Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: HAMAS has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official told Reuters on August 18.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the group’s approval on Facebook. Hamas said other Palestinian factions too informed mediators of their approval.
There was no Israeli response to the Hamas proposal, but an Israeli official confirmed it was received. Egypt and Qatar have been mediating between the sides with U.S. support. Israel’s plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have stirred alarm abroad and at home, where tens of thousands of Israelis on August 17 held some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining 50 hostages held in Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials believe 20 are alive.
Thousands of Palestinians fearing an imminent Israeli ground offensive have left their homes in eastern areas of Gaza City, now under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and south in the shattered territory.
In an apparent show of force on August 17, Israeli tanks advanced into the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, according to witnesses who counted the presence of at least nine tanks and bulldozers.
Israel’s Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, said his country was at a turning point in the Gaza war, “with its focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City,” the military spokesman said in a statement.
In a video issued by his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I, like you, hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under immense pressure.”