Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli forces rescue a hostage in Gaza

Israeli forces conducted a “complex operation” to free a hostage in Gaza, the military said Tuesday.

Qaid Farhan Alkadi was abducted during the October attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. Overjoyed family members sprinted through the hospital where he was brought after they received the news of the rescue.

It brought a rare moment of joy to Israelis after nearly 11 months of war. Dozens of hostages remain in captivity despite international efforts to broker a cease-fire and secure their release. After the latest high-level cease-fire talks came to a halt in Cairo on Sunday, negotiations are expected to soon resume in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people.

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Council set to vote on extending UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would extend the U.N peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon for a year and demand a halt to the escalating exchanges between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces.

Israel and Hezbollah pulled back after an exchange of heavy fire across the U.N.-drawn boundary between Israel and Lebanon known as the Blue Line over the weekend, but their decades-old conflict is far from over and regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza are still high.

The French-drafted resolution demands full implementation of a 2006 resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities between the two sides and underlines “that further escalation carries the high risk of leading to a widespread conflict.”

The draft, scheduled for a vote Wednesday morning, would extend the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL until Aug. 31, 2025.

UNIFIL was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after a 1978 invasion.

The Security Council expanded the mission after a 2006 war between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants so that peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their country’s south for the first time in decades. That resolution also called for a full cessation of Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, which has not happened.

The resolution to be voted on Wednesday strongly urges the “relevant actors” to implement “immediate measures towards de-escalation, including with a view to restoring calm, restraint and stability across the Blue Line.”

Houthi rebels blocking efforts to help Greek-flagged tanker that's ablaze in the Red Sea

WASHINGTON — Efforts to reach and assist the Greek-flagged tanker that remains ablaze in the Red Sea have been blocked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the U.S. is “aware of a third party that attempted to send two tugs to the vessel to help salvage, but they were warned away by the Houthis and threatened with being attacked.”

He did not identify the “third party,” but said the Houthis’ actions demonstrate “their blatant disregard for not only human life, but also for the potential environmental catastrophe that this presents.”

A French destroyed previously rescued the crew and security personnel from the tanker.

He said U.S. Central Command has been monitoring the situation to determine how best to assist the Sounion, which is loaded with 150,000 tons (136,000 metric tons) of Iraqi crude oil, and mitigate any environmental impact.

Right now, however, there are no U.S. Navy ships in the Red Sea or nearby in the Gulf of Aden.

Biden's top Mideast adviser meets with Qatari leaders

DOHA, Qatar — President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser on Tuesday held talks in Doha with senior Qatari leaders on the ongoing efforts to complete a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, according to a U.S. official.

White House senior adviser Brett McGurk’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani comes after the prime minister traveled to Tehran to speak with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday.

The talks also come as ongoing cease-fire talks to pause the war between Israel and Hamas are set to shift to Doha after several days of intense negotiations in Cairo.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks and spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that McGurk met with the Qatari officials and discussed the negotiations and the prime minister's recent meeting with Iran's president.

Tensions have been escalating between Israel and Iran, and with militant groups — Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — that are backed by Tehran. Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel for last month’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

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Associated Press reporter Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Site of negotiations to move from Egypt to Qatar, US official says

WASHINGTON — Ongoing talks aimed at bringing about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are shifting to the Qatari capital of Doha after several days of intense negotiations in Cairo, according to a U.S. official.

A round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a cease-fire and hostage deal to at least create a temporary pause in the war ended Sunday without a final agreement. Those talks included CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. A Hamas delegation was briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but have not directly taken part in negotiations.

But lower-level working teams had remained in Cairo as media as mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in hopes to address remaining disagreements.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, who has been a key U.S. negotiator, has arrived in Doha and is expected to take part in the talks.

The official did not offer explanation for why the parties have decided to move the talks. Both Cairo and Doha have served as hosts for talks aimed at ending the war throughout the conflict.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that an Israeli delegation will head to Doha on Wednesday. They did not release further details about who will be traveling or what is on the agenda.