Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu vows 'no force in the world' can stop Rafah operation; Palestinian return to northern Gaza is a sticking point in cease-fire talks

The families of American hostages met today with Vice President Kamala Harris, who gave them an update on U.S. efforts to secure the release of their loved ones, according to the White House.

After the meeting, the families told the media that a "legitimate" hostage deal was under consideration.

"There's a legitimate hostage deal on the table right now. It is completely in Hamas' court," said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen.

"There is no reason not to move forward on this deal," he said. "All of the intermediaries are in favor."

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, called the meeting with Harris "very productive," adding that one of the topics they discussed was the "possibility of holding two truths."

"You can believe, as we do, that, that it is horrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering," she said. "And at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law for hostages to be held against their will."

Israel's department in charge of humanitarian aid said 468 trucks have entered Gaza today, a record for daily deliveries since Oct. 7 when the war began.

Another 303 packages of prepared meals were airdropped into the strip, and 47 trucks delivered aid into northern Gaza, according to the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.

The boost is part of a renewed effort to increase aid into Gaza following an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers and drew global condemnation. Before the strike, an average of 140 food trucks entered Gaza each day in March, the department said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today the aid deliveries need to be "sustained as long as necessary" for the people of Gaza. The U.S. has pushed for substantial changes on the humanitarian front since the war began, he said, but it has not been enough.

"It’s the results that count and it was clear from everything that we continue to see that we have to ... have change that results in people getting the assistance they need throughout Gaza," Blinken said.

Micheál Martin, Ireland's foreign minister, told the country's parliament today that he plans to bring a formal proposal for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Martin said he has been in discussions with colleagues and other officials on how a recognition of statehood "could be a catalyst to help the people of Gaza and the West Bank, and in furthering an Arab-led peace initiative." He noted that he plans to bring a proposal to government once "wider international discussions are complete."

He did not offer a concrete timeline of when that might happen.

"But be in no doubt, recognition of a Palestinian state will happen," Martin said.

Aviva Seigel, a hostage who was captured from a kibbutz on Oct. 7 and was released after 51 days, is among family members of hostages who will meet with Vice President Kamala Harris today.

Seigel, whose husband, Keith, is still being held, told NBC News that she is grateful to President Joe Biden for her own life, but is pleading for her husband's return.

She described the awful conditions she was held under, including a lack of oxygen in the tunnels, saying she was treated like she was "nothing."

"Keith looked at me and I could see that he could hardly breathe," Seigel said. "I don't know if any can imagine what it is like, feeling you're going to die in a second and trying just to figure out how you are going to breathe."

António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, called for foreign journalists to be allowed into Gaza as an "information war" has obscured facts and added to the conflict's trauma.

"Denying international journalists entry into Gaza is allowing disinformation and false narratives to flourish," he wrote in a post on X.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 90 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Others who had the means to leave have departed Gaza altogether.

Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief for the newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, told CPJ that he spent 33 days in Israeli detainment and said mentally he has not been able to resume his work. He described undergoing psychological torture, which CPJ was not able to independently verify and the Israel Defense Forces denied.

"Journalists in Gaza have found no respect," Al-Kahlout told the organization. "Amid all these difficulties in covering and reporting events, there was another challenge: trying to survive, securing food and drink, and protecting the family. Moving even an inch in Gaza now is madness."

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today that the U.S. has not seen evidence of Israel committing genocide during its military operations against Hamas in Gaza.

“We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created,” Austin said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on President Joe Biden’s latest budget request.

Asked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., whether that means Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, Austin said again, “We don’t have evidence of that.” 

Read the full story here.

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné suggested in an interview that sanctions be imposed on Israel to ensure access to aid.

The suggestion made during an interview with France 24 and RFI radio comes as Israel has promised to open more crossings after seven aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike last week.

Israel's department in charge of humanitarian aid says the number of trucks into Gaza has increased significantly since then, but the United Nations has disputed those figures and says distribution remains an issue.

“France was one of the first countries to propose European Union sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank," Séjourné said. "We will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid."

Dignified burials for the unidentified bodies at Al-Shifa Hospital were organized today with the help of U.N. agencies, including the World Health Organization, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The bodies were previously lying under dirt or plastic sheeting, and were given fuller burials on site or at a nearby area,” he said on X. “When the dead are buried properly, they can be identified later with forensic examinations, giving loved ones some consolation.”

Israel says aid is moving into Gaza more quickly after international pressure to increase access, but the amount is disputed and the United Nations says it is still much less than the bare minimum to meet humanitarian needs.

Israel said 419 trucks — the highest since the conflict began — entered on Monday, though the Red Crescent and United Nations gave much lower figures, with the U.N. saying many were only half full because of Israeli inspection rules.

U.N. humanitarian agency spokesperson Jens Laerke said Israel denied permission last month to half the convoys it tried to send north, with U.N. aid convoys three times more likely to be refused than any other.

The Israeli military department responsible for aid transfers, COGAT, denies it is hindering relief into Gaza and says there is no limit on supplies for civilians. It blamed delays on the United Nations, which it says is inefficient.

Laerke said Israel typically counted the half-filled trucks going through an initial screening process, rather than repacked, full trucks for delivery inside Gaza. He said a bigger problem remained distribution inside Gaza.

“Food convoys that should be going particularly to the north, where 70% of people face famine conditions, are more likely, actually three times more likely, to be denied than any other humanitarian convoy with other kinds of material,” he said.