US rift with Netanyahu grows as top officials meet with his rival: Updates

Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on the Israel-Hamas war for Sunday, March 3. For the latest news on the conflict in the Middle East, view our live updates file on the war for Monday, March 4.

he Biden administration's rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became even more acute Sunday, when Vice President Kamala Harris called for a cease-fire in Gaza the day before a controversial meeting with a top Israeli official and longtime Netanyahu rival.

Israeli Cabinet minister Benny Gantz traveled to Washington without the endorsement of Netanyahu, who instructed the Israeli Embassy in the U.S. to withhold assistance in arranging his meetings, Israel Hayom reported.

An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu had a “tough talk” with Gantz and told him the country has “just one prime minister.”

Gantz, a centrist who joined Netanyahu’s hardline government following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, arrives amid deep disagreements between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden over the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza and a postwar vision for the enclave.

Gantz is scheduled to meet Monday with Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan and on Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his National Unity Party said. They are expected to discuss the urgency of a hostage deal and cease-fire, the American commitment to increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the imperative of reducing civilian casualties, a White House official told the New York Times.

At an event Sunday commemorating the 1965 Bloody Sunday attacks on demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, Harris told the audience: "Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table."

The U.S. has previously refrained from calling for a cease-fire but, along with Qatar and Egypt, has been trying to mediate a six-week truce that would lead to the release of hostages and enhanced aid for Gaza.

Developments:

∎ Haim Rubinstein resigned as the spokesperson for the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, the second official to leave the organization in less than a month. Rubinstein was among the founders of the group, formed the day after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault during which more than 250 hostages were seized and taken to Gaza.

∎ The Israeli military said it has completed up a two-week raid in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, destroying Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad sites and killing more than 100 operatives.

∎ The White House is sending senior adviser Amos Hochstein to Lebanon on Monday in an attempt to prevent tensions along the border with Israel from escalating.

Israel delays sending negotiating team to Cairo for talks

Hopes for a cease-fire agreement in Gaza took another setback Sunday when Israel refused to send a negotiating team to Cairo, citing Hamas' refusal to release the names of hostages who are still alive.

Representatives from Hamas, Qatar and the U.S. are in Cairo for the talks. Multiple Israeli news outlets including the Jerusalem Post were reporting that the Israel delegation will not make the journey until the list is provided and other details, including the health status of the hostages, are revealed.

Biden has been bullish on a deal, saying last week he hoped an agreement could be reached ahead of Ramadan. The Muslim holy month begins in a week.

Israel has said that more than 30 of the 130 hostages held since Oct. 7 are dead. The first phase of the deal in the works reportedly called for the release of 40 hostages, including women, children, the elderly and the sick, in the course of a six-week truce.

About 400 Palestinian prisoners would be freed by Israel.

Hamas, Israel still at odds over ending war in Gaza

Hamas will make no deal without Israel agreeing to end the war in Gaza or at least providing a path to end the war, CNN reported, citing "a highly placed source" in the militant group. That could be a deal-breaker − Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel won't end the war until Hamas has been eliminated.

On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited troops in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, calling progress on the ground "impressive" and pledging not to retreat from Gaza until Hamas has been dismantled.

Israeli military says it will expand humanitarian efforts

The Israeli military said it is stepping up efforts at providing humanitarian aid in Gaza, creating humanitarian corridors, establishing humanitarian pauses − and exercising caution in its use of force. The military said it had coordinated 21 airdrops of 450 packages in Gaza in collaboration with France, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and the U.S.

Also Sunday, 50 incubators were shipped into Gaza, bound for five hospitals facing desperate shortages and overwhelming patient loads. A report last week indicated babies in some hospitals had to share incubators.

"We will continue expanding our humanitarian efforts to the civilian population in Gaza while we fulfill our goals of freeing our hostages from Hamas and freeing Gaza from Hamas," the military said in a statement.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel Hamas war updates: US rift with Netanyahu grows; Gantz arrives