Hamas has responded to the latest U.S. cease-fire proposal for Gaza, with a senior official saying the group is pushing for key revisions.
“There are notes and amendments on several points, especially regarding U.S. guarantees, the timing of hostage releases, aid delivery, and Israeli troop withdrawal,” the official said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
In a separate statement, Hamas described the proposal as aiming for a permanent cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and guaranteed aid access. It said 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others would be released “in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners.”
Israeli officials have approved the U.S. proposal for a temporary cease-fire in the nearly 20-month conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators are close to reaching a deal.
A cease-fire would pause fighting for 60 days, release some of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and allow much-needed food aid and other assistance, according to Hamas and Egyptian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The talks have ramped up as desperation rises inside Gaza.
Also Saturday, Palestinians in Gaza blocked and offloaded dozens of food trucks, the U.N. World Food Program said, as hunger mounts following Israel’s monthslong blockade.
The WFP said 77 trucks carrying aid, mostly flour, were stopped by hungry people who took the food before the trucks could reach their destinations.
The nearly three-month Israeli blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.
While pressure has slightly eased in recent days as Israel allowed some aid to enter, aid organizations say far too little food is getting in.
The WFP said fear of starvation in Gaza remains high despite the aid coming in now. “We need to flood communities with food for the next few days to calm anxieties and rebuild trust with communities that more food is coming,” it said in a statement, adding it has over 140,000 metric tons of food – enough to feed Gazans for two months – ready to be brought in.
A witness in the southern city of Khan Younis told The Associated Press (AP) the U.N. convoy was stopped at a makeshift roadblock and offloaded by thousands of desperate civilians.
Most people carried bags of flour.
He said a forklift was used to offload pallets at one point. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The United Nations said earlier this month that Israeli authorities have forced them to use unsecured routes within areas controlled by Israel’s military in the eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, where armed gangs are active and trucks were stopped.
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An internal document shared with aid groups about security incidents, seen by the AP, said there were four incidents of facilities being looted in three days at the end of May, not including Saturday’s.
The U.N. says it has been unable to get enough aid into Gaza because of fighting.
On Friday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it only picked up five truckloads of cargo from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing; the other 60 trucks had to return due to intense hostilities.
A new U.S.- and Israeli-backed foundation started operations in Gaza this week, distributing food at several sites in a chaotic rollout.
Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation eventually will replace the aid operation that the U.N. and others have carried out during nearly 20 months of war. It says the new mechanism is necessary. The U.N. denies that a significant diversion takes place.
The foundation works with armed contractors, which it says are needed to distribute food safely. Aid groups have accused the foundation of militarizing aid.
Israel continued its military campaign across Gaza, saying it struck dozens of targets over the past day. Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 60 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said three people were killed by Israeli gunfire early Saturday in Rafah.
Three others – parents and a child – were killed when their car was struck in Gaza City.
An Israeli strike hit another car in Gaza City, killing four. And an Israeli strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, killing six, said Weam Fares, a spokesperson for Nasser Hospital.
The war began following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
Of those taken captive, 58 remain in Gaza.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
