Hamas studies new Gaza Strip ceasefire proposal
Trump said on Tuesday Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after a meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials.
In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said it was studying new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar but that it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump's announcement.
"There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a 'Hamastan'. We're not going back to that. It's over," Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline.
The two sides' statements reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached.
"I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives," Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone.
Others questioned whether Trump's statements would deliver long-term peace.
"We hope he is serious like he was serious during the Israeli-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped," said Adnan Al-Assar, a resident of Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.
There is growing public pressure on Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move opposed by hardline members of his religious-nationalist ruling coalition.
At the same time, US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran and ceasefire agreed on in last month's 12-day Israel-Iran air war have put pressure on Hamas, which is aligned with Iran.
Israeli leaders believe that, with Iran weakened, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was "serious in our will" to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire.
"There are some positive signs. I don't want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible," he said while visiting Estonia.
Of 50 hostages held by Hamas, about 20 are believed to be still alive.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if any cabinet members opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government.
A source close to Hamas said its leaders were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes had killed at least 139 Palestinians in northern and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Israeli military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday.
Among those killed was Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, in an air strike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics said.
The Israeli military said it had targeted a "key terrorist" from Hamas in the Gaza City area.
It said it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties and that the military regretted any harm to "uninvolved individuals" and takes steps to minimise such harm.
Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023 and killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost all the 2.3 million population and caused a humanitarian crisis.
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