US President Donald Trump hopes to put Israel and Hamas on the path to ending the war in Gaza this week, but the 60-day ceasefire he’s proposing faces disagreements over troop redeployments and civilian relief.

But it added: "In light of an assessment of the situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the invitation to proximity talks be accepted and that the contacts for the return of our hostages - on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to - be continued. The negotiating team will leave tomorrow."

The rise of Izz al-Din al-Haddad in the chain of command suggests the group will hold firm to its position demanding a total end to the war before releasing all remaining hostages.