Hamas says it responded to latest Gaza truce

 Hamas said on Thursday that it has responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, after more than two weeks of indirect negotiations in Qatar failed to yield a truce.

Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that it has 'just submitted its response and that of the Palestinian factions to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators'.

A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed it had received the response.'It is currently being evaluated,' it added. 

Hamas's response included proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war, according to a Palestinian source familiar with the ongoing talks in Doha.

Negotiators from both sides have been holding indirect talks in Doha through mediators in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce deal that would see the release of Israeli hostages.

More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that 'mass starvation' was spreading in Gaza but Israel said it was allowing aid in but international agencies were not picking it up for distribution.