Palestinian armed group Hamas has approved a ceasefire proposal put forward by Qatari and Egyptian negotiators.

It has also signalled that it is willing to resume negotiations with Israel to end the fighting in Gaza.

Temporary cessation

Al Jazeera reported on Aug. 18 that Hamas had issued a statement saying that it had accepted a proposal that Qatari and Egyptian mediators had put forward.

The Hamas statement was released after Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, met with Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The ceasefire proposal included a temporary cessation of military operations for 60 days.

During the ceasefire, the Israeli military would relocate and allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

The receipt of Hamas's statement by Israel was confirmed by Israeli news outlets, The Times of Israel and Channel 12.

Hamas has reportedly also agreed to release half of the remaining hostages, although it is unclear precisely what that entails.

It is widely accepted that 50 hostages remain in Gaza, but that only 20 are alive.

Al Jazeera reports that “half of the 50 Israeli captives would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners”.

In contrast, the Guardian reports the deal would include “the release of half the approximately 20 remaining living Israeli hostages”.

Gaza city

Such ceasefire and hostage release deals have been entered into before, with most of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 2023, having been released via such exchanges.

But the ceasefires have not been turned into permanent peace deals, and Israel’s war cabinet approved a plan to occupy Gaza City on Aug. 8, as reported by Reuters.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, already a controversial figure in Israeli politics, has been accused of using the war to prolong his political career.

Over the weekend, he faced a massive one-day general strike that saw tens of thousands of Israelis take to the streets.

Most demanded a deal that would see the return of all hostages held in Gaza, even if such a deal necessitated the end of the war in Gaza.

The Israeli government denounced the strike, but such criticism appears not to have deterred organisers, who have called for additional protests to be held in the upcoming weekend.

Many also protested the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel’s military is severely limiting access to aid, resulting in violence at aid distribution points and fears of death by malnutrition among aid agencies working in Gaza.

Total destruction

Human rights group Amnesty International accused Israel’s government on Aug. 18 of enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza.

Netanyahu faces pressure within his government, with several right-wing members of his coalition rejecting the prospect of a ceasefire, claiming that Hamas has only mooted such a deal in the face of"elimination".

The war in Gaza continues to exact a punishing price, with 62,000 Palestinians thought to have died in the conflict so far.