Gaza: Hamas approves ceasefire proposal with Israel

Hamas says it has informed mediators that it has approved a proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal, which would include a 60-day truce.

At least eight people were killed in Israeli attacks on tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, and four more in an attack on a tent in Deir el-Balah, according to hospitals.

Israeli forces blew up houses in southern Gaza City, while heavy fire was reported in the Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, Al Jazeera correspondents said, bringing the death toll since dawn to 26.

UN human rights office says Israel is not doing enough to stop widespread starvation, as Gaza health ministry says three more Palestinians die from malnutrition.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 62,004 people and wounded 156,230, while 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, with more than 200 taken captive.

• Will Israel agree to a ceasefire?

Speculation is high across Israel that the return of the captives held in Gaza and a ceasefire, even a temporary one, may be imminent.

Israel has had some of the largest antiwar protests to date, as well as a national strike, with hundreds of thousands calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a deal that would bring the captives home and end the costly war.

However, whether Netanyahu will agree to the terms remains unclear.

The Israeli Knesset is currently on recess, meaning the prime minister doesn’t have to worry about seeking a majority for any action he takes. 

Nor does he have to worry – for now – about threats to collapse his coalition government from his partners in the far-right, meaning that, practically, he is freer than ever to capture the popular mood and strike a deal.

One option available to Netanyahu may be to agree initially to the ceasefire and take credit for returning the captives, before resuming the war once he feels that public pressure to halt it has receded.

However, none of the personal threats Netanyahu faces, which many suspect have prompted him to prolong the war, have gone away.

His corruption trial and the potential inquiry into his failings before the October 7 attack all remain.

Similarly, there is not even the beginning of a “day after” plan for Gaza or its war-battered population.

• Protesters block Tel Aviv highway, demand Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Channel 12 is reporting that protesters have blocked the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv to demand the return of captives and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Scenes broadcast by activists and media showed protesters holding a large banner that said:“Occupying Gaza means sacrificing the abductees and soldiers”.

Haaretz reported that activists calling for a captive deal blocked the Ayalon Highway for 15 minutes before police waiting at the scene removed them.

Seven demonstrators and a Haaretz photographer were threatened with fines for traffic violations, the paper said.

Relatives of freed captives also briefly blocked southbound traffic, calling for a deal to release those still held in Gaza and opposing Israel’s planned conquest of Gaza City, Walla reported.

“Their time is running out. A deal is on the table” and “Enough killing, enough bereavement, hostages above all,” the protesters chanted.

The action comes two days after a nationwide strike that blocked roads across Israel as demonstrators pushed for a ceasefire. (Al Jazeera)