Biden Says an Israel-Hamas Hostage Deal Is ‘Very Close’

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at hope for a deal in the Israel-Hamas war, Italy’s Mafia crackdown, and a recruitment drive tragedy in Republic of Congo.

Israel-Hamas Deal Takes Shape

Top Israeli and Hamas officials signaled on Tuesday that both parties are inching closer to a potential agreement that would likely see a brief pause in fighting and the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas.

In some of the most hopeful statements so far, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Reuters that officials were “close to reaching a truce agreement,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that they were “making progress” and that he “hope[d] there will be good news soon.” Netanyahu convened his war cabinet, security cabinet, and full cabinet on Tuesday night “in light of the developments regarding the release of our hostages,” and reportedly told the ministers that the deal would enable the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit and give medication to unreleased hostages.

“We’re now very close, very close. We could bring some of these hostages home very soon,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, adding: “Things are looking good at the moment.”

Although no details have been announced, officials’ previous statements suggest that the key terms will likely revolve around a brief cessation of hostilities, Hamas’s release of some of the 240 hostages it is currently estimated to be holding, and Israel’s release of some of the Palestinian women and children it has currently imprisoned. CNN has reported that a deal could include Hamas’s release of 50 women and children hostages, in exchange for a brief four- or five-day cease-fire and Israel’s release of three Palestinian prisoners per hostage. Qatar is helping to mediate the negotiations.

Hope for an agreement comes as civilians continue to pay the price of a deepening war, particularly as Gaza’s hospitals have been caught in the crossfire between Hamas militants and Israeli forces. At least 14,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday, while 30,000 more have been wounded. “We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I have been secretary-general,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. Israel estimates that more than 1,200 people have been killed since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

In a sign that a worsening conflict could spiral to ensnare actors outside of Israel and Gaza, Yemen’s Houthi rebels hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea this weekend and took all 25 crew members hostage, citing the war in Gaza and threatening future action. The ship has been linked to Israeli billionaire Rami Ungar; Israel says it is British-owned and Japanese-operated and called the seizure a “very grave incident of global consequence.”

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What We’re Following

Mafia crackdown. In a major blow to the Italian Mafia, an Italian court in the southern region of Calabria has sentenced hundreds of people after a three-year court case that is being referred to as the country’s biggest Mafia trial in decades. More than 200 people were sentenced on charges of bribery, extortion, and criminal association with the ‘Ndrangheta, a powerful drug-trafficking syndicate that has developed a deep network in Italy; more than 100 others were acquitted.

“It is a very significant sentence, and we are very satisfied,” Nicola Gratteri, an anti-Mafia prosecutor leading the investigation, told the Guardian. “We have finally demonstrated that there was a network of white-collar workers, entrepreneurs, and politicians doing business with the Calabrian clans.”

Third time’s the charm? After two failed attempts to launch a spy satellite earlier this year, North Korea appeared to try again on Tuesday, according to South Korean and Japanese officials. Pyongyang launched a rocket with a suspected spy satellite southward late Tuesday night, the South Korean military said, although it wasn’t immediately clear if it was successful.

Pyongyang’s bid to launch a spy satellite has emerged as a key arena of cooperation between North Korea and Russia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin pledging to help aid the country’s satellite development at a summit in September. According to South Korean officials, Moscow also helped Pyongyang navigate technical challenges for Tuesday’s launch.

Recruitment drive tragedy. An army recruitment drive in Republic of Congo took a tragic turn late on Monday night when a stampede broke out, killing at least 31 people. It remains unclear how exactly the stampede unfolded, and officials said they plan to launch an investigation into the incident.

As Republic of Congo faces soaring youth unemployment rates of 42 percent, the country’s army announced plans last week to hold a recruitment drive for 1,500 people between the ages of 18 and 25—prompting hundreds of people to register per day. After Monday’s tragedy, authorities will suspend recruitment until further notice.

Odds and Ends

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, already the subject of several serious criminal investigations, may be in hot water for yet another major offense: harassing an innocent humpback whale. Authorities are investigating the former leader after an individual—who appeared to resemble Bolsonaro—was filmed roughly 50 feet from the whale, “shooting a video with a mobile phone as the whale performed aerial behaviors suggesting distress or discomfort.” Brazil prohibits the “deliberate harassment” of cetacean creatures, including whales.