Egypt has introduced a fresh proposal to revive the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, aiming to bring an end to the latest round of fighting.
The proposal includes a hostage release by Hamas, with five living hostages, including an American-Israeli, being freed in return for Israel allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and agreeing to a weekslong pause in hostilities.
Israel, in turn, would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas has reportedly responded positively to the proposal, although details were not immediately disclosed.
Both sides had previously been at a standstill after Israel broke the ceasefire last week, launching airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians.
This followed Hamas’s rejection of Israeli-backed proposals to alter the existing ceasefire terms to allow the release of additional hostages.
Hamas has stated that it will only free the remaining hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Both sides are engaged in closed-door discussions, and the full details of the proposal remain under wraps as the parties negotiate.
Earlier today, a deadly Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has left at least two people dead, including senior Hamas official Ismail Barhoum and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials and Hamas representatives.
The airstrike took place on Sunday evening, with Barhoum, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, confirmed as the target of the attack.
The 75-year-old was receiving treatment at the hospital when the strike occurred.
Hamas condemned the strike, calling it a violation of international law and accusing Israel of using hospitals as targets
"We condemn this latest crime, which adds to the occupation’s long record of terrorism," a Hamas spokesperson said in a statement.
The Israeli military, however, confirmed that Barhoum was the target of the airstrike.
According to Israel's Defence Minister, the attack was part of an extensive intelligence-gathering process. The Israeli military defended the strike, claiming that Hamas had used civilian infrastructure, including the hospital, to plan and execute attacks.
The bombing left a trail of destruction in the hospital. Local doctors reported spending hours extinguishing fires caused by the blast.
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a trauma surgeon at the hospital, confirmed that the 16-year-old boy killed was a patient he had operated on just days before the attack.
Sidhwa condemned the targeting of the hospital, describing the destruction as “completely insane.”
This airstrike is the latest in a series of Israeli attacks on Hamas leaders in Gaza, which have escalated following the resumption of military operations in the region. Since the latest wave of operations, Israel has killed multiple Hamas political bureau members.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the total death toll in the region since the war began has surpassed 50,000, a figure many experts believe is an undercount.
Israel has killed more than 700 Palestinians since unilaterally ending the ceasefire in Gaza.
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