Israel cabinet approves deal to release 50 hostages
The Israeli cabinet has approved a deal that would see the release of at least 50 hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza. It is believed the hostages Hamas will free will include women and children.
Israel launched heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday after broadening its offensive against Hamas to more areas where the military had told Palestinians to seek shelter earlier in the war.
Israeli forces bombarded Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza and issued orders telling residents to evacuate Tuesday.
More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday by the U.N. and other agencies that highlights the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s bombardment and siege on the territory in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Israeli forces raided one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north and bombarded the south with airstrikes that killed at least 28 Palestinians, pressing ahead with their offensive Tuesday with renewed backing from the United States.
The Israeli military on Friday mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation in the Gaza Strip, military officials said.
Israel’s defense minister said Thursday it will take “more than several months” to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war even as his country and its top ally, the United States, face increasing international isolation and alarm over the devastation from Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday held his first in-person meeting with the families of some of the eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed taken captive by Hamas during its deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the White House said.
Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, the Qatari government said.
The Israeli cabinet has approved a deal that would see the release of at least 50 hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza. It is believed the hostages Hamas will free will include women and children.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial red sea shipping route Sunday, in the process taking its 25 crew members hostage.