No deal yet on hostage issue in Gaza

GAZA — Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House said no deal had been reached yet with Hamas to free hostages in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting, as the World Health Organization urged evacuation and said Gaza's largest hospital was a "death zone".

Earlier on Saturday, The Washington Post reported that Israel, the United States and Hamas had reached a tentative agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage, citing people familiar with the deal.

The hostage release could begin within the next several days, barring last-minute hitches, according to people familiar with the detailed, six-page agreement, according to the paper.

Under the agreement, all parties would freeze combat operations for at least five days while 50 or more hostages are released in groups every 24 hours, the Post reported.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference on Saturday evening that no deal had been reached on releasing Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu denied "incorrect reports" about a deal on releasing some of about 240 hostages held in Gaza, adding that the Israeli public will be updated if such an agreement is reached.

"All the people of Israel are marching with you," Netanyahu told the families of hostages, as some of them had completed a five-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, urging the government to do more to secure the release of hostages.

Netanyahu said he invited the representatives of the families to meet his Cabinet in the coming days "to clarify how important this issue is to everyone".

He also vowed that Israel will "keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed", despite growing international pressure.

A White House spokesperson also said Israel and Hamas have yet to reach a deal on a temporary cease-fire, adding that the US is continuing to work to get a deal.

There was no comment from Hamas on the development.

US President Joe Biden said in an opinion piece on Saturday that Gaza and the West Bank should eventually be "reunited" under a new Palestinian Authority.

"A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people," Biden wrote in The Washington Post.

Netanyahu responded by saying the Palestinian Authority "in its current form is not capable of receiving responsibility for Gaza".

Raising international alarm, Israel made Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City a primary focus of its ground advance in northern Gaza.

A team led by WHO, which visited Al-Shifa on Saturday, described it as a "death zone" with signs of gunfire and shelling. WHO said it was developing plans for immediate evacuation of the remaining patients and staff.

Elsewhere in the north, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of UNRWA, the UN aid organization for Palestinian refugees, said on social media platform X that Israel had bombarded two agency schools. More than 4,000 civilians were sheltered at one of them, he said.

In an effort to relieve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, Egypt on Saturday sent a convoy of more than 190 aid-laden trucks to the enclave.

The convoy, carrying 2,500 metric tons of aid was provided by Egypt's Tahya Misr Fund, and was due to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said a delegation consisting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers was scheduled to visit China from Monday to Tuesday.

During the visit, China will have in-depth communication and coordination with the delegation on ways to de-escalate the Palestine-Israel conflict, protect civilians and seek a just settlement of the Palestinian question, Mao said on Sunday.

Members of the delegation include foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia and Palestine, as well as Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hissein Brahim Taha.

Zhou Jin in Beijing contributed to this story.

Agencies - Xinhua