Return of Palestinians to Gaza’s North Emerges as Key Issue in Cease-Fire Talks
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is pressing Israel to permit limited numbers of civilians displaced in the six-month-old Gaza war to return to the northern part of the enclave, a key remaining point of contention in cease-fire and hostage talks, U.S., Israeli and Egyptian officials said.
The White House push to resolve one of the major disagreements between Hamas and Israel highlights the new weight the administration attaches to securing a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza since a deadly Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers on Monday.
According to Arab mediators involved in the talks, Israel is open to permitting returns to the north at a rate of 2,000 people a day, mainly women and children. A maximum of 60,000 Palestinians could return under a proposal deemed acceptable by Israel, but they would mostly exclude men…