JERUSALEM (AP) — On Tuesday, a key mediator emphasized the urgent need to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, noting Hamas’s “positive response” to a proposal. However, Israel has not yet responded as its military plans an offensive targeting some of Gaza’s most densely populated areas.

The potential for an expanded attack in areas where hundreds of thousands of civilians seek refuge has drawn criticism both within Israel and internationally. After enduring 22 months of conflict, many Palestinians believe there is no safe space in Gaza, not even in declared humanitarian zones.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested on Sunday, concerned that the military offensive could further endanger the remaining hostages in Gaza, where only 20 of the 50 are believed to be alive.

“If this ceasefire proposal fails, the situation will worsen,” said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, noting that they have yet to get a response from Israel.

Witkoff is invited to rejoin the talks

Al-Ansari mentioned that Hamas had accepted the terms being discussed, though he did not disclose specifics, saying the proposal was “almost identical” to an earlier one put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

The U.S. proposal suggested a 60-day ceasefire during which some of the remaining hostages would be released, and both parties would work towards a permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages.

“If we get to a deal, it shouldn’t be expected that it would be instantaneously implemented,” al-Ansari said. “We’re not there yet.”

That cautious assessment came a day after the foreign minister of Egypt, the other Arab country mediating the talks, said they were were pushing for a phased deal and noted that Qatar’s prime minister had joined negotiations between Hamas leaders and Arab mediators.

Witkoff has been invited to rejoin the talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told The Associated Press. Witkoff pulled out of negotiations less than a month ago, accusing Hamas of not acting in good faith.

It was not clear how Witkoff has responded to the invitation.

A senior Israeli official said Tuesday that the country’s position on a ceasefire “is consistent and has not changed.”

“Israel demands the release of all 50 hostages in accordance with the guidelines set by the Cabinet to end the war,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a final push is needed to “complete the defeat of Hamas.” He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed.

28 Palestinians killed in Gaza

Hospitals in Gaza said they had received the bodies of 28 Palestinians killed Tuesday, including women and children, as Israeli strikes continued across the territory. Among them were nine people killed while seeking aid, officials at two hospitals told The Associated Press.

The deaths were recorded across Gaza, including in central Deir al-Balah, southern Khan Younis and near aid distribution points, hospital officials said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed private American contractor that has become the primary distributor of aid in Gaza since May, operates those sites.

Nasser Hospital also said an airstrike killed a mother, father and three children in their tent overnight in Muwasi, a camp for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

“An entire family was gone in an instant. What was their fault?” the children’s grandfather, Majed al-Mashwakhi, said, sobbing.

Neither the GHF nor Israel’s military immediately responded to questions about the casualties reported by Nasser, Awda and al-Aqsa hospitals.

The Palestinian death toll in the war surpassed 62,000 on Monday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half of them.

In addition to that toll, other Palestinians have died from malnutrition and starvation, including three reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said Tuesday. It says 154 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when it began counting such deaths, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Aid groups continue to struggle to deliver supplies to Gaza, where most of the population is displaced, large swaths are in ruins and experts say the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out.”

Israel imposed a full blockade in March, then allowed limited aid to resume two and a half months later. The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said 370 trucks of aid entered Tuesday — still below the 600 per day that the United Nations and partners say is needed.

A new attempt to deliver aid by sea

Israel has controlled all Gaza border crossings since seizing the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024. With land routes restricted, some countries have attempted to deliver supplies by air and sea.

Aid workers face mounting danger, the U.N. warned Tuesday. Its humanitarian office said a record 383 aid workers were killed worldwide in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza.

COGAT said Tuesday that 180 pallets of aid were airdropped into Gaza with help from countries including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and France. The U.N. and partners have called airdrops expensive, inefficient and even dangerous for people on the ground.

A ship carrying 1,200 tons of food left Cyprus on Tuesday for the Israeli port of Ashdod loaded with pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods that were pre-screened in Cyprus.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

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