Shafaq News – Gaza / Cairo

Hamas endorsed, on Monday, a ceasefire plan brokered by Egypt and Qatar, signaling willingness to halt fighting in Gaza and begin staged hostage releases.

A Hamas representative told Agence France-Presse that the group submitted its written response “without requesting amendments,” with the plan modeled on earlier US initiatives attributed to Envoy Steve Witkoff and providing for a 60-day truce tied to phased exchanges.

Palestinian sources close to the talks described the proposal as a foundation for negotiating a permanent ceasefire, while an Islamic Jihad contact confirmed the first stage envisions releasing 10 hostages and returning several bodies under international guarantees.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed joint mediation efforts to end the war and address Gaza’s humanitarian collapse.

Israel’s Army Radio, citing Egyptian officials, reported that Cairo suspects Trump may still be advancing displacement plans for Palestinians. According to the report, Washington could link support in Egypt’s long-running Nile water dispute with Ethiopia—centered on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project—to such approval.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted earlier this week that his government would accept only a deal ensuring the release of all captives “at once and under Israel’s conditions,” repeating that ending the war depends on those terms even as UN officials warn Gaza faces famine.

US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”

Tens of thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Sunday, demanding an end to the war and the return of captives.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that Israel’s military campaign has killed 62,004 Palestinians and wounded 156,230 since the conflict began.

On the battlefield, Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed they struck Israeli troops and vehicles in a mined field south of Gaza City’s al-Zaytoun neighborhood, while Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades reported shelling an Israeli command post inside al-Furqan School with mortars.