Hamas agrees to Gaza ceasefire proposal

Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received two days ago from mediators, the Palestinian resistance group's chief said Saturday.

"Two days ago, we received a proposal from the mediators in Egypt and Qatar. We dealt with it positively and accepted it," Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.

"We hope that the (Israeli) occupation will not undermine (it)," said Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team in indirect talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the war in Gaza that erupted in October 2023.

Security sources said on Thursday that Egypt had received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase.

The proposal suggests Hamas release five of the Israeli hostages it is holding each week, the sources said.

The Israeli prime minister's office said it had held a series of consultations according to the proposal that was received from the mediators, and that Israel had conveyed to the mediators a counter-proposal in full coordination with the US.

In response to calls on Hamas to disarm by Israel and the US, Hayya said the group's arsenal was a red line and that it would not disarm as long as the "Israeli" occupation exists.

Israeli military strikes on Gaza continued Saturday, killing at least 20 Palestinians across the enclave, health authorities said.

The Israeli military said it had begun "ground activity" in the Jneina neighbourhood of the Rafah area to expand what it described as the security zone in southern Gaza.

On March 18, Israel resumed bombing and ground operations in Gaza, which it said were intended to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages.

It has since issued evacuation orders to tens of thousands of residents in several areas in the northern and southern Gaza Strip.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.