Hamas official says Gaza mediators intensifying ceasefire efforts

[ad_1] Rushdi Abualouf Gaza correspondent

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6438/live/0dacacb0-51eb-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Reuters Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians reportedly killed in an Israeli air strike, at al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City (25 June 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Funerals had been held at Gaza Metropolis for Palestinians reportedly killed in a Israeli air strikes

A senior Hamas official has advised the BBC that mediators have intensified their efforts to dealer a brand new ceasefire and hostage launch deal in Gaza, however that negotiations with Israel stay stalled.

The feedback got here as US President Donald Trump stated "nice progress" was being made since Israel and Iran ended their 12-day battle on Tuesday, and that his envoy Steve Witkoff thought an settlement between Israel and Hamas was "very shut".

Israeli assaults throughout Gaza on Wednesday killed at the very least 45 Palestinians, together with some who had been searching for help, the Hamas-run well being ministry stated.

In the meantime, the Israeli army introduced that seven troopers had been killed in a bomb assault on Tuesday claimed by Hamas.

"I feel nice progress is being made on Gaza, I feel due to this assault that we made," President Trump advised reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, referring to the US air strikes on Iranian nuclear services carried out on the weekend amid the battle between Israel and Iran.

"I feel we will have some superb information. I used to be speaking to Steve Witkoff... [and] he did inform me that Gaza's very shut," he added.

Shortly after Trump spoke, the senior Hamas official advised the BBC that mediators had been "engaged in intensive contacts geared toward reaching a ceasefire settlement".

Nonetheless, he added that the group had "not obtained any new proposal to this point".

An Israeli official additionally advised the Haaretz newspaper that there was no progress within the negotiations, and that main disagreements remained unresolved.

Efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to dealer a deal stalled on the finish of Could, when Witkoff stated Hamas had sought "completely unacceptable" amendments to a US proposal backed by Israel for a 60-day truce, throughout which half the residing Israeli hostages and half of those that have died can be launched.

Israel resumed its army offensive in Gaza on 18 March, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It stated it needed to place stress on Hamas to launch its hostages. Fifty are nonetheless in Gaza, at the very least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israel additionally imposed a complete blockade on humanitarian help deliveries to Gaza at first of March, which it partially eased after 11 weeks following stress from US allies and warnings from international consultants that half 1,000,000 individuals had been going through hunger.

On the similar time, Israel and the US backed the institution of a brand new help distribution mechanism run by the Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF), which is meant to bypass the UN as the primary provider of help to Palestinians. They stated the GHF's system would stop help being stolen by Hamas, which the group denies doing.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/62e9/live/17fab9b0-51ea-11f0-b4be-8f7caf53b80c.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters Palestinians gather to collect food from aid lorries guarded by armed members of local clans in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza (25 June 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters Within the city of Beit Lahia, crowds gathered round help lorries guarded by armed members of native clans

The GHF, which makes use of US non-public safety contractors, says it has distributed meals packages containing greater than 44 million meals because it started working on 26 Could, with greater than 2.4 million handed out at three websites on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, the UN and different help teams have refused to co-operate with the GHF, accusing it of co-operating with Israel's targets in a manner that violates basic humanitarian ideas.

They've additionally expressed alarm on the near-daily experiences of Palestinians being killed close to the group's websites, that are inside Israeli army zones.

In response to Gaza's well being ministry, at the very least 549 individuals have been killed and 4,000 injured whereas attempting to gather help because the GHF started distributing help on 26 Could.

On Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Civil Defence company stated six individuals had been killed when Israeli forces opened fireplace at crowds ready close to one of many GHF's meals distribution centre in central Gaza.

Three others had been killed close to a GHF website within the southern metropolis of Rafah, he added.

Nonetheless, the Israeli army stated it was "not conscious of any incidents with casualties in these areas", whereas the GHF stated the experiences of any such incidents close to its websites had been false.

In Gaza Metropolis, funerals had been held for a few of the 33 individuals who the well being ministry stated had been killed over the day before today whereas ready for help.

"I say and repeat 1,000,000 occasions," Abu Mohammed advised Reuters information company. "These help factors aren't help factors, these are dying factors."

Unicef spokesman James Elder, who has simply visited Gaza, stated: "As long as a inhabitants is denied meals, individuals are being supplied this deadly alternative and, sadly, as a result of it is in a fight zone, it can't enhance."

The Civil Defence spokesman additionally stated one other six individuals, together with a baby, had been killed in an air strike on a home early on Wednesday in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.

5 others had been killed when houses within the close by city of Deir al-Balah, he stated.

Greater than 860 Palestinians had been reported killed by Israeli forces in Gaza through the Israel-Iran battle, which started when Israel launched an air marketing campaign focusing on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Iran launched barrages of missiles in direction of Israel in response.

Folks in Gaza had been divided of their assessments of what the ceasefire meant for the territory.

Some considered the weakening of Iran, Hamas's key regional backer, as a doubtlessly constructive step in direction of reaching a truce in Gaza as a result of it'd power the group to ease its calls for.

Others, nonetheless, feared the tip of the battle would enable Israel to redirect its army focus again on Gaza and intensify its air and floor operations.

One man in Khan Younis, Nader Ramadan, advised the BBC that it felt like "every thing bought worse" in Gaza through the battle.

"The [Israeli] bombing intensified, the harm elevated, and the incursion expanded in sure areas… We solely felt the destruction," he stated.

Adel Abu Reda stated probably the most troublesome factor was the dearth of entry to assist. He stated gadgets had been being looted and offered for inflated costs, and civilians had been coming beneath Israeli fireplace when attempting to get meals.

"What are we imagined to do?" he requested. "We really feel the capturing and the killing on a regular basis."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6d37/live/5a60dd20-51ea-11f0-8485-7bd50fa63665.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Reuters The mother of Israeli soldier Sgt Shahar Manoav is assisted as she mourns over her son's grave, during his funeral in Ashkelon, Israel (25 June 2025)" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Reuters One of many Israeli troopers killed within the Khan Younis assault, Sgt Shahar Manoav, was buried in Ashkelon

In Israel, the army introduced that seven of its troopers had been killed in fight in southern Gaza on Tuesday - the deadliest such incident because the ceasefire collapsed.

Spokesman Brig-Gen Effie Defrin stated an explosive gadget was connected to an armoured automobile within the Khan Younis space, and that the blast precipitated the automobile to catch fireplace. Helicopters and rescue forces made a number of unsuccessful makes an attempt to rescue them, he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated it was "a troublesome day for the individuals of Israel".

The deaths renewed stress on Netanyahu to agree a ceasefire, with the chief of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish get together in his governing coalition saying Israel ought to finish the battle and produce house all of the hostages.

"I do not perceive what we're combating for and for what function... when troopers are being killed on a regular basis?" Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism advised the Israeli parliament.

The Israeli army launched a marketing campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's 7 October 2023 assault on Israel, wherein about 1,200 individuals had been killed and 251 others had been taken hostage.