Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and Gazan civilians seeking respite from the incessant Israeli airstrikes were left disappointed on Wednesday after the White House dismissed a report by the Washington Post that claimed citing people familiar with the developments that a Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal brokered by the US to free hostages by allowing a five day pause in the war.
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The deal, if agreed upon, would bring respite to the aforementioned parties as Israeli families of hostages increase pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of hostages. It would also buy enough time for the international community, UN organisations and multilateral forums to assess the damage in Gaza.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks, which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 people taken hostage.
The army’s relentless air and ground campaign has since killed 12,300 people, more than 5,000 of them children, according to the Hamas government which has ruled Gaza since 2007.