Israel-Hamas war Highlights: Hostage release deal ‘very close’, says Israeli official

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes and acts “tantamount to genocide” in Gaza during a virtual meeting Tuesday of leaders of developing countries, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.

Ramaphosa also condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked the war in Gaza and said both sides were guilty of violating international law.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli Cabinet that the war to eliminate Hamas wouldn’t let up after a cease-fire, even as he signaled that a deal was near to free hostages in Gaza in return for a temporary pause in fighting.

“There is nonsense out there as if after the pause in fighting, we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said at the start of a meeting where officials set to vote on a hostage deal, according to his office. “We are at war and we will continue it until we achieve all the objectives. We will eliminate Hamas, return all the hostages and guarantee that there will be no element in Gaza that threatens Israel.”

Hopes mounted Tuesday that Hamas could release dozens of hostages from war-torn Gaza after the militant group's leader and key mediator Qatar said a truce deal was in sight and the Israeli premier pointed to "progress".

The announcements are the most optimistic yet of a potential breakthrough in the conflict, which has raged for more than six weeks and left thousands dead on both sides.

"We are close to reaching a deal on a truce," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said.

In Qatar, foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said "we're very optimistic, very hopeful" and told reporters: "We are at the closest point we ever had been in reaching an agreement."

Senior Hamas officials said Tuesday that an agreement could be reached soon in which the militant group would release hostages and Israel would free Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, Israeli officials announced that meetings of key decision-making bodies would be held late Tuesday to discuss “the issue of the release of hostages.”

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir warned on Tuesday that an emerging deal to secure the release of some hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in the war against Hamas could backfire.

Ben-Gvir said he was "very concerned" that the exact details of a potential agreement were not being divulged and that members of the government were "not being told the truth."

The European Union will continue to provide substantial amounts of financial aid to the Palestinians after an investigation found that no money has been diverted to the militant group Hamas, the EU's executive branch said Tuesday.

The review of the use of hundreds of millions of euros' worth of development assistance meant to help the Palestinians fight poverty was announced on Oct. 9, two days after Hamas rampaged into southern Israel. (PTI feed)

The World Health Organization chief said on Tuesday that an employee of the organisation got killed in Gaza amid ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The employee's six-month-old baby, husband and two brothers also died.

"My colleagues and I are devastated: we have lost one of our own in Gaza today," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media platform X.

"Reportedly multiple other family members sheltering in the same house were also killed," he added.

The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain briefly became inaccessible Tuesday night after a cyberattack took them down, purportedly over the island kingdom's stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

A statement posted online by a self-described group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claimed hacking the Foreign Ministry and the Information Affairs Ministry's websites. Both later became accessible. (AP feed)

Palestinian flags and the black-and-white keffiyeh scarf flew high in Kuwait's Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium as football fans vented their emotions in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

Thousands of Palestinians and their sympathisers turned out at the 60,000-seat venue for the game against Australia, Palestine's first in front of fans since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

"Palestine is in our hearts. We came to the stadium, old and young, in support," Anfal Al-Azmi, a 45-year-old Kuwaiti woman, told AFP. (AFP feed)

During the BRICS virtual summit on Tuesday, countries couldn't agree on a joint declaration about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa shared that diplomats did not have sufficient time to draft a declaration.

"We've called upon all parties to exercise maximum restraint. We affirmed ... that a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be achieved by peaceful means," Ramaphosa said in his summary of the discussions.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signaled that a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a temporary truce is "now very close."

"We are now very close, very close. We could bring some of these hostages home very soon. But I don't want to get into the details of things, because nothing is done until it's done," he said at the White House. "Things are looking good at the moment." (as reported by AFP)

Amid ongoing Israel-Hamas war, South African lawmakers have voted to shut down Israeli embassy in the country. Notably, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been a critic of Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza.

The ruling African National Congress is known for standing up for the Palestinian people. The final decision on whether to close the Israeli embassy will be taken by Ramaphosa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet war cabinet amid hopes of a deal with Hamas regarding the release of Israeli hostages.

"We are making progress. I don't think it's worth saying too much, not at even this moment, but I hope there will be good news soon," Netanyahu told reservists without providing further details.

During the October 7 attack on Southern Israel, Hamas reportedly abuducted 240 hostages, including women, children and elderly people.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the release of all civilian captives and the implementation of a two-state solution for lasting peace in the strife-torn region.

Addressing the BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on the Palestine-Israeli issue, Xi said fundamental way out of the recurring Palestinian-Israeli conflicts is to implement the two-state solution, restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation, and establish an independent State of Palestine. (PTI feed)

During a virtual summit of the BRICS group, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman demanded the start of a serious and comprehensive peace process to establish a Palestinian state along the borders of 1967.

“The Kingdom’s position is constant and firm; there is no way to achieve security and stability in Palestine except through the implementation of international decisions related to the two-state solution,” said Prince Mohammed.

According to a report by Reuters, Egypt's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that bombing targeting displaced people in south Gaza has "a clear objective," and that is to force the enclave's residents to leave.

According to a report by AFP, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes and "genocide" in Gaza, as he chaired an extraordinary summit of the BRICS group of nations on Tuesday.

Pretoria is hosting a virtual meeting of BRICS -- a group of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- aimed at drawing up a common response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

"The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime. The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide," Ramaphosa said.

According to a report by CNN, Israel and Hamas are deciding on the names of hostages who could be released as part of a deal. As part of the deal being discussed, Israel would do a temporary ceasefire and exchange Palestinian prisoners lodged in its jails with Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.

Germany has urged Muslim groups in their country to condemn the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 in Israel.

"I expect the Muslim organisations to clearly position themselves and uphold their responsibilities in society," interior minister Nancy Faeser said in an interview with German broadcaster ARD.

During the October 7 attack, Hamas had killed hundreds of innocent civilians, beheaded babies, raped women and abducted people.

According to a report by Reuters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday progress was being made on the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

"We are making progress. I don't think it's worth saying too much, not at even this moment, but I hope there will be good news soon," he told reservists according to a statement from his office.