A latest Gaza ceasefire proposal approved by Hamas is “almost identical” to that put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry has said.
The proposal would see a 60-day truce and 28 hostages – including 10 who are still alive – returned to Israel 22 months after the 7 October 2023 attacks which triggered the war in Gaza.
It would also see the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, a Hamas official has said.
Israel’s response to the proposal is expected in the coming two days, a Palestinian source said.
Meanwhile, Israeli broadcaster Kan, citing Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, said Israel was demanding the release of all 50 hostages.
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Qatar has been working with Egypt to mediate between the warring factions and broker a US-backed ceasefire deal for Gaza, where, according the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the past 22 months.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and members of Palestinian armed groups.
The war has left swathes of the besieged enclave razed to the ground, while Gaza’s population is increasingly facing famine.
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Gaza hospitals ‘overwhelmed with malnutrition cases’
There were 251 dead as a result of famine and malnutrition, including 108 children, according to the latest numbers from the Gaza health ministry.
Sky News reported on Monday that remaining hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed with malnutrition cases, as it pointed to how a nine-year-old child went from weighing 25kg to nine.
The war in Gaza came after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks in southern Israel, which saw 1,200 people killed and about 250 more taken hostage.
The latest ceasefire proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which currently control 75% of Gaza, and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave.
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Hamas has also requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees, two Egyptian security sources said.
Efforts to broker a deal that would suspend the violence in Gaza intensified after Israel announced plans to seize control of Gaza City, which is currently home to an estimated one million people.
The Israeli prime minister has said a final push is needed to “complete the defeat of Hamas” – and vowed to continue the war until all hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed.
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No signs of a ceasefire on the ground
Meanwhile, Israel’s military campaign in the besieged enclave showed no sign of abating as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials.
Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighbourhood on Gaza City’s outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing two women and a man, medics said.
Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling.
The Israeli military said it was checking the report.