The leader of Hamas said that a truce agreement is close.
Ismail
Haniya shared that in a statement online today,
Qatar's Foreign Ministry confirmed that negotiations are at their final stage.
The agreement would reportedly include a multi
day ceasefire and the release of at least
50 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for
Palestinian women and Children detained in Israel.
A state department spokesperson said the US
has also been involved with these negotiations.
We have been engaged in intense negotiations over this matter.
The secretary has been involved, the president has been involved.
Other members of the administration have um and we have
made progress in trying to secure a deal in conversation
uh with our Qatari partners and of course
in conversation with the government of Israel.
Uh but I can't speak to the underlying details uh of those negotiations
and Israel continues to expand its ground operations in Gaza with intense
fighting continuing around the Indonesian Hospital
while 200 patients were evacuated yesterday.
Officials said there are still hundreds
of patients and sheltering civilians trapped inside
the Israeli Defense Forces have also surrounded the largest refugee camp in Gaza.
Over the weekend, United Nations run schools in the
were hit by airstrikes.
13 democratic senators led by Tammy Baldwin,
Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen sent a letter to President Biden
asking for the Israel Gaza border crossing to open for life saving water,
food and fuel.
They went on to write this,
this humanitarian crisis will precipitate a significant and preventable
loss of human life if not addressed immediately.