23:00 On Wednesday evening, hours before an announced truce deal between Israel and Hamas could go into effect sometime on Thursday, a massive Israeli airstrike on a residential block in the district of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City killed and injured tens of civilians.
Al Jazeera reporters who rushed to the scene captured difficult scenes of emergency responders attempting to pick tens of bloodied victims - mostly women and children - from the rubble of two residential buildings in the densely populated neighbourhood.
More than 200 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in various Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments on various parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, as the world awaits some pause for the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza and the entry of humanitarian relief to the strip, the Palestinian health ministry said more than 14,300 Palestinians, including more than 5,840 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on 7 October.
At least 33,000 have been wounded.
More than 6,800 are still missing or presumed dead under the rubble, many of them children.
More than 1.7 million Palestinians have been internally displaced.
22:00 Renowned Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabry resigned from the World Food Programme on Wednesday citing the program's failure to effectively mobilize against the Israeli policy of cutting off all food for Palestinians in Gaza amid its relentless bombardment of the strip for over 46 days.
Sabry, an award-winning film and TV actress, worked with in-need populations in Sudan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Libya among other countries over her years as a Goodwill Ambassador for the WFP.
"I have tried to make my voice heard at the highest level of the World Food Program and to join my colleagues in calling for WFP to be used – as it has done successfully before, to advocate and push hard for an immediate, humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to leverage WFP’s influence to prevent the use of starvation as a weapon of war."
"It is a weapon that has so far killed more than 14,000 people, made more than 1.6 million people homeless, destroyed half of the buildings, and bombed hospitals and schools that were supposed to be safe shelters."
"For this reason, I announce my resignation and wish all my colleagues in the World Food Program safety and peace."
21:45 The head of the United Nations children's agency on Wednesday called the besieged Gaza Strip "the most dangerous place in the world to be a child," and said that the hard-won truce deal between Israel and Hamas was not enough to save their lives.
UNICEF's executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council that over 5,300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since 7 October, accounting for 40 percent of the deaths.
"This is unprecedented," said Russell, who had just returned from a trip to southern Gaza. "I am haunted by what I saw and heard."
Russell welcomed a deal reached Wednesday by Israel and Hamas to free hostages and pause ferocious fighting and bombardment in Gaza.
An Egyptian medic provides care to a premature Palestinian baby, recently evacuated from the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in al-Aris in the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt on November 22, 2023. AFP
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21:30 As the world waits for a ceasefire, Al Jazeera reporters say the Israeli artillery is frantically targeting various parts of the Gaza Strip, from Gaza City in the north to Al-Bereij refugee camp in the centre and Khan Younis in the south of the strip, killing and injuring tens during the day and into the evening hours on Wednesday.
21:00 The Israeli army announced that the number of its soldiers and officers who were killed since the start of its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip has reached 72, bringing the total of casualties among military personnel to 392 since 7 October.
Moreover, the Israeli army also announced that a top commander in the Golani Brigade was killed in north Gaza.
For an in-depth look at what the Israeli side is saying or not saying on the real number of its casualties - click here
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera aired new videos provided by Qassam brigades showing its fighters destroying Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles in various street battles in northern Gaza.
20:30 Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday that the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip has raised many questions about the silence of international parties on the crisis compared to their positions on other armed conflicts.
This came during Shoukry’s meeting -- as part of an Arab-Islamic delegation -- with the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
20:00 Renowned American actress Susan Sarandon, the Academy Award-winning actress, was dropped by United Talent Agency for her support of the Palestinian Cause.
Sarandon, 77, who won the Oscars for her role in Dead Man Walking (1995), took part in demonstrations against the Israeli war on Gaza and its slaughter of Palestinian children.
"You do not have to be Palestinian to stand with the Palestinian people," Sarandon told the crowd at a recent protest.
"It's time to have an open heart. It's time that Palestine be free. There is no freedom until everyone is free."
Separately, Melissa Barrera lost her role in the "Scream" movies for Instagram posts calling for the end to the Israeli war on Gaza and signing an artist-initiated petition demanding a ceasefire.
19:30 Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed the importance of continuing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, according to a statement by Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy on Wednesday.
This came during the Egyptian-Jordanian Summit that took place a few hours after a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas was announced.
19:00 "We have just witnessed over the last few weeks the largest displacement of Palestinians since 1948. The scale of destruction and loss is staggering. It is an exodus under our watch. The younger generation, forced to live through traumas of ancestors or parents," UNRWA said on Wednesday.
18:30 Israeli forces bombed several civilian-packed residential areas in the north and also in the south of the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning ahead of a pending truce deal.
Israeli bombardment of homes killed at least 30 Palestinians in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and 10 in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Wafa added that 15 Palestinians were killed in the city's Al-Sabra neighborhood while dozens were killed and injured in Israeli strikes targeting five homes in Al-Daraj and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods.
Elsewhere, Israeli strikes on northern Gaza destroyed dozens of homes in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, Al-Shati refugee camp, Tal Al-Hawa, and Sheikh Ejleen.
Three homes were bombed in Beit Hanoun, killing 25 people in the northern strip.
Not far, Israeli tanks continued a deadly siege and strikes on the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia for the third consecutive day.
Overnight, Israel allowed a number of patients to be transported out of the hospital to hospitals in southern Gaza.
In the southern parts of the strip, Khan Yunis, Al-Maghazi, Al-Bureij, and Al-Nuseirat were targeted by Israeli warplanes and artillery fire, with reports of more fatalities and wounded.
18:00 French President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday discuss "the situation in the Middle East" with foreign ministers from major Arab and majority-Muslim countries, his office said.
Joining the talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris will be the top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey, the presidency added, as well as Arab League boss Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
17:30 More than 14,100 Palestinians, including more than 5,840 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, according to a Wednesday morning tally by the Gaza health ministry.
At least 33,000 have been wounded. More than 6,800 are still missing or presumed dead under the rubble.
Director of the Hamas media office in Gaza Ismail al-Thawabteh revealed at least 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment in the last 24 hours, adding that nearly 800,000 Palestinians are still residing in the north of the Palestinian territory.
17:00 A Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera that the Lebanese resistance group will abide by the four-day ceasefire, despite not being part of the negotiations.
Hezbollah will stop firing at Israel from southern Lebanon if Israel adheres to the ceasefire, the source said, stressing that any violation of the ceasefire will be met with a fierce response.
16:45 Taher Al Nono, a political adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, told Al Jazeera, that according to the ceasefire agreement at least 200 to 300 trucks, including eight fuel trucks, will be allowed entry into the Gaza Strip. This will include the entire strip, south and north, Al Nono added.
16:00 US special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues David Satterfield said displaced people in southern Gaza must be allowed to return to their homes in the north.
There should be no displacement outside the Gaza Strip, Satterfield stressed.
These remarks come as the United Nations revealed on Wednesday all 2.4 million people in Gaza are going hungry, and 1.65 million have been displaced by the war, with almost half the houses in Gaza destroyed or damaged.
15:00 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "welcomes the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar supported by Egypt and the United States," a spokesman for the UN chief said in a statement.
"This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done," Guterres said the UN would provide support for the implementation of the agreement. Good deal, but not enough.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also welcomed the deal, but the UN health agency's chief said it would not end civilian suffering.
"We welcome the announcement of the Israel-Hamas agreement for 50 Israeli captives to be released," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter.
"My thoughts are with the families, some of whom my WHO colleagues and I met with in recent weeks. We also welcome the four-day pause in fighting that will allow more aid to be safely delivered into Gaza."
But he added that "this is not enough to end the suffering of civilians" and "that those still in captivity must receive any needed medical care".
"We continue to call for all captives to be released. We also continue to call for a ceasefire so that civilians in Gaza can receive sustained, safe, and scaled-up support for recovery.
Read the full report on world reactions to the truce deal
14:10 Egypt’s Al-Qahera TV channel said the Israel-Hamas truce will take effect at 10am local time (0800 GMT) Thursday.
Egypt helped mediate the four-day ceasefire, which will facilitate the release of dozens of captives captured by Hamas on 7 October. The deal will also see the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
14:00 The United Nations welcomed the deal between Israel and Hamas to free captives and pause the fighting and bombardment in Gaza, but said much more needed to be done.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "welcomes the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar supported by Egypt and the United States. This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done," a spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.
12:00 President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi welcomed the successful Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation efforts resulting in a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing Egypt's persistent commitment to achieving lasting peace.
"I would like to express my welcome to the success achieved by the Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation in reaching an agreement to implement a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and exchange captives between the parties," El-Sisi wrote on his official Facebook account.
10:20 At least five fighters of a pro-Hezbollah group within Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces were killed in two US strikes south of Baghdad early Wednesday, security sources said.
Iraqi mourners carry the coffin of Fadel al-Maksusi, a Kataeb Hezbollah fighter who was also part of the “Islamic resistance in Iraq”, the group that has claimed all recent attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria, during a funeral in Baghdad on November 21, 2023, AFP
10:00 The Palestinian Authority welcomed a humanitarian truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a senior Palestinian official said.
"President Mahmud Abbas and the leadership welcome the humanitarian truce agreement, value the Qatari-Egyptian effort made, and reaffirm the call for a comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the entry of humanitarian aid," senior official Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
9:30 Britain welcomed a truce deal between Israel and Hamas as a "crucial step" towards providing relief to the families of the captives and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
"This agreement is a crucial step towards providing relief to the families of the hostages and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.
9:00 China welcomed a truce deal between Israel and Hamas after they reached an agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause in exchange for the release of 50 captives in Gaza.
"We welcome the temporary ceasefire agreement reached by relevant parties," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
Beijing hopes "that it will help ease the plight of the humanitarian crisis, de-escalate the conflict, and ease tensions," Mao said.
Injured Palestinians evacuated from the Indonesian hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip receive care at Nasser hospital in the Palestinian territory's southern city of Khan Yunis, on November 20, 2023. AFP
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