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Egypt indicates a truce agreement between Israeli and Hamas forces

Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza may be edging closer to a cease-fire after 10 days of open war. Egyptian mediators say there's a truce agreement, in principle. A top Hamas official said he expects fighting to stop in a day or two. Pressure to end the conflict built today, with 227 Gazans and 12 Israelis killed so far. John Yang reports.

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  • Amna Nawaz:

    Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza may be edging closer to a cease-fire tonight, after 10 days of open war.

    Egyptian mediators say there's a truce agreement in principle. A top Hamas official says he expects fighting to stop in a day or two. Pressure to end the conflict built today, with 227 Gazans and 12 Israelis killed so far.

    John Yang begins our coverage.

  • John Yang:

    In a telephone call before leaving the White House this morning, President Biden stepped up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the fight with Hamas in Gaza.

    The White House said Mr. Biden told his Israeli counterpart that he expected significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire, the administration's most assertive public language yet.

    Later, Netanyahu seemed to rebuff the president, saying he is determined to continue this operation until its aim is met. Briefing foreign ambassadors to Israel, he said the aim is to return calm for Israelis and blunt attacks from the militant group.

  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

    We are engaged right now in forceful deterrence, but I have to say, we don't rule out anything. We hope we can restore quiet. We hope we can restore it quickly.

  • John Yang:

    Overnight, Israel said 52 warplanes bombarded more than 40 targets in a network of tunnels under Gaza that they say are used to hide fighters and move weapons. The attack lasted more than 25 minutes. The Israeli military says it tries to limit civilian casualties by sending warnings shortly before airstrikes.

  • Nihad Al-Tawil (through translator):

    I received on my mobile phone a call from a private number. They asked me to clear the area and to move all my neighbors out.

  • John Yang:

    Despite the warnings, the damage is still devastating. In the Southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, university Professor Ahmad Al-Astal surveyed what was left of a home for 40 of his family members.

  • Ahmad Al-Astal (through translator):

    This behind us reflects the humanity in them, demolishing the houses while its inhabitants are inside, people leaving their houses during the night, terrifying children and the elderly. By God, we left with our mother. We couldn't carry her, but the fear made us carry her.

  • John Yang:

    The United Nations says at least 58,000 Palestinians in Gaza have had to flee their homes since the fighting began.

    In Cairo today, the Arab League met to express support for Palestinians. Members wore traditional Palestinian black-and-white scarves in a show of solidarity.

    Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the meeting that Israel was committing war crimes.

  • Pres. Mahmoud Abbas (through translator):

    What the occupation is doing in Gaza, destruction of infrastructure, as well as the killing of women, elderly and children, is organized state terrorism carried out by the Israeli occupation and war crimes punishable by international law.

  • John Yang:

    The Israeli military says Hamas has fired more than 3,700 rockets from Gaza since the conflict began and that about 90 percent have been intercepted by its missile defense system.

    But the pace appears to be declining, with about 50 fired last night. Still, they are terrifying Israelis, sending them fleeing for cover, as these did today in Ashdod along the coast between Gaza and Tel Aviv.

  • Benzion Kan (through translator):

    I was at a nearby street. I heard the insane explosion. My wife called to say the blinds broke. And, as you can see up there, above the building, all the blinds are broken. I can see my car is also hit by shrapnel.

  • John Yang:

    Some Israelis in Ashkelon, just north of Gaza, don't want the military operations to stop until the rockets do.

  • Itamar Burak (through translator):

    We are not ready for a cease-fire, absolutely not. The rockets that hit us every day are enough for us. Every several months, Hamas decides it wants to shoot at us. It fires at us. Then it decides it wants a cease-fire.

  • John Yang:

    Outside Jerusalem's Old City, these Israeli women protested for peace.

    But more potential fronts are opening up. Four rockets were fired from Southern Lebanon into Northern Israel, the third barrage from Lebanese territory in the past week.

    For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.

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