Hamas Agrees Gaza Truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged both Israel and Hamas to finalize a Gaza truce, standing by US assessments that 90 percent of a deal was ready.

Israeli forces pressed on with their operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday amid an international push for a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and block a slide into a wider regional conflict with Iran and its proxies.

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.

Israel has shown willingness to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal set out by US President Joe Biden and it is up to Hamas to make a move, a top White House official said Monday.

Fresh strikes were reported across the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday, as mediators urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

Israel will not agree to any halt in fighting in Gaza that is not part of a deal that includes a return of hostages, a senior Israeli security official said on Friday.

The Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday efforts to agree to a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip were back at square one after Israel effectively rejected a proposal by international mediators.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Monday it had agreed to a three-phased deal for a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap, although an Israeli official said the deal was not acceptable to Israel because terms had been "softened".

The United States said Monday it was reviewing a response from Hamas to a ceasefire proposal as it renewed calls on Israel not to attack the packed Gaza city of Rafah.

A senior Hamas official insisted late Saturday that the group would "not agree under any circumstances" to a truce in Gaza that did not explicitly include a complete end to the war.

They set themselves a 48-hour deadline earlier this week, but on Thursday neither Hamas nor Israel had shown any signs of agreeing to a truce in Gaza despite pressure from international mediators.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed to halt military activities in Gaza for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Hamas studied a draft proposal for a truce which includes a pause in fighting and a prisoner-hostage exchange.

Israel faced growing international pressure on Tuesday to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, as it prepared for an incursion into the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah where more than a million Palestinians are trapped.

A total of 13 Israeli hostages are to be freed "tonight" for 39 Palestinian prisoners, in a delayed second exchange agreed as part of a temporary truce in Gaza, mediator Qatar said Saturday.

Israel's national security adviser said late Wednesday that no hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza would be released before Friday, despite the two sides agreeing a truce.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged both Israel and Hamas to finalize a Gaza truce, standing by US assessments that 90 percent of a deal was ready.

Israeli forces pressed on with their operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday amid an international push for a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and block a slide into a wider regional conflict with Iran and its proxies.

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.

Israel has shown willingness to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal set out by US President Joe Biden and it is up to Hamas to make a move, a top White House official said Monday.

Fresh strikes were reported across the Gaza Strip overnight into Monday, as mediators urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

Israel will not agree to any halt in fighting in Gaza that is not part of a deal that includes a return of hostages, a senior Israeli security official said on Friday.

The Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday efforts to agree to a ceasefire for the Gaza Strip were back at square one after Israel effectively rejected a proposal by international mediators.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Monday it had agreed to a three-phased deal for a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap, although an Israeli official said the deal was not acceptable to Israel because terms had been "softened".

The United States said Monday it was reviewing a response from Hamas to a ceasefire proposal as it renewed calls on Israel not to attack the packed Gaza city of Rafah.

A senior Hamas official insisted late Saturday that the group would "not agree under any circumstances" to a truce in Gaza that did not explicitly include a complete end to the war.

They set themselves a 48-hour deadline earlier this week, but on Thursday neither Hamas nor Israel had shown any signs of agreeing to a truce in Gaza despite pressure from international mediators.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed to halt military activities in Gaza for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as Hamas studied a draft proposal for a truce which includes a pause in fighting and a prisoner-hostage exchange.

Israel faced growing international pressure on Tuesday to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, as it prepared for an incursion into the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah where more than a million Palestinians are trapped.

A total of 13 Israeli hostages are to be freed "tonight" for 39 Palestinian prisoners, in a delayed second exchange agreed as part of a temporary truce in Gaza, mediator Qatar said Saturday.

Israel's national security adviser said late Wednesday that no hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza would be released before Friday, despite the two sides agreeing a truce.