Hamas agrees to US proposal on Gaza truce

Hamas has agreed to a proposal by US special envoy Steve Witkoff for a Gaza ceasefire, a Palestinian official close to the group told Reuters yesterday, paving the way for a possible end to the war.

The new proposal, which sees the release of ten hostages and 70 days of truce, was received by Hamas through mediators.

"The proposal includes the release of ten living Israeli hostages held by Hamas in two groups in return for a 70-day ceasefire and a partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip," the source said.

The proposal also sees the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, including hundreds of those serving lengthy prison terms. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Meanwhile, rescuers said devastating Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people yesterday, 33 of them in a school turned shelter, as the head of a US-backed foundation set to supply aid in Gaza quit unexpectedly.

The civil defence agency said many of the casualties at the school in Gaza City were children, while the Israeli military said the site was housing "key terrorists".

World leaders meeting in Spain called for an end to the "inhumane" and "senseless" war, while aid groups said the trickle of aid is not nearly enough to staunch the hunger and health crises.

In Gaza City, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that an early-morning Israeli strike on the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school, where displaced people were sheltering, killed "at least 33, with dozens of injured, mostly children, including several women".

Another strike killed at least 19 people "after the warplanes targeted the Abd Rabbo family's home early this morning in the town of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip", Bassal said.

Israel has expanded its Gaza offensive, activating tens of thousands of reservists as it aims for the defeat of Hamas, reports AFP.

It issued an evacuation warning for parts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis yesterday, following what it said were rocket launches from the area as the country prepared to celebrate Jerusalem Day.

The Israeli military said yesterday that over "the past 48 hours, the (air force) struck over 200 targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including terrorists, weapon storage facilities, sniper and anti-tank missile posts, tunnel shafts, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites".

US President Donald Trump, whose administration has strongly backed Israel in its campaign, said Sunday he wanted to "see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible".

The same day, as Arab and European nations gathered to seek an end to the conflict, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called for an arms embargo on Israel.

He also called for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza "massively, without conditions and without limits, and not controlled by Israel", describing the territory as humanity's "open wound".

Israel last week partially eased an aid blockade on Gaza that had exacerbated widespread shortages of food and medicine.