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Hamas has not received United States President Donald Trump’s Gaza Strip ceasefire plan, the Palestinian militant group that runs the enclave says, as Israeli forces expand their assault on Gaza City.
The comments came after Israeli newspaper Haaretz cited sources saying Hamas had agreed in principle to release all the Israeli hostages it holds in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops under Trump’s plan.
Also included in the proposal were the end of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip and Israel agreeing not to annex the territory and drive out Palestinians living there, Haaretz reported.
“Hamas has not been presented with any plan,” a Hamas official who asked not to be named told Reuters.
In his comments to reporters on Friday, in which he said “it’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza”, Trump offered no details of its contents and gave no timetable.
Israel has not yet made any public response to Trump’s comments.
Trump is due on Monday to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a governing coalition opposed to ending the Gaza Strip war until Hamas is destroyed.
Trump also said on Friday that talks on the conflict with Middle Eastern countries were intense and would continue as long as required.
His special envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president had presented proposals to the leaders of multiple Muslim-majority countries this week that included a 21-point Middle East peace plan.
Health authorities report 74 killed as facilities shut down
In the Gaza Strip meanwhile, the fighting continued.
The Israeli military said its aircraft struck 120 targets across the strip over the past day as troops pressed deeper into Gaza City.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 74 people were killed in the enclave in the last 24 hours.
In a post on social media platform X, the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman repeated calls for Gaza City residents to leave.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that 350,000-400,000 Palestinians have left since Israel began its expanded ground offensive in Gaza City a couple of weeks ago but hundreds of thousands remain.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said late on Friday it had been forced to suspend its medical activities in Gaza City because its clinics were encircled by Israeli forces.
The group — known in English as Doctors Without Borders — said the move was the “last thing” it wanted, saying that vulnerable people such as infants in neonatal care and people with life-threatening illnesses are unable to move and are in grave danger.
Four health facilities in Gaza City have shut down so far this month, according to the World Health Organization, and the UN says some malnutrition centres have also closed.
