US says ‘bridge proposal’ on table for Gaza ceasefire but window ‘closing fast’

WASHINGTON – The US State Department said on March 19 there was still a bridge proposal that would extend the ceasefire” in Gaza but the opportunity for it was “closing fast”.

A State Department spokesperson said the proposal would also “see the release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander. It would also see the release of a substantial number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails”.

“The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast.”

The Israeli military said on March 19 its forces have

resumed ground operations in Gaza

as a second day of air strikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to local health workers.

A day earlier, more than

400 Palestinians were killed

in Israeli air strikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.

This shattered nearly two months of relative calm since

a ceasefire went into effec

t between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza.

The State Department spokesperson said the proposal was “compelling” and that Washington stood with Israel.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct 7, 2023, when

Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel,

killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 49,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies. The assault has internally displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis. REUTERS