Some Gazans have also called on Hamas to do more to secure an agreement for a ceasefire deal in the region, AFP reports.

“What are you waiting for? The war must end at any cost,” said a man called Abu Shaker.

In Jerusalem, a student-led protest near Israel’s parliament urged the government to secure a hostage release deal. “Ceasefire now,” said one banner as demonstrators marched with portraits of some of the hostages.

Hamas responded to mediators Qatar and Egypt late on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in the region this week, has said some of its proposed amendments “are workable and some are not”.

Blinken has said Israel is behind the plan, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose far-right government allies strongly oppose the deal, has not publicly endorsed it.

Editorial

Updated 01 Aug, 2026

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