Netanyahu says Israel working on ceasefire plan on eve of Trump meeting. Gaza death toll tops 66,000

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — On the eve of meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is working on a new ceasefire plan with the White House, but details are still being sorted out.

Netanyahu has come under heavy international pressure to end the war, especially during the ongoing offensive in Gaza City. The death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has topped 66,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday.

In Monday’s White House meeting, Trump is expected to share a new proposal for ending the conflict.

“We’re working on it,” Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “It’s not been finalized yet, but we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually as we speak, and I hope we can -- we can make it a go.”

Arab officials briefed on the plan say the 21-point proposal calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal has not been formally announced.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue fighting until Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war, is destroyed. But he repeated an offer to allow Hamas operatives to leave Gaza as part of a deal ending the conflict.

“If they finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out,” he said.

Trump has so far stood behind Israel. But the U.S. leader has shown signs of impatience lately, particularly after Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month. Ceasefire talks have stalled since, despite growing international and domestic protests.

Key Western allies have joined a list of countries recognizing a Palestinian state over Israeli objections. The European Union is considering sanctions and there are growing moves for a sports and cultural boycott against Israel.

A defiant Netanyahu told fellow world leaders Friday at the U.N. General Assembly that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza, where 48 hostages are still held captive, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

Trump's ceasefire proposal would include the release of all hostages within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, according to three Arab officials briefed on the plan. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, said the proposal is not final and changes are highly likely.

Trump discussed the proposal with Arab leaders in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas has said it is ready to “study any proposals positively and responsibly.”

The official said the group had previously said it was willing to release all hostages in return for an end to the war and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip.

Local hospitals in central Gaza said at least 10 people were killed when at least two strikes hit homes in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily report the death toll has climbed to 66,005, with a further 168,162 wounded since the war started.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll, but has said women and children make up around half the dead. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts.

Residents reported hearing sounds of explosions overnight across the city, likely coming from the demolition of buildings through the detonation of explosive-laden vehicles and robots. “They were nonstop,” Sayed Baker, a Palestinian who shelters close to a Shifa hospital, said of the explosions.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but said it struck 140 Hamas military targets over the past 24 hours, including militants, observation equipment and infrastructure.

On Sunday, the military said it had struck a high-rise building in Gaza City after warning residents to evacuate. The strike leveled the 16-story Macca tower. No casualties were reported.

The Israeli military said the building housed “military infrastructure belonging to Hamas.” It is the latest in a series of demolitions in recent weeks as Israel expands its offensive.

Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displacing around 90% of the population amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.

On Sunday, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier died of wounds sustained in an attack at a road junction near Nablus in the West Bank, and security forces shot dead the alleged attacker, the army said. The attack was praised by Hamas. Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which alongside Gaza and east Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want for a future state. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo and Dell'Orto reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.

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