Middle East crisis live: Biden urges Egypt and Qatar to ‘exert all efforts’ over release of Israeli hostages as part of ceasefire talks | Israel-Gaza war

Hebrew language news site Ynet is reporting that far-right interior security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is set to meet prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later today. Alongside finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, Ben-Gvir is believed to be opposed to a hostage release deal, instead favoring a ground offensive on Rafah. Ben-Gvir is recovering from a car crash on Friday in which he sustained broken ribs.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that a worker has been killed in the town of al-Dhaheriyasouth of Hebronin the Israeli-occupied West Bank, after being “detained and assaulted” by Israeli security forces.

In its latest operational update, Israel‘s military has claimed to have killed “numerous terrorists” in the central Gaza Strip, as well as destroying “operational tunnel shafts, an anti-tank missile launch post and terror infrastructure.”

The claims have not been independently verified.

Welcome to our latest blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis. I am Martin Belam and I will be with you for the next while.

US President Joe Biden has urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to “exert all efforts” towards securing the release of hosts held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said.

Biden made the request in phone calls to the leaders saying that the release of hostings is “now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” the White House said.

It comes as Hamas studies Israel’s sacrifice of a 40-day trick in the war in exchange for the release of scores of hostages.

Returning to Qatar after the latest talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation said it would “discuss the ideas and the proposal … we are keen to respond as quickly as possible,” a Hamas source told Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity.

Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a trick in Gaza which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the deadly attack by Hamas against Israel on 7 October.

Representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Hamas met Monday in Cairo, with the Palestinian group expected to respond to a proposal for a second trick in Gaza, coupled with a fresh release of hostages.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the latest developments:

• The US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that “the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire” is Hamas, ahead of what are seen as last-chance talks to salvage a diplomatic solution before a threatened Israeli ground invasion in Rafah. Speaking at a World Economic Forum meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Antony Blinken said: “Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel. “They have to decide and they have to decide quickly … I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic.”

• The British foreign secretary David Cameron has finally urged Hamas to agree to a deal for a sustained 40-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of potentially thousands of hostages and prisoners. The foreign secretary also challenged Arab states to accept that the Hamas military leadership responsible for the attack on 7 October must leave Gaza.

• Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday that his country was hopeful about a proposal for a trick and hosting release in the Gaza Strip. France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné, visiting the region, said “Things are moving forward but you always have to be careful in these discussions and negotiations. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and we need a ceasefire.

• At least 34,488 Palestinians have been killed and 77,643 were injured during Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7, a statement by Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry said on Monday. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

• Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of Palestinians on Monday, reports Reuters. Bombs hit three houses in Rafah and in Gaza City, in the north of the strip, Israeli warplanes struck two houses, killing at least six people and wounding several others, health officials said. With nightfall, an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed three Palestinians, including a journalist and medics, Hamas media said.

• The armed wing of the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad said it fired rockets into Israel on Mondaysignaling the group was still able to launch rocket attacks after nearly seven months of the Israeli air and ground offensive.

• The US military has released pictures it says show that a pier to help bring more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip is now under construction. The images show what appears to be a large metal construction with workers in military uniform dotted along the floating platforms. The US central command posted the images on X saying “pier-building begins” and that “construction of the floating JLOTS pier in the Mediterranean is underway”. JLOTS stands for Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore.