Israel rejects Gaza ceasefire proposed by Palestinian-American Trump ally as US pushes to end war

Israel has rejected a new Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by Palestinian-American academic and Trump ally Bishara Bahbah amid signs of renewed pressure from Washington to end the war.

Regional news outlets reported on Monday that Bahbah has proposed a solution similar to the framework drawn up by the Trump administration, but included a personal guarantee from the US president that Israel will enter talks to permanently end the war.

The Trump framework, recently proposed by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would see both sides agree to a truce lasting between 45 and 60 days. Hamas would release 10 living captives, and Israel would free Palestinian detainees.

Israeli officials strongly rejected the terms in comments to local media, just hours after details of the proposal began to surface.

"Israel rejects the proposal of the American-Palestinian mediator – this is an unacceptable and illogical proposal," sources told Kan.

The plan "cannot be accepted by any responsible government", another official told The Times of Israel.

The Netanyahu government has insisted it will only agree to a temporary ceasefire according to the so-called 'Witkoff outline', but refuses to discuss ending the war until Hamas surrenders and leaves Gaza.

Hamas has offered to release all the remaining Israeli captives and cede control of Gaza in return for a permanent end to the war, but refuses to lay down its arms.

The Palestinian group is no longer opposed to another temporary truce but is demanding guarantees from Trump that Israel will subsequently commit to permanently ending the war.

It wants assurances to avoid a repeat of the previous ceasefire, when Israel reneged on its pledge to negotiate ending the war.

News of Bahbah's proposal comes amid reports that the Trump administration is stepping up efforts to bring an end to the war.

Israeli news media reported on Sunday that Washington is putting pressure on Netanyahu to re-engage with the mediators, a few days after he ordered his negotiating team to quit the talks in Doha.

US officials also reportedly want the Israeli military to delay its full-scale ground invasion of Gaza to allow more time for negotiations.

In comments to reporters on Sunday, Trump said his administration is trying to end the war "as quickly as possible".

Bahbah – founder of the pro-Trump campaign group Arab-Americans for Peace – has emerged a key mediator between Hamas and the Trump administration.

Backchannel talks facilitated by the academic led to Hamas agreeing to release American-Israeli captive Edan Alexander earlier this month. Witkoff has since maintained contact with the Hamas leadership in Doha via Bahbah.