White House working on new cease-fire and hostage deal

The White House is developing a new cease-fire and hostage deal proposal with its Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to try to bring about an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.

National security spokesman John Kirby said the “executions” of six hostages, including one American, by Hamas terrorists, “underscores the sense of urgency” in the talks.

Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel would maintain a military presence along the entirety of Gaza’s border with Egypt, Kirby noted that Israel had already agreed that, as part of the first phase of a cease-fire deal, it would pull its troops from densely populated areas, including in the so-called Philadelphi corridor. That has emerged as a late obstacle to an agreement.

“That’s the proposal that Israel had agreed to,” he said.

Two former members of Netanyahu’s war cabinet have rejected the Israeli leader’s claim that Israel must retain control over Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Benny Gantz, a former defense minister and military chief of staff, said Israel should focus on bringing the remaining hostages held in Gaza back home safely. Hamas has demanded an Israeli withdrawal from the area as part of any deal.

Gantz told a news conference Tuesday that Israel has the capability of returning to the “Philadelphi corridor” if needed.

“Philadelphi is an operational challenge, not an existential threat,” he said. “We need to bring back the hostages, even at a heavy cost.”

He was joined by his political partner, Gadi Eisenkot, another former military chief. Both men resigned from the war cabinet in June, accusing Netanyahu of mismanaging the war and putting his own political survival ahead of the country’s interests.

Netanyahu’s office dismissed the criticism. “Those who do not contribute to the victory and the return of our hostages would do better not to interfere,” it said.

The United Nations Security Council will discuss the conflict between Hamas and Israel and the crisis in the Palestinian territories on Wednesday in the wake of the killing of six hostages in Gaza.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon’s wrote on X early Tuesday that, “following my urgent request, the U.N. Security Council will finally convene on Wednesday for the first time since the October 7 massacre to hold an official discussion on the hostages.”

France, the United Kingdom and the United States backed Israel’s request for a Security Council meeting. Israel wrote in a news release Tuesday that “the Security Council must condemn the terrorist organization Hamas and demand the immediate release of the abductees.”

Algeria, another Security Council member, separately requested a meeting on the Middle East crisis that will be part of Wednesday’s meeting.

The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday. The army said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Large protests continued in Tel Aviv for a third consecutive night Tuesday as hundreds took to the street to call on the government to reach a cease-fire deal that would bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu on Tuesday slammed a decision by the British government to suspend some arms exports to Israel.

In a thread on X, Netanyahu called the move “shameful” and said it would not “change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas.”