Egypt presents Gaza ceasefire plan, WHO worried about hospitals

Egypt floats plan to end Israel-Hamas war

Israel and Hamas on Monday gave cool public receptions to an Egyptian proposal to end their bitter war. But the longstanding enemies stopped short of rejecting the plan altogether, raising the possibility of a new round of diplomacy to halt a devastating Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian plan calls for a phased hostage release and the formation of a Palestinian government of experts to administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, according to a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat familiar with the proposal.

The Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal, said the details were worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar and presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments. Egypt and Qatar both mediate between Israel and Hamas, while the US is Israel’s closest ally and a key power in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment directly on the proposal. But speaking to members of his Likud Party, he said he was determined to press ahead with Israel’s offensive.

WHO says hospitals cannot handle war

In the Maghazi refugee camp Monday, rescue workers were still pulling bodies from the wreckage of a strike the previous night. Records at the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital seen by The Associated Press showed at least 106 people killed, making it one of the deadliest strikes of Israel’s air campaign.

The United Nations’ World Health Organization visited the hospital on Monday, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“The hospital is taking in far more patients than its bed capacity and staff can handle. Many will not survive the wait,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The war has devastated large parts of Gaza, killed more than 20,600 Palestinians and displaced almost all of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

UN officials have warned that a quarter of the population is starving under Israel’s siege of the territory, which allows in only a trickle of supplies.