🔴 Live: Israeli forces are in the 'heart of Gaza City', says defence minister

Israeli soldiers operate inside the Gaza Strip, amid the Israeli army's ongoing ground operation against the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, on November 7, 2023. © Israeli Defence Forces, via Reuters

Israeli soldiers are operating in the "heart of Gaza City", the stronghold of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US media earlier that Israel would consider "tactical little pauses" in the fighting to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid or allow the exit of hostages held by Hamas. Follow our live blog for the latest updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).  

• Israeli soldiers are operating in the heart of Gaza City, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday, adding: "We are going to destroy Hamas." 

• Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said his country will take "overall security responsibility" of the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas. Speaking to ABC News, Netanyahu said Israel would consider "tactical little pauses" in Gaza fighting to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid or allow the exit of hostages held by Hamas.

• The United States opposes any long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel and any forced relocation of Palestinians from the enclave, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. 

• Israelis observed a minute of silence on Tuesday to mark a month since the October 7 attacks that saw Hamas militants slaughter 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and take more than 200 hostages to the Gaza Strip.

• The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 10,328 people, including at least 4,237 children, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory has said. 

10:52pm: House to vote on punishing Rep. Rashida Tlaib for Israel comments

The House is headed for a showdown vote Wednesday on whether to punish Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — the only Palestinian American in Congress — for her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

A vote to move forward on censuring Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House, advanced Tuesday in a procedural vote. Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia proposed the measure in response to what he called Tlaib's promotion of antisemitic rhetoric. 

“Rep. Tlaib has levied unbelievable falsehoods about our greatest ally, Israel, and the attack on October 7,” McCormick said. 

Debate on the censure resolution was emotional and intense. With other Democrats standing by her side, Tlaib defended her stance and accused Republicans of trying to silence differing views about the decades-long conflict in the Middle East. 

“I will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words,” Tlaib said, adding that her criticism of the Jewish state has always been directed toward its government and its leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

“It is important to separate people and government," she said. “The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent. And it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation.” 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., cries during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza near the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. © Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, AP -

9:46pm: 'My son was one of the fortunate guys': FRANCE 24 speaks with father of a hostage held by Hamas

After launching its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas took approximately 240 Israeli and foreign civilians hostage. FRANCE 24 spoke with Avi Shamriwz, who says that he remains in the dark about what has happened to his 26-year-old son Alan. However, Avi adds that his son was "one of the fortunate guys", as the rest of the people in the village were he was living were "massacred by Hamas".

"We have no clue what's happened to him, if he's injured, if he's alive," says Avi. "I am feeling very bad. [..] After they release the hostages, let the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] and the Hamas fight each other as much as they want. I don't care. I first want my son to come back with the rest of the hostages."

Please click on the video player below to watch the full interview. 

9:19pm: Biden tells Netanyahu a 3-day pause in fighting could help secure release of hostages 

US President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that a three-day pause in fighting could help secure the release of some hostages, US news website Axios reported on Tuesday, citing two US and Israeli officials.

8:15pm: Red Cross says humanitarian convoy came under fire in Gaza City

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said a humanitarian convoy came under fire in Gaza City on Tuesday but was able to deliver medical supplies to Al Shifa hospital.

Two trucks were damaged and a driver was lightly wounded, the organisation said.

It said the convoy included five trucks and two ICRC vehicles and was carrying "lifesaving medical supplies to health facilities including to Al Quds hospital of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, when it was hit by fire."

The group did not identify the source of the fire. ICRC, a neutral organisation based in Geneva, has escorted patients and transported freed hostages out of Gaza.

7:36pm: No ceasefire, fuel delivered to Gaza until hostages freed, says Netanyahu

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that no fuel would be delivered to the Gaza Strip and no ceasefire in Israel's fighting with Hamas unless hostages seized by the Palestinian militants are freed.

In a televised statement marking the first month of Israel's war with Hamas he said there would be "no entry of gasoline... no ceasefire without the release of our hostages".

7:29pm: 'Gaza City is encircled, we are operating inside it', says Netanyahu

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel's military was encircling Gaza City and operating inside it as it pressed on with a month-long offensive against Hamas.

In a televised statement, Netanyahu said there would be no ceasefire or fuel delivery to Gaza before Hamas released Israeli hostages and repeated a call on Palestinian civilians to move south for their own safety. "We will not stop," Netanyahu said.

7:23pm: US says it opposes 'reoccupation' of Gaza by Israel

The United States said on Tuesday that it opposed a new long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel, whose Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed "overall security" of the territory following the war.

"Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

6:56pm: Defence minister says Israeli forces are in the 'heart of Gaza City'

Israel's military is operating deep within Gaza City, the stronghold of the Palestinian group Hamas, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday, adding that Israel had no desire to rule the Palestinian enclave once the war was over.

"IDF forces are in the heart of Gaza City. They came from the north and the south. They stormed it in full coordination between land, air and sea forces," Gallant said in a televised news conference.

"They are manoeuvring on foot, armoured vehicles and tanks, along with military engineers from all directions and they have one target – Hamas terrorists in Gaza, their infrastructure, their commanders, bunkers, communication rooms. They are tightening the noose around Gaza City," Gallant said.

Gallant described Gaza City as "the biggest terrorism base built by man". He said that below the city there were kilometres (miles) of tunnels that ran under schools and hospitals and that housed weapon depots, communication rooms and hideouts for militants.

Asked about plans for who would rule Gaza once the war was over, Gallant said: "I can tell you who will not govern (Gaza). It will not be Hamas, and it will not be Israel. Everything else is a possibility."

He repeated Israel's call on Palestinian civilians to move to the south of Gaza for their own safety.

6:16pm: Dead children in Gaza war is world's 'moral failing', says Red Cross

A month after the war between Israel and Hamas erupted, the Red Cross demanded Tuesday an end to the horrific suffering of civilians, and especially children, decrying a "moral failing".

"One month on, civilians in Gaza and Israel are being forced to endure tremendous suffering and loss. This needs to stop," the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement. "Massive bombardments are gutting civilian infrastructure across Gaza, sowing seeds of hardship for generations to come." 

The organisation's president Mirjana Spoljaric said she had been particularly shocked to see the suffering that children have had to endure. 

"Children have been ripped from their families and held hostage. In Gaza, ICRC surgeons treat toddlers whose skin is charred from widespread burns," she said in the statement.

"The images of suffering, dead and wounded children will haunt us all. This is a moral failing," she added.

6:06pm: Paris Stars of David graffiti may have been ordered from abroad, says prosecutor

The daubing of dozens of Stars of David on buildings in Paris and its suburbs, widely condemned as anti-Semitic, may have been carried out at the "express demand" of an individual residing abroad, the Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday.

An investigating magistrate will now probe what the intention was behind the mass daubing of buildings with the stars, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement, following the arrest of two Moldovans who told investigators they were acting at the behest of a third party.

Read more'Anti-Semitic' graffiti possibly ordered from abroad, Paris prosecutor says

5:59pm: More than 400 US citizens, residents have left Gaza, says State Department 

The United States has helped more than 400 US citizens, lawful permanent residents and other eligible people leave Gaza, a US State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday.

5:12pm: FRANCE 24's ENTR examines division between European countries on Israel-Hamas war 

After Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel responded with retaliatory strikes, it became clear that European countries were not united on how to respond to this latest episode of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. FRANCE 24's ENTR examines how several European countries have responded over the course of the past month. 

5:07pm: EU announces more than €900 million in aid for Jordan 

The EU on Tuesday announced more than €900 million in aid for Jordan after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met King Abdullah II for talks dominated by the Israel-Hamas war. 

Von der Leyen thanked the Jordanian king for "his critical stabilising role in the region", amid fears that the conflict, which has left thousands dead, could spill over to other countries.

The two leaders did not hold a press conference after the meeting.

On social media however, von der Leyen said the talks included Israel's military offensive against Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which controls the Palestinian territory.

Jordan is among countries in the region fearing a mass exodus from Gaza.

4:25pm: Mexico will not break relations with Israel, says president 

Mexico will not break diplomatic relations with Israel over the conflict in Gaza, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday, urging political leaders to work for a peaceful solution to the dispute.

Lopez Obrador was speaking at a regular government press conference.

4:15pm: First group of Canadians evacuated from Gaza into Egypt 

The first group of Canadians has been evacuated out of the Gaza enclave through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Tuesday.

"They are now safe and sound in Egypt and we're very, very happy," he told reporters.

3:41pm: More than 100 French nationals evacuated from Gaza

More than 100 French nationals and their dependents have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, the foreign ministry in Paris said on Tuesday.

Read moreThe Gaza-Egypt Rafah crossing explained: ‘It is not a normal border’

"Two groups of French nationals, officials and rights holders were able to leave" on Monday and Tuesday from Gaza and are now "in safety in Egypt", the ministry said in a statement.

The departures "bring the number of exits organised by France to more than 100 people", it added.

3:28pm: UK to hold emergency response meeting on impact of Israel-Hamas war on communities

The British government will hold an emergency response meeting on the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on community cohesion in Britain on Tuesday, amid concerns from ministers about pro-Palestinian protests planned for the Armistice Day weekend.

"The deputy prime minister will chair a Cobra (emergency response meeting) to coordinate the government's response to the situation in Israel and Gaza," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said.

"It will look at a wide range of areas but it's obviously particularly focused on the impact of the terrorist attack on the UK domestically and how we can address some of the importance around community cohesion particularly."

2:31pm: Blinken thanks Japanese minister for denouncing Hamas's attacks on Israel

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken discussed the situation in Gaza with his Japanese counterpart on Tuesday, including the need to increase humanitarian aid, the State Department said.

"The secretary thanked Foreign Minister Kamikawa for denouncing Hamas's attacks on Israel and offering condolences for the American citizens who lost their lives," the department said in a statement.

Blinken was in Tokyo for a Group of Seven meeting. Japan has taken a cautious approach to the crisis, resisting pressure to fall in line with the pro-Israel stance of its closest ally, the United States, officials and analysts say.

2:20pm: Israel asks civilians again to leave Gaza City before lauching ground assault 

Israel gave civilians still trapped inside encircled Gaza City a four-hour window to leave on Tuesday, and residents escaping the city said they passed tanks in position to storm it.

Israel says its forces have surrounded Gaza City, home to a third of Gaza's 2.3 million people, and are poised to attack it soon in their campaign to annihilate the Hamas militants who attack Israel exactly a month ago.

In some of the first direct comments on Israel's plans for the future of Gaza after the war, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel would take on security responsibility for the territory for an indefinite period once it defeats the militants that have controlled it for the past 16 years.

2:05pm: Israeli strike kills Palestinian reporter in Gaza, news agency says

A Palestinian journalist was killed in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip and another was wounded, the official Palestinian news agency reports. 

Mohammad Abu Hasira is the latest among dozens of journalists killed in the month-long conflict that began with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel.

He "was killed in an Israeli bombing that targeted his house located near the fishermen's port west of Gaza City," said the WAFA news agency, where he worked.

WAFA reported that Abu Hasira "and 42 members of his family, including his sons and brothers" were killed in the strike.

1:45pm: Gaza health ministry says death toll has risen to 10,328

At least 10,328 Palestinians, including 4,237 children, have been killed in a month of Israeli bombardment, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza has said.

In the past, the ministry's figures have been corroborated by UN agencies. But international organisations are no longer able to provide independent verification.

1:34pm: Author of book 'Underground Warfare' discusses Hamas's 'immense' tunnel network

An author whose book has become a reference for those trying to understand Hamas's tunnel network and its impact on the current war has told FRANCE 24 that Israel must eventually enter the tunnels to ensure their destruction. Daphné Richemond-Barak started her book "Underground Warfare" 10 years ago, when one of the first large Hamas tunnels into Israel was discovered. Her book documents the use of tunnels in many conflicts, including in Vietnam and even World War I. She spoke to Stuart Norval, the host of FRANCE 24’s Perspective. 

PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24

12:15pm: WHO says over 160 healthcare workers killed in Gaza

More than 160 healthcare workers have died on duty in Gaza since the start of the conflict, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) has told a press briefing, calling for the lifting of restrictions on medical aid.

"Over 160 of the healthcare workers have died on duty while taking care of those injured and diseased," Christian Lindmeier told reporters, adding that some doctors were performing operations, including amputations, without anaesthetic.

"These are the people keeping the health system going through the dedication they have somehow found a way to keep some level of service going," Lindmeier said.

11:25am: UN rights chief decries 'vortex of pain' on Mideast visit

The UN rights chief is visiting the Middle East amid rising concern over Israel's military escalation in Gaza, his office has said.

Volker Turk has begun a five-day visit to the region in Egypt and is planning to visit the Rafah crossing to Gaza on Wednesday. His office said he will visit Amman, Jordan on Thursday and has also sought access to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

"It has been one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair," Turk was quoted as saying. "Human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain."

10:50am: UAE to set up 150-bed field hospital in Gaza

The United Arab Emirates will set up a field hospital in the Gaza Strip, official media said after the number of people killed in Israeli bombardments surpassed 10,000.

Five aircraft flew out of Abu Dhabi for Arish in northern Egypt carrying equipment and supplies for the 150-bed facility, WAM news agency said late on Monday.

An official contacted by AFP said there was no immediate information on how the equipment will be transferred to Gaza, where there is only one operational border crossing, at Rafah near Arish.

10:15am: Israel observes minute of silence a month after Hamas attacks

Israelis have observed a minute of silence to mark a month since the deadly rampage by Hamas militants that triggered the current war between Israel and the Islamist militant group.

The country's worst-ever terrorist attacks, the October 7 killings claimed 1,400 lives, according to Israeli officials, including entire families slain inside their homes and young people killed at a music festival.

9:15am: Russia says Israeli minister's nuclear remark raises 'huge number of questions'

A remark by an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza raises a "huge number of questions", the Russian foreign ministry has said.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday suspended Heritage Minister Amihay Eliyahu from cabinet meetings after his controversial remark sparked outrage around the world.

Asked in a radio interview about a hypothetical nuclear option, Eliyahu, from a far-right party in the coalition government, replied: "That's one way."

Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, said the main issue was that Israel appeared to have admitted that it had nuclear weapons – something it has never publicly acknowledged.

"Question number one – it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?" Zakharova said in remarks carried by the RIA news agency. If so, she added, then where are the international nuclear inspectors?

8:35am: A month on, Israeli hostage families wait in agony for word of loved ones taken by Hamas

A month has passed since Hamas unleashed a day of deadly terror on Israel, storming out of the Gaza Strip and brutally murdering 1,400 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, and taking more than 240 hostage.

The events of October 7 led to a devastating war in Gaza, which has claimed thousands of civilian lives. They have also left an indelible mark on Israeli society.

People across the country are still in shock, none more so than those still waiting desperately for news of their loved ones held hostage inside Gaza.

Our senior correspondent Catherine Norris Trent sent this report.

People hold signs bearing the image of a woman taken hostage taken by Hamas during the militant group's October 7 attack on Israel at a rally in Tel Aviv. © France 24 screengrab

7:25am: 'How can I possibly give birth here?': Pregnant women suffer ordeal in Gaza

Before the latest escalation in violence between Israel and Hamas, pregnant women in the Gaza Strip could have health check-ups, get advice on nutrition and prepare their homes for the arrival of their babies.

Today, thousands are living in shelters where there is not enough food or clean water, and they dread the prospect of giving birth on the floor with no doctor or midwife to help.  

A newborn and a woman's injured hand inside the neo-natal department of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, October 26, 2023. © Bisan Owda for UNFPA

More than 150 births take place every day in the densely populated sliver of land, which is home to some 50,000 pregnant women, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  

Among them is Shorouq, who is seven months pregnant with her first child and is currently living in a shelter in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza. 

"How can I possibly give birth here?" she asks. "There's no access to healthcare and hygiene. Giving birth in this shelter would be a catastrophe for me."

Read moreMalnourished, sick and scared: Pregnant women in Gaza face ‘unthinkable challenges’

6:45am: US police probe death of Jewish man after duelling protests

A Jewish man in California has died after getting into a confrontation during duelling protests over the Israel-Hamas war, authorities said.

Paul Kessler, 69, died at a hospital on Monday, a day after he was struck during pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations at an intersection in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles, authorities said.

Witnesses said Kessler was involved in a “physical altercation” with one or more counter-protesters, fell backward and struck his head on the ground, according to a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

No arrests have been made and details of the confrontation have not been immediately released, although the Sheriff’s Department has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning.

3:10am: UN Security Council fails to agree on Israel-Hamas war resolution

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors late on Monday. The 15-member body is still trying to agree a resolution on the war between Israel and Hamas after failing four times in two weeks to take action.

The key obstacle is whether to call for a ceasefire or humanitarian pauses to allow aid access in Gaza.

When asked if there were any talks at the United Nations yet about what might happen in Gaza once the fighting stops, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters: "Obviously there is concern about what happens the day after, but we're not at that point."

1:52am: Israel open to 'little pauses' in Gaza fighting, Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said Israel would consider "tactical little pauses" in Gaza fighting to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid or allow the exit of hostages held by Hamas militants.

Earlier, Netanyahu confirmed there would be no "general ceasefire" in Gaza until hostages were released by Hamas.

"There will be no ceasefire – general ceasefire – in Gaza, without the release of our hostages," he said in a television interview with ABC News.

1:30am: Netanyahu says Israel will take 'overall security responsibility' of Gaza after war

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said his country will take "overall security responsibility" of the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas.

"Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility," he said in a television interview with ABC News. "When we don't have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn't imagine."

Key developments from Monday, November 6:

In a televised address on Monday, UN chief Antonio Guterres said a ceasefire becomes “more urgent with every passing hour” as Israeli forces pounded the Hamas-held Gaza Strip after encircling the enclave's main city on Sunday.

Hamas militants fired 16 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel, the Palestinian group's armed wing announced, saying they targeted areas south of the coastal city of Haifa.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a gruelling Middle East diplomatic tour in Turkey after only limited success in efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza. 

Jordan said on Monday it was leaving "all options" open in its response to what it called Israel's failure to discriminate between military and civilian targets in its intensifying bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday Oslo was exploring ways to revive a diplomatic channel between Israel and the Palestinians to find a political solution to their decades-long conflict.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)