...

Logo Pasino du Havre - Casino-Hôtel - Spa
in partnership with
Logo Nextory

Israel under pressure to respond to ceasefire proposal as strikes on Gaza continue

• Aug 20, 2025, 3:55 AM
6 min de lecture
1

As strikes on Gaza continue, Israel says it is studying what Qatar has, in its role as mediator, described as a "positive response" by Hamas to a ceasefire proposal.

Spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry Majid al-Ansari declined to go into the details of the deal, but noted that it is "almost identical" to a proposal offered by US Envoy Steve Witkoff that Israel had accepted at an earlier stage.

“If this (ceasefire) proposal fails, the crisis will exacerbate,” al-Ansari told journalists, adding that Israel has yet to respond to it.

Supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza attend a rally demanding their release from Hamas captivity and calling for an end to the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 19, 2025.
Supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza attend a rally demanding their release from Hamas captivity and calling for an end to the war, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks on a lasting ceasefire.

But Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages held in Gaza are returned and Hamas has disarmed.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that fear of Israel plans to occupy Gaza city is bringing Hamas back to the negotiating table. “Only their fear that we seriously intend to occupy Gaza, facing this alternative they are willing to discuss,” he commented.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu announced plans to occupy Gaza City and other densely populated areas, which would potentially result in more casualties and further waves of mass displacement.

UN says trickle of aid insufficient to avert starvation

Meanwhile, hospitals in Gaza continue to be overwhelmed with bodies and injured people due to strikes by the Israeli military.

Across the territory, hospitals said they had received the bodies of 34 Palestinians killed Tuesday, including women and children. Nasser Hospital said an airstrike killed a mother, father and three children in their tent overnight in Muwasi, a camp for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

It added that nine people were killed while seeking aid in areas where UN convoys have been overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds. Others were shot and killed while heading to sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, an Israeli-backed contractor.

A further two people were killed near a GHF site in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital.

Witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office say Israeli forces have killed hundreds of people seeking aid from GHF sites and UN convoys since Israel eased a two-and-a-half month blockade on Gaza in May.

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid packages from the United Arab Emirates, airdropped by parachutes into Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 19, 2025.
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid packages from the United Arab Emirates, airdropped by parachutes into Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana

Members of the United Nations human rights and humanitarian affairs agencies warned on Tuesday that the trickle of aid entering Gaza is insufficient to avert widespread starvation.

"The risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza. This is a direct result of the Israeli government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid,” Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson at the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) told reporters in Geneva.

The UN said on Monday that hunger-related deaths continue to be reported in the Strip, including amongst children.


Today

Chinese national in California jailed for exporting weapons to North Korea
• 8:51 AM
5 min
Shenghua Wen, 42, received around $2 million (€1.7 million) from North Korean officials to ship firearms and ammunition from California.View on euronews
Read the article
Bus crash in Afghanistan kills dozens of migrants returning from Iran
• 8:46 AM
2 min
A collision between a bus and two other vehicles killed at least 79 people, including 19 children, in northwestern Afghanistan, local media reported.View on euronews
Read the article
Syria and Israel hold first direct talks in US-brokered meeting
• 7:53 AM
2 min
In US-brokered talks, Syria and Israel discussed restoring a 1974 ceasefire to de-escalate tensions following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/20/syria-
Read the article
Aid drivers hope for Gaza entry as Egyptian and Palestinian leaders meet at Rafah crossing
• 5:30 AM
15 min
Euronews travelled to the Rafah border crossing with the Egyptian foreign minister and the Palestinian premier.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/20/aid-drivers-hope-for-gaza-entry-as-egyptia
Read the article
US and EU to push for the return of abducted Ukrainian children from Russia
• 5:00 AM
7 min
The return of the forcefully deported Ukrainian children “is a subject at the top of all lists,” Donald Trump said, adding that the US and Europe will work together with Ukraine and the rest of the world “to hopefully bringing them home to their families"
Read the article
Latest news bulletin | August 20th, 2025 – Morning
• 5:00 AM
1 min
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this August 20th, 2025 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https:/
Read the article
Israel under pressure to respond to ceasefire proposal as strikes on Gaza continue
• 3:55 AM
6 min
Qatar has stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal from Arab countries, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive in some of the territory's most densely popula
Read the article