Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal intensifies fighting in Gaza

The standoff continues as international pressure mounts on both sides. Egypt’s foreign minister on Monday urged Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire plan. “Initial statements from Hamas indicate that it has positively accepted the compromise proposal, and we are awaiting Israel’s response,” Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters.

The proposal, which the White House has called the Israeli offer, has divided public opinion in Israel, where more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv last weekend in support of the deal and demanded that the Israeli government accept it in order to speed up the release of hostages in Gaza.

Netanyahu said in a separate statement on Monday that he was “working in countless ways to bring back our hostages,” adding, “I constantly think about them, their families, and their suffering.” But he stressed that “the destruction of Hamas” remains his primary goal.

The Israeli military confirmed on Monday that four more hostages were killed in Hamas custody several months ago. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagar said in a briefing on Monday that the four were “killed together during our operation against Hamas in the area of ​​Khan Younis.” The IDF notified the families on Monday.

The news has increased pressure on Netanyahu to reach a deal that would allow the remaining hostages to be brought back home.

“Chaim [Peri, 80]Yoram [Metzger, 80]Amiram [Cooper, 84]and nadaav [Popplewell, 51] Some of those who were kidnapped alive were with other hostages who were returned in a previous deal – and they should have been returned alive to their country and their families!” Hostage and Missing Families Forum A statement said.

The ceasefire proposal has already split his fragile war cabinet, with far-right members of the coalition threatening to resign and bring down the government if the deal is accepted.

Ultranationalist minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday described the proposal as “dangerous” and said it would “humiliate the State of Israel.” He reiterated that if it was accepted he and others would step down and “work to replace the failed leadership with new leadership”.

However, opposition leader Yair Lapid has said that if Netanyahu’s government accepts the deal, he will provide support to save it from collapse.

“The Israeli government should agree to Netanyahu’s proposal and send a delegation to Cairo today to finalise the details,” he said. “I reiterate my offer to give Netanyahu a political safety net to complete the deal.”

Netanyahu has also accused the United States of presenting only a “partial” view of the ceasefire plan.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that there were no “flaws” in the proposal. “We are confident that [Biden’s speech] “This proposal accurately reflects that proposal — a proposal we worked on with the Israelis, so I don’t see any flaws in it,” he said.

The White House proposal includes a six-week pause in fighting, during which hostages taken from Israel during Hamas’s attack on October 7 would be released in a phased manner in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. There would also be a significant increase in the number of aid shipments allowed into the Gaza Strip, where aid organizations have warned that a humanitarian crisis is underway.

However, the main point of contention for this and previous proposals is how and when the war will officially end. Israel insists on the complete destruction of Hamas. Hamas says it wants a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who is Netanyahu’s rival in his own party, spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday night and said Israel envisions creating an alternative to Hamas to run Gaza. “Creating a government alternative to Hamas would help bring them back home,” Galant said in a statement released by the Defense Ministry.

He told Blinken that the security establishment is promoting measures to end Hamas’ role as the ruling and military authority in Gaza and enable the establishment of an alternative power that would overthrow Hamas rule and press for the return of hostages.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which aids Palestinian refugees, said on Monday that more than 1 million Palestinians have fled Rafah since the Israeli ground operation began last month and most of them are sheltering in the ruins of the town of Khan Younis. “The conditions are unimaginable,” the agency said on X. The UN also said on Monday that more than half of the total buildings in Gaza – some 137,297 structures – have been destroyed or damaged in the war so far.

A group of UN experts is calling on more countries to formally recognise the State of Palestine. “This recognition is an important acknowledgement of the rights of the Palestinian people and their struggle and suffering for freedom and independence,” the experts said in a joint statement on Monday. The signatories also include Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. The letter follows recognition by Spain, Ireland and Norway in recent weeks.

The Israeli army and fire and rescue services are fighting fires in northern Israel caused by rockets fired from Lebanon. The fire has spread amid intense heat in the region. The Israel Defense Forces said on Friday that there was “no threat to any human life” due to the fire. Some Israeli politicians, including opposition leader Yair Lapid, said the fire was proof that the current government was mismanaging national affairs.

Maldives to ban Israeli passport holders from entering the countryThe president’s office made the announcement following a cabinet recommendation. The president will appoint a special envoy “to assess Palestinian needs” and launch a fundraising campaign to “assist our brothers and sisters in Palestine” with the help of UNRWA.

The IDF said it had identified the body of 35-year-old paramedic Dolev Yehud, who left his home on 7 October “in an attempt to save lives”.” His body was found in Kibbutz Nir Oz and his family was notified after medical officials identified him. Hagar also confirmed the deaths of four hostages he had announced had been killed several months earlier in the Khan Younis area. The prime minister’s office said the number of hostages still held in Gaza was put at 124, of whom at least 39 were presumed dead. The figure includes four Israelis held hostage for a decade: two of them are soldiers confirmed dead and two others are civilians whose fate is unknown.

At least 20 people were killed in three attacks overnight in the central and southern parts of the Gaza StripGaza civil defense spokesman said. The IDF said on Monday it was continuing operations in Rafah and the central Gaza Strip.

At least 36,479 people have been killed and 82,777 wounded in Gaza since the war began. According To the Gaza Ministry of HealthWhich does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says most of the dead were women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s October 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 293 soldiers have been killed since its military operation in Gaza began.

Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Hazem Balousha, Shira Rubin, Lior Soroka and Alan Rome contributed to this report.