On Monday, Hamas informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it agreed to the terms of the ceasefire deal they had drafted. The proposal provides for three stages of 42 days, during which a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners are expected to be concluded.
"A Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya [Hamas deputy leader] recently arrived in Cairo from Doha to continue the efforts of the mediating brothers in Egypt and Qatar to reach an agreement to end the aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip," the movement said on Telegram.
On Monday, Israel declined the ceasefire proposal as unacceptable and started a military operation in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, home to some 1.5 million Palestinians forced to flee the northern and central parts of the Strip.
Hamas demands Israel to fully withdraw forces and end the conflict.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 34,700 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.