Israel-Hamas war live updates: White House says Israel will implement 4-hour pauses in fighting in areas of north Gaza every day

President Joe Biden told reporters that he has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a pause in the hostilities in Gaza, pushing for something longer than 3 days.

“You know, I’ve been asking for a pause for a lot longer than 3 days,” he said. “I asked for even a longer pause,” he added, after a follow-up question.

Recent reports suggest the U.S. is in talks with Israel and Qatar over a proposed pause — of up to three days. NBC News reported that the break in fighting would be in exchange for the potential release of some hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing sources.

—Matt Clinch

Displaced Palestinians line up for food prepared by volunteer Palestinians in the city of Rafah, Gaza, on Nov. 9, 2023. Volunteers prepared meals for families who had to migrate from the northern and central parts of the city to the south due to Israeli attacks. 

-Abed Rahim Khatib | Anadolou Agency | Getty Images

The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in norther Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting.

President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily pauses during a Monday call.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.

Biden also told reporters that he had asked the Israelis for a “pause longer than three days” during negotiations over the release of some hostages held by Hamas, though he ruled out the chances of a general cease-fire.

— The Associated Press

Police in Brazil have arrested two people in connection with an alleged plot to attack Israeli and Jewish targets, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on social media site X.

“The Brazilian security services, together with the Mossad and its partners in the Israeli security community, alongside additional international security agencies, foiled a terrorist attack in Brazil, planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directed and financed by Iran,” the post on X said.

The prime minister’s office described Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shiite militant and political organization funded by Iran, as “an extensive network that operated in additional countries.”

“The Mossad thanks the Brazilian security services for the arrest of a terrorist cell that was operated by Hezbollah in order to carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil,” a further post by the prime minister’s office read.

CNBC was not immediately able to independently verify the information.

— Natasha Turak

Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that an unidentified drone had hit a civilian building in the southern Israeli city of Eliat.

“The identity of the UAV and the details of the incident are under review,” the military said in a post on social media.

— Karen Gilchrist

At least 10,812 Palestinians — 4,412 of them children — have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday in its latest update.

At least 1,400 have been killed and more 7,198 have been wounded in Israel, the Israeli government said on Nov. 7.

CNBC could not independently verify the figures.

— Karen Gilchrist

Nine Palestinians were killed and 15 were injured in fighting with Israel Defense Forces inside the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian Authority health ministry said Thursday.

The IDF said it had carried out a drone strike against a group of armed Palestinians in the area who were shooting at Israeli forces during the clashes in the late morning, according to the Times of Israel.

— Karen Gilchrist

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday that his country is in a “prolonged war” with Hamas and that a key goal is to return stability to the Israeli economy.

“We need to resolve things quickly, even if not perfectly,” Gallant said during a meeting with directors general of government ministries and local officials, according to the Times of Israel.

“We are in a prolonged war, and the issue of the [Israeli] civilian economy is a main factor in the management of the war,” he was quoted as saying,” he added.

— Karen Gilchrist

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country is prepared to act as a guarantor to resolve the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“Underlining that Turkey is ready to resolve the issue by taking on the responsibility of guarantor, President Erdoğan said that the Islamic world should take a common stance and increase the pressure on Israel,” Turkish state-run agency Anadolu reported, according to a Google translation.

Erdogan spoke at the end of a meeting with Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Uzbekistan, where the leaders adjourned for the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

Erdogan has repeatedly called for an end to the violence in the Gaza Strip, at times accusing Israel of crimes against Palestinian civilians.

Iran — a stalwart supporter of Hamas — has called for coordinated Arab action against Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel says it only seeks to demilitarize Hamas.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The current conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas is a “wildfire that could completely consume the entire region,” U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths warned during a Paris humanitarian conference for the Gaza Strip, according to a CNBC translation.

Describing the situation in the Gaza enclave as “unbearable” and “inconsolable,” he urged all parties to the war to respect “international rights and humanitarian dignity” in order to protect civilians.

The conflict has already scaled up tensions between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, and the Syrian administration of Bashar al-Assad. There have also been calls for Arab countries to unite in an embargo against Israel from Iran, which supports all three actors inimical to Israel, and Hamas.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The World Health Organization said the increasing cases of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip are “very concerning” and pose an added danger to the people currently living in the enclave.

It described the situation as particularly worrying for the 1.5 million Palestinian people who have been internally displaced since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in early October, as many are living in overcrowded shelters.

“Lack of fuel has led to the shutting down of desalination plants, significantly increasing the risk of bacterial infections like diarrhea spreading as people consume contaminated water,” the WHO said in a release Thursday.

“Lack of fuel has also disrupted all solid waste collection, creating an environment conducive to the rapid and widespread proliferation of insects, rodents that can carry and transit diseases.”

The WHO said over 33,550 cases of diarrhea had been reported since the middle of last month, with over half of the cases occurring among children under the age five. For comparison, there were on average 2,000 cases among young children over the previous two years.

“The current disease trends are very concerning,” WHO added.

— Katrina Bishop

The Israel Defense Forces said it has killed another senior commander and taken control of a stronghold of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The military said on social media that it killed Ibrahim Abu-Maghsib, head of Hamas’ anti-tank missile unit in the Central Camps Brigade, during a fighter jet strike. In a separate Google-translated update, it said it had taken a Hamas outpost near Jabalia, where the IDF previously hit a refugee camp.

CNBC could not independently confirm developments on the ground.

The IDF has reported killing several senior Hamas military figures and assuming control of the group’s positions since the early-October start of its aerial and land campaign in the Gaza Strip. It says it is exclusively targeting Hamas and its military posts.

— Ruxandra Iordache

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing humanitarian grounds.

“Today the situation is severe, and it deteriorates more every day. Therefore, immediately, it is toward the protection of civilians that we must work. We must … impose a very rapid humanitarian pause and we must open a cease-fire,” Macron said at the start of a humanitarian aid conference for Gaza in Paris, according to a CNBC translation.

He recognized Israel’s “right to defend itself and the duty to protect its citizens,” while stressing the country also has “an eminent responsibility, which is that of all democracies: respecting the law and protecting civilians.”

He added: “Civilians must be protected, it is absolutely indispensable. It is not negotiable. It is an immediate necessity and, on the longer term, it is also a condition for the efficacy of our fight against terrorism.”

The French leader further noted the need to create safety conditions for humanitarian workers to continue working in the Gaza Strip.

His comments build on increasing international pressure — including calls from Israel’s long-term ally the U.S. — for a humanitarian pause to the conflict, to allow aid to be delivered and discuss the potential release of hostages held by Hamas.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Israel’s economy took a weekly hit of $2.3 billion shekels ($596 million) in the three weeks following the Oct. 7 terror attacks carried out by Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Israeli bank said in a Google-translated report on Thursday.

Israel launched a war campaign targeting Hamas following the attacks.

“The absence of workers resulted from the complete closure of educational institutions (1.25 billion NIS), evacuations of residents from areas that were damaged or are at high risk of being damaged (0.6 billion NIS) and extensive recruitment of reserve personnel (0.5 billion NIS),” the bank said, referring to the New Israeli Shekel.

The bank said this does not reflect the total impact of the war on the labor market and overall economy. In addition to these losses, the institution noted costs resulting from a decline in demand and the absence of Palestinian and foreign workers.

The damage to the labor market is expected to decrease as education facilities reopen, employees adapt to activity from evacuation zones, and the threat of missiles lowers.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has received its second delivery of medical supplies and medicines since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the World Health Organization and U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees said in a joint statement Wednesday.

A first bath of medical supplies was delivered to the hospital — the largest in the Gaza Strip — on Oct. 24, the agencies said. They described conditions at the medical facility as “disastrous,” with “overflowing” emergency wards, depleting supplies and almost two patients for every bed available.

“The northern areas of Gaza cannot and should not be isolated nor deprived of the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Patients there cannot be denied the health care to which they are entitled and urgently need,” the agencies said, stressing the need for additional fuel deliveries to operate medical equipment and desalinate water.

WHO and UNRWA further called for the protection of medical facilities and personnel, unimpeded passage of supplies and for the medical evacuation of the critically sick and injured.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israel Defense Forces has announced another evacuation window for Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza City and head southward.

In a Google-translated social media post, Avichay Adraee, IDF spokesperson for Arab media, said the Israeli military will allow free movement through the main Salah al-Din road between 10:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time.

Roughly 50,000 residents of the northern Gaza Strip headed south of the Wadi Gaza wetlands on Wednesday, the spokesperson said. CNBC could not independently verify these numbers.

The humanitarian corridors come amid increasing fears that the Israeli military is preparing to storm Gaza City.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The U.S. is in talks with Israel and Qatar over a proposed pause in the hostilities in the Gaza Strip of up to three days, in exchange for the potential release of some hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas, NBC News reports two foreign diplomats and a U.S. official as saying. The news organization did not name its sources.

The pause would allow the delivery of further humanitarian aid and create opportunities for the safe passage of Palestinian civilians looking to flee the north of the Gaza Stirp southward.

A final agreement has yet to be brokered. Qatar, which hosts the Hamas political bureau on its territory, has been in talks with the Palestinian militant group over the past two weeks over the proposal, NBC News says.

“We are at a critical stage of the negotiations,” a senior Arab source told NBC News.

Israel has previously said it is unwilling to pause its offensive in the Gaza Strip until hostages are released and Hamas is fully demilitarized. An official of the Palestinian militants has meanwhile said that captives will not be returned before a cease-fire is instituted. Hamas has only released four of the over 200 hostages it took captive on Oct. 7, with another rescued by the Israel Defense Forces.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration has been facing increasing pressures from the international community over the exacerbating humanitarian crisis for civilians stranded in the Gaza Strip, with even close ally U.S. President Joe Biden now floating the possibility of a humanitarian pause.

CNBC has reached out to the Israeli prime minister’s office, IDF, U.S. State Department and Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday that it received 106 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent branch that delivered humanitarian aid, along with five ambulance vehicles from Kuwait.

The latest trucks carried food, water and medical supplies.

The organization said 756 trucks — or about 39 trucks per day — have entered the resource-deprived and besieged Gaza enclave since Oct. 21, when humanitarian deliveries started. No fuel has been allowed in so far, the PRCS says.

Israel sealed the Gaza Strip off from its own supplies of water, food, fuel and electricity in the early days of the conflict, and the Israeli military has repeatedly accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of denying stocks of fuel to the population and rerouting them toward its war efforts.

The Gaza Strip received roughly 500 trucks of supplies per day before the conflict, the U.N. noted in the past.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media update they have discovered water and oxygen storage in the wide-spanning tunnel network beneath the Gaza Strip, which “indicates Hamas’ preparations for prolonged stays underground.”

This comes after the Israeli military on Wednesday announced it had destroyed 130 tunnel entrances, amid a broader refocus on eliminating Hamas’ underground infrastructure. CNBC could not independently confirm this figure.

A key advantage in the Gaza territory in the event of a ground incursion, the tunnel network can facilitate transport, weapons and explosives storage and ambushes for Hamas operatives.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Israel carried out an aerial attack targeting military sites in southern Syria leading to some material losses, Syrian state media said on Wednesday, citing a military source.

The source quoted by state media said missiles flying over Lebanon’s Baalbek region had targeted several sites, but it did not identify them.

Israel has for years carried out attacks on what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that started in 2011.

The strikes are believed to have targeted Syrian army air defence base and a radar station in Tel Qulaib and Tel Maseeh in the Sweida province in southwestern Syria, according to two Syrian military defectors familiar with the matter.

— Reuters

The U.N. human rights chief said collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians and their forced evacuation, as well as atrocities committed by Palestinian armed groups on Oct. 7 and their continued holding of hostages, amount to war crimes.

Volker Türk, standing in front of Egypt’s Rafah border crossing into Gaza, told reporters Wednesday: “These are the gates to a living nightmare.”

“We have fallen off a precipice. This cannot continue,” he said later in Cairo.

Türk said international human rights and humanitarian law must be respected to help protect civilians and allow desperately needed aid to reach Gaza’s beleaguered population of some 2.3 million people.

He said the U.N. rights office received reports in recent days about an unspecified orphanage in northern Gaza with 300 children who need urgent help, but communications were down and access were impassable and unsafe, so “we cannot get to them.”

“I feel, in my innermost being, the pain, the immense suffering of every person whose loved one has been killed in a kibbutz, in a Palestinian refugee camp, hiding in a building or as they were fleeing,” Türk said. “We all must feel this shared pain — and end this nightmare.”

— Associated Press

Hospitals in Gaza are nearing collapse under Israel’s wartime siege, which has cut power and deliveries of food, fuel and other necessities to the territory.

Inside the maternity department at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, the workload has doubled because of the mass displacement from Gaza’s north. That’s according to neonatal specialist Dr. Asaad al-Nawajha, who said Wednesday his team has seen an increase in premature births as the monthlong war intensifies.

Shouq Hararah is one of those mothers. She says her delivery took place with “no proper birth procedures, no anesthesia, painkillers or anything.”

“I gave birth to twins. The boy was discharged, but the girl remains in the maternity ward,” she said.

Standing before a row of beeping incubators, al-Nawajha emphasized the war’s life-threatening consequences.

“All of our work depends on electricity; all the machines you see here rely on it,” the doctor said. “When the electricity is cut, these devices stop working, and all the babies will face certain death.”

— Associated Press

A U.S. military MQ-9 drone was shot down on Wednesday by Yemen’s Houthis, two U.S. officials and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said.

While U.S. drones have been shot down by Houthis in the past, this incident comes at a particularly tense time in the region.

Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war.

The U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the drone, made by General Atomics, had been brought down off the coast of Yemen. They did not say if it was taken down in international airspace.

In a statement, a Houthi military spokesperson said they shot down the drone in airspace over Yemeni territorial waters.

In 2019, U.S. drones were brought down on two separate occasions by the group in Yemen.

The Pentagon has surged thousands of troops to the region to try and contain the conflict, including two aircraft carriers. Some of those troops have been in the Red Sea aboard military vessels.

Last month, a U.S. Navy warship intercepted four cruise missiles and more than a dozen drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen headed toward Israel.

— Reuters