Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Tuesday that a deal for the release of hostages held in Gaza might be imminent. His office conveyed that Netanyahu shared this update with families of the hostages while fighting continued in the heavily damaged Palestinian enclave.
Israeli forces launched a new raid into Gaza’s southern region of Khan Younis, instructing civilians to evacuate certain areas they claimed were being used by Palestinian militants for renewed attacks. According to U.N. officials, thousands of people were fleeing these areas as Israeli airstrikes continued.
Netanyahu, currently in Washington, is expected to meet U.S. President Joe Biden later this week and will address Congress. During his visit, he told hostage families, “The conditions for a deal are undoubtedly ripening. This is a positive sign.”
Efforts to broker a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, initiated by Biden in May and mediated by Egypt and Qatar, have gained traction over the past month. Netanyahu noted that while a ceasefire would not be immediate and would proceed in stages, progress could lead to the eventual release of all hostages.
Ruby Chen, whose son Itai Chen, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, is among the hostages, met with Netanyahu. Chen expressed cautious optimism about Netanyahu’s comments, saying, “He did say that conditions were ripening, but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt.” Chen also hopes that Biden will use his influence to push for a deal.
A Palestinian official involved in the mediation process accused Netanyahu of stalling, asserting that Hamas has shown the necessary flexibility for an agreement and that the responsibility now lies with Netanyahu.
Negotiations are set to resume on Thursday, focusing on exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. In a previous week-long truce in November, 105 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
The hostages were captured during a Hamas raid on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 250 captives, according to Israeli figures. Currently, Hamas and other militants are holding about 120 hostages, with one-third declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.
The death toll among Palestinians in Israel’s retaliatory strikes has surpassed 39,000, according to Gaza health officials. The conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands and devastated much of the enclave through airstrikes and artillery bombardments.
Ongoing Conflict and Displacement
In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes targeted the southern city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, as Israeli troops and Palestinian militants clashed in the streets, forcing civilians to seek safety. The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, reported severe displacement and described the situation as dire, with widespread exhaustion among residents.
The Israeli military reported that dozens of militants were killed in Khan Younis by tanks, warplanes, or in close combat, and that weapons caches and tunnels used by militants were destroyed. Palestinian medics reported one death from an airstrike in Khan Younis on Tuesday, with many casualties from earlier attacks still unaccounted for. Gaza’s health ministry has indicated that most of those killed are civilians.
Further north in Gaza City, Israeli bombing resulted in 16 deaths, according to medics. In Rafah, near the Egyptian border, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians. Hamas claimed its fighters were engaged with Israeli soldiers in Rafah, where tanks have been operating but have not yet fully controlled the northern and western parts of the city.