Sawt Falasteen - Israel defence minister approves plan to conquer Gaza City

Defence Minister Israel Katz's move, confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson, piled pressure on Hamas as mediators pushing for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war in Gaza awaited an official Israeli response on their latest proposal.

While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement.

The framework that Hamas had approved proposes an initial 60-day truce, a staggered hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid into Gaza.

Israel and Hamas have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The latest truce proposal came after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City, despite fears it will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.

Qatar said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version agreed by Israel, while Egypt said Monday that "the ball is now in its (Israel's) court".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept "an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war".

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had "opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past".

- 'White gold' -

The latest truce proposal came as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency reported Israeli strikes and fire killed 48 people across the territory on Tuesday.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the situation was "very dangerous and unbearable" in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City, where he said "shelling continues intermittently".

The Israeli military declined to comment on specific troop movements, saying only that it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" and took "feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm".

The military later said a strike in Khan Yunis overnight targeted a Hamas militant.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

In the Zikim area of northern Gaza on Tuesday, an AFP journalist saw Palestinians hauling sacks of food aid along dusty roads lined with rubble and damaged buildings.

Gazan Shawg Al-Badri said it took "three to four hours" to carry flour, what she called "white gold", back to her family's tent.

"This bag is worth the whole world," she said.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.

X.Habash--SF-PST