In the wake of the deaths of six Israeli hostages, including a California-born U.S. citizen, both the Israeli government and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are signaling hardened postures that pose a wrenching new challenge for the Biden administration.

For weeks, U.S. officials have said they were near a final agreement between Israel and Hamas that would halt fighting in the Gaza Strip, temporarily at least, and allow for the release of hostages from Hamas captivity. At the same time, it would bring freedom for some Palestinians held prisoner by Israel, and allow more aid, desperately needed, to reach Gazans.

But intractable holdups, over who and how many people should be released from each side and over a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, prevented a deal — and that was before the latest hostage killings.

Now the U.S. is continuing work on negotiations — but not involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who President Biden said Monday was not doing enough to secure the hostages’ freedom.

Instead, the president said then, U.S. contacts are with “colleagues from Egypt and Qatar” — the two nations with direct contact with Hamas officials.

“We are working day and night to try to get an agreement over the line,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday. He would not comment on Netanyahu’s apparent rejection of elements of the deal. “We obviously believe this is an urgent matter.”

The news Tuesday evening that the Justice Department had announced terrorism charges against the leaders of Hamas will probably bring even more uncertainty in talks. The leaders are facing charges, including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, in connection with the militant group’s cross-border incursion into Israel Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people.

With the war entering its 12th month, Gaza is in the grip of a full-blown humanitarian disaster. At least 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and militants. Nearly all of the seaside enclave’s 2.3 million people are displaced, with entire cities bombed into mountains of rubble.

Early negotiating success — a U.S.-brokered accord last November that temporarily halted the fighting in Gaza and freed more than 100 hostages — is now a distant memory. Of the approximately 250 captives taken Oct. 7, Israel believes about 100 hostages remain in Gaza and at least a third are already dead.

The grieving families of the six slain hostages — who Israel says were shot in the head by their captors last week as troops operated nearby — voiced hopes that the violent deaths might prove the impetus for an accord that would free the remaining captives.

Jon Polin, father of Berkeley-born Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said Monday in a eulogy addressed to his 23-year-old son that over the months, the family had “sought the proverbial stone that we could turn over to save you.”

“Maybe, just maybe, your death is the stone” that could help bring the rest of the hostages home, he told the thousands of assembled mourners.

“I really hope that this is a turning point,” said Gil Dickmann, a cousin of Carmel Gat, another of the dead hostages, expressing similar hopes as he spoke to reporters hours before her funeral, also on Monday.

But amid a national spasm of grief, neither Netanyahu nor Hamas gave the slightest public hint that any movement was in the offing.

A big part of the problem, said Mara Rudman, a former special Middle East envoy for the State Department, is that neither Netanyahu nor Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar is motivated to halt the fighting.

“From the get-go, Netanyahu and Sinwar are the two in this equation whose interests do not align with getting to a cease-fire agreement,” she said in an interview.

Her analysis is chilling: Sinwar does not care about Palestinian deaths, since his goal is to stir international opprobrium against Israel and domestic turmoil within, and Netanyahu cares foremost about his political survival and avoiding prison, given criminal cases pending against him, which would be jeopardized if he agreed to a cease-fire deal that his far-right coalition partners object to.

At a Monday evening televised news conference, the Israeli leader signaled intransigence, declaring that Israel’s military control over a narrow strip of territory on the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, was non-negotiable.

The nine-mile ribbon of land that Israel took control of in May, Netanyahu said, was “Hamas’ pipeline for oxygen and rearmament.”

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor,” he said. “We need to have it under our control.”

Hamas, for its part, sought to harshly dissuade Israel from any notion that hostages could be freed by military force, such as the Israeli raid that plucked four captives to safety in June from the crowded Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian officials said the Israeli raid killed scores of civilians, many of them women and children.

In a posting on the Telegram messaging app on Monday, the head of Hamas’ armed brigades appeared to suggest that an execution protocol had been put in place if Israeli troops were thought to be closing in.

“After the Nuseirat incident, new instructions were issued” to those guarding the captives, said the statement issued in the name of Abu Obeida, a nom de guerre.

Israeli officials interpreted the statement as a threat to kill hostages if Israeli troops were nearby, with the killings of the six as a gruesome illustration of that intent.

Netanyahu is under some of the strongest public pressure in months to strike a deal. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis flooded the streets of communities across Israel on Sunday, after the killings of the six were disclosed, and organizers have called for large demonstrations to continue nightly.

Protesting crowds chant slogans denouncing the prime minister as morally responsible for the hostage killings, and some wave signs depicting him with blood on his hands. But many among Netanyahu’s loyal base of supporters believe his commitment to an unrelenting military campaign is the best way to confront Hamas, ensure Israel’s safety and perhaps ultimately to free the hostages.

Illustrating the split over how to move forward, areas of the country where Netanyahu’s support is high largely declined to take part in a general strike called Monday by the country’s biggest labor federation.

While Netanyahu still has the fealty of most of his Cabinet, including the far-right figures who insist on continuing an all-out war, the country’s security establishment — notably his defense minister, Yoav Gallant — has publicly questioned his negotiating stance, accusing him in essence of searching for excuses to spurn a deal.

The prime minister’s latest show of defiance over the border strip also drew scorching editorial commentary.

“The Philadelphi route will wind up a highway paved with the hostages’ bodies,” analyst Zvi Bar’el wrote in the left-leaning Haaretz daily.

Netanyahu is well aware, though, that many Israelis derive a visceral satisfaction from the military hunting down the perpetrators of heinous acts in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Almost everyone here remembers the militants’ killing of a father of two named Gil Taasa, in the community of Netiv Haasara, one of many Israeli villages attacked that day. An assailant tossed a grenade into a shelter, killing him as he tried to shield his two young sons.

Widely viewed video showed the aftermath: the two bloodied boys cowering in shock in their living room as the attacker casually took a bottle of cola from the family’s refrigerator.

On Tuesday, the army said the man in the video, identified as Ahmed Fozi Wadia, a Hamas commander, had been killed in an airstrike in Gaza City along with seven other militants.

A military decision on when to carry out such strikes commonly comes only at the last moment even when they are planned well in advance, and normally depends on many factors. But however coincidental, the reported timing struck some as symbolic: Saturday, the day the hostages’ bodies were discovered.

Times staff writers King and Wilkinson reported from Tel Aviv and Washington, respectively.

It’s back to school time on Capitol Hill.

But not really until next week.

What?

Even though millions of kids returned to school just after Labor Day, the end of August, or, in some cases, even earlier in August, Congress still isn’t in session yet for the fall term.

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That comes on Monday, September 9. That’s when the House and Senate come back for legislative action for the first time in more than a month. The Senate last voted on August 1. The House was supposed to be in session until then as well. But the House shaved an entire week off its schedule in July, abandoning Washington a week earlier.

But things around the Capitol are starting to return to normal.

And yours truly – along with some members of the Congressional press corps – began filtering back into the Capitol this week.

My mother taught second grade for decades in Ohio. And she would usually return to school for a few days in late August for meetings and to prepare her room for the new school year.

So, some Congressional aides, the administrative staff and some reporters came back to the Capitol this week to “prepare their rooms” for the new school year.

But the analogies of Congress returning to session just like students filing back into the classroom is imperfect. This isn’t the start of a new Congress. People don’t have new teachers and new lockers. There aren’t new kids from other schools. The promise and energy of opportunity associated with a new year doesn’t permeate the air. Everything is pretty much the same as it was on Capitol Hill in September as it was in July. The “true” start of the “school year” comes at noon on January 3, 2025 when they swear-in the 119th Congress. That’s when new people appear. There are new chairmen and chairwomen of committees. Some lawmakers get new offices. The Capitol usually throbs with optimism.

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The only thing students and Members of Congress have in common at this time of year is the desire to get out of school. That universal yearning is common year round among students and lawmakers. Everyone wants to get out. Be free. Be on recess.

Perhaps it’s only appropriate that they call a Congressional break “recess.” However, some optics-conscious lawmakers frequently refer to such respites as the more dignified and anodyne “district work period.”

Can you imagine students referring to anything after 7th period as “the homework period?” The “Algebra II Augmentation?” How about the “Earth Science Addendum?”

If there’s any comparison to be found between American students and their congressional representatives, it’s the shared yearning for their so-called summer “recess.” (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Pray tell, what would college students call spring break in Panama City? “Sprint Semester By the Sea.” Perhaps “A Guide To Local Open Container Laws.” Maybe “A Survey of Legal Systems in the Caribbean.”

But back to Congress.

It’s an election year. And lawmakers utterly can’t wait to get out of here – even though they haven’t really been here all summer.

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The legislative traffic in Congress was light all year. The assassination attempt of former President Trump and the backroom struggle among Democrats to convince President Biden to step aside consumed the bulk of everyone’s attention this summer. The last major bills Congress tackled came in April. Congress finally approved a set of bills to fund the government – which were due last October. And Congress greenlighted assistance to Israel and Ukraine. Other than that, Congress didn’t have a lot to do other than to get through the conventions. Now it’s on to the election where both the House and Senate are divided by a razor’s edge. The same with the Presidential election. So there’s not a lot to do on Capitol Hill. And lawmakers who are retiring or lost their primaries are more than happy to skip out of Washington early.

So this is hardly “back to school.” In Congressional terms, the fall is often reminiscent of what students encounter in the spring. It’s getting hot out. The mind wanders. Teachers struggle to keep everyone focused. Everyone is looking forward to summer break. It’s a little like the seasons are reversed in Congress.

Another apt comparison: Congress, like school, doesn’t let out until its delegates have completed their coursework – which, on Captiol Hill, equates to funding the government. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The House is slated to meet next week for four days. Then four days the week of September 15. And finally, five days the week of August 22. That’s it until Tuesday, November 12. But there is even chatter that the House could (I’ll underscore could) give back the final week of September – if Congress has funded the government and there’s no chance of a shutdown on October 1. That’s when the government’s new fiscal year begins.

Yes, like school, Congress must complete its work before recess. But sometimes Congress doesn’t meet the deadline and needs a remedial course. “Summer school.” Only that’s “fall and winter school” in the eyes of Congress. Or even “spring school.” Remember, it took Congress until this past April to fully fund the government last time. They burned through three seasons alone right there. It’s not quite clear what the principal would have done with students as delinquent as this Congress finishing its work.

But like students, Congress has similar motivations. Anything to get home. Go to the beach. Take a break. Or, in this case, campaign.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHAT A ‘YACHT ROCK’ SUMMER LOOKS LIKE ON CAPITOL HILL

House Republicans are struggling with fundraising. Democrats are on the charge after the switch out with Vice President Harris. Both parties know the House will hinge on a handful of seats. And it’s likely that whichever party captures the White House will dictate the party in control of the House in 2025.

So both sides have equal motivation.

It’s similar in the Senate – although it’s a tougher challenge for the Democrats to maintain their narrow 51-49 majority. West Virginia is likely gone after the retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., who caucuses with the Democrats. And Democrats must hold swing seats in red states like Ohio and Montana. That’s to say nothing of maintaining seats in battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

So school is back for now. And it doesn’t even matter if Congress hits the books between now and the end of the term. A big test is coming up. The voters will deliver quite the education to lawmakers on election day.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an abortion-related appeal from Oklahoma, ruling the Biden administration could cut off funding for family planning programs that do not offer pregnant patients “factual information” on all of their options, including abortion.

In a one-line order, the justices turned down Oklahoma’s appeal over dissents by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch.

The state’s attorneys argued that Oklahoma opposed all abortions and should not be required to refer women for abortions.

In defense of the long-standing federal guidelines, the Biden administration said these programs are required to do nothing more than give patients “the telephone number of a third-party hotline” that can provide information on prenatal care, adoptions or abortion.

In early August, Oklahoma’s attorneys lodged an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court . They were seeking to restore a grant of $4.5 million, asserting the state’s authority to enforce its ban on all abortions.

Two years ago, when the court overturned the right to abortion in the Dobbs case, the justices in the 5-4 majority said they were returning the abortion issue to the states.

Oklahoma officials told the court they were “exercising that right. … The people’s elected representatives in Oklahoma have prohibited abortion except to preserve a woman’s life, and they have made it illegal to advise a woman to obtain an abortion.”

At issue was a federal program that since 1970 has provided grants to states for family planning programs.

Congress has said these “Title X” grants may not be used “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”

In 2004, Congress adopted the Weldon Amendment, which said the government may not discriminate against hospitals, insurers or other healthcare programs that refuse to pay for or provide referrals for abortion. Oklahoma cited both laws in its appeal.

But under Democratic administrations, federal officials have required states and their grant programs to offer patients “neutral, factual information and non-directive counseling” about their options, including prenatal care, adoption and abortion.

Oklahoma agreed at first to comply with these rules, but switched course last year and refused to provide patients with a hotline number where the patients could obtain more information if they chose to do so. At that point, the Department of Health and Human Services canceled the state’s small grant.

Oklahoma sued and lost before a federal judge and the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Those judges ruled for the Biden administration and said the state grant recipients were not being asked to provide referrals for abortion. The “mere act of sharing the national call-in number” would not “constitute a referral for the purpose of facilitating an abortion,” the appeals court said in a 2-1 decision.

The state’s attorneys sought an order that would restore their grant.

Solicitor Gen. Elizabeth Prelogar urged the court to turn down the appeal. Oklahoma has refused “to comply with the agreed-upon conditions, which are currently in effect as to every other Title X grantee in the nation,” she said.

Tennessee, Ohio and 10 other Republican-led states also sued to challenge the administration’s rules for Title X grants, but none of them have prevailed in the lower courts.