GAZA CITY, Palestine: International mediators were awaiting an Israeli response on Tuesday to a new Gaza ceasefire plan, a day after Hamas accepted the proposal and signalled readiness for a new round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.
Israel and Hamas have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war resulting in two short truces and the releases of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but they have ultimately failed to broker a lasting ceasefire.
The efforts have been mediated by Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, with frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy aiming to break the deadlock.
Egypt said on Monday that it and Qatar had sent the new proposal to Israel, adding “the ball is now in its court”.
According to a report in Egyptian state-linked outlet Al-Qahera, the latest deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had “opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past”.
Hamas’s acceptance of the proposal comes as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad to end the bombardment campaign.
On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to call for the end of the war and a deal to free the remaining hostages still being held captive.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
The new proposal also comes after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to take over Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, fanning fears the new offensive will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has staunchly opposed ending the war, slammed the plan, warning of a “tragedy” if Netanyahu “gives in to Hamas”.
‘Unbearable’
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that 27 people were killed Tuesday by Israeli strikes and fire across the territory.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the situation was “very dangerous and unbearable” in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City, where he said “artillery shelling continues intermittently”.
The Israeli military declined to comment on specific troop movements, saying only that it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” and took “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
