Desperate bid for 'last chance' Gaza truce with Israel 'willing to discuss restoration of sustainable calm' and Hamas saying it has 'no major issues' over potential deal

As the Israel-Hamas war rages on, Israel has warned Egypt that this is the 'last chance' for a Gaza truce agreement as Hamas reveals it has 'no major issues' with striking a deal with the country.

A Hamas delegation is due to arrive today in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-awaited hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip after nearly seven months of bloody conflict.

But Israel has chillingly warned that if an agreement is not made imminently, Tel Aviv is set to launch its long-planned ground assault in Rafah.

According to news site Ynet, the Israeli authorities made the statement after discussions between chief Israeli and Egyptian officials on the hostage deal with Hamas ended on Friday.

Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, as the death toll in Gaza climbs to worrying heights and desperate calls for a deal intensify.

But despite immense global pressure to reach a ceasefire, a deal is still yet to be struck.

Hamas said yesterday it had 'no major issues' with the contents of Israel's most recent offer for a truce.

'The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles,' a senior Hamas official told AFP, speaking anonymously.

In Israel, protestors are demanding that the government secure the freedom of their hostages who were captured by Hamas militants during the October 7 massacre that sparked the current conflict.

Israel claims an estimated 129 hostages are still being detained in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead. 

A mere one-week ceasefire executed in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians who had been holed up in Israeli prisons.

Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire and end to the war - a condition that Israel has rejected.

But for the first time since October 7, Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the violent war.

The Axios news site, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel's latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the 'restoration of sustainable calm' in Gaza - after the release of their hostages.

A Hamas source close to the negotiations told AFP that the militant group 'is open to discussing the new proposal positively' and is 'keen to reach an agreement that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the siege' in Gaza.

But although the talks were 'very good, focused, held in good spirits, and progressed in all parameters,' according to an Israeli official, Egypt had seemed willing to pressure Hamas toward reaching a deal, claiming that 'in the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah'.

'This is the last chance before we go into Rafah,' the official said. 

'The number of days of the ceasefire will be linked to the number of hostages who will be released. If Hamas does want a humanitarian deal, Israel will not be the obstacle,' an Israeli official told Axios before talks with Egypt.

They also mentioned that Israel was willing to make further allowances including the return of residents to northern Gaza. 

The conversations come after at least 22 people were killed in Rafah overnight, according to medics and the Civil Defence agency.

Locals and rescuers reported a series of airstrikes on Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's 2.4million population have sought refuge near the border with Egypt.

Israel has vowed to go after Hamas battalions in the southern Gaza city, but the prospect has sent alarm bells ringing worldwide as much of war-torn Gaza's civilians have fled there.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday, however, that Israel would be willing to call off a ground offensive in Rafah of Hamas accept the deal to release hostages.

'If there is a deal, we will suspend the operation,' Katz told Israel's Channel 12. 

World leader and humanitarian groups have also warned that a looming invasion if Rafah would lead to massive civilian casualties.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appealed to the US to stop Israel from invading Rafah, which he said would be 'the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people'. 

The US – Israel's main ally and weapons supplier – was the only nation capable of preventing Israel from 'committing this crime', Abbas told a global economic summit in Saudi Arabia. 

Hamas senior leader, Khalil al-Hayya, will inform Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday the group's response to the truce proposal.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday discussed the state of negotiation of the deal that would secure much-anticipated return of Israeli hostages.

During the call, Biden also 'reiterated his clear position' on the possible invasion of Rafah, and White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Israel had agreed to listen to US concerns and thoughts before it launches an invasion.

Hamas' October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 34,400 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-occupied territory.