Israel reportedly considering ceasefire to free remaining hostages

Also on Tuesday, while briefing ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps from 80 countries, President Isaac Herzog said, “Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages.”

Speaking of Israel’s efforts to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, Herzog noted, “First and foremost, we must remember that there are dozens of humanitarian cases within the group of hostages—such as babies, the elderly, sick, wounded, and, of course, many women.”

According to CNN political and foreign policy analyst Barak Ravid, at a meeting Monday in Warsaw between Mossad Director David Barnea, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and CIA Director William Burns, Israel proposed a weeklong pause in fighting in exchange for 40 hostages.

A Qatari paper, quoting an Egyptian source, reported Tuesday that Hamas’s leadership won’t accept any Israeli hostage deal proposals that don’t include a ceasefire as a “good faith gesture.”