Diplomatic efforts intensify for Gaza ceasefire

Diplomatic efforts intensified on Sunday to reach a long-sought truce and hostage-release deal in Gaza, as Hamas said it would travel to mediator Egypt to deliver its response after Israel’s latest proposal. The Israeli government has come under intense pressure from its global allies to reach a ceasefire, as well as from protesters within Israel demanding the release of hostages seized by militants during their Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Israel on Sunday carried out further airstrikes and shelling on the war-battered territory.

A delegation from Hamas will arrive in Egypt on Monday to deliver the group’s response to Israel’s new hostage and truce counterproposal, a senior Hamas official said.

Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire — a condition that Israel has rejected. However, the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel’s latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after hostages are released.

It is the first time in the nearly seven-month war that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said. A Hamas source close to the negotiations said the group “is open to discussing the new proposal positively.”

The source added that Hamas is “keen to reach an agreement that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the siege” in Gaza.