Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has stepped up his warnings about the planned takeover of Gaza City, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire proposal in order to free the remaining hostages, DPA reported, citing Israeli media, BTA reported.
"There is a deal on the table, it is the improved Witkoff deal, we must accept it", Israel's Channel 13 quoted Zamir as telling commanders during a visit to a naval base in Haifa.
The senior military officer was referring to a proposal previously agreed upon by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which envisages a 60-day truce during which 10 live hostages will be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
"The army has created the conditions for a hostage deal, now everything is in Netanyahu's hands," Zamir added.
He reiterated his concerns that the planned takeover of Gaza City would endanger the lives of the remaining 20 hostages believed to be still alive, some of whom are believed to be being held in the megacity. He warned that fighters from the Palestinian Islamist group "Hamas" could kill the hostages or "commit suicide with them".
In its official statement about the visit, the Israeli military only quoted Zamir as saying that the army had created the conditions for the hostages' release through military pressure, DPA noted.
At the same time, Gaza health authorities reported that an Israeli airstrike that hit the fourth floor of the main hospital in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave killed at least eight people, the Associated Press reported. The victims on the fourth floor of the "Nasser" hospital died in a double attack, in which one missile first hit and then, a little later, when rescue teams arrived, a second one hit, the ministry said.
The "Nasser" hospital in Khan Younis, the largest in southern Gaza, has withstood attacks and bombings during the 22 months of the war, but officials say it suffers from critical shortages of supplies and personnel.