As the Israel-Hamas war continues, efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization are ongoing, and Israeli forces have launched an assault in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Egyptian, American, Qatari officials to meet with Mossad head to discuss cease-fire deal
Senior Egyptian security officials will meet their American and Qatari counterparts in the presence of the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service in Rome on Sunday to discuss a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, a senior Egyptian source said.
The meeting is part of mediation efforts to reach a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, the source said.
Egypt stressed to all parties taking part in the Rome meeting its commitment in reaching an agreement that requires an immediate cease-fire and ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the source added.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy
Jul 26, 2024, 1:25 PM EDT
Biden shields some Lebanese nationals from deportation
President Joe Biden is temporarily protecting some Lebanese nationals from deportation and authorizing work permits amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon "due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," the White House said in a statement Friday.
"I have determined that it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months the removal of any Lebanese national" with exceptions, Biden said.
Lebanese nationals who return to Lebanon after the announcement, have not continually resided in the U.S., or have been convicted of a felony or of two misdemeanors are some of the people excluded from the memorandum.
-ABC News' Armando Garcia
Jul 25, 2024, 7:45 PM EDT
Harris to Netanyahu: 'It is time to get this deal done'
Vice President Kamala Harris said she had a "frank and constructive" meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and told him "it is time" to get the hostage deal across the finish line.
"There has been hopeful movement and the talks to secure an agreement on this deal. And as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done," Harris told reporters following her meeting.
Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Vice President's ceremonial office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, July 25, 2024.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Harris also spoke directly to individuals calling for a cease-fire in her remarks, telling them, "I see you and I hear you. Let's get the deal done so we can get a cease-fire to end the war. Let's bring the hostages home, and let's provide much needed-relief to the Palestinian people."
In the meeting, she said she also raised with Netanyahu her "serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians."
"What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating," she said. "The images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent."
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Jul 25, 2024, 6:05 PM EDT
Families of American hostages call Biden-Netanyahu meeting 'productive and honest'
The families of American hostages being held by Hamas said they had a "productive and honest" discussion with President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday afternoon.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, told reporters they came away "more optimistic" about the possibility of negotiators reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal and said they "got absolute commitment from the Biden administration and from Prime Minister Netanyahu that they understand the urgency of this moment."
The families also brushed off concerns that Biden not seeking a second term could hurt the chances of a deal coming together.
"I actually think it allows the president to be laser focused on the things that are true priorities to him, and saving human beings, cherished human beings, 115 of them, eight of whom are U.S. citizens, is one paramount issue for him," Rachel Goldberg, the mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said.
