US says Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan but Hamas cool to it

Israel has agreed to a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, and Hamas said it was reviewing the plan though its terms did not meet the group's demands.

As a US-backed system for distributing food aid in the shattered enclave expanded, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Netanyahu's office did not confirm the reports, but White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington Israel had signed off on the proposal.

She did not detail its contents. A source briefed on the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initial phase of the proposed deal would include a 60-day ceasefire and the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was studying the proposal, and senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group was discussing it.

However, Abu Zuhri said its terms echoed Israel's position and do not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded.

Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months.

Israel has insisted Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war.

Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and said Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private group backed by the US and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site on Thursday.

Heavily criticised by the UN and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group's operation began this week in Gaza, where the UN has said 2-million people are at risk of famine after Israel's 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave.

The aid launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.

The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8-million meals and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks.

Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday Washington was close to “sending out a new term sheet” about a ceasefire to the two sides in the conflict that has raged since October 2023.

“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of the conflict,” Witkoff said then.

Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries that have normally been reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7 2023, that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials said, and left the enclave in ruins.

Reuters