Middle East

 NPR - Israelis are pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a cease-fire deal with Hamas following days of protests over the deaths of six hostages. Hamas killed the hostages just as Israeli troops were approaching the part of Gaza where they were. Netanyahu's critics blame Hamas for the killings but accuse him of blocking a deal that could have brought the hostages home. Former general Benny Gantz demanded Netanyahu make a deal or quit.

Gantz doesn’t have enough influence to sway Netanyahu, but his voice does add to the growing pressure from inside Israel and the world to accept a deal, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi says. One of the major sticking points of the proposal currently on the table is the presence of Israeli troops on a strip of land called the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. Netanyahu is opposed to withdrawing troops from the area, saying Hamas could smuggle weapons through tunnels under it and rebuild its military capabilities. Hamas wants the Israeli military to withdraw completely from the area, which is something Netanyahu’s defense minister is ready to do.