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JERUSALEM: Mediators were awaiting an Israeli response Tuesday to a fresh Gaza ceasefire plan, a day after Hamas accepted the proposal and signaled its readiness for a new round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.
The foes 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 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 war.
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 that triggered the war, 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 conquer Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, fanning fears the new offensive will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory.
Israel’s far-right 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.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that 27 people were killed Tuesday by Israeli strikes and fire across the territory.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the situation was “very dangerous and unbearable” in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods 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.”
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.
Sabra resident Hussein Al-Dairi, 44, said “tanks are firing shells and mortars, and drones are firing bullets and missiles” in the neighborhood.
“We heard on the news that Hamas had agreed to a truce, but the occupation is escalating the war against us, the civilians,” he added.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.