THE Israelis have essentially endorsed a framework of a proposed Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, and it is now up to Hamas to agree to it, a senior United States administration official said on Saturday.

Talks to reach an agreement were set to resume in Egypt and as news broke that the Israelis had killed seven Hezbollah members during fresh strikes in south Lebanon, further heightening the risk of a widened conflict in the region.

International mediators have been working for weeks to broker a deal to pause the fighting before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10. 

The Israelis “have more or less accepted” the proposal, which includes the six-week ceasefire as well as the release by Hamas of hostages considered vulnerable, which includes the sick, the wounded, the elderly and women, said the official.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said: “Right now, the ball is in the court of Hamas.”

Officials from Israel and Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

There is increasing criticism over the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians struggling to survive in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of the conflict that began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 250 hostages.

Since then, the Israeli killing spree has left more than 30,320 Palestinians dead and famine conditions for those that remain.

Residents in northern Gaza say that they are searching rubble and rubbish for anything to feed their children, who barely eat one meal a day. 

Many families have begun mixing animal and bird food with grain to bake bread.

At least 10 children have starved to death, according to hospital records in Gaza, the World Health Organisation said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike hit a car in south Lebanon Saturday morning, killing three Hezbollah members, Lebanese media and officials said.

Another four Hezbollah members were killed in a strike on a house in the town of Ramia overnight.

The Lebanese National News Agency said that the latest strike on Saturday hit a car in the Naqoura area along Lebanon’s southern coast.

The Israeli military said that it had “struck a vehicle in southern Lebanon, in which a number of terrorists who launched rockets into Israeli territory were driving.”

Hezbollah has said that it will continue to engage militarily with the Israelis until there is a ceasefire in Gaza but would observe a truce if one is reached.