Hamas said on Friday (October 3, 2025) it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signalled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details. 

Hamas reiterated its agreement to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats. 

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera on Friday (October 3, 2025) the group would not disarm before the Israeli occupation ends, adding the issues over Gaza’s future should be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework which Hamas will be part of.

The official added that Hamas will enter negotiations on all issues related to the group and its arms.

Read the full story below

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A man walks past graffiti of Shiri and Yarden Bibas and their sons, Ariel, left, and Kfir, right, who were taken captive by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel
| Photo Credit: AP

Israel braced on Thursday (February 20, 2025) for the return of the bodies of infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken by Hamas in their October 7, 2023 attack and among the most potent symbols of the trauma inflicted that day.

Palestinian militant groups said the bodies of the two boys and their mother Shiri Bibas, along with that of a fourth hostage, Oded Lifschitz, would be handed over on Thursday under the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached last month with the backing of the United States and the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief video statement that Thursday would be “a very difficult day for the state of Israel. An upsetting day, a day of grief.”

Kfir Bibas was nine months old when the Bibas family, including their father Yarden, was abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a string of communities near Gaza that was overrun by Hamas-led attackers from Gaza on October 7.

Killed in Israeli air strike

Hamas said in November 2023 that the boys and their mother had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, but the deaths were never confirmed by Israeli authorities and even at the last minute, some refused to accept they were dead.

“Shiri and the kids became a symbol,” said Yiftach Cohen, a resident of Nir Oz, which lost around a quarter of its inhabitants, either killed or kidnapped, during the October 7 assault. “I still hope that they will be alive.”

Yarden Bibas was returned in an earlier exchange of hostages for prisoners this month. But the family said this week their “journey is not over” until they received final confirmation of what happened to the boys and their mother.

The handover will be the first return of dead bodies during the current agreement and Israel is not expected to confirm their identities until full DNA checks have been completed.

Despite accusations on both sides of ceasefire breaches, the fragile agreement that took effect on January 19 has held up since the first in a series of exchanges of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from his far-right coalition allies for agreeing to the deal, which some in Israel feel rewards Hamas and leaves the militant group in place in Gaza.

But successive surveys have shown broad support among the public for the ceasefire, and thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to demand the government stick to the deal until all the remaining hostages are returned.

Israel launched its war in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas-led attack that killed some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, with 251 kidnapped. The Israeli military campaign has killed some 48,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say, and left densely populated Gaza largely in ruins.

Living hostages

Thursday’s handover of bodies will be followed by the return of six living hostages on Saturday, in exchange for hundreds more Palestinians, expected to be women and minors detained by Israeli forces in Gaza during the war.

Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the first phase of an agreement intended to open the way towards ending the war in Gaza.

So far 19 Israeli hostages have been released, as well as five Thais who were returned in an unscheduled handover.

Negotiations for a second phase, expected to cover the return of around 60 remaining hostages, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip to allow an end to the war, are expected to begin in the coming days.

Prospects for an agreement remain uncertain, however, with both sides far apart on issues including the future governance of Gaza, which Israel has said cannot be run by either Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

The issue has also been clouded by U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Palestinians to be resettled outside Gaza, a move critics say would amount to a war crime and ethnic cleansing, and for the enclave to be developed as a waterfront property under U.S. control.

Tel Aviv witnessed another day of hope filled with emotions on Saturday as four Israeli hostages who were held captive by Hamas reunited with their families in the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The four women – Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag (19) – waved, smiled, and gave a thumbs up as they arrived at the border.

“Welcome home Liri, Daniella, Karina and Naama,” the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said on X.

This is the moment

Welcome home Liri, Daniella, Karina and Naama. pic.twitter.com/1DAbWX9Ix4

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 25, 2025

They were held captive by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023, which killed at least 1200 people. The Lebanon-backed group released them after 477 days of captivity – in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners.

IDF also shared multiple videos and pictures of the women reuniting with their families.

Visuals showed the women running towards their family members and hugging them with tears of joy.

They’re in our hands now and we are not letting go

Welcome home, Daniella, Liri, Karina and Naama. pic.twitter.com/A1V9FcbQY6

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 25, 2025

Another video shows the moment when the released hostages’ families saw their loved ones finally coming back home.

The moment when tears of sadness turned into tears of joy as the released hostages’ families saw their loved ones finally coming back home pic.twitter.com/AvvByt9chZ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 25, 2025

Also Read | Gaza’s Youngest Hostage: Hamas Says He’s Dead, Family Hoping Against Hope

According to Daniella’s 15-year-old sister, the family never lost hope. “We remained optimistic and we did everything to see her back here, for her return…Wow, I imagined her totally different. It brought back all the emotions I’ve had this past year,” she said.

Upon their release, Liri, in a video, thanked the Israeli forces for bringing them back.

“I love you all the people of Israel who supported our families and embraced them, and to the IDF soldiers who did everything for us. We are very grateful. I love you,” she said.

The touching message of Liri to the citizens of israel “I love you, thank you!” pic.twitter.com/DOZzmtMmRs

— Am Yisrael Chai (@kyg_best) January 25, 2025

Apart from the families of the released hostages, thousands of people gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv cheering as a giant screen broadcasted the first glimpse of the women. On the other hand, massive celebrations took place in Gaza as buses carrying the Palestinian prisoners arrived in Ramallah on the West Bank.

Ending more than 15 months of war that killed over 47,000 people, Israel began a six-week ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza on January 19. In the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the Hamas release three women in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners.

The Hamas had taken 251 Israeli hostages – 87 of whom remain in Gaza out of which 34 are dead.

During a six-week ceasefire, 33 hostages are being freed in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

New Delhi:

The first three Israeli hostages returning home under a long-awaited Gaza truce were transferred to the Red Cross on Sunday, a Hamas official and the Israeli military said.

The hostages, all women, “were officially handed over to the Red Cross” in Gaza City ahead of their return to Israel, the senior Hamas official told AFP.

It came hours after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in the morning, nearly three hours later than scheduled, after more than 15 months of war.

During the delay, Israel’s military said it was continuing to operate, with the territory’s civil defence agency reporting 19 people killed and 25 wounded in bombardments.

Minutes after the truce began, the United Nations said the first trucks carrying sorely needed humanitarian aid had entered the Palestinian territory, as displaced, war-weary Palestinians set off across the devastated Gaza Strip to return to their home areas.

Thousands of people carrying tents, clothes and their personal belongings were seen going home, after the war that displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population, in many cases more than once.

In the northern area of Jabalia, hundreds streamed down a sandy path, returning to an apocalyptic landscape piled with rubble and destroyed buildings. 

“We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home,” said Rana Mohsen, 43, back in Jabalia.

Another returning resident, Walid Abu Jiab, said he had found “massive, unprecedented destruction”, with “nothing left” in Gaza’s war-battered north, which has seen intense violence over the past months.

In the southern city of Rafah, Ahmad al-Balawi said that “as soon as I returned… I felt a shock.”

“Entire areas have been completely wiped out”, he told AFP, describing “decomposing bodies, rubble, and destruction everywhere”.

‘Massive’ Aid Effort

Aid workers say northern Gaza is particularly hard-hit, lacking all essentials including food, shelter and water.

Jonathan Whittall, interim chief of the UN’s OCHA humanitarian agency for the Palestinian territories, said on X that the first trucks started entering following the truce, after “a massive effort” to prepare for a surge of aid across the territory.

The truce had been scheduled to begin at 8:30 am (0630 GMT) but a last-minute dispute over the list of hostages to be freed on the first day led to the holdup.

Qatar, a mediator of the truce, later confirmed it had gone into effect.

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum campaign group identified the three women set to be released later on Sunday as Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher.

The Israeli military said that “the Red Cross has communicated that the three Israeli hostages were transferred to them and are on their way” to be taken by Israeli forces.

Hamas earlier said it was waiting for Israel to furnish “a list containing the names of 90 prisoners from the categories of women and children” also to be released on the first day.

A total of 33 Israeli hostages, 31 of whom taken by militants during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, will be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce, in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians in Israeli custody.

The truce is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war, but a second phase has yet to be finalised.

It follows a deal struck by Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations.

In a televised address on Saturday, Netanyahu called the first phase a “temporary ceasefire” and said Israel had US support to return to the war if necessary.

In Gaza City, well before the ceasefire went into effect, people were already celebrating, waving Palestinian flags in the street.

The Israeli army warned Gaza residents early Sunday not to approach its forces or “the buffer zone” near Israeli territory “for your safety”.

In Israel, the ceasefire was met with guarded optimism.

“I don’t trust our side or their side,” said taxi driver David Gutterman. “Always at the last moment something, a problem, can pop up, but all in all I’m really happy.”

Shai Zaik, an employee at Tel Aviv’s art museum, said he had “mixed feelings” but was “full of hope” that the hostages would return after so many disappointments in the last year.”  

Israel has prepared reception centres to provide medical treatment and counselling to the freed hostages before they return to their families. Health workers have warned of the psychological challenges the captives will face upon release.

600 Trucks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 600 trucks a day would enter Gaza after the ceasefire took effect, including 50 carrying fuel.

The war’s only previous truce, for one week in November 2023, also saw the release of hostages held by militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas’s October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing at least 46,913 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

The truce took effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term as president of the United States.

Trump, who claimed credit for the ceasefire deal after months of effort by the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, told US network NBC on Saturday that he had told Netanyahu the war “has to end”.

“We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done,” he said.

Under the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return “to their residences”, Qatar’s prime minister said in announcing the deal.

File picture of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) warned that “all hell will break out” if Hamas did not release hostages before January 20, when he will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

“All hell will break out. If those hostages aren’t back, I don’t want to hurt your negotiation, if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Mr. Trump told reporters at a news conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

He was responding to a question on the status of negotiations with Hamas on the release of American hostages by them. His Special Envoy to the Middle East Steven Charles Witkoff, who has just returned from the region, told reporters that they are on the verge of it.

“I believe we’ve been on the verge of it. I don’t want to discuss sort of what’s delayed it, no point to be negative in any way. But I think it’s the president, his stature, what he’s said he expects, the red lines he’s put out there, that’s driving this negotiation,” Mr. Witkoff said.

Noting that they are making a lot of progress, he said: “I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha. I’m leaving tomorrow to go back to Doha. But I think that we’ve had some really great progress and I’m really hopeful that by the inauguration we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.”

“I actually believe that we’re working in tandem in a really good way, but it’s the president, his reputation, the things that he has said that are driving this negotiation. So hopefully it’ll all work out and we’ll save some lives,” Mr. Witkoff said.

Mr. Trump, in response to a question, warned Hamas to release all the hostages by January 20.

“It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good frankly for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is. They should have given them back a long time ago — they should have never taken them. There should have never been the attack of October 7 (2022). People forget that, but there was and many people are killed,” he said.

“They’re no longer hostages. I have people from Israel and others calling, begging me to get — we had also people there from the United States just so you know. They’re holding some so-called hostages from the US, but I’ve had mothers come to me and fathers crying, can I get the body of their son back? Can I get the body of their daughter back?” he said.

“That beautiful girl where they threw her in the car, pulled her by her ponytail and threw her in the car like she was a sack of potatoes. I said, what happened to her? Sir, she’s dead. Like a 19, 20-year-old, beautiful girl. The way they treated her,” he said as he applauded his special envoy for the progress being made so far.

“I tell this, I don’t want to hurt the negotiation. If the deal isn’t done before I take office, which is now going to be two weeks, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Mr. Trump said.

Palestinians assess damage in the street following an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on September 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israeli forces appeared Friday (September 6, 2024) to have withdrawn from the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, after a more-than weeklong military operation that has left dozens dead and a trail of destruction.

Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads, and an Associated Press reporter inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops inside as dawn broke early Friday morning.

ALSO READ: Hamas says Benjamin Netanyahu trying to ‘thwart’ Gaza truce

Israel’s military had no immediate comment but said it would issue a statement later in the day. It was not clear whether the apparent withdrawal was only a temporary measure to regroup forces.

Hundreds of Israeli troops have been involved for more than a week in what has been their deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began, employing what the United Nations called “lethal war-like tactics.” Their focus has been the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian militancy that has grown since the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war in Gaza nearly 11 months ago.

Fighting in Jenin accounts for 21 of 39 Palestinians who local health officials say have been killed during the Israeli push in the West Bank — most of whom, the military says, have been militants.

Effect on civilians

The fighting has had a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians living in Jenin.

Water and electric services have been cut, families have been confined to their homes and ambulances evacuating the wounded have been slowed on their way to nearby hospitals, as Israeli soldiers search for militants.

In the quiet morning Friday, Jenin residents took advantage of the lull to rummage through the rubble of destroyed buildings and take stock of the damage.

Twisted rebar protruded from the concrete of collapsed buildings, and walls still standing were pockmarked by bullets and shrapnel.

During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camp curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly.

It was not immediately clear whether they were also removing troops from the other two camps as well.

Israel under pressure

Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on a demand that has emerged as a major sticking point in talks — continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow band along Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza. Egypt and Hamas deny it.

Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over both Philadelphi corridor and a second corridor running across Gaza.

Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants — broadly the terms called for under an outline for a deal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden in July.

People block a road as they protest, calling for a deal for the immediate release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return hostages held in Gaza led to closures and other disruptions around the country on Monday (September 2, 2024), including at its main international airport. But it was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions.

Tens of thousands of Israelis had poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month-old war.

But others support Mr. Netanyahu’s strategy of maintaining relentless military pressure on Hamas, whose October 7 attack into Israel triggered the war. They say it will eventually force the militants to give in to Israeli demands, potentially lead to more successful rescues and ultimately annihilate the group.

First general strike

Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for a general strike for Monday, the first since the start of the war. It aims to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport.

Airlines at Israel’s main international airport Ben-Gurion were halting outgoing flights between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Those flights either departed early or were slightly delayed, and travellers were seen lining up at check-in counters despite the limited disruption. Arriving flights were continuing as usual during that time, according to the Israel Airports Authority.

Banks, some large malls and government offices were all closed due to the strike and public transit was limited. Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area, including Tel Aviv, were participating in the strike, leading to shortened school hours and cancellations for public daycares and kindergartens.

Many municipalities, however, including Jerusalem, were not participating in the strike. Israeli media reported that the state appealed to a labor court to cancel the strike, saying it was politically motivated.

Demands to Netanyahu

The demonstrations on Sunday appeared to be the largest since the start of the war, with organisers estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally held in Tel Aviv.

They are demanding that Mr. Netanyahu reach a deal to return the remaining roughly 100 hostages held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, even if it means leaving a battered Hamas intact and withdrawing from the territory. Many Israelis support this position, but others prioritise the destruction of the militant group over freedom for the hostages.

Mr. Netanyahu has pledged “total victory” over Hamas and blames it for the failure of the negotiations, which have dragged on for much of this year.

Israel said Hamas killed all six hostages shortly before Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel where they were being held. Three of them, including an Israeli-American, were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal discussed in July. The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.

Mr. Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Hamas blames Israel, U.S.

Hamas blamed their deaths on Israel and the United States, accusing them of dragging out the talks by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

One of the six hostages was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, a native of Berkeley, California, who lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, Hamas issued a video that showed him alive, sparking protests in Israel.

He was one of the best-known hostages, and his parents had led a high-profile campaign for the captives’ release, meeting with President Joe Biden, Pope Francis, and addressing the Democratic National Convention last month.

Some 250 hostages were taken on October 7. Israel now believes about 100 remain in captivity, including 35 who are thought to be dead. More than 100 were freed during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Tel Aviv:

The sister of an Israeli hostage whose body was recovered from Gaza last week struck a solemn tone Sunday as she laid him to rest after thousands attended his funeral.

“I feared this ending but I wanted so much for it to end differently,” Avivit Yablonka told AFP at the funeral of her brother Chanan.

Chanan, 42, was murdered on October 7 in Hamas’s unprecedented attack, while trying to escape from the Nova music festival where at least 364 people were killed.

His body was taken to the Gaza Strip by militants but was retrieved on Friday by Israeli troops after spending 230 days in captivity.

In the space of a week, the Israeli army has announced the death of eight hostages who had been presumed to be alive — five Israelis, two Thais and a French-Mexican dual national.

The army also retrieved seven bodies — including Chanan’s — that had been held in Gaza since October 7.

Hopes have since faded among the families of other hostages whose whereabouts are unknown.

Militants took 252 hostages during the attack, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the Israeli army says are dead.

Dozens of hostage relatives gathered outside the home of Chanan’s parents Sunday for a silent procession to Tel Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul cemetery, accompanied by thousands waving Israeli flags.

The Yablonka family had urged people to join the march in solidarity with the hostages.

“We have to bring everyone back — this march is for him and for the release of all the hostages,” Avivit said.

Surrounded by crowds of people, Chanan’s family said goodbye.

– ‘Funeral to funeral’ –

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas’s attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,984 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Before she learned of her brother’s death, Avivit, 48, attended the funeral of Ron Benjamin, who was found in the same tunnel complex in northern Gaza as her brother, according to the army.

“I’m scared. I go from funeral to funeral. I’m so scared, but I have hope, I’m not giving up,” she said at the time.

A father of two, Chanan had played for the Hapoel Tel-Aviv football club in his youth, and remained a fan.

His family had not heard from him since October 7, and was told he was in Gaza 90 days after his disappearance.

“We thought they were coming back alive, but they’re coming back in coffins,” Avivit said before laying her brother to rest.

Avivit said she wants “to believe that the government really wants to bring them all back and that there are difficulties in negotiating with such murderers”.

She said last week she had not received a phone call from any minister or lawmaker.

– Anger at government –

Her anger is shared by Jonathan Dekel-Chen, professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose son Sagi is being held hostage in Gaza.

“My anger is only growing,” he told AFP.

“We see that there is no progress for the return of the hostages… Israeli society is with us but the government is not doing enough to bring them home.”

Yet he remains hopeful of finding his son alive. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, leaving his pregnant wife and two daughters behind.

Sagi’s wife Avital has since given birth to a daughter Shahar, which means “dawn” in English.

Around 75 people from kibbutz Nir Oz were captured on October 7.

Dekel-Chen said his “daily” dream was to see his son reunited with his entire family, including children Gali, 3, and Bar, 7.

“They run to him and he, on his two legs, runs to his wife Avital and Shahar, the baby, and finally embraces him, and resumes a normal life,” he said, describing his recurring dream.

“This is my mission. I won’t stop until it happens.”

At the entrance to the university library, tears in his eyes, he stared at a portrait of his son displayed at the reception desk.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The United States believes the remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged in negotiations over the Palestinian militant group’s latest ceasefire proposal, as talks resume in Cairo on Wednesday.

Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel’s seven-month-old offensive. This cut off a vital route for aid into the tiny enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and hungry.

In Cairo, all five delegations participating in ceasefire talks on Tuesday — Hamas, Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar — reacted positively to the resumption of negotiations, and meetings were expected to continue on Wednesday morning, two Egyptian sources said.

CIA Director Bill Burns was to travel from Cairo to Israel later on Wednesday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials, a source familiar with his travel said.

Israel on Monday declared that a three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been softened.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said Hamas presented a revised proposal, and the new text suggests the remaining gaps can “absolutely be closed.” Speaking on Tuesday, he declined to specify what those were.

Since the only pause in the conflict so far, a week-long ceasefire in November, the two sides have been blocked by Hamas’ refusal to free more Israeli hostages without a promise of a permanent end to the conflict and Israel’s insistence that it would discuss only a temporary halt.

Israeli army footage on Tuesday showed tanks rolling through the Rafah crossing complex between Gaza and Egypt, and the Israeli flag raised on the Gaza side. Israel says Rafah is Hamas fighters’ last stronghold.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Tuesday, warned that if Israel’s military aggression continued in Rafah, there would be no truce agreement.

Israel’s military said it was conducting a limited operation in Rafah to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which runs Gaza. It told civilians, many of whom were previously displaced from other parts of Gaza earlier in the conflict, to go to an “expanded humanitarian zone” some 20 km (12 miles) away.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel and Hamas to spare no effort to agree to a truce. “Make no mistake – a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe,” Guterres said.

In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said “panic and despair” were gripping the people in Rafah.

Heavy shelling in Rafah

Residents reported heavy tank shelling on Tuesday evening in some areas of eastern Rafah. A Rafah municipal building caught fire after Israeli shelling, and one Palestinian was killed and several wounded, medics said. An Israeli strike also killed two Palestinians on a motorcycle, they said.

Health officials said Abu Yousef Al-Najar, the main hospital in Rafah, closed on Tuesday after heavy bombardment nearby led medical staff and around 200 patients to flee.

“They have gone crazy. Tanks are firing shells and smoke bombs cover the skies,” said Emad Joudat, 55, a Gaza City resident displaced in Rafah.

The U.N. and other international aid agencies said the closing of the two crossings into southern Gaza — Rafah and Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom — virtually cut the enclave off from outside aid and very few stores were available inside.

Families have been crammed into tented camps and makeshift shelters, suffering from shortages of food, water, medicine and other essentials.

Red Crescent sources in Egypt said shipments had completely halted. “These crossings are a lifeline… They need to be reopened without any delay,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of U.N. aid agency UNRWA, said on X.

The White House said it had been told the Kerem Shalom crossing would re-open on Wednesday and fuel deliveries through Rafah would resume then too. According to Hamas officials, a draft proposal and an official briefed on the talks, the proposal that Hamas approved on Monday included a first phase with a six-week ceasefire, an influx of aid to Gaza, the return of 33 Israeli hostages, alive or dead, and release by Israel of 30 detained Palestinian children and women for each released Israeli hostage.

Critics of the Gaza war have urged U.S. President Joe Biden to pressure Israel to change course. The U.S., Israeli’s closest ally and main weapons supplier, has delayed some arms shipments to Israel for two weeks, according to four sources on Tuesday.

The White House and Pentagon declined comment, but this would be the first such delay since the Biden administration offered its full support to Israel after Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Israel’s offensive has killed 34,789 Palestinians, most of them civilians, in the conflict, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Tel Aviv:

The families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip appealed on Saturday for Jewish Israelis to leave an empty chair at their traditional Seder meals marking the beginning of Passover on Monday.  

“The Seder night is approaching and this year we will have to leave an empty chair,” said Ofir Angrest, whose brother Matan was kidnapped on October 7, during the weekly gathering of hostage families in Tel Aviv with hundreds of onlookers. 

Declaring that he was addressing the Israeli cabinet, he said: “Enough! After more than six months, you’re simply disrespecting me and the families of the hostages.”

The idea was backed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a video posted to X.

Hamas took around 250 hostages during its unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Israel believes that 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead.

Around 100 were released during a ceasefire in November.

Sofi Cohen Ben Dor, daughter of the famous Israeli spy Eli Cohen, also spoke at the gathering. Her father was hanged in Damascus in 1965 after infiltrating elite circles in Syria in the early 1960s and his body was never returned to Israel.

“His body is still kept for 60 years in an unknown place in Syria. Israel did not create the opportunity to return his body for burial in Israel,” she said. 

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