Israel-Gaza updates: Hamas has received proposed hostage deal, Qatar says

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, making stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank, the State Department announced.

This will be Blinken’s fifth visit to the region since Oct. 7.

During this trip, Blinken will focus on reaching "an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said.

Blinken is also looking to prevent the conflict from spreading while "reaffirming that the United States will take appropriate steps to defend its personnel and the right to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," Miller said.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

The framework of a new proposed hostage deal between Hamas and Israel has not yet been agreed upon by either side, two Israeli sources close to the negotiations told ABC News on Friday.

Talks remain ongoing, the sources said.

Israel is still waiting to hear Hamas' response to the framework. Hamas will then likely request changes to the framework, requiring more negotiations to iron out the details.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Hamas has received a new proposed hostage deal but has not yet responded, a Qatari official told ABC News.

"There is no deal yet," said a Qatari official with knowledge of the negotiations. "Hamas has received the proposal positively but we are waiting for their response."

The possibility of a "full-fledged famine" looms large across the entire Gaza Strip, humanitarian groups have warned -- especially in northern Gaza, where some people there say they're using bird feed in place of flour to stave off starvation.

Northern Gaza has been largely cut off for months now, according to the United Nations, and aid trucks carrying flour arrive sporadically and are swarmed by hundreds of hungry people.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East officials also say Israel provides too few authorizations to make deliveries into some areas and that heavy fighting often makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate. The aid arriving in northern Gaza has been particularly restricted, the U.N. says. Israel disputes the criticisms.

"For more than two months, we have not received flour due to the difficulty of aid entering and the scarcity of flour in the area," Sami Abu Sweilem, a 55-year-old father who is sheltering in a UNRWA school in northern Gaza, told ABC News.

"Children almost died of hunger, so we thought of a way to save our children from death," he said, explaining how he's been using bird feed and animal fodder in place of precious flour.

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