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Israeli forces releases 5 Palestinian prisoners to Red Cross in southern Gaza

Israeli forces releases 5 Palestinian prisoners to Red Cross in southern Gaza
By Tim Hume, Caolán Magee, Faisal Ali and Maziar Motamedi
Published On 4 Nov 2025

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4 Nov 2025 - 22:55
 (22:55 GMT)

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To find out more about why Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales said the site’s Gaza genocide page fails to meet the company’s “high standards”, read this.

Learn more about Israel’s model for the Gaza ceasefire, and how it repeats a pattern seen in Lebanon, by reading this.

And you can always find our comprehensive coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict here.

4 Nov 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. But before we go, here’s a recap of today’s developments:

  • Israel continued sporadic, deadly attacks across Gaza, as Palestinians kept searching for food amid the limited entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
  • Hamas recovered and handed over the body of an Israeli captive. Israel confirmed the delivery, but has not yet verified the identity.
  • Israeli soldiers and settlers launched a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank, including in Nablus and Ramallah, arresting, assaulting and intimidating Palestinians in their homes and on their land.
  • Israel appointed a new military prosecutor after arresting the previous official and a former legal adviser because a video of Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian prisoner inside a prison was leaked to the media last year.
  • The US has reportedly circulated a draft resolution among UN Security Council members for the international stabilisation force in Gaza, but Israel is trying to influence it, according to US and Israeli media.
  • Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound once more under protection from soldiers and police.
4 Nov 2025 - 22:35
 (22:35 GMT)

Sami Hamdi’s wife calls for immediate release from US custody

The wife of British-Tunisian political commentator Sami Hamdi has renewed her call for his immediate release.

In an op-ed for USA Today, Soumaya Hamdi wrote: “He has a family that loves and misses him dearly and would like nothing more than for him to be released.”

“Our children still wait for their father every night,” she added.

Hamdi was detained by US immigration authorities 10 days ago while on a speaking tour, a move his lawyers and wife say was linked to his advocacy on Palestine.

“Sami’s abduction by ICE is not merely an immigration issue; it is about silencing political dissent to create a chilling effect,” she said.

The couple, who have three children, had planned to meet in New York before his detention.

“Sami’s parents can barely eat or sleep because they are so anxious about his welfare and well-being,” Soumaya wrote.

4 Nov 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

Document outlines UN mission in Gaza to protect borders and disarm armed groups: Report

The Associated Press is reporting that its journalists have seen a version of a document shared by the US with members of the UN Security Council that outlines the details of the UN force to be deployed for peacekeeping in Gaza.

The AP said the document is only a starting point, and further negotiations on the final plan are expected. The force would operate in Gaza until the end of 2027 and would be responsible for disarming Hamas and other armed groups.

It would also be tasked with protecting Gaza’s borders, the AP added.

4 Nov 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

Omer Bartov criticizes media’s reluctance to use ‘genocide’ for Gaza

Omer Bartov, a leading scholar on Israeli genocide, discussed how he concluded that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza on the Savage Minds podcast.

Bartov said that Israel initially aimed to ethnically cleanse Gaza, but had struggled to find partners to assist that enterprise.

“They couldn’t quite do it because there was no place to push the Palestinians to,” Bartov said.

“Therefore, this attempt to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip devolved into genocide, which is very similar to many other cases that began as ethnic cleansing and ended in the mass killing of a population,” he added.

By July 2025, he said, a consensus had emerged among genocide scholars and experts in international law that what was taking place was genocide.

“The reluctance to use that term in mainstream media is astonishing, given what Israel has done,” he said.

4 Nov 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

WATCH: Israel still restricting aid from entering Gaza despite ceasefire deal, UN says

The United Nations says that despite the ceasefire, one in five households is still eating only one meal a day.

Forty-three percent of households have reduced their portions of meals, meaning they are not eating enough.

Tess Ingram is the Middle East and North Africa Communications Manager at UNICEF.

She said that Israel is blocking some critical supplies from entering Gaza, including education kits for hundreds of thousands of children who remain out of school.

Watch our video below to see the interview:

4 Nov 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

UN chief calls for Security Council mandate for any future Gaza governance

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said any governing institution established for Gaza would need a legitimate mandate from the UN Security Council.

Speaking at the World Social Summit in Doha, Guterres said: “What we believe is that, whatever entity is created in Gaza should have the legitimacy of a mandate from the Security Council.”

He added that local Palestinian police forces would need training, and that a transitional period should ultimately lead to the reunification of Gaza and the occupied West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.

4 Nov 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Israel trying to influence UNSC draft on Gaza stabilisation force: Reports

Israeli leaders are trying to shape a UN Security Council draft that Washington intends to push to establish the international stabilisation force envisioned for Gaza in the future, according to reports in US and Israeli media.

Israel was reluctant to agree to a UN mandate for the force, but backed down under US pressure, an unnamed senior Israeli official told US outlet CNN.

Israel has nevertheless been involved in drafting the resolution and is still trying to influence its wording, the official said.

Israel’s Channel 12 also quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that Israeli authorities are strongly against parts of the resolution, mainly because the Israeli army would have to honour the ceasefire agreement and complete another stage of its withdrawal from Gaza.

The outlet said some Israeli officials are also critical of the resolution because they believe the stabilisation force will “internationalise” the conflict by adding oversight.

4 Nov 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Photos: Forced displacement camp in central Gaza

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches along az-Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
[Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
[Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]

4 Nov 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

PIJ reports shooting attack against Israeli soldiers in Tulkarem

The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad says its fighters in the occupied West Bank’s Tulkarem reported a shooting attack against Israeli soldiers.

The Tulkarem Brigade of the al-Quds Brigades said in a short statement that a “newly established position belonging to the enemy forces and a command and control centre” near an Israeli settlement were targeted.

It claimed that “confirmed hits” were achieved after “intense bursts of direct gunfire” against Israeli forces.

Israeli soldiers were also recorded firing their weapons during a raid in Qabatiya that we reported on earlier.

Translation: Clashes erupt between youths and occupation forces in the town of Qabatiya south of Jenin.

4 Nov 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Islamic bloc condemns Israel’s proposed death penalty law as ‘discriminatory, legally untenable’

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a 57-nation bloc of Muslim-majority countries, has condemned a draft law before the Israeli parliament that could impose the death penalty on those convicted of “terrorism”, a move critics say would legalise the execution of Palestinian prisoners.

In a statement posted on X, the OIC described the proposed law as “discriminatory and legally untenable”.

It added: “The OIC has urged the international community to fulfil its obligations in halting all violations perpetrated by the Israeli occupation and to extend international protective measures for the Palestinian people.”

The bill has been forwarded by the far-right and internationally sanctioned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and is backed by Netanyahu.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has described an Israeli bill to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian “terrorism” suspects as a crime against humanity.

4 Nov 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian agricultural land

Palestinian-owned lands south of the city of Nablus were set ablaze by Israeli settlers, the Wafa news agency has reported.

The fires broke out on Tuesday night, with a large group of settlers, reportedly backed by Israeli forces, preventing villagers from reaching the area and assessing the damage.

4 Nov 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Israeli soldiers launch more raids across the occupied West Bank

A series of more armed incursions by Israeli forces have been reported across the occupied West Bank over the past several hours, including raids into the Nablus villages and towns of Burin, Qusra and Rujeib.

During a raid in Beit Inan located northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli soldiers detained two more Palestinians after assaulting them while picking olives, according to the Wafa news agency.

Another Israeli attack was reported in the village of Jayyous, located east of Qalqiliya.

Israeli authorities also handed over the body of Ahmed al-Atrash, who was shot and killed by an Israeli settler at the northern entrance to the city of Hebron two days ago.

Translation: Occupation forces fire tear gas towards citizens’ homes during the raid on the town of Rujeib east of Nablus.

4 Nov 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

Former UK minister regrets silence over Palestinian nurse’s death, calls Israeli actions ‘murder’

A former Conservative minister has accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of killing a young Palestinian nurse.

Alistair Burt, who served as Middle East minister in Theresa May’s government, told the UK newspaper The Independent he now regrets staying silent when 21-year-old medic Razan al-Najjar was fatally shot while treating injured protesters near Gaza’s border in 2018.

Burt said Najjar had been “clearly targeted and murdered”, adding that Israel’s pledges to investigate such incidents were “bogus” attempts to “cover up killings”.

4 Nov 2025 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

Jordan, UK officials stress urgency of Gaza humanitarian aid

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Tuesday as part of Cooper’s tour of the Middle East.

In a post on X following the meeting, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said they “discussed regional developments and stressed the need to coordinate efforts to maintain the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ensure the implementation of all terms of the ceasefire agreement, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the area”.

On Monday, in an interview with UK news outlet Channel 4, Yvette Cooper raised alarm about hold-ups in aid from a warehouse full of UK supplies intended for Gaza, saying Israel had “no excuse” not to allow it to reach people in the territory.

4 Nov 2025 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)

Israeli soldiers continue demolition operations in northern Gaza

The Israeli military reports that its forces continue to operate in northern Gaza.

The army released aerial footage showing a demolition, claiming it shows a deep Hamas tunnel being blown up by planted explosives in the Jabalia area.

As we reported earlier, the Israeli military has been demolishing more homes and other buildings in both northern and southern Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect. Shujayea and Jabalia lay mostly in ruins after two years of relentless strikes.

Heavy machinery from Egypt continues to search for the bodies of Israeli captives along Baghdad Street in the Shujayea neighbourhood on November 3, 2025 [Khames Alrefi/Anadolu]
4 Nov 2025 - 19:05
 (19:05 GMT)
Houthi

Body of captive received by Israel

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office says it has received the coffin containing a body handed over by Hamas from the Red Cross.

4 Nov 2025 - 19:00
 (19:00 GMT)

Israel appoints military prosecutor amid leaked rape video scandal

Israel has appointed a new military prosecutor following the resignation of the previous one after a video showing a Palestinian detainee being raped by soldiers was leaked to the media.

Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who has been arrested and is under investigation, will be replaced by Itai Ofir, a former legal adviser.

In a statement after the appointment, the Israeli army said Ofir was Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s “leading candidate” for the position. Zamir recommended several people for the role.

Benny Gantz, an opposition leader welcomed the appointment, saying Ofir was a “top-notch professional jurist”.

Israeli outlet Ynet quoted a legal source on his appointment who said Ofir’s “professional shortcoming is that he is not an expert in laws of war”.

Rights groups have repeatedly condemned the Israeli army for failing to properly investigate its soldiers for alleged violations of international humanitarian law and the laws of war, particularly in Gaza since October 2023.

4 Nov 2025 - 18:45
 (18:45 GMT)

Israeli settlers steal olive harvest near Ramallah

Israeli settlers have stolen the olive harvest from Palestinian olive pickers in the town of Attara, northwest of Ramallah.

The raid took place on Tuesday evening, with settlers from an illegal outpost established on the town’s lands targeting olive crops from fields east of Attara, the Wafa news agency reports.

The incident adds to a surge in settler violence during this year’s olive harvest season. The United Nations has warned that this year is on track to be the most violent harvest season in more than a decade.

The annual olive harvest is the primary livelihood for tens of thousands of Palestinian families, and also a time of increased settler attacks.

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, says that last month was the most violent on record for settler violence against Palestinian residents, with many attacks coming as they tried to harvest their crops.

4 Nov 2025 - 18:30
 (18:30 GMT)

UN humanitarian chief warns of rising settler violence against Palestinians

The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, has warned that attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are on the rise, and stressed that continued “impunity cannot prevail”, calling for accountability for the violence.

In a statement posted on X, Fletcher said: “The failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law. Palestinians must be protected.”

Attacks on Palestinians have surged over the past year, with rights groups and the UN issuing repeated warnings. More than 1,000 incidents were recorded in the first eight months of 2025 alone.

The olive harvest, on which many Palestinians depend for their livelihoods, has also been disrupted by the violent activities of settlers on both the olive trees and on Palestinian communities. The current harvest is set to be the most violent in a decade.