Gaza: Hamas says it is consulting other groups on ceasefire plan
Local journalists reported hearing explosions and gunfire as Israeli helicopter gunships and artillery struck the southern Khan Younis area on Friday morning.Overnight, at least 15 Palestinians were killed in strikes on two tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, the local Nasser hospital said.The Israeli military has not yet commented on the strikes, but it did say its forces were "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".
In a statement issued early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing with the leaders of other Palestinian factions the ceasefire proposal that it had received from regional mediators Qatar and Egypt.Hamas said it would deliver a "final decision" to the mediators once the consultations had ended and then announce it officially.The proposal is believed to include the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 other hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Fifty hostages are still being held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.One of Hamas's key demands is the resumption of unrestricted food and medical aid into Gaza, and the proposal reportedly says sufficient quantities would enter the territory immediately with the involvement of the United Nations and Red Cross.It is said the plan would also include a phased Israeli military withdrawal from parts of Gaza.Above all, Hamas wants a guarantee that Israeli air and ground operations will not resume after the end of the 60-day ceasefire.The proposal is believed to say that negotiations on an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages would begin on day one.Donald Trump told reporters early on Friday that he expected to know "over the next 24 hours" whether the proposals would be accepted by Hamas.The hope then would be the resumption of formal, indirect, talks ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington next week."We sure hope it's a done deal, but I think it's all going to be what Hamas is willing to accept," US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 TV on Thursday."One thing is clear: The president wants it to be over. The prime minister wants it to be over. The American people, the Israeli people, want it to be over."Netanyahu meanwhile promised to secure the release of all the remaining hostages during a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near the Israel-Gaza border where a total of 76 residents were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war."I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them," he said. "We will bring them all back."He did not, however, commit to ending the war. He has insisted that will not happen until the hostages are freed and Hamas's military and governing capabilities are destroyed.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 57,130 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
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