November 2023 24 November 7:00 a.m. IST (05:00 +2 UTC): The 2023 Gaza war ceasefire came into effect on the 49th day of the war. 7:20: Aid lorries began entering Gaza through the Rafah Border Crossing. Qatari mediators established an operations room with direct connections to Israel, the Hamas political office in Doha, the Hamas office within the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dr. Majed al-Ansari. AP reported that two Palestinians were fatally shot and eleven were wounded by Israeli soldiers as they attempted to move back to northern Gaza. 7:19 p.m. IST: 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thais, and one Filipino, were released by Hamas. Israel also released 39 Palestinian prisoners. The Malta-flagged French-owned CMA CGM container ship Symi, owned by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer was attacked and damaged by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean. Hospitals in northern Gaza, including al-Ahli Arab Hospital, were evacuated by the World Health Organization and the Red Cross.
25 November Two men accused of being spies for Israel were killed in Tulkarm by the Tulkarm Battalion; their bodies were first hung from a utility pole and then dumped in a trash bin. Hamas released 13 Israeli hostages and four Thai nationals after a delay of seven hours due to accusations that Israel was violating the terms of the truce. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in return. TRT reported that tree Palestinians, waiting for the release of their relatives near Ofer Prison west of Ramallah, were injured as a result of Israeli security forces fire. Suspected Houthi fighters seized an Israeli-owned, Malta-flagged freighter transiting the Red Sea. The PIJ claimed one attack on Israeli forces at Jenin. The director general of the Ministry of Health stated the Israeli military shot at medical teams during the temporary ceasefire in effect. UNOCHA stated only four small hospitals in northern Gaza and eight health facilities in southern Gaza were still functioning.
26 November Al Jazeera reported that six Palestinians were killed in Israeli operations in the West Bank. In the first two-day extension of the truce 17 hostages, including 14 Israels and three Thai nationals, were released by Hamas. 39 teenage Palestinian prisoners were also released by Israel. The IDF intercepted a drone over the Red Sea. Netanyahu visited Israeli soldiers and commanders in the Gaza Strip.
27 November Qatari officials stated that Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend the truce by two days. Hamas released 11 Israeli hostages while Israel released 33 Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian militias detonated IEDs and clashed with Israeli forces in Jenin, and Palestinian fighters attacked Israeli forces with small arms fire and IEDs during a raid in the Askar Camp.
28 November 10 Israeli hostages and a pet dog, two Thais, and 30 Palestinian prisoners were exchanged on the fourth day of the truce. This was the fifth such exchange. The Iraqi militant group Ashab al Kahf threatened to conduct further attacks targeting US forces in the Middle East in the coming months. Palestinian fighters in Gaza remotely detonated two IEDs targeting IDF soldiers boarding armored vehicles near Al-Rantisi Hospital, while Hamas militants clashed with Israeli forces in Tubas and said it prevented them from arresting one of its fighters.
29 November
The IDF announced that Israeli troops killed three Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip who had violated the ceasefire and posed a threat to Israeli forces. Four people, including two juveniles, were reportedly shot and killed by Israeli soldiers during an incursion into Jenin. In response, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, al Quds Brigades and unspecified Palestinian fighters conducted small arms clashes and IED attacks against Israeli forces. Hamas informed mediators that it was willing to extend the truce by four days. An Israeli official also told The Washington Post that they were willing to extend the truce for "another two to three days". The heads of the Mossad, the CIA, and the Egyptian intelligence service held talks in Qatar. Hamas released 16 hostages, and Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners in return. The PIJ also claimed that they handed over a number of hostages to Israel. Hamas said three Israeli hostages died due to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. West Bank residents participated in two anti-Israel demonstrations in Hebron and Nablus. A US destroyer shot down a Houthi drone in the Red Sea, whist an Iranian drone conducted "unsafe and unprofessional actions" near the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Persian Gulf.
30 November Two gunmen in a mass shooting killed three people and injured 16 others at a bus stop in West Jerusalem. The perpetrators, who were brothers from Sur Baher, East Jerusalem, were killed by off-duty police officers. Hamas claimed responsibility. The IDF and Hamas confirmed that the truce was extended for a seventh day. Two Israeli soldiers suffered minor injuries after a car-ramming attack at a checkpoint near Beka'ot. The driver was killed. Hamas released eight hostages. Israel also released 30 Palestinian prisoners. A Saudi news outlet reported that a Houthi-controlled arms depot in Sanaa was attacked by an Israeli airstrike. Houthi officials denied the report, claiming that a gas station was hit instead. The IDF intercepted a "suspicious" object near the Gaza Strip; no group claimed responsibility for the attack. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades conducted four attacks targeting Israeli forces in Qalqilya, Tubas and Tulkarm. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the health needs of Gaza had increased dramatically, though only one-third of its health facilities were functioning. The Health Ministry stated hundreds needed to be evacuated from Gaza to receive medical care.
December 2023 1 December The seven day ceasefire having formally ended at 07:00 IST (UTC+02:00] the IDF resumed combat operations at the same intensity as before while talks in Qatar continued. Leaflets were dropped with maps into Khan Yunis depicting hundreds of evacuation zones. An Israeli airstrike destroyed a large building in Khan Yunis. The Gaza Health Ministry claimed that over 180 people were killed since the truce ended. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a mortar attack near Nirim. Hamas claimed that it had fired a barrage of missiles towards Tel Aviv. Several people were injured, though the IDF made no comment regarding property damage. The PIJ also claimed that it had fired rockets at West Jerusalem and other Israeli cities. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed an IED attack targeting an unspecified vehicle in the northern part of the West Bank as well as a small arms attack on an IDF patrol near Nablus. Doctors Without Borders stated al-Awda hospital had been damaged in an Israeli bombing. Hospitals reported overcrowding, with doctors forced to treat patients on the floor.
2 December The Mossad withdrew from negotiations in Qatar, with director David Barnea citing Hamas' failure to release all of its listed female and child hostages. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would proceed directly from the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Doha for the truce talks. The IDF said that they killed Wissam Farhat, the commander of Hamas's Shejaiya battalion, in an airstrike. The IDF conducted an operation in Jabalia, where they killed Hamas fighters and destroyed its infrastructure, including tunnels and subterranean structures. Palestinian militants conducted 25 rocket and mortar attacks on Israel. The IDF clashed with Palestinian fighters across five towns in the West Bank. The al-Qassam Brigades claimed that it targeted an Israeli command and control position east of Beit Hanoun. The group also fired a rocket propelled grenade targeting an Israeli bulldozer near Juhor ad-Dik.
3 December
A spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry said that in an IDF strike in the Jabalia refugee camp, killed and wounded dozens of people. The USS Carney shot down two Houthi drones heading towards its direction whilst responding to a distress call from a civilian commercial ship that was attacked by a ballistic missile. Two vessels reportedly linked to Israel were attacked, namely the Unity Explorer and Number Nine; the Houthi had ordered one to alter course. A third cargo vessel, Sophie II, also came under attack. Shin Bet director Ronen Bar announced that the Israeli cabinet had set the goal of the elimination of Hamas, referring to the 7 October attacks as "our Munich". The IDF announced that it expanded its ground operations into all of Gaza. The Iranian military conducted a threatening drone flight near the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Al-Qassem Brigades launched a rocket salvo at Tel Aviv, the PFLP fired rockets into southern Israel, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed three attacks in the West Bank. Israeli forces arrested 34 people, including eight Hamas-affiliated individuals, in overnight raids of West Bank towns. Al Jazzera reported that an IDF strike hit the Kamal Adwan hospital, killing at least four people.
4 December A senior IDF official said that Israel had killed over 5,000 militants throughout the war. Iranian officials warned that Israeli attacks on Iranian interests in Syria "will not go unanswered". The militant wings of the DFLP and the Al-Qassam Brigades fired rockets into southern Israel and Tel Aviv from Gaza. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades engaged Israeli forces in a small arms clash in the Qalandia refugee camp. Palestinian fighters engaged Israeli forces in a small arms clash and detonated an IED targeting Israeli forces in Jenin, whist the PFLP said that it would escalate attacks in response to Israeli forces killing Palestinian fighters in Qalqilya. The IDF demolished the Palace of Justice located in south Gaza City, a significant structure that housed the Palestinian Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Court of First Instance, and the Magistrate. The entire Gaza Strip experienced a near-total internet blackout. Iranian state media outlets al-Alam and IRIB News said that a new Palestinian militia group called the Biddya Brigades had "taken control" over Biddya in the northern West Bank.
5 December
The New York Times reported that the IDF had begun its invasion of southern Gaza. The IDF reported that its soldiers had reached the centers of both Khan Yunis and Jabalia. Head of the Southern Command General Yaron Finkelman said that troops were involved in the heaviest fighting since the start of the ground invasion. An Israeli airstrike hit the Ma'an School in Khan Yunis near the Nasser Medical Complex, which was being used by UNRWA as a shelter. At least 25 people were killed in the attack, with multiple injuries reported. Doctors at the Al-Aqsa Hospital stated they could not handle the overflow of patients they were experiencing.
6 December Israel's Arrow defense system intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. Sirens were set off in Eilat, although the missile did not enter Israeli airspace. The USS Carney shot down a drone from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen over the southern Red Sea. Israeli officials said that the IDF had killed half of Hamas's mid-level commanders in Gaza. Palestinian militias launched seven rocket attacks into southern Israel. Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant met with mayors and local council heads in Nahariya to discuss the threat of Hezbollah to northern residents. Gallant said that if diplomacy fails, Israel will use its military to force Hezbollah north of the Litani River. Doctors Without Borders stated fuel and medical supplies at al-Aqsa hospital were critically low.
7 December