This photo taken from a position along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel shows Israeli soldiers amid ongoing battles with Hamas, on Nov 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

JERUSALEM/GAZA - Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that Israel was "controlling" the northern Gaza Strip.

"In the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas has lost control," Gallant told a press briefing. "We now effectively control both the upper and underground areas of the northern strip, particularly in Gaza City," he said.

He added that he had "authorized the army to keep moving forward in the next days."

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that troops had seized control of Hamas's governing institutions in Gaza, including Hamas's parliament, government, military offices, police headquarters, the governor's house, and other facilities.

The source, who requested to remain anonymous, told Xinhua that the delegates had to report to senior authorities on both sides for approval and the initial truce agreement could be "implemented at any moment"

Israel attacked the Gaza Strip to retaliate the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct 7, in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

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The ongoing conflict, raging into the second month, has killed over 11,500 Palestinians in the coastal enclave, said the Hamas-run Health Ministry. 

Initial truce agreement on humanitarian truce

An informed Palestinian source said on Tuesday that delegates of Israel and Hamas had reached an initial agreement to implement a temporary humanitarian ceasefire under international and Arab sponsorship.

The source, who requested to remain anonymous, told Xinhua that the delegates had to report to senior authorities on both sides for approval and the agreement could be "implemented at any moment."

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The source refused to talk about the details of the agreement, but said that "it will be implemented in stages."

Palestinians look for survivors after an Israeli strike on a building in Jebaliya refugee camp, Gaza Strip, Nov 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

He added that a humanitarian truce was expected to be announced soon, under which civilian hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be released in exchange for the release of women and children detained by Israel.  

Hamas denies using hospitals for military purposes

Hamas on Tuesday denied using hospitals in the Gaza Strip for military purposes, dismissing such Israeli accusations as "lies," according to the media office of the Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction.

On Monday, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hajari claimed that there was evidence indicating the presence of Israeli prisoners inside the Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza City, and Palestinian militants using the hospital as a hideout.

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Hama’s media office said what the Israeli army presented regarding the hospital were "videos made in a contradictory, unprofessional, and illogical manner," and included "composite and fabricated scenes that mislead public opinion".

Due to the fuel shortfall, UNRWA would be unable to transport any humanitarian supplies to Gaza from Egypt, and local bakeries would thus run out of raw materials to operate, potentially leading to a complete famine

The office accused the Israeli army of "making lies and practicing misinformation and incitement in preparation for destroying hospitals ... over the heads of patients, medical staff, and displaced people."

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said what the Israeli army showed and termed as an arsenal located beneath the hospital was a "poor charade," denying any involvement with the displayed weapons and items that Israel claimed for holding hostages.

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Israel surrounded a number of hospitals in Gaza City in recent days on suspicion that their underground facilities have been used as Hamas military bases and command.

UNRWA in Gaza to stop operation in 30 hours

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza warned Tuesday that its humanitarian programs would come to a halt within 30 hours due to fuel depletion.

Women sit with children outside tents at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

Adnan Abu Hasna, the UNRWA media advisor, told Xinhua that the agency's operation suspension would mean an interruption in the safe drinking water supply and a worsening food security crisis for the population of Gaza.

Due to the fuel shortfall, UNRWA would be unable to transport any humanitarian supplies to Gaza from Egypt, and local bakeries would thus run out of raw materials to operate, potentially leading to a complete famine.

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Moreover, he warned of a major health catastrophe resulting from the suspension of sewage treatment plants, which could cause environmental repercussions and an unprecedented spread of infectious diseases and epidemics.

UNRWA has also conducted intensive communications with the United States, the European Union, and the Israeli side, but no agreement has been reached on resuming the inflow of fuel into Gaza, according to Abu Hasna.

Thomas White, UNRWA operative director in Gaza, announced Monday on social media platform X that humanitarian operations would cease within 48 hours due to the refusal of entry of fuel into Gaza.

Since Oct 11, Gaza has been grappling with power outages due to Israel's cutoff of electricity supplies and the depletion of fuel reserves essential for the sole power plant in the region.

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Iranian and Qatari foreign ministers on Tuesday discussed the diplomatic efforts to stop the "brutal Israeli aggression" against the Gaza Strip, and the recent Israeli bombing of the headquarters of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza which Iran has vehemently condemned and called for Israel to be held accountable for. Also on Tuesday, Egypt agreed to intensify international efforts with Russia toward an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as its foreign minister slammed Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's calls to displace residents outside the war-torn enclave. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels said they launched a barrage of long-range ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones toward Israel in two separate operations.