After mass protests<\/a> in Israel demanding a deal to secure the release of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza, it appeared that Hamas had reduced its demands over a prisoners-for-hostages exchange as well as over the scope of an Israeli-demanded \u201csecurity buffer zone\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under reported details of the proposed plan, about half of the remaining living hostages, as well as bodies, would be released in a phased deal in exchange for about 150 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, some serving life sentences, during an envisaged 60-day ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Israel has said it is no longer interested in a partial deal, instead threatening an imminent new large-scale offensive to capture Gaza<\/a> City, the details of the new ceasefire proposal bring it very close to the outline of a deal initially suggested by Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy Steve Witkoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The head of the Mossad, David Barnea, has recently visited Qatar amid speculation that talks are more active than officially acknowledged by Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israeli officials have briefed that Benjamin Netanyahu will convene talks on the proposal in the next few days. <\/strong>A senior Israeli official told AFP the government\u2019s stance had not changed and demanded the release of all hostages in any deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas<\/a> was \u201calmost identical\u201d to an earlier plan put forward by Witkoff. Hamas had given a \u201cvery positive response, and it truly was almost identical to what the Israeli side had previously agreed to\u201d, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Egypt said on Monday that it and Qatar had sent the new proposal to Israel and \u201cthe ball is now in its court\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reports emerged on Tuesday that Egyptian security officials were putting strong pressure on Hamas to agree to a compromise that would bridge the gap for Israel\u2019s demands for Gaza\u2019s demilitarisation in any future peace deal by placing Hamas\u2019s weapons in Egyptian custody for an undisclosed period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Hamas\u2019s agreement, the focus will now be on Israel, which is under mounting international pressure to accept a ceasefire amid international horror over widespread conditions of starvation<\/a> that have spread through the Palestinian territory after Israel earlier this year imposed a complete blockade on aid entering Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Israel is now letting some supplies into the Gaza Strip, it is not enough to avert widespread starvation, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday. Its spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan told a press briefing in Geneva: \u201cIn the past few weeks Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the risk of starvation in Gaza was a \u201cdirect result of the Israeli government\u2019s policy of blocking humanitarian aid\u201d. Israel\u2019s military agency that coordinates aid, Cogat, has said Israel invests \u201cconsiderable efforts\u201d in aid distribution to Gaza, a claim rejected by many in the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While any prospect of a ceasefire is rejected by Netanyahu\u2019s far-right allies who have again suggested they could collapse his fragile governing coalition, the scale of mass protests in favour of a deal that would secure the return of Israeli hostages is creating its own dynamic, with more demonstrations being called for this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, Israeli media analysts suggested that a vacillating Netanyahu, whose position has lurched abruptly between supporting a partial deal for a ceasefire and rejecting it, would be compelled to choose a course of action, not least if the White House backs the ceasefire terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust two weeks ago he changed his tune and went from insisting on a partial deal to vehemently demanding a comprehensive deal,\u201d wrote Amos Harel in Haaretz of Netanyahu, who is wanted by the international criminal court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza. \u201cAs usual, everything is fluid and flexible: Netanyahu will change his arguments and explanations, and may even covertly encourage internal opposition, as long as he can afford to avoid signing a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf circumstances become impossible for him, due either to a demand from Trump or persistent and severe public outcry, the deal will be signed despite the risks it poses for him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"General](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9926fef377c91c12a1777124b3ce60573378af5e\/56_0_4465_3572\/master\/4465.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f132fc9d7c94d561de1f205b1fc11e9c\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Israel](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/eb0924c5b4793c380af769aabf32f8f29c08cb1c\/0_0_5280_2970\/5280.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none\")