President Biden said he has been “deeply involved” in ongoing hostage negotiations to release the foreign and Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, and is “mildly hopeful” a deal can be reached. Hamas has agreed in principle to a tentative deal to free some hostages, with Israel weighing its response, The Washington Post reported. Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers were still continuing operations at al-Shifa Hospital on Thursday, after troops entered the Gaza City hospital on Tuesday night. The Post could not independently verify the situation on the ground, with calls to doctors at the hospital going straight to voice mail. The hospital complex was housing about 700 patients and 3,000 displaced people when the raid began, according to U.N. figures.