Israel accepts US Gaza ceasefire plan - while Hamas says it's 'under discussion'

Israel has accepted a US-proposed plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the White House, while Hamas says the deal is still "under discussion".

Israeli news outlets reported earlier on Thursday that Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the plan put forward by Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and told the families of hostages still in Gaza. It reportedly calls for a 60-day pause in fighting, and the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died, over the course of a week.

Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down. According to Reuters, some 28 Israeli hostages - alive and dead - would be returned in the first week of the ceasefire, in exchange for 125 Palestinian prisoners sentenced for life and the remains of 180 dead.

The news agency added that the plan includes sending aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas agrees to its terms. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday evening that Israel "backed and supported" Mr Witkoff's proposal, but said talks were ongoing.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official for Hamas, told Reuters that the proposal failed to meet their demands - to end the war, for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza, and to allow aid into the territory. Another senior official, Basim Naim, said to the news agency, however, that the proposal was "under discussion".

Read more:Hamas's Gaza chief 'eliminated', claims NetanyahuInside 'terrorised' West Bank village ???? Click here to listen to The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim wherever you get your podcasts ???? Gaza hospital told evacuate - doctor It comes as a doctor said the Israeli army wanted to evacuate al Awda Hospital - one of the last functioning medical centres in northern Gaza. Dr Rami al Ashrafi told the Associated Press that the hospital had been encircled by Israeli troops and had come under fire in recent days.

He said there were 82 staff members, including doctors, and seven patients left at the hospital, after dozens were already evacuated on Tuesday. Israeli authorities issued evacuation orders last week for large parts of northern Gaza ahead of offensives against Hamas, although the army did not order the hospital itself to evacuate.

Third aid site opened It also comes as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation expanded its aid distribution to a third site, as multiple Palestinians reported chaos at the hubs. Witnesses told the Associated Press they saw a free-for-all of people grabbing aid, and claimed Israeli troops opened fire to control crowds, at all three hubs.

Read more:How the rollout of new Gaza aid system collapsed into chaos Meanwhile, the names of thousands of children killed in Gaza were read out at a vigil held in Westminster - with actors including Steve Coogan and Juliet Stevenson taking part. Coogan told Sky News' lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim he was in London "to protest about the, basically, enforced starvation of thousands of women and children in Gaza by the weaponisation of the blockade on aid to those people".

More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during Israel's war in Gaza, which was launched after more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and a further 250 were taken hostage in a Hamas attack in October 2023. The figure comes from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and members of Palestinian armed groups.

However, the ministry says the figure includes more than 12,000 dead children..