Israeli government approves deal for hostage release, short cease-fire
The Israeli government said early Wednesday that it had approved a deal that would see 50 hostages held in Gaza released and a 4-day cease-fire observed.
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The Israeli government said early Wednesday that it had approved a deal that would see 50 hostages held in Gaza released and a 4-day cease-fire observed.
Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry says Israeli forces are closing in on second facility in the Palestinian enclave as thousands evacuate Al-Shifa hospital.
The U.S. is assisting with the complicated hostage diplomacy, and this week President Biden's top Mideast adviser Brett McGurk is heading to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar with other stops possible.
A cease-fire would be possible only if the more than 200 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address.
The possible cease-fire deal is being brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, a Persian Gulf country that mediates with Hamas, according to the Associated Press.
Hamas officials say the death toll is over 10,000 as Israel ignores rising calls for a cease-fire and Israeli troops surround the Gaza Strip's largest city.
"We believe that there are still a number of Americans inside Gaza," deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday.
The president is under growing pressure from those who say Israel's bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment.
The Israeli military said Monday it had struck more than 600 targets in Gaza over the previous 24 hours as it stepped up its bombardments.
Hundreds of people stormed into the main airport in Russia's Dagestan region and onto the landing field chanting antisemitic slogans and seeking passengers arriving from Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation that Israel has opened a "new phase" in the war by sending ground forces into Gaza and expanding attacks from the ground, air and sea.
"We have to show the world what happened here," an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said, explaining the decision to show reporters disturbing video of the Hamas attacks.
Two more hostages taken by Hamas during the deadly Oct. 7 attack, identified by Israeli officials as Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz, have been released.
Deadly, ongoing Israeli airstrikes are fueling anger across the region and fear for 222 Hamas hostages in Gaza as the U.S. tries to delay an invasion.
The two-week old war with Hamas is threatening to spiral into a broader conflict.
President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday, a day after the first convoy of humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
However, no U.S. citizens or other foreign nationals who have been stranded in Gaza since the war began were allowed to cross into Egypt.
No humanitarian aid yet, but more Israeli airstrikes in Gaza as anger spreads across the region over a hospital blast the U.S. and Israel blame on Palestinian militants.
President Biden is asking Congress for $100 billion in supplemental funding, including aid for Israel and Ukraine.
President Biden is traveling to Israel to show support for a key U.S. ally as Israel and Hamas trade accusations over a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital.
As war between Israel and Hamas continues, President Biden said he does not believe the two-state solution is dead.
The Israeli military told the U.N. that the entire population north of the Wadi Gaza wetlands should "relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours."
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, including 27 Americans, and over 1,500 have been killed in Gaza, according to officials.
The death toll from Hamas' surprise attack on Israel stands at 900, while Palestinian officials say retaliatory strikes on Gaza have killed over 700.
Israel says it's "taking more time" than expected to fend off an unprecedented attack by Hamas, as it locks down Gaza and more rockets fly from the Palestinian enclave.
