• ‘The ball is now in Israel’s court,’ says Egypt’s foreign minister 

ISTANBUL

Mediators are awaiting Israel’s response after Hamas accepted a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap proposal, Qatar said on Tuesday.

In a news briefing in Doha, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari called Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal “very positive” and “almost identical” to what Israel agreed to.

The current proposal is “the best that can be offered at present, and the best possible option to stop the bloodshed of the Palestinian people,” he added.

“We are still waiting for the Israeli response after Hamas accepted the plan,” the spokesman said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, for his part, said “significant progress” has been made on reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

“The ball is now in Israel’s court,” Abdelatty said in comments cited by a Foreign Ministry statement.

According to the ministry, the top diplomat held “intensive contacts” with several foreign officials, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Hamas said on Monday that it had accepted a proposal by Egyptian and Qatari mediators for a Gaza ceasefire, without providing details about the proposal’s content.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing unnamed sources, said the new Egyptian-Qatari proposal closely resembles US envoy Steve Witkoff’s original plan, which called for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and negotiations to end the war.

According to Egyptian media, the proposal calls for Israeli forces to reposition near the border to facilitate humanitarian aid entering Gaza and a temporary halt to military operations for two months to facilitate a prisoner-hostage exchange.

According to Israeli estimates, around 50 captives remain in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive, while Israel is holding more than 10,800 Palestinians in its prisons under dire conditions, with rights groups reporting deaths due to torture, hunger and medical neglect.

Israel has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.