Israel insists the war cannot end before it fully eradicates Hamas, which is why it wants to launch its planned invasion of Rafah in the south.
Hamas, however, has repeatedly indicated that it sees no point in agreeing to a deal that does not provide for a lasting truce.
Hamas on Wednesday asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide clarity on the terms of the latest ceasefire proposal being discussed, an unnamed Egyptian official told the Associated Press.
The terrorist group reportedly seeks “clear terms of the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza” and assurances that the initial stage of the ceasefire will be followed by another stage that could include a gradual and then complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
The current proposal apparently does not lay out details for the return of Palestinians to the north of Gaza.
Israelis support any deal to free hostages
Public opinion in Israel now favours any deal to free the hostages, especially after Hamas last released the first proof-of-life video for 24-year-old Hersch Goldberg-Polin, who has not been seen or heard from since his capture on Oct 7.
A new opinion poll commissioned by public broadcaster Kan on Wednesday showed 54 per cent of Israelis favour the deal that would offer Hamas a temporary ceasefire for the release of at least some hostages.
When asked about a potential agreement that would obligate Israel to stop the war and release “thousands of terrorists” in return for the release of all hostages, some 47 per cent of Israelis said they would support it, with a third of them against and the rest undecided.
The poll came amid widespread uproar in Israel over the comments of Orit Strock, the hard-Right settlements minister, who told a local radio station on Wednesday morning that Israel should not throw the war “in a trash bin” to “save 22 or 33 people – I don’t know how many”.
Echoing her allies Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, who on Tuesday threatened to leave the governing coalition if the hostage deal is approved, Ms Strock told Army Radio that Mr Netanyahu’s “government has no right to exist” if it accepts the agreement.
Speculation is rife that Israel will cancel its planned invasion of Rafah, the only big city in Gaza largely unaffected by fighting, if the deal can be done.
Relatives of several hostages in Hamas captivity condemned the comments of Ms Strock and other hard-Right allies of Mr Netanyahu as “extremist,” saying that they were trampling on the plight of the hostages and their families.
Shir Siegel, whose father Keith was kidnapped from the kibbutz of Kfar Aza and paraded in a recent proof-of-life video, said on Wednesday the minister’s comments show “disrespect to human life in the highest degree… and an assault on the values I grew up on”.