Discussions aimed at securing another hostage deal and a pause in fighting appear to be at a standstill, although the Biden administration is hopeful for a breakthrough, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby.
Yesterday, CIA Director William Burns was in Warsaw, Poland, meeting with Israeli and Qatari officials in an effort to cobble together an agreement.
Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships are threatening global trade as major oil and shipping giants, including BP, MSC, Evergreen, OOCL and Maersk, suspend operations through the Red Sea.
The father of one of the hostages who was mistakenly killed by the Israeli military in Gaza has lashed out at the government, telling NBC News correspondent Hallie Jackson that they are “thinking only of themselves” and “not thinking about the hostages.”
Almost 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, with 70% of them women and children, according to health officials in the enclave. The vast majority of the enclave’s 2.2 million people are displaced, and an estimated half face starvation, according to human rights advocates and aid groups.
Israeli military officials say 131 soldiers have been killed during the country’s ground invasion in Gaza, which came after 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were seized by Hamas on Oct. 7.
