Hamas negotiators in Cairo have received a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, a Palestinian official said on Monday, with the prime minister of key mediator Qatar also in Egypt to push for a truce.

Efforts by mediators Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, have so far failed to secure a lasting ceasefire in the current conflict, which has lasted for more than 22 months and has created a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Palestinian official, speaking to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity, said the latest proposal from mediators "is a framework agreement to launch negotiations on a permanent ceasefire", calling for an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.

"Hamas will hold internal consultations among its leadership "and with leaders of other Palestinian factions to review the text, the official said.

A source from Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant faction that has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, told AFP that the plan involved a "ceasefire agreement lasting 60 days, during which 10 Israeli hostages would be released alive, along with a number of bodies".

"The remaining captives would be released in a second phase, with immediate negotiations to follow for a broader deal" for a permanent end to "the war and aggression "with international guarantees, the Islamic Jihad source said.

The source added that "all factions are supportive of what was presented" by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, visiting the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Monday, said Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was visiting "to consolidate our existing common efforts in order to apply maximum pressure on the two sides to reach a deal as soon as possible".

Alluding to the dire humanitarian conditions for the more than 2 million people living in the Gaza Strip, where United Nations agencies and aid groups have warned of famine, Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching an agreement.

"The current situation on the ground is beyond imagination," he said.

Meanwhile, across Israel, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took part in rallies at more than 300 locations on Sunday, according to the organizer, Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Demonstrators blocked highways — including the main road to Jerusalem — set tires on fire, and disrupted transportation. Protesters carried Israeli flags alongside yellow banners symbolizing the hostage struggle, chanting slogans and banging drums.

One protester was quoted as saying that the silent majority of Israelis is against prolonging the conflict. Former hostage Gadi Moses told demonstrators that "the path of war will not lead to any solution".He rejected calls to "eliminate Hamas", warning that another group would always emerge.

Police reported using water cannons to disperse some gatherings and arrested at least 38 people.

Also on Sunday, the World Food Programme said their teams were "doing everything they can to deliver food assistance", but that it remained "far below needs — just 47 percent — of our daily budget".

"Organized distributions and WFP-supported hot meals and bakeries can't restart without far more aid. Half a million people are on the brink of famine. A ceasefire is the only way to scale up. Children in Gaza are starving to death," it said in a post on X.

'Man-made famine'

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on Sunday that "the man-made famine in Gaza "has largely been shaped by the deliberate attempts to replace the UN-coordinated humanitarian system through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by the United States and Israel. UNRWA urged a return to a unified, UN-led coordination and distribution system.

In addition, most children examined by UNRWA health teams are "emaciated, weak, and at risk of dying" if they do not get the treatment they urgently need.

"According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured (combined) in Gaza since October 2023.It's time to stop this war on children," the agency said in a post on X on Saturday.

In a news release published on Monday, Amnesty International accused Israel of carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in Gaza, as well as "systematically destroying the health, well-being, and social fabric of Palestinian life" after reportedly collecting new testimonies of starved, displaced civilians.

To even begin reversing the devastating consequences of Israel's inhumane policies and actions, which have made mass starvation a grim reality in Gaza, there "must be an immediate, unconditional lifting of the blockade and a sustained ceasefire", said Erika Guevara-Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International.

However, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Sunday that the army would soon begin an offensive to take over Gaza City — the Palestinian territory's largest urban center — despite international warnings about the consequences for the already devastated enclave.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.

jan@chinadailyapac.com