Morning Briefing: Nov. 21, 2023

By Rabia Ali

ISTANBUL (AA) – Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Tuesday, including an imminent truce deal between Hamas and Israel, the death of dozens of Palestinians in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, and thousands of Palestinians students killed since Oct. 7.

TOP STORIES

• Hamas says it is close to reaching truce deal with Israel

The head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed that reaching a truce agreement with Israel is “close.”

“The movement delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement,” Haniyeh said in a brief statement published on the Hamas platform on Telegram early Tuesday morning.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli state media reported that Israeli authorities had given a green light for the completion of a prisoner swap deal and were now awaiting a response from Hamas.

• Israeli airstrikes across Gaza Strip kill dozens

More than 10 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an UN-run school in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Monday, the Palestinian group Hamas said.

It called for an immediate action “to stop the targeting of civilians in schools protected under international law.”

In another incident on Monday, at least 17 Palestinians were killed and scores injured in Israeli airstrikes near the Yousef El-Najar Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, according to witnesses. Dozens of people were reported to remain under the rubble.

• More than 3,000 Palestinian students killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza

More than 3,000 students have been killed in Israeli assaults in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday.

“The Israeli onslaught has left more than 5,000 children dead, including over 3,000 students,” the ministry said in a statement marking World Children’s Day.

According to the statement, at least 23 students were also killed in the occupied West Bank.

The ministry called on all child rights organizations “to assume their responsibility towards curbing the rising Israeli violations and ending their crimes.”

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NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Israeli army on Monday hit a church in southern Lebanon with artillery shells, causing significant damage to the church building, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency. No injuries were reported.

• Israel is trying to break the resilience of Gazans by deliberately bombing hospitals in the besieged enclave, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

• The UN chief on Monday decried events in Gaza since Oct. 7, calling them a “killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented” since he took office.

• The Israeli army has detained 880 Palestinian children since the start of this year, with more than 200 children are still in custody, the Palestinian Prisoners Society said.

• Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday denied involvement in the seizure of a cargo ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the southern Red Sea.

• Authorities in Gaza on Monday said the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 has jumped to over 13,300, including 5,600 children and 3,550 women.

• US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital Kyiv as he paid an unannounced visit to the war-stricken country.

• Türkiye has evacuated 170 of its citizens and their relatives from Gaza so far, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.

• China on Monday opposed forced displacement of Palestinians from the besieged Gaza, emphasizing that a cease-fire “should be implemented as a priority goal.”

• Argentina’s president-elect Javier Milei has said that he will travel to the US and Israel before he assumes office on Dec. 10, adding that his trip to the US will have “a spiritual connotation.”

SPORTS

• Italy held to goalless draw with Ukraine to advance to EURO 2024

Italy were held to a goalless draw with Ukraine to advance to EURO 2024 on Monday.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock for 90 minutes at Leverkusen’s Bay Arena.

Collecting 14 points, both Italy and Ukraine are six points behind Group C leaders England, who already advanced to EURO 2024.

• Lionel Messi’s 2022 FIFA World Cup jerseys up for auction

A set of six white-and-blue shirts that Lionel Messi wore during Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory are up for auction, Sotheby’s confirmed on Monday.

“These matches worn shirts are artifacts of Messi’s legacy ...” the London-based auctioneer said in a statement.

If the No. 10 jerseys sell for more than $9.3 million, they could beat the current highest price for sports memorabilia at a public auction.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• OpenAI picks new interim CEO, ex-head to join Microsoft

US-based artificial intelligence research company OpenAI picked Monday a new interim CEO after it sacked Sam Altman from his role last week.

Emmett Shear, the former co-founder and CEO of live video streaming firm Twitch, confirmed he will take the top job at OpenAI.

The move came after OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, fired Altman on Friday.

• US watchdog fines Toyota $60M for lending, credit misconduct

The US’ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Monday it ordered Toyota Motor Credit to pay $60 million for illegal lending and credit reporting misconduct.

“The company withheld refunds or refunded incorrect amounts on the bundled products and knowingly tarnished consumers’ credit reports with false information,” it said in a statement.

Toyota will pay $48 million to harmed consumers, and an additional $12 million penalty into the CFPB’s victims relief fund, it added.