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Hamas mulls Gaza ceasefire proposal
Demands end to war, Israeli pullout
July 02, 2025 | 07:02 PM
Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Wednesday it was discussing proposals for a Gaza ceasefire received from mediators, after US President Donald Trump said Israel backed a 60-day ceasefire in the war-ravaged territory.Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two mn people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations.The civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 33 people Wednesday.
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Director of Gaza hospital killed
Palestinian officials and witnesses said Wednesday that an Israeli strike killed the director of the Indonesian Hospital, a key clinic in the north of war-ravaged Gaza. Doctor Marwan al-Sultan was killed in his apartment in Gaza City along with his wife, daughters and son-in-law, a relative who said he found them, Ahmed al-Sultan, said. Gaza's civil defence agency said seven people were killed in the strike, including Sultan, his wife and at least three of his children.____________________________________________________
Trump on Tuesday urged Hamas to accept a 60-day ceasefire, saying Israel had agreed to finalise such a deal.Hamas said in a statement Wednesday it was "conducting national consultations to discuss" the proposals sent by mediators.In a statement, the Palestinian 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 Gaza.A source close to Hamas said its leaders were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response.Trump is due to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he saw "some positive signs" in the process."We are serious in our will to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire," he said. "Our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible." He said earlier on X that any chance for a deal that would lead to hostages being freed in Gaza "must not be missed".A Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations told AFP "there are no fundamental changes in the new proposal" under discussion compared to previous terms presented by the US.The source said the new proposal "includes a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip, in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees".In southern Gaza, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five members of the same family were killed in an Israeli air strike on Wednesday that hit a tent housing displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area.Israel's military campaign has killed at least 57,012 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.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 right-wing ruling coalition.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.
July 02, 2025 | 07:02 PM