Overview
- US mediator Steve Witkoff offered a 60-day ceasefire with the release of 10 hostages and remains of 18 others in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
- Hamas agreed to parts of the proposal but added demands for guarantees against renewed Israeli aggression and a wider military pullback.
- The United States and Israel rejected Hamas’s counteroffer as “completely unacceptable,” halting progress on a temporary truce.
- Hamas reported more than 30 Palestinians killed at a Rafah aid distribution center, but the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and Israeli army both denied any casualties.
- The UN warns Gaza faces a looming famine as humanitarian deliveries struggle to reach civilians amid intensified military operations.