Hamas Agrees To Truce Deal As Israeli Strikes Kill 54 Sheltering Inside School In Gaza
Hamas claims to accept a ceasefire deal involving hostages and truce, but Israel and the U.S. deny its validity. Israeli strikes continue, killing dozens amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire proposal involving the release of hostages, a 70-day truce, and a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to a Palestinian official. The development comes amid ongoing devastation in the enclave, with Israeli airstrikes reportedly killing dozens, including children and displaced civilians. However, both Israeli authorities and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff denied the validity of the reported agreement, casting doubt on the prospect of a breakthrough.
The Palestinian source, close to Hamas, told Reuters that the ceasefire proposal had been received through mediators and included key concessions: the release of 10 living Israeli hostages in two phases, a 70-day cessation of hostilities, and a partial Israeli military pullback from Gaza. In return, Israel would release a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds serving lengthy or life sentences.
“The proposal includes the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas in two groups in return for a 70-day ceasefire and a partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” said the source.
However, the Israeli government swiftly dismissed the proposal. An Israeli official said the deal was “unacceptable” and “not aligned with any Israeli or U.S. proposal.” The official also rejected claims that it reflected a proposal from Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy involved in the mediation efforts. Witkoff confirmed this to Reuters, stating that what Hamas had supposedly agreed to was “completely unacceptable” and “not the same as” his plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the matter in a recorded message on social media, saying he “hoped very much” to deliver progress on freeing hostages and defeating Hamas “today and if not today then we will tomorrow.” His office has not issued an official statement beyond the video.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has dramatically worsened. Overnight Israeli airstrikes killed at least 54 Palestinians, including many sheltering in a school building in Gaza City. The Fahmi Al-Jargawi School, which housed hundreds of displaced civilians from Beit Lahia, was struck, resulting in massive fires that engulfed classrooms.
“There were sleeping children and women in those classrooms,” said Faris Afana, head of ambulance services in northern Gaza. “Some of them were screaming but we couldn’t rescue them due to the fires. I cannot describe what we saw due to how horrific it was.”
Video footage posted online showed burning classrooms and charred bodies. The IDF claimed the school was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad as a command and control center, accusing militants of operating from civilian areas and using people as human shields.
Among those killed in the school strike was Mohammad Al-Kasih, the head of investigations for Hamas’s police in northern Gaza, along with his wife and children. Separately, a strike on a home in Jabalia killed 19 people, according to officials at al-Ahli Hospital. The Israeli military has not commented on the target of that strike.
The ongoing conflict began after the October 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas-led militants that killed around 1,200 Israelis and resulted in the abduction of 251 hostages. Since then, nearly 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 16,500 children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The violence shows no signs of slowing. The Israeli military said it hit 200 targets across Gaza over a 48-hour period as part of its campaign to dismantle “terrorist infrastructure.”
The toll has been especially brutal for families. On Friday, an Israeli strike killed nine of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s ten children. Her husband remains in critical condition, and her 11-year-old son is injured. The military is currently reviewing the incident.
The international community has increasingly voiced concern. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that two of its staff were killed in a strike on their home in Khan Younis. "The killing… points to the intolerable civilian death toll in Gaza," the ICRC said, renewing calls for a ceasefire.
Aid efforts remain severely constrained. Israel imposed a full blockade on Gaza in March, which lasted 11 weeks. Although 107 aid trucks entered the strip on Sunday, the UN estimates that at least 500–600 trucks are needed daily to meet humanitarian needs. The controversial U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation lost its executive director this week after criticism that its distribution methods lacked neutrality and independence.
Meanwhile, in Madrid, 20 countries and international organizations gathered Sunday to discuss ways to end the conflict. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called for an arms embargo on Israel if attacks did not stop.
Hamas has said it is prepared to release all hostages and agree to a permanent ceasefire if Israel fully withdraws from Gaza. However, Netanyahu remains firm that any ceasefire must be temporary and that the war will continue until Hamas is eradicated.
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