Qatar says agreement reached to extend Israel-Hamas truce for two additional days; freed Palestinian prisoners arrive in West Bank city

U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East for the third time since Israel's war with Hamas began, a senior State Department official said Monday.

Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering, the official said. The official spoke to reporters traveling with Blinken on condition of anonymity ahead a formal State Department announcement.

— Associated Press

A Red Cross bus carrying Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah early Tuesday.

Israel's prison service said it was releasing 33 Palestinian prisoners in the fourth such release as part of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.

The prisoners were greeted by cheering crowds who surrounded the bus as it made its way through the streets of the West Bank city.

So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons.

— Associated Press

Around 200 container trucks brought humanitarian aid into Gaza on Monday after being inspected by Israel, including a small amount of fuel, according to the Israeli military body that handles civilian affairs.

"Four containers carrying diesel fuel and four containers carrying cooking gas were transferred from Egypt to U.N. humanitarian aid organizations in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing," COGAT said in a statement.

The aid trucks brought "food, water, shelter equipment, and medical supplies," the statement said.

— Associated Press

The IDF said the 11 hostages released by Hamas today are now with IDF forces and in Israel's territory.

"After they undergo an initial medical assessment of their health, our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families," the IDF said in a statement.

A spokesperson from kibbutz Nir Oz confirmed that all 11 hostages were from their community, which was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7. The spokesperson noted that 49 community members remain in captivity in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum has released the names and ages of the 11 hostages released by Hamas today. They are:

Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34

Emma Aloni Cunio, 3

Julie Aloni Cunio, 3

Or Yaakov, 16

Yagil Yaakov, 12

Sahar Kalderon, 16

Erez Kalderon, 12

Karina Engel-Bart, 52

Mika Engel, 18

Yuval Engel, 11

Eitan Yahalomi, 12

— NBC News

At least 218 displaced people who were sheltering at the United Nations' schools in Gaza were killed, according to today's report from the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency.

In addition to the deaths, almost 900 people have been injured while trying to find safety at UNRWA schools. The U.N. has verified 99 "incidents" across more than 70 locations, but the report did not elaborate on what those incidents were.

— NBC News

Photos show scenes of daily life in Gaza City during a humanitarian pause. Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend a cease-fire agreement another two days for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and to secure the release of more hostages.

— Omar El-Qattaa | AFP | Getty Images

The IDF said it has received information from the Red Cross that 11 newly released hostages are currently en route to Israel.

Authorities said earlier today that 11 hostages would be exchanged for 33 Palestinians in Israel detention, the majority of whom are children.

The released Israeli hostages include six Argentinian citizens, three French citizens and two German citizens, according to an X post from Majed Al Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

— NBC News

The humanitarian truce deal in Gaza has been extended by a further two days, a spokesperson for Qatar's ministry of foreign affairs said Monday in a statement on social media.

In an earlier post, Majed Al-Ansari said the deal could include the delivery of additional aid to the Strip and the release of the "largest possible number of hostages and prisoners."

It comes as an earlier four-day truce was set to expire Monday.

— Karen Gilchrist

The humanitarian truce that has brought a pause to the fighting in the Gaza Strip is set to be extended, a senior Arab official with "direct knowledge of negotiations" told NBC News on Monday.

The source, who has not been named, told NBC that details of the deal were still being finalized and that it was not yet assured.

It comes after the head of Egypt's government-run State Information Service said earlier in the day that Egyptian-Qatari efforts to extend the truce are "so far close."

Diaa Rashwan said the extension was expected to last two days and would include the daily release of 10 women and children held hostage in Gaza and 30 Palestinians kept prisoner in Israel.

It would also extend the cease-fire in the entire Gaza Strip and the entry of medical, food and fuel aid to the Gaza Strip during the period, Rashwan said.

CNBC could not independently verify the proposals.

— Karen Gilchrist

-Getty Images

The Bank of Israel on Monday held its benchmark interest rates steady at 4.75% in a bid to maintain finacial stability during the country's ongoing war with Hamas.

The hold, which was in line with expectations, comes in the wake of an aggressive tightening cycle, which saw rates increased 10 straight times since last April..

"The war is having significant economic consequences, both on real economic activity and on the financial markets," the central bank said.

The Bank cut its forecasts for economic growth in 2023 and 2024 following the onset of the war, and it now expects an expansion of 2% next year, down from 2.8% a month ago.

— Karen Gilchrist

200 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, cooking gas and fuel enter the Gaza Strip during the humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas in Gaza City, Gaza on November 28, 2023.

-Ashraf Amra | Anadolu | Getty Image

In his conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk said that he would want to play a part in Gaza's recovery once the war is over.

Netanyahu laid out that his main priority is to neutralize Hamas, after which he will turn to rebuilding Gaza: "You first have to get rid of this poisonous regime."

Musk agreed and offered to be involved in the post-war recovery.

"I think that makes perfect sense that those who are intent on murder must be neutralized, then the propaganda must stop ... and then making Gaza prosperous," Musk said.

"Well, I hope you'll be involved," Netanyahu responded.

"I'd love to help," Musk said.

Musk, the chief executive of rocket manufacturer SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla, has used his various tech companies for geopolitical reasons in the past. The Pentagon has commissioned Musk's Starlink satellite technology to provide internet in Ukraine amid its ongoing war against Russia. Musk also received federal approval to test SpaceX's Starship/Super Heavy rocket, which ultimately self-destructed.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Israel's President Isaac Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Kibbutz Be'eri Monday.

The kibbutz was one of the sites of the deadly Oct. 7 attack by gunmen from Palestinian militant group Hamas.

-Ronen Zvulun | Reuters

Elon Musk expressed support for Israel's military offensive in Gaza during an online live chat, saying "there's no choice" in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressing during the chat that Hamas must be destroyed.

"The rebuttal is often made that well you know, 'but Israel has killed civilians, you know, also in Gaza'," Musk said. "But there is an important difference here which is that Israel tries to avoid killing civilians, doing everything it can to avoid killing civilians. And, you know, there's not, sort of, joy expressed."

Human rights groups and the U.N. have accused Israel of targeting hospitals, schools, residences and other civilian infrastructure. Israel denies it is targeting civilians, saying that Hamas uses the facilities as cover for its command centers and operations.

"It was troubling to see protests in almost every major city in favor of Hamas, or well, they generally characterize it as sort of a free Palestine movement," Musk said.

"We want a good future for Palestinians," the Tesla CEO and X owner added. "The challenge is how do you get rid of the ones who are hell bent on murdering Jewish people, minimizing civilian casualties, and ultimately stopping the sort of propaganda that is convincing people to engage in, you know, murder. At the end of the day that is really essential."

— Natasha Turak

Palestinians carry empty gas canisters to be filled with cooking gas from a tank that entered the Palestinian enclave in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Trucks carrying aid, including fuel, food and medicine, began moving into Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt shortly after a truce began on Nov. 24. It is the biggest humanitarian convoy to enter the besieged territory since the war started on Oct. 7 between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

-Getty Images

"It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre, or one of the scenes of the massacres," Elon Musk said during a streamed live chat on his social media platform X, where he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the two visited a kibbutz that was attacked on Oct. 7.

Musk was also shown a film featuring footage of the attacks, and said it "was troubling in that movie, especially to see the joy experienced by the people that were killing innocent civilians, including kids and babies."

Netanyahu then detailed more of the attacks and called Hamas a "death cult."

"It's one thing if, obviously, if civilians die, accidentally, but it's another thing to revel in the joy of killing civilians ... That's evil. It's really a manifestation of a death cult. That's what Hamas is," he said.

— Natasha Turak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited military troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday - the third day of the ongoing humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas.

-GPO | Anadolu | Getty Images

Elon Musk, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited a kibbutz in southern Israel that had been attacked by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.

The two toured Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Musk "heard from the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Council Yossi Keren and a representative of the IDF spokesman Liad Diamond an overview of the massacre at the kibbutz," a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said.

The Tesla CEO and owner of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, then was taken to individual families' homes to hear more personal experiences of the attacks.

Among those was the story of the family of the four-year-old Abigail Itamari, the statement said. Itamari's parents were killed and she was kidnapped by Hamas and taken as a hostage to Gaza, released from captivity on Sunday.

— Natasha Turak

Giorgos Gerapetritis, Greece's minister of foreign affairs, says there needs to be "positive momentum."

The Burlington Police Department said it arrested a suspect in the shooting of three students of Palestinian descent.

The students were shot and wounded near the University of Vermont Saturday night, police said.

Two of the three 20-year-old men are in stable condition, while the other is facing more serious injuries, according to a police report.

"On Sunday afternoon, at approximately 1538 hours, ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agents who were conducting a canvass at the location of the shooting encountered and detained Jason J. Eaton, 48. Detectives worked with the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, and with the Chittenden County State's Attorney, Sarah George, to complete a search warrant for Mr. Eaton's residence in the apartment building in front of which the shooting took place," the police statement read.

— Matt Clinch

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed to NBC News that Tesla CEO Elon Musk will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today.

He will also meet President Isaac Herzog, at 3:45 p.m. local time, who will reportedly emphasize the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online.

Earlier this month, Musk issued a spate of bigoted tweets that spurred a backlash online. He agreed with a tweet that said Jewish people have been pushing "dialectical hatred" against whites, and later criticized the Anti-Defamation League.

— Matt Clinch

U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday he hoped the Gaza truce would be extended to allow more captives to be freed.

According to Sky News, he said in Nantucket, Massachusetts, "That's my goal, that's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow, so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief to those in need in Gaza."

— Matt Clinch

Hamas said for the first time that it would seek to extend the deal by looking to release a larger number of hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying he had spoken to U.S. President Joe Biden and reiterated his offer to extend the cease-fire by an additional day for every 10 hostages Hamas releases. But he said Israel would resume its offensive "with all of our might" once the truce expires.

Read more here.

— Associated Press

Three Palestinian students were shot and wounded near the University of Vermont Saturday night, police said.

Two of the three 20-year-old men are in stable condition, while the other is facing more serious injuries, according to a report from the Burlington Police Department in Vermont.

Read the story here.

— Rebecca Picciotto

The Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed that 17 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released on Sunday, including four-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Mor Edan.

The Prime Minister's office said that 14 of the individuals were Israeli citizens, while the other three were foreign nationals.

The release on Sunday, the third day of the four-day military pause, brings the total number of freed hostages to 41. Fifty Hamas hostages are due to be freed over the four days under the terms of an agreement between Israel and Hamas. In the first two days of the cease-fire, 24 hostages were released from Gaza in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

Read the story here.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Biden says pause in fighting is critical to get humanitarian aid to Gaza