Biden ‘working through’ options after Iran-backed Proxies killed 3 U.S. troops

Negotiators from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have agreed on a framework for a new hostage deal, and a draft is being presented to Hamas today, a source familiar with talks held in Paris over the weekend told NBC News.

Highlights:

• President Joe Biden is still “working through options” after he vowed to retaliate for the drone attack that killed three Army Reserve soldiers, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told NBC’s “TODAY” show.
• Biden convened a meeting with his national security team over how the U.S. will respond to Iran-backed groups’ attacks in Jordan that left three American soldiers dead. The meeting included national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
• The deaths at a base in Jordan yesterday are the first in months of attacks by Iran-backed militants since the Israel-Hamas war began, though Iran sought to distance itself from the strike. 
• A source familiar with hostage talks held in Paris over the weekend has told NBC News that negotiators from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have agreed on a framework for a new cease-fire deal and that a draft is being presented to Hamas today.
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency warned today that it will not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding is not resumed. A growing number of states have followed the U.S. in suspending funding for UNRWA following Israel’s accusations that 12 of its workers participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. 
• More than 200 people have been killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll in Gaza to 26,637, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said today. More than 65,000 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
• Israeli military officials said at least 220 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza. About 1,139 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. 
• Hamas reiterated its position on hostage releases in a statement after a source said the group would be approached with a framework deal agreed upon by representatives from the U.S., Egypt, Israel, and Qatar in Paris.
• US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby denounced recent comments at an event in Israel where ministers promoted the idea of resettling Gaza by expelling Palestinians. 
• The 3 soldiers killed in Jordan were identified as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia.
• Lolwah Rashid Al-Khater, minister of international cooperation at Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA and warned of the “catastrophic repercussions” of ending its relief efforts.
• The Muslim Legal Fund has filed a civil rights complaint against Harvard University with the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and others who support Palestinian rights, the organization announced today.
• NBC