Morning recap

Good morning MEE readers. The past several hours have been filled with questions surrounding reports that a deal between Israel and Hamas over the release of captives is close to being achieved.

The Washington Post reported late on Saturday that a tentative deal had been reached, and the White House moved quickly to deny the report, saying they are still working on an agreement. The newspaper then updated its story to say that a deal was close.

The reported deal would see the release of at least 50 captives held by Hamas in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. Israel, Hamas, and the US have spent the last few weeks discussing the potential of an agreement over the captives in the Qatari capital Doha.

In case you're just tuning into our coverage now, here's an overview of the latest developments:

Arab foreign ministers are going to be travelling to a number of countries over the next week, and the first stop on their list is China, where they will put forward their demands for a ceasefire.
At least 15 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat and Khan Younis refugee camps. Israel had already forced one million Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee south, and is now calling on Palestinians in the south to flee as well.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a raid on Jenin, including a 46-year-old disabled man.
Biden has stated that he could impose visa bans on Israeli settlers engaged in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The World Health Organisation is preparing to evacuate the remaining patients and staff from al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.
Some US lawmakers are discussing the possibility of conditioning future military aid to Israel.

Morning recap

Arab foreign ministers are going to be travelling to a number of countries over the next week, and the first stop on their list is China, where they will put forward their demands for a ceasefire.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat and Khan Younis refugee camps. Israel had already forced one million Palestinians in northern Gaza to flee south, and is now calling on Palestinians in the south to flee as well.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a raid on Jenin, including a 46-year-old disabled man.

Biden has stated that he could impose visa bans on Israeli settlers engaged in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The World Health Organisation is preparing to evacuate the remaining patients and staff from al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza.

Some US lawmakers are discussing the possibility of conditioning future military aid to Israel.