JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military said Monday that it demolished a 12-story office building in Gaza City, 90 minutes after warning residents to evacuate the area.
Over the past several days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, warning that Hamas has installed surveillance infrastructure in them.
The military said that Hamas had positioned observation posts and explosive devices around the building. Israel also warned residents of other parts of Gaza City to evacuate south.
The demolitions are part of Israel’s ramped-up offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold, urging Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza City for a designated humanitarian zone in the territory’s south.
Most Palestinian families have been repeatedly displaced in the nearly two-year-long war and say they have nowhere left to go. The Israeli military has previously bombed tent encampments designated as humanitarian zones.
The demolition came as U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was giving his “last warning” to Hamas regarding a possible ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed Trump’s claim that Israel had accepted his proposed deal, during a Monday news conference in Budapest with Hungary’s foreign minister.
“I hope this attempt by the American administration will be accepted,” Saar said.
Also on Monday, two Palestinian attackers killed six people in a shooting attack at a busy intersection in Jerusalem.
Deal calls for immediate release of hostages
The “last warning” proposal, presented by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, calls for the immediate release of all hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza Strip in return for 3,000 Palestinians prisoners and a temporary ceasefire, according to three officials with knowledge of the ceasefire efforts.
Hamas said in a statement late Sunday that it was “ready to sit at the negotiating table” regarding the Witkoff proposal.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson Mohammad Hajj Moussa said in a statement that the militant group will discuss the latest ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States “immediately upon receipt with our brothers in the leadership of Hamas and the other factions.”
The proposal, which was presented to Hamas last week, calls for a negotiated end of the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza once the hostages are released and a ceasefire is established, they said. The prisoner exchange will include hundreds of Palestinians serving life sentences, added the officials from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Egypt, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door talks.
Details of the proposal were first reported by Axios.
Hamas concerns over return to war
The officials, however, said that the proposal lacks guarantees that Israel won’t resume fighting after the release of hostages.
A Hamas official said the proposal focused on the release of hostages and didn’t provide answers to crucial questions including a timetable for ending the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
He said that Hamas was studying the proposal with other Palestinian factions, and will respond within days. He said they will demand a “clear commitment” that the war will end before releasing the hostages.
An Egyptian official said the new proposal, which Arab mediators received from the U.S., includes broader lines and requires negotiations to hammer out details, including Hamas’ demands of guarantees to end the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as Israel’s demand that Hamas disarm.
In a statement late Sunday, Hamas said that it received “some ideas” from the U.S. to reach a ceasefire deal.
The group said that it was ready to negotiate “the release of all prisoners in exchange for a clear declaration of ending the war, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.” Hamas also reiterated that it’s ready to immediately hand over power to “a committee of independent Palestinians to run the Gaza Strip.”
“This must be accompanied by a public and explicit commitment from the enemy to adhere to any agreed-upon terms to prevent a repetition of past experiences where agreements were reached,” Hamas said.
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Samy Magdy reported from Cairo. Wafaa Shurafa contributed to this report from Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip.
