Israel Propose New Truce Agreement As More Hostages Are Killed In Gaza

After recent discussions between the US, Israel and Qatari officials, the Israeli government have proposed a new deal for the release of more hostages from the Gaza Strip.

The new pact suggestion calls for a pause in fighting for up to seven days and the release of 40 Israeli captives.

Officials in Qatar, where Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh currently lives in a billion-dollar apartment, have stressed that talks are ongoing and a deal has not yet been facilitated.

Qatari authorities have agreed to negotiate the deal with Hamas, considering the Israeli government does not deal with the Palestinian militants directly.

After being approached for a comment on the potential agreement, representatives of Israel's government have refused to make a statement.

As part of the previous 'truce agreement' between Hamas and Israel, more than 100 Israeli captives were released in return for more than 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Since Hamas was accused of violating the temporary ceasefire deal last month, according to the Israeli military, around 130 civilians remained captured by the proscribed terrorist organisation.

As part of Hamas's unprecedented assault on Israeli nationals on October 7, more than 240 people were kidnapped by the militants – including children as young as nine months old.

The hostage's plight has dominated conversations and media outlets in Israel ever since and there have been several public campaigns that call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to increase all efforts to find and return the civilians.

On Friday last week, hundreds of demonstrators blocked the main highway in the capital, Tel Aviv, in a spontaneous protest that called for the captives to be brought home.

More than 20 hostages have been killed after being kidnapped by Hamas.

Last month, the death of Noa Marciano was revealed in a video sent by Hamas militants.

While identifying herself to the camera, Marciano said that she was a 19-year-old reservist for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) who was taken by the governors of Gaza last month.

At the end of the video, which was sent to her family members, the footage cut to images of her deceased body being displayed.

Ayre Zalamanovich is also amongst those who have been killed in Hamas captivity. Zalamanovich, 86 years old, has been named as the oldest Israeli civilian to have been kidnapped and taken into Gaza.

Last month, Hamas released a video that showed an elderly man and said that his health was deteriorating. In a second video published by the militants, Hamas claimed that Zalamanovich had been killed.

Earlier this month, another man was killed by Hamas while being held captive in the enclave. His death was announced by the militants, through published footage that depicted the male captive.

In the video, the anonymous hostage, whose name has been withheld, says that he has been held as a hostage for 40 days.

The tiled floor, which is seen in the video, is covered in blood and military equipment – equipment that Hamas claims to have captured from the IDF.

Using a script written in Arabic, the proscribed terrorist group notes that Israeli troops have "failed to reach" the hostage and that the militants "quickly fled the place".

In line with the group's sadistic video updates, the footage closed with gruesome images of the hostage's bloodied and lifeless body.

Israeli officials have said that they are continuing to determine the whereabouts of the remaining captives, whether they are alive or if other groups are hiding them.

The official's announcement comes after Hamas claimed that it had no knowledge of 11-month-old baby Kfir Bibas, his mother, Shiri Bibas, and his four-year-old brother, Ariel Bibas.

The Bibas family were seen being kidnapped by the Palestinian militants from Nir Oz on October 7.

Officials have since found evidence that points to the Bibas family being sold or traded to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist-Leninist group that is considered a terrorist organisation.