Hamas says it is still reviewing a US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire

By ABDEL KAREEM HANA DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Hamas disclosed Friday it was still reviewing a U S proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip where people were killed in new Israeli airstrikes according to hospital representatives The ceasefire plan which has been approved by Israeli administrators won a cool initial reaction Thursday from the group which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Canada and the European Union U S negotiators have not publicized the terms of the proposal But a Hamas official and an Egyptian official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks commented Thursday that it called for a -day pause in fighting guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages as it did in March In a terse message issued Friday Hamas reported it is holding consultations with Palestinian factions over the proposal it had received from U S envoy Steve Witkoff While changes may have been made to the proposal the version approved earlier called for Israeli forces to pull back to the positions they held before it ended the last ceasefire Hamas would release living hostages and a number of bodies during the -day pause in exchange for more than Palestinians imprisoned by Israel including serving long sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks Smoke rises in the sky following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Friday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Palestinians line up for food distribution in Deir al-Balah Gaza Strip Friday May AP Photo Abdel Kareem Hana A Palestinian boy sits on the curb as he waits near a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah Gaza Strip Friday May AP Photo Abdel Kareem Hana Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli airstrike as Palestinians fleeing Jabaliya move with their belongings in Gaza City Friday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Show Caption of Smoke rises in the sky following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City Friday May AP Photo Jehad Alshrafi Expand Each day hundreds of trucks carrying food and humanitarian aid would be allowed to enter Gaza where experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade slightly eased in modern days has pushed the population to the brink of famine Negotiations are ongoing on the current proposal Qatar s ambassador to the United Nations Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani mentioned Friday referring to talks between her country the United States and Egypt On Thursday a top Hamas official Bassem Naim announced the U S proposal does not respond to any of our people s demands foremost among which is stopping the war and famine The uncertainty over the new proposal came as hospital personnel announced that people had been killed Friday in separate airstrikes A strike that hit a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis killed including eight children hospital officers mentioned The Israeli military did not right now comment Meanwhile the bodies of people including three women were brought to Shifa Hospital on Friday from the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp The Palestinian Red Crescent Society explained the bodies of two others were brought to a hospital in Gaza City Hospital personnel also mentioned Friday that at least had been killed in Gaza during the previous day That figure does not include particular hospitals in the north which are largely cut off due to the fighting Related Articles What is a famine and who declares one Israel authorizes more settlements in the occupied West Bank Strikes on Gaza kill administrators say Israel accepts a US proposal for a temporary Gaza ceasefire and Hamas gives a cool response Who is Mohammed Sinwar the Hamas leader Israel says it killed Four Palestinians die in storming of UN food warehouse a day after gunfire at new Gaza aid site Since the war began more than Gaza residents mostly women and children have been killed according to the Gaza Fitness Ministry which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally The war began with Hamas Oct attack on Israel which left around dead Chosen Gaza residents disclosed their hope for a ceasefire is tempered by repeated disappointment over negotiations that failed to deliver a lasting deal This is the war of starvation death siege and long lines for food and toilets Mohammed Abed advised The Associated Press in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah This war is the nightmare nightmare and nightmare Abed revealed he and his family struggle to find food waiting three hours to get a small amount of rice and eating only one meal daily It s heartbreaking that people are being starved because of politics Food and water should not be used for political purposes he reported Another Gaza resident Mohammed Mreil commented about the possibility of a truce that We want to live and we want them Israelis to live God did not create us to die Edith Lederer contributed to this description from the United Nations