QATARI mediators confirmed today that Palestinian resistance group Hamas has agreed a ceasefire proposal that aims at “reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the war” with Israel.

Speaking at a news conference in Doha, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the proposal included a 60-day provisional ceasefire during which a number of captives and prisoners would be swapped, Israeli forces in Gaza would be repositioned, and aid to Gaza would be increased.

Mr Ansari said the proposal was “almost identical” to United States Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s previous proposal, but that Israel had yet to send its response.

He added: “Almost 98 per cent of what has been agreed to by the Israelis was contained in this recent proposal.” 

But former Egyptian assistant foreign minister Hussein Haridy said it was possible that Israel may not be interested in the deal — even though the current proposal agreed to by the Palestinian group is “almost identical” to one Israel agreed to a few weeks ago.

“Much water has passed under the bridge; one month and a half has made a lot of difference,” Mr Haridy said. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until all the 20 remaining hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed, and to maintain lasting security control over Gaza. 

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Mr Netanyahu said in a video addressing the Israeli public that reports of Hamas’s acceptance of the proposal showed that it is “under massive pressure.”

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It says women and children make up around half the dead.

Experts have warned that Israel’s brutal offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine. 

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes.

It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June.

A damning new United Nations report released on Tuesday said that a record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza.

The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza.