As the war in Gaza rages on, Palestinian militant group Hamas has reportedly accepted a ceasefire proposal. A source from the group told news agency AFP on Monday that it has accepted the new plan without any amendments.
Speaking to AFP, Palestinian officials have shared that the new ceasefire proposal would result in a 60-day pause. During this pause, at least 10 living Israeli hostages will be released, along with a number of bodies.
Israel is yet to respond to the deal. As per Palestinian officials, AFP reported that the mediators are expected to announce the formal agreement and set the date for the resumption of truce talks.
An Islamic Jihad source told AFP that the “the remaining captives would be released in a second phase”, with negotiations for a broader settlement to follow.
They added that “all factions are supportive” of the Egyptian and Qatari proposal.
Moments before this development, US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social and stated that the only way hostages would be free was with the destruction of Hamas.
“We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be”, wrote Trump.
Also Read | ‘Ended 6 wars in 6 months’: Trump’s big claim as he calls for destruction of Hamas
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “will agree to an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.
As per the Israeli defence forces, of the 251 hostages taken during the October 2023 attack by Hamas, 49 are still in Gaza, of which 27 are feared dead.
Gaza situation ‘beyond imagination’
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty visited the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Monday said that the mediator countries were trying to heir best to reach a deal as soon as possible.
As the humanitarian crisis deepens for the over two million people living in the Gaza Strip, where UN agencies and aid groups have warned of famine, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching an agreement.
“The current situation on the ground is beyond imagination,” he said.
Israel accused of ‘deliberate’ starvation
As the war rages on, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 11 people across the territory on Monday, including six killed by Israeli fire in the south.
However, the Israeli military said it was “not aware of any casualties as a result of IDF fire” in the southern areas of the Palestinian territory.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups continue to accuse Israel of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and “systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life”.
Israel, however, continues to reject the claims of deliberate starvation.
The Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023 in response to the Palestinian group’s terror attack in southern Israel. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people and the kidnapping of 251 hostages.
Meanwhile, Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 62,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and women and children.
