Israel has said that it would be willing to delay a long-planned assault on Hamas’s last stronghold in the Gaza Strip if a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages can be agreed.

Hamas said over the weekend that it was studying a new proposal by Egypt and Israel that, according to reports, would lead to a halt in the fighting and a further withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in return for the release of two to three dozen of the Israelis seized during the militant group’s October 7 assault on the Jewish state.

Israel has begun preparations for the civilian evacuation of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city and the last population centre controlled by Hamas, ahead of an expected attack that could come “within weeks”, according to one Israeli official.