Day 29 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Saturday, Nov. 4

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with regional foreign ministers in Amman on Saturday in a bid to reach consensus on a postwar plan for the Gaza Strip and avoid regional conflagration.

Rina Bassist, Ezgi Akin, Beatrice Farhat, Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, Jack Dutton, Jared Szuba and Al-Monitor’s contributors on the ground in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel contributed to this blog.

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Live updates (all times EDT):

Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023

6:00 pm: Protesters slam Biden's Israel policy at pro-Palestinian march in Washington

Thousands of protesters in the US capital on Saturday called for a cease-fire in Gaza amid Israel's relentless bombing campaign, with some slamming President Joe Biden's support for Washington's top ally in the Middle East.

2:30 pm: Second US aircraft carrier reaches Middle East

The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group reached the Red Sea on Saturday, the Pentagon said.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group arrived in the Middle East along with guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and two guided-missile destroyers, the USS Mason and USS Gravely, as well as nine air squadrons.

The Eisenhower carrier strike group comes in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford group in the Mediterranean as Washington seeks to deter Iran and the militias it backs across the Middle East from launching opportunistic attacks amid Israel’s war in Gaza.

10:00 am: Turkey recalls ambassador to Israel over war in Gaza

Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Saturday that it was recalling its ambassador to Israel due to Israel's ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. "In view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuous attacks by Israel against civilians and Israel's refusal of calls for cease-fire … it was decided to recall our ambassador in Tel Aviv," the ministry said in a statement, Ezgi Akin reports from Ankara. 

9:30 am: Saudi defense chief concludes US trip, seeks security assurances

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman wrapped up a trip to Washington this week, a visit aimed at maintaining strong US-Saudi relations amid the regional complications of the Israel-Hamas war, Adam Lucente reports.

8:30 am: US says Hamas put wounded fighters on Rafah evacuation list

A senior Biden administration official told reporters that Hamas included some of its own wounded fighters on the list of authorized departures through Rafah crossing, causing a delay in evacuating foreigners from Gaza. According to the New York Times, "The US official said that Hamas had repeatedly provided to Israel, the United States and Egypt lists of Palestinians who were wounded and should be allowed to depart with the Americans and others. But vetting showed that many of them, the official said, were Hamas fighters.” 

The official estimated that about a third of the wounded Palestinians on the first list were Hamas fighters.

5:30 am: Death toll in Gaza above 9,400

The Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Saturday that 9,488 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, as Israel’s heavy bombardment and incursions into northern Gaza expanded. The ministry said around 2,200 individuals are missing, including some 1,250 children.

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