Hamas has accepted a 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar and Egypt, while Israel continues its assault and plans to occupy the territory.

Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt on Monday, even as Israel continued its relentless assault and advanced plans to occupy Gaza.

“Hamas, along with the Palestinian factions, relayed their acceptance of the proposal put forward yesterday by the Qatari and Egyptian mediators,” the Palestinian movement said on its Telegram channel.

An Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had received Hamas’s proposal, though he was yet to respond publicly.

A source familiar with the talks told Al Jazeera that the deal would involve a temporary halt to military operations, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the release of half of the 50 Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The development followed a meeting in Cairo between Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who reviewed bilateral ties and mediation efforts.

“I conveyed the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and we reviewed the cooperative relations between our two brotherly countries […] and the joint efforts in the mediation file to stop the war in Gaza and end the humanitarian suffering,” Sheikh Mohammed said on X.

Israel’s refusal to end the war

For nearly two years, Hamas has accepted multiple truce proposals, only for Israel to reject them while pressing ahead with its genocidal war.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli attacks have killed at least 62,004 people, mostly women and children, with thousands still trapped under rubble.

Mediation led to a one-week truce in November 2023 and a ceasefire in January 2024, which Israel broke on March 18 by refusing to withdraw from Gaza and halting aid entry.

Israel accuses Hamas of violating past agreements by not releasing all captives, though the group freed 33 Israeli captives, five Thai nationals, and Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander.

Instead of easing, Israel intensified its bombardment while starving Gaza’s 2.1 million people by blocking aid since March 2.

On August 8, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir officially approved a plan to occupy Gaza City and forcibly displace its population.

At least 263 Palestinians, including 112 children, have died of hunger.

Amnesty International on Monday condemned Israel’s “deliberate policy of starvation”, calling it a searing indictment of an international system that has enabled Israel’s impunity for decades.

Amnesty’s Erika Guevara Rosas said the accounts from Gaza go beyond human suffering, exposing an international system that enables Israel’s crimes.

“The testimonies we have collected are far more than accounts of suffering; they are a searing indictment of an international system that has granted Israel a license to torment Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades.”