Qatar says Hamas ‘generally positive’ about proposals, while pressure grows on Netanyahu government over handling of crisis

Israel has said it has informed the families of 31 people held in the territory since 7 October that their relatives are dead. The news came as the Qatari prime minister said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to proposals for a deal trading a break in the fighting and release of Palestinian prisoners for the return of more hostages.

The number of the dead equates to more than a fifth of the remaining 136 hostages being held by in Gaza, according to available intelligence collated by the Israeli military, and comes amid pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over its handling of the hostage crisis.

Qatar’s prime minister and US secretary of state say Hamas has responded to outlines of proposed deal

When the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, launched his devastating assault on Israel on 7 October, the militant group’s exiled leadership, like the rest of the world, was apparently caught unawares.

From plush penthouses in Beirut, Doha and Istanbul, they watched the carnage that killed 1,200 Israelis unfold, as well as Israel’s retaliatory campaign on the Gaza Strip. In the past four months Israel has killed an estimated 27,600 people, displaced 85% of the 2.3 million population and razed more than half of the besieged Palestinian territory’s infrastructure.