DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Hamas gave initial approval of a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel commit up front to a complete end to the war, a Hamas official and an Egyptian official said Saturday. The apparent compromise by the militant group, which controlled Gaza before triggering the war with an Oct. 7 attack on Israel, could deliver the first pause in the conflict since November and set the stage for further talks to end the fighting. Still, all sides cautioned a deal was not guaranteed.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the phased deal would start with a “full and complete” six-week cease-fire during which older, sick and female hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza, the officials said.
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Over that period, Hamas, Israel and mediators would negotiate terms of the second phase that could see the release of more hostages, the officials said. Israel would free additional Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The third phase would include the return of remaining hostages, including bodies of the dead, and the start of a yearslong reconstruction project.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 16 people and wounded at least 50 others in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Children were among the dead and wounded.
