JERUSALEM /GAZA/UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is prepared to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a proposed 60-day truce, but only if the territory is fully demilitarized.

"At the beginning of the ceasefire, we will enter negotiations for a permanent end to the war, that is, a permanent ceasefire," Netanyahu said in a video message from Washington, where he is currently visiting.

"In order to achieve that, it must be done under the basic conditions we've set: Hamas must lay down its arms, Gaza must be demilitarized, and Hamas can no longer possess any governing or military capabilities," he said.

Israeli and Hamas delegations arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday to negotiate a temporary truce, following a deadly Hamas-led attack in October 2023. Israel's subsequent military offensive has devastated the enclave, killing more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

According to Netanyahu, a deal proposal presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff includes a 60-day ceasefire that would also secure the release of 10 living hostages as well as several deceased. About 50 hostages are still held in Gaza, with around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

15 killed in Israeli airstrike 

At least 15 children and women were killed and dozens wounded while waiting for food aid in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike, according to Palestinian medical sources.

Eyewitnesses said that the attack took place in an area designated by the Israeli army as "green and safe," where a queue of women and children were waiting to receive nutritional supplements for kids suffering from malnutrition and severe anemia caused by the continued Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid into the coastal enclave.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incident.

Hamas condemned the Israeli airstrike, describing the attack as a "heinous crime."

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Israeli guard killed in West Bank

Also on Thursday, Palestinian militants opened fire outside a shopping center in the occupied West Bank, killing an Israeli security guard before being shot dead, Israeli authorities said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police said at least two Palestinian men were involved in the incident, which took place in Gush Etzion, a major settlement bloc.

Director-General of the Magen David Adom rescue service, Eli Bin, told reporters that the Israeli victim, a man in his 20s, died from gunshot wounds, but it was impossible to immediately determine who had fired the fatal shots.

The military said in a statement that the assailants arrived at the scene and carried out a combined stabbing and shooting attack. Israeli soldiers and an armed civilian returned fire and killed both attackers.

UN: First fuel in 130 days allowed into Gaza

The first batch of fuel in more than four months allowed into Gaza provides only a dent in the needs of the fuel-starved, from hospitals to water systems, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.

The 75,000 liters of fuel Israeli authorities allowed a UN team to bring into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday was not enough to even meet one day's fuel requirements, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of liters, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"Fuel is still running out in the strip, and services will shut down if far greater volumes do not enter immediately," OCHA said. "One partner, for instance, reported this week that in a matter of days, fuel shortages could cut off supplies of clean drinking water to about 44,000 children supported by its team in Gaza. This would further increase the risk of waterborne illnesses such as cholera, diarrhea and dysentery."

However, fuel is only one of so many problems when death, destruction and displacement are being reported daily, as hopes for a possible ceasefire remain on the horizon.

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Egyptian FM, Fatah official discuss Gaza situation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Thursday in Cairo with Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of the Central Committee of the Palestinian Fatah movement, where they discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt's full support for the unity of Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing the need for the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate rights, "foremost of which is their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

The Egyptian minister spoke of his country's preparations to host an international conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, in coordination with the Palestinian government and the United Nations, once a ceasefire is reached.

For his part, the Palestinian official presented his assessment of the developments in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as his evaluation of the chances and means for implementing the two-state solution, according to the statement.

Rajoub also expressed appreciation for Egypt's continuous support of the Palestinian people on all levels, particularly its mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to the enclave.