Iran agrees to a ceasefire, the State Department says
The US will keep both Israel and Iran in an agreed ceasefire, a State Department spokesperson said
Hamas responded with a “positive spirit” to the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal on July 4, saying it was ready to enter into discussions on the implementation of the transaction, which envisages hostage release and negotiations on the end of the conflict.
President Donald Trump previously announced the “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month war between Israel and Hamas, and said he hopes to hear a response from parties in the next few hours.
Hamas wrote on its official website: “The Hamas movement will complete internal consultations and end the arguments with the Palestinian factions and the forces on the latest proposals by mediators, as well as attacks on the people of Gaza.
“This movement has brought a response to brother mediators characterized by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared with all the severity to quickly enter negotiations for a new round of events on the mechanisms for implementing this framework,” the statement said.
Trump previously said that Israel had agreed to “the conditions necessary to complete the 60-day ceasefire.” Meanwhile, efforts will be made to end the wars of US allies on the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their official statements the two remain far apart. Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed. This is believed to be a radical group believed to hold 20 living hostages and refuse to discuss it so far.
Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington next week.
Trump has said he is “very robust” with Netanyahu about the need for a quick Gaza ceasefire, noting that Israeli leaders likewise want it.
“I hope that happens and I look forward to it that happens someday next week,” he told reporters earlier this week. “We want to take hostages.”
Attack overnight
The Israeli attacks have killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said.
Health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Eunice, southern Gaza, said Israeli forces were bombing at a tent camp west of the city around 2am, killing 15 Palestinians who had been evacuated in the war for nearly two years.
Israeli forces said troops operating in the Khan Unis region have eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas’s front post groups in the past 24 hours.
Later that day, the Palestinians gathered to pray for funerals before burying those killed overnight.
“There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,” said Maya Al-Far, 13, who cried. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she said.
“He went to get help so we can get a bag of flour for us to eat. He got a bullet around his neck,” she said.
“Trade”
In Tel Aviv, family members and hostage friends held in Gaza were among the protesters gathered outside the US embassy building on the US Independence Day, calling for Trump to secure deals with all prisoners of war.
Protesters set up iconic Sabbath dinner tables and 50 empty chairs representing those still being held in Gaza. The banner hangs nearby and says Trump, “Make a deal in Gaza. Get hostages back!!!”
“Only you can get a contract. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal,” said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, of Tel Aviv.
Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of Abynatan hostage. One of his employees was lured into Palestinian extremists from the Nova Musical Festival on October 7, 2023.
A source familiar with negotiations said Thursday that the proposal envisages the return of 10 hostages for the 60-day period.
Ruby Chen, 55, and 19-year-old Itai’s father of America and Israel, 1tai, is believed to have been killed after being taken prisoner, urged Netanyahu to return from meeting with Trump in a deal that brings all hostages.
Itai Chen, a German citizen, also served as an Israeli soldier when Hamas launched a surprising attack on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 more hostages.
Israel’s retaliation war with Hamas devastated Gaza. Gaza has been dominated by extremist groups for almost two decades, but now it is partially dominated, drove the majority of its population to over two million, causing widespread hunger.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of whom are civilians, according to local health officials.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell of Tel Aviv, Nidal Al Mugravi of Cairo, Hatem Khaled of Gaza, New York, Howard Goller, Edited by Alex Richardson, Philippa Fletcher and Rosalba O’Brien)
