Israel to pursue new talks on hostage deal, as forces pound war Gaza, Lebanon

US President Joe Biden, asked about the possibility of a ceasefire just over a year after Hamas’s cross-border attack triggered the Gaza war which has spread to Lebanon and threatened to draw in Iran, said he would talk to Israel immediately to push for a ceasefire.
“My staff is talking to them right now,” Biden said, after casting an early ballot in the race for his successor. “We need a ceasefire. We should end this war. It should end, it should end, it should end.”
The United States is Israel’s top military supplier and a mediator in the Doha talks. Biden has stood by the country’s right to defend itself despite international outrage at the mounting death toll in both Gaza and Lebanon, where for the past month it has engaged in a ground and air war against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
After the Oct 7 attack, the bloodiest in Israel’s history, the military launched a massive offensive into Gaza to root out Hamas. Israel has killed the miltant group’s top leadership but the war has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and driven almost all from their homes.
During their attack, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, both soldiers and civilians. Previous truces have allowed some to be released in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel, but 97 are still in Gaza. The Israeli ministry says 34 of these are dead.  
After Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar earlier this month, seen by observers as an obstacle to a hostage deal, pressure has mounted on Netanyahu’s government from both hostage families and the international community to agree on a ceasefire to allow the rest of the captured to come home.
Critics in Israel have also accused Netanyahu of obstructing mediation for a truce and hostage-release deal.
In Gaza, rescuers reported fresh strikes on Monday.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said three people were killed in a drone attack on Gaza City, while the civil defence agency and an AFP correspondent reported more air strikes and shelling in other areas of the territory’s north and centre.
Since Oct 6 the military has been carrying out an air and ground assault in north Gaza to destroy operational capabilities it says Hamas is trying to rebuild there.
On Monday the military said it had Jabalia, in the north, and “eliminated dozens of terrorists in ground and aerial activity”.
An Israeli military official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the goal is to clear the Jabalia refugee camp of militants, which “will take us at least (several) weeks” to achieve.
He said there was “heavy fighting” in areas where Hamas militants were present.