Gaza ceasefire quest

A KEY mediator has stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal this week - but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive on some of the territory's most populated areas.

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The prospect of an expanded assault on areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians has sparked condemnation inside Israel and abroad.

“If this [ceasefire] proposal fails, the crisis will exacerbate” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, told journalists yesterday, adding that mediators have yet to hear from Israel on the proposal.