US President Joe Biden is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in San Francisco in November for “constructive” talks, the White House said Tuesday.

The comments came days after China’s foreign minister made a rare visit to Washington to pave the way for Xi to meet Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

China has not yet confirmed that Xi will come.

“We’re aiming to have a constructive conversation, meeting between the leaders in San Francisco in November,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the long-awaited talks.

“That’s what’s going to happen next month in November. We’re having a constructive conversation in San Francisco. I think I just confirmed it,” she added.

A senior US administration official told AFP: “There is an agreement in principle to meet in San Francisco in November. We are still working through important details needed to finalize those plans.”

Biden and Xi have had no contact since a meeting in Bali in November 2022.

Relations have been tense for years between the world’s top two economies as they vie for influence in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and as Beijing boosts cooperation with Russia in a bid to reduce US dominance.

After Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi met senior US officials last week, the White House said that the two sides were “working together towards a meeting.”

But the Chinese foreign minister said on Saturday that the road to talks was still “not smooth.”

Wang told a Washington event hosted by the Aspen Strategy Group that “both sides hope to stabilize and improve bilateral relations as soon as possible and agreed to work together toward a San Francisco summit between the two heads of state,” state news agency Xinhua reported.

“The path to San Francisco is not smooth and cannot be left to ‘autopilot’,” Wang warned, according to Xinhua.

The two sides must “eliminate interference, overcome obstacles, enhance consensus and accumulate results,” he said.

The Israel Defence Forces on Tuesday claimed that it killed the commander of Hamas’s Central Jabaliya Battalion, Ibrahim Biari, in a strike on the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, CNN reported.

However, Hamas denied the presence of one of its leaders in the camp, spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

IDF noted that Biari was one of the leaders responsible for sending ‘Nukbha’ terrorist operatives to Israel to conduct a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, according to a CNN report.

Earlier, the IDF spokesperson Lt Colonel Richard Hecht said that the IDF was targeting “a very senior Hamas commander” in the area around the camp.

In a statement, the IDF said, “A short while ago, IDF fighter jets, acting on ISA intelligence, killed Ibrahim Biari, the Commander of Hamas’ Central Jabaliya Battalion. Biari was one of the leaders responsible for sending ‘Nukbha’ terrorist operatives to Israel to carry out the murderous terror attack on October 7th. Numerous Hamas terrorists were hit in the strike.”

The IDF said Ibrahim Biari oversaw all military operations in the northern Gaza Strip since it started its ground operation. He was also involved in multiple attacks on Israel going back decades. The IDF said it had carried out a wide-scale strike on terrorists and terror infrastructure belonging to the Central Jabalya Battalion, according to CNN report.

IDF in its strike damaged Hamas’ command and control and its ability to direct military activity against IDF soldiers in Gaza. It said that a “large number of terrorists” were killed in the strike, which resulted in the collapse of the underground infrastructure that was being used by Hamas.

Taking to X, the IDF said, “Over the past day, IDF troops operated in a Hamas terrorist stronghold in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. The stronghold was used for training and execution of terrorism activities. During the ground activity, the troops eliminated approximately 50 terrorists, as well as destroyed entrances to terrorist tunnels and weapons.”

At least 50 people were killed in the strike and subsequent collapse, The Times of Israel reported, citing Palestinian reports. The IDF reiterated its call on the residents of the area to move south for their safety, according to the report.

On Tuesday, Israel Defence Forces in a statement on X said another barrage of rockets just launched at Tel Aviv and central Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the fighting in the Gaza Strip is becoming “more complex” as soldiers operate deeper into the region, The Times of Israel reported.

He said, “This is complex hand-to-hand combat. In the fierce battles that took place today, we lost troops.” Hagari said two Israeli soldiers were killed on Tuesday as troops worked to capture a Hamas stronghold in Jabaliya, according to The Times of Israel report.

Speaking on an intercepted missile and several drones launched from Yemen towards Israel on Tuesday, he said, “There are many elements in the region that are under Iranian orders such as the Houthis.” He noted that they try to challenge Israel and divert their attention away from the war in Gaza.

Hagari further said, “We remain focused on the fighting in Gaza.” He said that the IDF “will know how to respond, at the time and place of our choosing.”

The body of an intermediate student was found hanging at his home in Telangana’s Rangareddy district on Tuesday morning in a suspected case of suicide, police said.

Officials at the Meerpet Police Station said the student had resorted to the extreme step allegedly as he was unable to bear torture from the college authorities.

Sub-Inspector, Sudhakar at Meerpet Police Station said, “An intermediate college student named Vaibhav was found hanging at his home. The incident happened this morning. He is suspected to have committed suicide because he could not bear the torture from the college authorities.”

He said that the body of the student will be sent for a postmortem.

A letter allegedly written by the student states that the student was being pressurised by college authorities especially the Principal, Vice Principal and Junior Lecturer to get more marks.

In the letter, the student further urges his parents not to send his brother to the same college and appealed to college authorities not to put pressure on students.

A case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

Earlier this month, a fourth-year student, from Telangana’s Medak district was found hanging in the Indian Institute of Technology hostel room in West Bengal’s Kharaghpur.