Senior Hamas officials in Doha are reportedly inclined to support the deal on the table, but no response has been received from Hamas's military leadership in Gaza, N12 noted. Israel, the US, Qatar, and Egypt are still waiting for Hamas's response to the proposed hostage and ceasefire deal presented by mediators last week,

Israel warned it would for the first time into a town in the heart of the Gaza Strip that it had earlier skirted for fear of harming hostages, as it accused Hamas of stalling at US-brokered ceasefire talks and the war’s toll on Palestinian civilians spiralled.