News Wrap: Israeli official reports progress on deal to free hostages and pause fighting

William Brangham:

A top Israeli official is offering new hope tonight for a deal to free the hostages in Gaza and pause the fighting there. Benny Gantz is a member of the Israeli war cabinet. And he spoke today at a news conference in Tel Aviv.

Benny Gantz, Israeli War Cabinet Minister (through interpreter):

There are ongoing attempts to promote a new hostage deal, and there are promising early signs of possible progress. We will not stop looking for a way, and we will not miss any opportunity to bring our people home.

William Brangham:

Gantz also warns that, if there is no deal, fighting will continue into Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins in March.

In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes rained down again overnight, and hospital officials reported at least 67 Palestinians were killed. Palestinians said bombs crushed family homes in Rafah, where more than a million Gazans have fled. One man condemned the world's response, including Tuesday's U.S. veto of a U.N. cease-fire resolution.

Ahmed Juma, Gaza Strip Resident (through interpreter):

This veto was not a surprise. The whole world has made the decision of committing a genocide against the Palestinian people. If all the images across than 140 days did not push the world to take action, then what are they waiting for?

William Brangham:

The Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry reported the overall death toll in the territory now exceeds 29,300 people.

Israeli lawmakers today rejected international pressure for a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. The Knesset sided overwhelmingly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the statehood issue must be part of overall peace negotiations.

A related question is now before the world court at The Hague. U.S. State Department lawyers argued today that Israel should not be asked to immediately withdraw from all the all Palestinian lands that were captured in 1967 during the Six-Day War. The U.N. court will eventually issue a nonbinding opinion.

In Russia, Alexei Navalny's mother filed suit against prison officials who've refused to release her son's remains. The opposition leader reportedly died last week at a high-security Arctic prison. Russian authorities have said they will hold Navalny's body for two weeks while they investigate his cause of death.

Russia's capture of a city in Eastern Ukraine has touched off a new exodus in the region. People are now fleeing areas near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region after it was taken by the Russians over the weekend. Many of the evacuees are elderly and cannot leave without assistance. Some say they worry their towns will be blasted into ruins.

Valentyna Kitush, Ukrainian Evacuee (through interpreter):

It's unbearable to endure what is happening. They are bombarding and destroying everything. Shall I wait until they destroy us? I'm leaving everything behind, home, flat, everything.

William Brangham:

Meanwhile, there are signs that the fall of Avdiivka was a bigger blow to Ukraine's military than first believed. New reports indicate that up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops are missing, including hundreds who may have been captured by the Russians.

A hearing has wrapped up in London, on whether to green-light the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S. Supporters today demanded his release. They and his defense team maintain he shouldn't be punished for leaking troves of documents that exposed U.S. misdeeds in Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. argues Assange put the lives of intelligence sources at risk. A ruling isn't expected until March, at the earliest.

Farmer protests turn violent in India today. One protester was killed after farmers fought with police, who fired tear gas. The farmers are marching toward New Delhi to demand higher prices for their crops. And in Spain, farmers drove hundreds of tractors into Madrid to denounce European Union policies. It was their largest demonstration yet.

Back in this country, the gap in campaign cash between President Biden and former President Trump is getting wider. The Trump campaign reports it ended January with $30 million on hand after spending more than it took in. Biden's reelection campaign jumped to a surplus of $56 million.

And on Wall Street, tech stocks drifted lower again, while the rest of the market managed fractional gains. The Dow Jones industrial average added 48 points to close at 38612. The Nasdaq fell 50 points. The S&P 500 was up six points.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": Alabama's Supreme Court rules that frozen embryos are children; a new app aims to make traffic stops in Minnesota safer; the potentially scary implications of an A.I. tool that creates extremely realistic video; plus much more.