Iran Press/ West Asia: Looking across the Israeli media landscape over the last 24 hours, it is clear that many officials believe they could be close to a deal, and they anticipate Hamas will potentially accept proposals.
Meanwhile, Israeli Minister Benny Gantz has emphasized that Israel has received no formal response from Hamas regarding the ceasefire proposal yet and advised unnamed Israeli officials being quoted in Israeli media on the proposal to “act with restraint”.
A top Israeli official says Israel will send a delegation to Cairo for talks on a Gaza truce only if it sees a “positive movement” on a framework for a hostage deal.
“What we are looking at is an agreement over a framework for a possible hostage deal,” the official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Egypt for what appear to be do-or-die negotiations on a ceasefire, with the movement’s spokesman, Osama Hamdan saying there have been “some forward steps”.
But, senior Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said that Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel will enter Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah regardless of a potential hostage exchange deal is a “key element” being discussed in ongoing talks in Cairo today.
“Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu saying that regardless of what may happen, if there was a ceasefire or not, he will continue the attack,” Osama Hamdan tells Al Jazeera.
A Qatari delegation is headed to Cairo as diplomatic efforts are stepped up to stop Israel from going ahead with its offensive in Rafah – the last refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians.
At least 34,654 Palestinians have been killed and 77,908 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
The head of the UN World Food Programme says northern Gaza is now experiencing a “full-blown famine”. Thousands of Palestinians are starving as Israel has restricted the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
