Israel-Hamas war: What happened on day 47?

The Qatari Foreign Ministry stated that talks concerning a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas were "progressing positively," with the date of entry into force of the agreement to be announced in the "coming hours," a spokesman for the ministry told the Qatar News Agency.

The spokesman added that "work is continuing with the two parties and our partners in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America, to ensure the rapid start of the truce and to provide what is necessary to ensure the parties’ commitment to the agreement."

The USS Thomas Hudner shot down multiple attack drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia over the Red Sea early Thursday morning, US Central Command said on X.

On the morning (Yemen time) of November 23, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) shot down multiple one-way attack drones launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. The drones were shot down while the U.S. warship was on patrol in the Red Sea. The ship and crew sustained no… pic.twitter.com/TqXuaKsgwe

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 23, 2023

No damage or injuries were caused.

The incident came just hours after a cruise missile fired by the Houthis was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force near Eilat.

Rocket alerts sounded in areas bordering the Gaza Strip Thursday morning.

The Mossad has been instructed to act against Hamas leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Wednesday night as he defended a partial hostage deal that includes a four to nine-day pause in the Gaza war.

“It was a hard decision, but the right decision,” Netanyahu said.

“I instructed the Mossad to act against Hamas leaders where they are,” Netanyahu said as he hinted that Israel could target them outside of Gaza, including in Qatar.

He spoke as Mossad chief David Barnea was reportedly in Qatar, a country that – along with Egypt – had mediated the agreement by which 50 to 98 out of the over 239 hostages held in Gaza since October 7 would be freed.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seen with Mossad director David Barnea as part of the war cabinet on November 19, 2023 (credit: PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE)

Hamas hostage deal

Hamas had seized the hostages when it infiltrated southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people. Israel has since conducted a military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza.

The government on Wednesday agreed to pause that war to allow for a phased hostage deal.

Since the deal was reached Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to continue the war. 

“The war continues, we will continue it until we achieve all our objectives,” he said. This includes freeing all the captives, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that the day after Hamas there won’t be an entity that supports or educates for terror. 

“Gaza won’t pose a threat to Israel,” he said, adding “We will continue to fight until there is complete victory.”

Netanyahu also promised that all the hostages would be released, including the two Israeli captives Hamas has held since 2014 and 2015 — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. He also referenced the two soldiers believed killed in the 2014 Gaza war Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.

“We will return everyone home. And when I say everyone I mean everyone,” he said.

Netanyahu thanked US President Joe Biden for his efforts to secure and expand the deal, which was mediated by Qatar with Egypt’s help, even as he took credit for Biden’s increased involvement.

“We conducted tough negotiations. We fought to improve the outline. I now spoke with President Biden again, I thanked him for acting at my request with the mediators to achieve a significant improvement of the outline, and such an improvement was indeed achieved.”

An Israeli strike on the village of Beit Yahoun in south Lebanon on Wednesday evening killed five Hezbollah fighters, including the son of a senior Hezbollah member, according to Hezbollah and three sources with knowledge of the situation.

The group announced late Wednesday night the death of five of its members, bringing the total toll of Hezbollah fighters killed since violence broke out along the border to 85.

Among those named was Abbas Raad, who sources said was the son of senior Hezbollah figure and member of Lebanese parliament Mohammad Raad, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2019.

Two Hezbollah sources and one security source told Reuters that the five were killed in an Israeli strike on the village of Beit Yahoun.

Israeli soldiers patrol in the snow in Mount Hermon, near the Israeli border with Lebanon, northern Israel, November 20, 2023 (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)

Israel and Hezbollah - an ally of the terrorist group Hamas - have traded escalating rocket fire along the Lebanese border following Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

In a statement, the Israeli military said its fighter jets struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon, and that its troops and aircraft hit two cells that fired at Israeli troops or attempted to launch rockets into Israel.

The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on reports that multiple people had been killed or specify the location of the strike.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to release additional hostages when he spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Wednesday, the State Department said.

He also discussed the importance of ensuring the safe passage of foreign nationals out of Gaza, the State Department said.

Israel's national security adviser said the release of hostages under a temporary truce agreement with Gaza's Hamas rulers will not happen before Friday.

"Negotiations for the release of our captives are progressing and continue all the time," Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement released by the prime minister's office.

"The start of the release will proceed according to the original agreement between the parties, and not before Friday," Hanegbi said.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call from US President Joe Biden in which he thanked Sisi for the Egyptian role in the joint mediation that led to reaching a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian presidency said on Wednesday.

The White House hopes several hundred more aid trucks carrying food, water and medicine will reach Gaza in the coming days, amid the conflict with Israel, national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday.

The deal to exchange a pause in the Gaza war for the release of some 98 women and children was delayed by a day and is now expected to go into effect on Friday due to a last-minute complication.

Hezbollah is not included in the deal and cross-border violence on Israel’s north does not impact it.

The contentious deal the government approved at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday on the 47th day of the war, could allow for all 40 of the children and 58 of the women Hamas has held since it seized over 239 captives during its infiltration of southern Israel on October 7.

Only once the hostages are in Israel, will the families be notified to avoid raising false hopes among the relatives of the freed captives.