CAIRO– Hamas said on Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt stepped up efforts to negotiate a deal to end the months-long war and avert a planned Israeli ground offensive on the southern city of Rafah.
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya did not give details about Israel’s offer but said it was in response to a Hamas proposal two weeks ago. Negotiations earlier this month centered on a proposed six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 civilian hostages and patients in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
A separate Hamas statement said leaders of the three main militant groups active in Gaza discussed attempts to end the war. He did not mention the Israeli proposal.
The statements came hours after an Egyptian delegation ended a visit to Israel, where it discussed a “new vision” for an extended ceasefire in Gaza, according to an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the developments.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel’s proposal was directly related to the visit.
Discussions between Egyptian and Israeli officials focused on the first phase of a plan that would include a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza “with minimum restrictions”. ”, said the Egyptian official.
Mediators are working on a compromise that will meet most of the main demands of both sides, which could pave the way for continued negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement to end the war, the official said.
Hamas has said it will not give up on demands for a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops. Israel has rejected both and said it will continue military operations until Hamas is defeated and that it will maintain a security presence in Gaza.
There is growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire agreement and prevent an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have sought refuge.
Israel has insisted for months that it plans a ground offensive in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where it says many remaining Hamas militants remain, despite calls for containment, including from Israel’s staunchest ally, the United States.
Egypt warned that an offensive in Rafah could have “catastrophic consequences” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where famine is feared, and on regional peace and security.
The Israeli military has concentrated dozens of tanks and armored vehicles in southern Israel, near Rafah, and attacked parts of the city in almost daily airstrikes.
On Saturday morning, an airstrike hit a house in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, killing a man, his wife and their children, ages 12, 10 and 8, according to records from the Abu Yousef al-Hospital morgue. Najjar. A neighbor’s 4-month-old girl was also killed.
Ahmed Omar rushed with other neighbors after the 1:30 a.m. attack to look for survivors, but said they only found bodies and body parts.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said.
An Israeli airstrike on Saturday on a building in Rafah killed seven people, including six members of the Ashour family, according to the morgue.
Five people were killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza overnight when an Israeli strike hit a house, according to officials at the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the military said. He said the men opened fire on troops stationed at the Salem checkpoint, near the city of Jenin.
Violence in the West Bank has increased since the war. The Ramallah-based Ministry of Health says 491 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.
Washington has been critical of Israeli policies in the West Bank. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is expected in Israel on Tuesday, recently ruled that an army unit committed rights abuses in the country before the war in Gaza.
But Blinken said in an undated letter to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson obtained by The Associated Press on Friday that he is delaying the decision to block aid to the unit to give Israel more time to correct mistakes. Blinken emphasized that overall U.S. military support for Israel’s defense would not be affected.
The US has also built a pier to deliver aid to Gaza through a new port. The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that it would be operational in early May.
The BBC reported that the UK government was considering sending troops to drive the trucks that would transport aid ashore, citing unnamed government sources. British authorities declined to comment.
Another relief effort, a three-ship flotilla from Turkey, was prevented from sailing, organizers said.
Student protests against the war and its effects on Palestinians are growing on US college campuses, while demonstrations continue in many countries.
Hamas sparked the war by attacking southern Israel on October 7, with militants killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants still hold about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 other people.
Hamas on Saturday released a video showing hostages Keith Siegel and Omri Miran. It was unclear when the video was taken. Both referred to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which began on Monday. They called on the Israeli government to reach an agreement with Hamas. They almost certainly spoke under duress.
More than 34,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s offensive, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza, around two-thirds of them children and women. Their count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry said 32 dead people were taken to local hospitals in the past 24 hours.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of setting up in residential areas. Israel has reported at least 260 soldiers killed since ground operations began.
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David Rising reported from Bangkok. Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem, Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.
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