The future of Gaza: The United States believes that the Palestinian Authority “is the appropriate place to look for governance eventually” of the Gaza Strip, a State Department official said Wednesday.

A total of 637 foreign nationals were evacuated to Egypt on Tuesday, an Egyptian official said.

Rafah crossing latest: The crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed on Wednesday due to a “security circumstance,” the US State Department said.

Daniel Hagari said that the military’s current count of hostages being held by Hamas is 239. The multi-party talks have been ongoing for weeks and have so far produced many ideas, but any kind of proposal involving hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting is not on the table, a US official and other diplomatic sources involved in the talks said.

Hostage negotiations: A deal to secure the release of a large number of hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza appears elusive for now, despite active negotiations involving the US, Israel, Qatar and Hamas.

Türk urged both sides to agree to a ceasefire on the basis of three human rights imperatives: the delivery of aid to Gaza, the release of hostages by Hamas as well and the implementation of “a durable end to the occupation.'

War crimes accusations: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said both Hamas and Israel have committed war crimes since the conflict erupted last month.

Blinken, however, reiterated his opposition, saying, 'Those calling for an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how to address the unacceptable result that would likely bring.'

Other world leaders have also called for a ceasefire or a 'humanitarian pause' in recent days.

Continued calls for a ceasefire: The president of the International Rescue Committee called for a humanitarian ceasefire for at least five days, emphasizing that it was the 'absolute minimum' needed to allow aid agencies to relieve some of the suffering.

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