Israeli official says Gaza ceasefire proposal from Hamas is ‘workable'
An Israeli source familiar with ceasefire talks said Israel was studying the proposal for the Gaza Strip.
Hamas confirmed sending a response to mediators in an statement early on Thursday.
Israel said it was reviewing Hamas's response. A statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed receipt of the Hamas reply on Thursday but did not specify what it entailed.
The offer came a day after more than 100 charity and human rights groups said Israel's blockade and military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip towards starvation.
Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and the offensive launched in response to Hamas's attack on October 7 2023.
Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Europe to meet key leaders from the Middle East to discuss the latest ceasefire proposal and the release of hostages.
Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children.
Elsewhere, Palestinian health officials said on Thursday that two Palestinian teenage boys had been killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday night in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel's military said its forces fired at Palestinians throwing petrol bombs towards a major road, killing two near the town of Al-Khader.
Palestinian health officials named the teenagers killed as Ahmed Al-Salah, 15, and Mohammed Khaled Alian Issa, 17.
Violence has spiralled in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began. More than 955 Palestinians have been killed there by Israeli fire during that time, according to the United Nations, many during raids Israel says are to stamp out militancy.
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President Donald Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is
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Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza cease-fire shows how daunting that ambition is.
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Witkoff said the U.S. would 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home,' but U.S. officials did not answer questions about what those options could include. Advertisement When asked about next steps on Friday, Trump told reporters that Hamas didn't want to make a deal and said, 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.' Displaced Palestinians wait in front of a charity kitchen in the western Gaza City area, July 23, 2025. SAHER ALGHORRA/NYT Russia-Ukraine Status : War still going on. The backstory : Before he returned to office, Trump repeatedly said he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours — and even before he was sworn in as president. That didn't happen, and both sides remain far apart on reaching an agreement. Trump has become increasingly critical of President Vladimir Putin in recent months and is losing patience with his continued offensive in Ukraine. 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Rescuers clear the rubble after a Russian guided air bomb hit a city hospital in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 25, 2025. Yevhen Titov/Associated Press Iran Status : Open conflict ended for the moment. Many unanswered questions remain. Advertisement The backstory : Trump was able to broker a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Iran after the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran's nuclear program. But the status of Iran's nuclear program is another unanswered question for the Trump administration. While the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear capacities, the United States has still not struck an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. An Iranian diplomat said Wednesday that his country was ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only after Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust. Meanwhile, Iran has opened the door to a separate yet related negotiation track with Britain, France and Germany, three of the remaining members of a 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the United States from in his first term. Foreign ministers from the four countries met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss European threats to reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August. An Iranian worshipper holds up a placard as the others wave Iranian and Palestinian flags during an anti-Israeli and anti-US protest after their Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 25, 2025. Vahid Salemi/Associated Press Other conflicts While deals in some of the most pressing conflicts have remained elusive to Trump, he has helped to broker agreements in the months he's been back in office. Rwanda-Democratic Republic of Congo : In June, he invited leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the White House to sign an agreement seen as a major step toward peace after decades of conflict. The U.S.-brokered deal emphasizes the two neighboring countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and includes a commitment to end hostilities and backing of armed groups. The deal also helps the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region. Advertisement India-Pakistan : In May, when a series of military strikes brought longtime nuclear adversaries India and Pakistan closer to war, Trump's administration intervened. The nations agreed to stop fighting after the U.S.-led talks, and Trump said he would work to provide a 'solution' to the long-running dispute over the Indian-controlled Kashmir region. The cease-fire has held, but it's not clear what progress has been made on any long-term agreement. Last month, Trump had lunch at the White House with Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief. Syria-Irsael : Earlier this month, after Israel intervened in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups, Trump's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced a limited cease-fire agreement between Israel and Syria. Barrack, who's also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said he met in Paris on Thursday with representatives from both countries to discuss de-escalation. Barrack said on social media that 'we accomplished precisely that' and that both sides committed to continuing the effort. Israel's intervention, however, caught Trump off guard and stymied his administration's push to get both countries to reach a full normalization of diplomatic relations.
