Earlier on Saturday, Hamas said it had received Israel’s official response to its latest ceasefire proposal in Egyptian- and Qatari-mediated negotiations and will study it before submitting its reply.
On Thursday, the United States and 17 other countries appealed to Hamas to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis.
Hamas wants to parlay any deal into a permanent end to the fighting, short of a formal peace, as the militant group is sworn to Israel’s destruction. Israel plans to pursue the war until Hamas’s governing and military capacities are dismantled.
More than 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza captivity, including women and children.
As Hamas issued a new video showing two of the hostages pleading for their release and sending love to their families, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv in protest, demanding that the government do more to secure their release.
Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct 7, according to Israeli tallies, in the deadliest single attack in Israel’s history. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
