Tuesday Briefing

Biden described progress in Gaza cease-fire negotiations

President Biden said yesterday that he believed negotiators were nearing an agreement that would halt Israel’s military operations in Gaza within a week, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had spoken earlier in the day about further military action.

Netanyahu said that the Israeli military had presented a plan to the war cabinet to evacuate civilians from “areas of fighting” in Gaza. He might have been speaking about Israel’s long-expected invasion of Rafah, a southern city where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering, many in makeshift tents and without adequate food, water or medicine.

Many countries and international aid groups have warned that an invasion of Rafah could lead to mass casualties in the enclave.

Israeli negotiators signaled that they might be open to releasing Palestinians jailed on terrorism charges in exchange for some Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks.

Hamas, which has called for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and abide by a long-term cease-fire, has not responded to the offer. But according to one of the officials, Israeli intelligence officers believe that Hamas’s leader in Gaza has become more amenable in recent weeks to a deal that would allow for only a temporary truce, with the hope that it would become permanent.

Related: The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority tendered the resignation of his cabinet yesterday after the U.S. and Arab states had made efforts to persuade the authority to overhaul itself so it could potentially lead Gaza after the war ends.