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today as part of his trip to the Middle East to promote the framework of a hostage release and cease-fire deal. He is also set to meet with several Qatari ministers. Yesterday, he discussed an ''enduring end'' to the war in Gaza with Saudi, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than 1 million people are sheltering.
He said it was Hamas' "last remaining stronghold'' in the enclave. The U.S. stressed the importance of Rafah as Gaza's main entry point for aid and the border through which foreign nationals are able to leave. Gallant also said that the leader of Hamas is ''on the run'' and running from hideout to hideout. He added thatDOHA, Qatar — Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told media today that officials received the first response from Hamas regarding a hostage deal framework, indicating the group is open to negotiations. "With regards to the general framework of the agreement with regard to hostages," Thani said,"the reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive." He declined to provide more information, noting the"sensitivity" of the situation but said negotiators are"optimistic." The response has been delivered to Israeli officials. Blinken confirmed that he will be discussing the response with Israel's government tomorrow during his visit to Tel Aviv. "There’s still a lot of work to be done," Blinken said."But we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential. And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it."Hezbollah and the IDF exchanged fire over the border separating northern Israel and southern Lebanon today, just a day after Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the countries warplanes' noses are"pointed north." Sirens sounded in northern Israel in a false alarm after defense systems indicated a"hostile aircraft infiltration," the IDF said. But Israel's military did confirm several launches were directed at the country from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah said it launched multiple rocket attacks toward Israel, purporting to have made direct hits, which NBC News was unable to confirm.The IDF said it struck an observation post and infrastructure used by the Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. National News Agency, Lebanon's state news, reported there was shelling and drone strikes in the area.Israeli officials responded to a New York Times report today that indicated a fifth of the hostages are dead by confirming that 31 hostages have been killed and the military is working"all available resources" to gain more information.that it had obtained an internal Israeli military document that stated at least 32 of the 136 remaining hostages were likely deceased. Four unnamed officials also told the Times of unconfirmed reports that 20 others may have also been killed and are being investigated. Official data is that 31 of the hostages are dead, according to a statement from Israel’s directorate of the returnees, missing and abducted. "Before the article was distributed, an orderly message was given to all the families of the abductees by the liaison officers that there is no change in the assessment situation," the statement said. Eylon Levy, a spokesperson for the prime minister, said last week during a briefing that 29 of the remaining hostages were believed to be dead, one of whom was killed in an unsuccessful rescue attempt. “We notified all of the families of hostages that we received credible information indicating that their loved ones have been killed in captivity,” The IDF said in a statement today. “The vast majority were murdered on October seventh.” The statement went on to reiterate that the military will continue to do its best to return the hostages and support their families.The head of the United Nations refugee agency says a report about whether some of its staff took part in Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks will be published in April. Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said in a statement that he had “appointed an independent Review Group to assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”The Israeli military said in a statement today that it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters including some who took part in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The Israel Defense Forces added that its forces had located numerous weapons and struck a compound used to store explosives.Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's right-wing national security minister, has apologized after his son likened President Joe Biden to an Alzheimer’s patient in a post on X. In his own post on X, Ben-Gvir described his son Shuvael's post as a"serious mistake" that he disapproved. “The United States of America is our great friend and President Biden is a friend of Israel. Even if I disagree with his conduct, there is no room, God forbid, for a disparaging style,” he added. “I apologize for my son’s words.”TEL AVIV — A slight majority of Israelis believe that freeing the remaining hostages should be the priority of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to a new poll, which also found that little more than a third believe the main goal should be to defeat Hamas. Yet, when categorized by ethnic and religious identity, the survey results among Jewish Israelis appeared more evenly split. A total of 47% of Jewish Israeli respondents said bringing home the hostages should be the war’s main goal, while 42% prioritized defeating Hamas. Among the Arab Israeli respondents, 69% wanted to see the hostages take precedence, while a slim 8% opted for defeating Hamas. The polling was conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute between Jan. 28 and 30, and included 619 Jewish Israelis and 153 Arab Israelis.On the eve of the four-month anniversary of Hamas’ terror attack against Israel that set off the latest round of fighting, Israelis increasingly see the war’s goals as a zero-sum game in which freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas are diametrically opposed. The question has divided and even threatened to collapse Israel’s ruling Cabinet while widening familiar political fissures in Israeli society. The survey showed that those who prioritize defeating Hamas aligned more closely with the current right-wing government, whereas respondents who favored freeing the hostages were more likely to identify with the opposition.HONG KONG — China has urged the U.S. to stop military operations in the Middle East, warning against “the vicious circle of responding to violence with violence.” “The military action is undoubtedly triggering new turmoil in the region and further intensifying conflicts,” the Chinese envoy to the U.N., Zhang Jun, said at a Security Council meeting on the recent U.S. airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. The attacks came in response to a drone attack that killed three U.S. troops in Jordon by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq late last month. Zhang said the main way to ease the tensions in the Middle East is to “implement an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.” “All parties should respond to the strong voice and overwhelming consensus of the international community and support forceful actions by the Security Council to promote an immediate ceasefire, save lives, mitigate the humanitarian disaster and contain the spillover effects of the conflict,” he said.ERBIL, Iraq — After a weekend of U.S. strikes against its proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, Iran has issued a strongly worded warning not to target a ship that U.S. officials and analysts suspect of providing real-time intelligence for attacks on other vessels in the Red Sea and serving as a forward operating base for its commandos. In a slickly produced video published on the Iranian army’s Telegram channel Sunday, a narrator says in English that “those engaging in terrorist activities against the MV Behshad or similar vessels, jeopardize international maritime routes, security and assume global responsibility for potential future international risks.” Describing the Behshad as a “floating armory,” the narrator says it is involved in missions to “counteract piracy in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” although Iran is not publicly known to have taken part in any recent anti-piracy campaigns in the region. The video ends with footage of what appears to be ships in an American carrier group flashing red as though they are being targeted. A man then lowers the U.S. flag.A displaced family huddles around a makeshift oven built from mud and bricks to cook bread on the ground in an encampment in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. A boy warms his hands by a fire made out of a tin can as the sun sets last night. Many families struggle to keep warm inside thin tents without enough blankets.An American woman is being held by Israeli authorities after a raid near the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, her son told NBC News. Samaher Esmail from New Orleans, Louisiana, was detained by IDF soldiers while visiting a property she owns in Silwad, about 8 miles northeast of Ramallah, Ibrahim Hamed said. Esmail is a U.S. citizen and grandmother with family in the West Bank. She is being treated for cancer in Louisiana and needs access to medication, Hamed said. “My mom is a sweet lady,” he said. “Before she got sick, she used to work as an ESL teacher at a high school and elementary school.”In videos shared by Esmail’s neighbors, soldiers are seen leading her blindfolded to a jeep Monday morning. Asked about her detention, an IDF spokesperson told NBC News that “individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity are being detained and questioned.” They added that “individuals who are found not to be taking part in terrorist activities are released.” Rep. Troy Carter, a Democrat, who represents Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district where Esmail lives, said in a Facebook statement that he was “praying for her safety.” He added that he had “been in contact with the American Embassy and the State Department to inquire why a U.S. citizen is being held.” A State Department spokesperson told NBC News that they were aware of reports that a U.S. citizen had been detained in the West Bank and were seeking additional information.Yemen’s Houthi rebels said today on Telegram that they targeted an American and a British ship in the Red Sea.Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on X that a projectile was fired at a ship from a “small craft,” causing damage to its windows. No injuries were reported, it said.Evacuation orders issued by Israel now cover 67% of the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said yesterday in a report. The covers almost 6,400 acres, the report said, adding that two orders were reinstated by Israel's military which will affect some of those sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis.The death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7 has climbed to 27,585 after 107 people were killed in the enclave during the past day, the Gaza Health Ministry said today. Nearly 67,000 people have been wounded since the conflict began, the ministry said. It added that many more were still missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings in the enclave.An estimated 8,000 displaced civilians are evacuating from the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s campus in Khan Younis after days of heavy fighting in the area, the organization said in a post on X. Al-Amal Hospital staff and administrators will stay at the location, which houses the hospital and the organization headquarters. There are 80 patients remaining, along with 40 elderly civilians. Khan Younis in southern Gaza is where the bulk of fighting between the IDF and Hamas militants has moved following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the northern area of the strip. Many civilians who left the north since October fled for safety in Khan Younis and are now forcibly displaced again by the violence.With U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria, Biden sends Iran a signal of deterrence — and restraint