By ABC News
Israel is mulling its response after Hamas said it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal.
The nation’s security cabinet is expected to meet after the end of the Jewish Sabbath to discuss Israel’s next steps as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to leave for Washington for talks on Monday with US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump has been making a renewed push for an end to nearly 21 months of war in Gaza.
“No decision has been made yet on that issue”, an Israeli government official said when asked about Hamas’s response to the latest ceasefire proposal.
Hamas made its announcement late Friday, local time after holding consultations with other Palestinian factions.
“The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place” the terms of the US-backed truce proposal, the militant group said in a statement.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded “guarantees” that Israel “will not resume its aggression” once hostages held in Gaza are freed.
Mr Trump, when asked about Hamas’s response aboard Air Force One, said: “That’s good. They haven’t briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.”
This week, the US president said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalise” a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
In the subsequent fighting, more than 57,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, local health authorities say.
Two previous ceasefires mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US have seen temporary halts in fighting, coupled with the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
US aid workers injured in Gaza ‘attack’, GHF reports
Also on Saturday, the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) reported two American staff were injured in an “attack” on one of its aid centres in southern Gaza.
The GHF noted that the injured employees were in stable condition.
“The attack — which preliminary information indicates was carried out by two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans — occurred at the conclusion of an otherwise successful distribution in which thousands of Gazans safely received food,” it added.
The ABC has not been able to immediately verify this claim.
The GHF began operations on May 26 in Gaza after Israel halted supplies into the Palestinian enclave for more than two months, sparking famine warnings.
The foundation’s operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.
More than 500 people have been killed while waiting to access rations from its distribution sites, the UN Human Rights Office said Friday.
The Israeli military has blamed Hamas for the deaths.
“GHF has repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers and the civilians who rely on our sites for food,” the foundation said.
“Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”