Israel open to ‘ending the fighting’ as part of Gaza deal: PM office

An Italian delegation of political, academic, and human rights figures hold banners and protest during their visit to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, May 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled on Sunday (May 18, 2025) that Israel was open to a deal with Hamas that would include “ending the fighting” in Gaza, laying out conditions for such an agreement.

“Even at this very moment, the negotiation team in Doha is working to exhaust every possibility for a deal — whether according to the Witkoff framework or as part of ending the fighting, which would include the release of all the hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip,” his office said in a statement.

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 103 people overnight and into Sunday (May 18, 2025), hospitals and medics said, and prompted the main hospital in northern Gaza to close as Israel intensifies its war in the territory that, after more than 19 months, shows no signs of abating.

More than 48 people were killed in airstrikes in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, some of which hit houses and tents sheltering displaced people, according to Nasser Hospital. Among the dead were 18 children and 13 women, hospital spokesperson Weam Fares said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the overnight strikes. Israel blames civilian casualties from its operations on Hamas because the militant group operates from civilian areas.

The bloodshed comes as Israel ramps up its war in Gaza with a new offensive named “Gideon’s Chariots,” in which Israel says it plans to seize territory, displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza’s south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.