Framework for hostage deal being decided in Israel-Hamas conflict

US President Joe Biden. Pic/AFP

US President Joe Biden is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II in Washington on Monday and the two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing effort to free hostages held in Gaza, and growing concern over a possible Israeli military operation in the port city of Rafah.

It is the first meeting between the allies since three American troops were killed last month in a drone strike against a US base in Jordan. Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the fatalities, the first for the US after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The meeting with King Abdullah II comes as Biden and his aides are working to broker another pause in Israel's war against Hamas in order to send humanitarian aid and supplies into the region and get hostages out. The White House faces growing criticism from Arab-Americans over the administration's continued support for Israel in the face of growing casualties in Gaza.

It appeared a deal for another pause in the fighting was getting close. A senior US administration official said Sunday that after weeks of shuttle diplomacy and phone conversations, a framework was essentially in place for a deal that could see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a halt to fighting. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations, acknowledged that gaps remained but declined to specify what they are.

50 killed in Israeli rescue of two hostages

Palestinians amid the rubble of damaged buildings after Israeli bombardment in Rafah on Monday. Pic/AFP

Hospital officials in the southern Gaza town of Rafah say at least 50 people were killed in airstrikes that accompanied an Israeli hostage rescue operation. Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital, said on Monday the dead included women and children. An Associated Press journalist also counted the bodies brought to hospital. The Israeli military said it rescued two hostages held in the territory in a dramatic raid that was backed up by airstrikes.

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