Israel ‘must end war, quit enclave,’ says Hamas JEDDAH: Hamas will not accept new plans for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages unless Israel commits to ending the war and quitting the enclave, a Palestinian official close to peace talks said on Thursday. Qatari and Egyptian mediators have offered the militant group the first concrete proposal for an extended halt to fighting, agreed on by Israel and the US at talks last week in Paris. Hamas is studying the text and preparing a response. An initial ceasefire would last for 40 days, when fighting would cease while Hamas freed remaining civilians from about 130 Israel hostages it still holds. In further phases, Israeli soldiers would be released, followed by the handover of the bodies of dead hostages. “I expect that Hamas will not reject the paper, but it might not give a decisive agreement either,” the Palestinian official said. “Instead, I expect them to send a positive response, and reaffirm their demands: for the agreement to be signed, it must ensure Israel will commit to ending the war in Gaza and pull out from the enclave completely.” The diplomatic progress comes despite confusion over the stance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is thought to need the war to continue to save his political career. In public, Netanyahu insists that there will be no ceasefire until all the hostages are released and Hamas has been eradicated. However, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: “I can’t speak to the prime minister’s public comments, all I can tell you is that the conversations we have had in recent days with our counterparts, including Israel, lead us to believe that there is real potential progress here toward getting a deal.” The number of Palestinians killed in the war passed 27,000 on Thursday, with thousands more uncounted bodies still under the rubble. Israel launched a huge ground assault last week to capture the main southern city Khan Younis, which is sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians. Combat has also surged in northern areas that Israel claimed to have subdued weeks ago. Osama Ahmed, 49, a father of five from Gaza City now sheltering in western Khan Younis along the Mediterranean coast, said there had been fierce resistance in the city, and relentless bombardment from air, ground and sea as tanks advance. “They haven’t entered deep into Al-Mawasi where we live but everyday they get closer,” he said. “All we want is a ceasefire now and to return to our homes, end the war and humiliation.”