Wednesday Briefing

Food, medicine and other necessities are in short supply in Gaza.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hamas denied a cease-fire is imminent

Hamas officials said yesterday that there had been no breakthrough in talks to pause the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages there, a day after President Biden said he hoped that a cease-fire would start in a week.

Hamas officials said that they had not formally received any new proposals from Israel since last week.

Global pressure has been mounting on Israel to agree to a deal to stop the war. The death toll in Gaza is nearing 30,000, according to Gazan health authorities.

Hamas’s political leaders have insisted publicly that any deal to release the more than 100 hostages still being held in Gaza is dependent on a permanent cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. But Israel has said it will topple Hamas in Gaza, suggesting that the country will not agree to a long-term truce.

Other news: The Red Crescent suspended emergency medical missions for two days in part of Gaza after Israeli forces interrogated and detained medical workers evacuating patients from a hospital.

At odds: Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expressed disparate visions for the conflict, a reflection in part of the opposing political calendars they face.