entry to Gaza of desperately needed humanitarian aid, says efforts to extend the pause are underway. There is a willingness by Israel to extended so long as Hamas can locate an additional 40 or so hostages including women and children, he tells NBC News.

But even an extension of the truce is not a solution to the crisis. The Israeli military is indicating it is ready to return to war. Hamas too will have been regrouping and preparing to fight.

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Watch: Emotional reunions between released Israeli hostages and their families

Videos show the emotional moments when some of the people held hostage were reunited with their families.

In one video, released Israeli hostages were met by thousands of Israelis waving flags and recording their arrival near Hatzerem, Israel. In others, 9-year-old Emily Hand is seen running into her father’s arms and hugging her sister as her dogs excitedly welcome her home.

Mother and daughter Sharon and Noam Avigdori are also seen in a video embracing family members in an Israeli hospital, and in another video, Maya Regev, whose younger brother is still being held by Hamas, hugs her mother in an emotional reunion.

Latest 3 Thai hostages to be freed are in good health, prime minister says

Three Thai hostages Hamas released today are in good health, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in a post on X.

The three Thai nationals were among 17 hostages freed on the third day of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Migrant workers from Thailand, one of Israel’s biggest sources of foreign labor, were the largest single group of foreigners among Hamas’s estimated 240 hostages, and 17 have been released since the cease-fire began Friday.

The Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry congratulated the newly freed hostages and their families and thanked all parties involved in their release.

“For the remaining 15 Thai hostages, the Royal Thai Government continues to exert all efforts towards their safe release at the earliest opportunity,” the ministry said in a statement.

Biden pushes for more hostages to be freed by Hamas, extension of pause in fighting

Biden is pushing for more Americans to be freed from Gaza and is encouraging an extension in the four-day cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Biden said he is “hopeful” that more Americans will be released in tomorrow’s exchange.

Only one day remains in the deal, and so far only one American has been released — 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan.

Hamas-Israel truce nears its end, but both sides open for an extension

The temporary four-day truce between Hamas and Israel is due to end today, but both sides have expressed their openness for an extension if an agreement is reached.

An extension could see more hostages released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt in fighting. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by a day for every 10 additional hostages released.

Hamas also said yesterday it was hoping to extend the truce which came after weeks of intense negotiations mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt and began on Friday.

Catch up with NBC News’ latest coverage of the war