Hamas says it’s reviewing an Israel cease-fire proposal

Hamas says it’s reviewing an Israel cease-fire proposal as pressure for peace mounts – International efforts are continuing to try to firm up areas of agreement, with mediators led by Egypt at the heart of efforts to encourage both sides to end the violence.
A senior Hamas official told NPR that the militant group would respond to Israel’s latest proposed conditions once it had examined them in full, but was “still studying” them and there was “no scheduled timing” for their response.
He did not offer specifics about Israel’s proposals, but said it followed conditions Hamas had laid down earlier this month, which focused on an exchange involving Israeli captives held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, as well as a six-week cessation of hostilities.
An Egyptian delegation left Israel on Friday, an official told AP, after holding discussions over the possibility of a multi-phase and lengthy Gaza cease-fire. The plan would allow civilians currently in the south of the territory to return to their homes further north, and might eventually lead to a more permanent agreement that ends the fighting altogether.
A major U.S. concern — shared by its international partners — is that the Israeli military will launch a full-scale assault on Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, were more than a million Palestinians have sought shelter after fleeing the widespread fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.