Hamas open to any proposals for 'complete and final' end to Gaza war, says official

A Hamas official has said the Palestinian militant group is “open to any ideas or proposals for a complete and final cessation of aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip”.

Osama Hamdan, at a press conference on Thursday, said Hamas is not interested in a “partial or temporary cessation of aggression”, AP reported.

He reiterated Hamas’s position that the remaining hostages who have been held in Gaza since the 7 October attacks on Israel would only be released after a permanent ceasefire is implemented, the report said.

Asked about current discussions about a roadmap to end the war, including a framework proposal put forward by Egypt, Hamdan said the governance of Gaza would be a “decision of the Palestinian people alone” and that Palestinians in Gaza would “not accept a leadership that comes on the back of a Zionist or American tank or under the protection of this tank”.

Israel is preparing to allow the partial return of residents to evacuated towns along the Gaza border, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said.

Gantz, who heads the National Unity party, said Israel is “getting closer to the day when we can allow a return to some of the communities”, the Times of Israel reported.

The minister told representatives of several southern regional councils that he had discussed a partial return to the evacuated towns and that “we are all preparing for it”. He added:

About 125,00 people have been evacuated from Israeli towns and villages on the borders of Gaza and Lebanon since 7 October, the news outlet said.

At least 20 people were killed and 55 wounded by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip today, according to a Gaza health ministry spokesperson.

The incident occurred near the Kuwaiti hospital, Al Jazeera reported, citing its correspondent who said he witnessed “a Palestinian girl who was injured, seriously injured, and another woman whose face was fully covered with blood” as casualties entered the hospital.

“The airstrike has completely flattened the residential building that is full displaced people,” the correspondent said.

Israel’s war cabinet is expected to meet tonight to discuss its plan for Gaza after the war with Hamas ends, according to reports.

The meeting comes following reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has been putting off the discussion of plans for control of the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu has reportedly refused multiple requests from security officials to arrange a meeting on decisions relating to “the day after” Israel declares it has achieved its goals against Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military 'regrets harm to civilians' after dozens killed in refugee camp strike

The Israeli military has said it “regrets the harm” caused by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike that killed dozens of people in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza earlier this week.

About 86 people were killed in the Israeli airstrike in the Maghazi camp, east of Deir al-Balah, late on Sunday, according to figures by the UN human rights office.