Israeli hostage gives birth in Gaza captivity: PM office

An Israeli woman abducted into Gaza by Hamas on October 7 has given birth in captivity, the wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara, said in a letter released by his office Wednesday.

“One of the kidnapped women was pregnant. She gave birth to her baby in Hamas captivity,” Sara Netanyahu said in a letter addressed to US First Lady Jill Biden.

“You can only imagine, as I do, what must be going through that young mother’s mind as she is being held with her newborn by these murderers,” she wrote. “We must call for the immediate release of them and all those being held… The nightmare that began over a month ago must end."

Deal to free Hamas-held hostages

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he was "mildly hopeful" that there would be a deal to free Hamas-held hostages in Gaza, as he affirmed he had asked Israel to be "incredibly careful" in its military moves around hospitals in the strip.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself here because I don't know what's happened in the last four hours, but we have gotten great cooperation from the Qataris," he said when asked about progress on freeing hostages taken on October 7.

Biden noted the "pause the Israelis have agreed to" before cutting off his thought and saying "I'm going to stop. But I am mildly hopeful."

Qatar has been leading mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas for the release of more than 200 hostages.

Asked about the Israeli Defence Force's moves on embattled Al-Shifa hospital, where the US and Israel says Hamas has a command node, he said he had warned that it needed to be a precision operation.

"Let me be precise. We've discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful," he said.