Heavy fighting in north Gaza after hostage deal report denied
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Fighting raged on Sunday between Hamas militants and Israeli forces in parts of north Gaza and Israeli air strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in the enclave's centre, witnesses said, as a report of a tentative hostage release deal was denied.
The Washington Post reported that Israel and Hamas had reached a tentative U.S.-brokered agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in their war, citing people familiar with the matter.
It said the hostage release could begin within the next several days, barring last-minute hitches. All parties would freeze combat operations for at least five days while 50 or more hostages are released in groups every 24 hours, the Post reported. Hamas took about 240 hostages during its deadly cross-border rampage into Israeli communities on Oct. 7.
The pause is also intended to allow a significant amount of humanitarian aid in, the newspaper reported, adding that the outline of the deal was put together during weeks of talks in Qatar.
But both Israel's prime minister and U.S. officials said no agreement had been hammered out yet, with a White House spokesperson saying efforts were continuing to clinch a deal.
The Post's report came as Israel appeared to be preparing to expand its offensive against Hamas militants to densely populated Gaza's southern half after air strikes killed dozens of Palestinians, including civilians reportedly sheltering at two schools.
Israeli forces invaded late last month after a devastating aerial blitz in response to Hamas's attack, and say they have wrested control of large areas of the north and northwest around Gaza City.
But guerrilla-style
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