A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The U.S. has laid out a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. President Trump calls it his last warning to Hamas for accepting it. And Israel is warning approximately 1 million Palestinians to leave Gaza City. Now, that's where the military has begun toppling tall buildings. NPR's Daniel Estrin has the latest from Tel Aviv. Daniel, so what is in this U.S. ceasefire proposal?
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: We've been speaking with Egyptian, Israeli and Hamas officials who have shared the basic details. It's not really a proposal. It's more of an outline of ideas. The U.S. is proposing a 60-day ceasefire. And within the first two days, Hamas would free all of its Israeli hostages. Israel would free some Palestinian detainees and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. President Trump would guarantee both sides would enter negotiations until an agreement is reached toward a final end of the war.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. Now, we've seen a lot of U.S. ceasefire proposals fail to get anywhere. We've always heard that, oh, it's close, it's close. How is this going to be any different?
ESTRIN: It may not be any different. I mean, Israel says it's seriously considering President Trump's proposal, but a senior Hamas official has called it a humiliating surrender document. And two Hamas officials tell us that Hamas is studying the offer. They don't want to be blamed for rejecting it. But the basic terms are essentially a nonstarter for Hamas. The U.S. is proposing that Hamas free all of its hostages at the very beginning and only then to start negotiating the rest of the terms.
And that's not good enough for Hamas. It has been keeping the hostages as its No. 1 bargaining chip to get Israel to pull out its forces from Gaza and end the war. So this latest U.S. effort does not look promising. And it's also been eclipsed by some serious violence. Yesterday, six Israelis were killed in a Palestinian shooting attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem. Four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza as well, and Israel is intensifying its attacks in Gaza.
MARTÍNEZ: I mentioned earlier about the tall buildings. What's been happening there in Gaza?
ESTRIN: Well, in recent days, Israel's military has been destroying tall multistory buildings in Gaza City. These are office buildings that used to be part of Gaza's commercial hub in Gaza City before the war. Israel's defense minister has been publishing video after video showing tall buildings being bombed and just coming crashing down, so it does bring this kind of symbolic message to Israelis. And one gleaming 12-story building was destroyed in an Israeli strike yesterday. NPR's reporter in Gaza, Anas Baba, filmed the aftermath of that strike. He was caught in a large gray cloud rolling outward. So a huge radius, and people trying to salvage their belongings from a tent camp nearby.
MARTÍNEZ: Why is Israel targeting these particular tall buildings?
ESTRIN: Israel says Hamas has used these buildings for military purposes, like planting explosives ahead of an Israeli ground invasion. Israel has not published evidence of that. But Israel has given advanced warnings, giving people enough time to evacuate. There have been very few fatalities from these bombings. Though this morning, a Gaza rescue group says it's trying to rescue dozens of people trapped under the rubble of a home in that area.
Today, Israel's military has issued a map of Gaza showing all of Gaza City as a danger zone, calling on Palestinians to evacuate to southern Gaza. And most have not fled yet. Many don't think they're going to find room or safety in the crowded south. If soldiers invade Gaza City and masses do flee south, the humanitarian catastrophe there could become worse.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Daniel.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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