A key mediator on Gaza is stressing the urgency of brokering a ceasefire after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal

Hamas said it has agreed to a deal proposed by Qatar and Egypt to pause the militant group’s war with Israel in Gaza, fueling optimism that a long-awaited breakthrough in negotiations could be close.

Hamas informed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it had agreed to the latest Gaza hostage-ceasefire proposal on Monday. The latest Gaza ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas is "almost identical" to an earlier plan put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff,