Netanyahu to keep ‘indefinite' security control over Gaza; troops move closer to Hamas’ 'main area of operations'

Israel said its troops were moving closer to the centre of Gaza City, which they described as Hamas' main area of operations. Meanwhile, the US said it had assisted more than 400 people, including citizens, to leave Gaza.

The shekel recouped its losses since the war started, thanks in part to Bank of Israel support. Many investors are also more optimistic the conflict will largely be contained to Gaza, rather than becoming a regional war.

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US says it assisted 400 people leaving Gaza 

The US has helped “more than 400 US citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other eligible individuals to depart Gaza,” said Vedant Patel, US State Department spokesman, without providing further details.

Global Affairs Canada said the first group of 20 to 25 Canadians crossed the Rafah border into Egypt, and that it expected up to 80 citizens, permanent residents and eligible family members would leave Gaza on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Rafah border crossing reopened on Monday, when some foreign nationals and dual citizens as well as “a handful of injured people” were allowed to enter Egypt from Gaza.

Israel sells record $1bn in retail-like bonds since war began 

Israel Bonds, which is registered in the US and separate but affiliated with the Ministry of Finance, has sold more than $1-billion of retail-like bonds since 7 October. That’s a record for a monthly period and has almost doubled the organisation’s issuance for the year so far.

There has been the “highest surge of investment ever”, Dani Naveh, the chief executive officer of Israel Bonds, told Bloomberg.

Israeli army identifies launches from Lebanon

The Israeli army said it identified 20 launches from Lebanon toward Israel and that it was shelling their origin. It didn’t give further details in a brief text.

Earlier in the day, the army fired at a group in Lebanon trying to launch missiles and said it attacked a Hezbollah position.

US diplomat in Beirut urges calm on Israel, Lebanon border

Amos Hochstein said preventing hostilities on the frontier “should be the highest priority for both Lebanon and Israel” and that the US “does not want to see conflict in Gaza escalating and expanding into Lebanon”.

His remarks came after he met Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut, Iran-backed Hezbollah’s top ally in the country. Hezbollah has been engaged in cross-border attacks with Israel since the war began.

Hochstein, a special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, is credited with successfully mediating a historical deal that demarcated the disputed maritime border between Lebanon and Israel last year.

Israel army ‘closing in on Gaza City with focus on tunnels’

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were trying to take out Hamas tunnels as troops closed in on Gaza City, spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht said in a briefing with journalists.

While it appeared that aerial strikes “to some extent are affecting their capability to fight back”, underground passages remained a threat, Hecht said. “We know they are acting from within tunnels and popping up from within tunnels.”

The army began closing in on Gaza City on Monday. Also on Monday, troops located several tunnels inside a residence in a civilian neighbourhood and destroyed them, the army said in a text message.

Israel’s reserves fell by $7.3bn in October 

Israel’s foreign reserves fell by more than $7-billion in October, to $191.2-billion, as the central bank sought to defend the shekel following the start of the war.

At the onset of the conflict, the Bank of Israel pledged to sell as much as $30-billion from its roughly $200-billion in foreign-currency reserves — and to provide as much as $15-billion more via swaps — to support the shekel.

Netanyahu sparks talk of Gaza future 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kicked off a debate about any future Gaza security regime with his comments to ABC.

“Israel for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu said, according to excerpts of an interview that aired late on Monday. “When we don’t have that security responsibility what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”

Asked about the prime minister’s statement, his foreign policy adviser, Ophir Falk, said: “There are a number of options being discussed for the day after Hamas.”

UK march to go ahead on Armistice Day 

A pro-Palestine march planned for London on Saturday will go ahead, organisers said, despite pleas by politicians and police to postpone the demonstration over fears of disorder.

The 11th of November marks Armistice Day, when events are typically held to mark the end of World War 1 in 1918. The Metropolitan Police had called on protesters to cancel the march, saying it is “not appropriate to hold any protests in London this weekend”.

Organisers from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it was “grotesque” to attempt to stop protesters marching while children continued to die in Gaza.

Shekel recoups most of its losses 

Israel’s currency recouped the bulk of its losses since the war began, with central bank support helping to tame volatility and discourage bets against it.

The shekel was less than 1% from erasing the depreciation seen since 7 October. It had recovered about 5% of its value against the dollar since reaching an 11-year low late last month. DM

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