MEDIATOR STRESSES CEASEFIRE URGENCY

A MEDIATOR yesterday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal.

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But Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive on some of the territory's most populated areas.

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

Most war-weary Palestinians see no place in Gaza as safe, not even declared humanitarian zones, after 22 months of war.

HOSTAGES