Hamas group members have put forward a 135-day truce plan during which hostages might be freed in three stages in response to an Israel-backed ceasefire proposal.

Hamas members said they want to see the full withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the ongoing war which began on October 7.

Hamas' response is a counteroffer to a ceasefire proposal backed by Israel and the US and mediated by Qatar and Egypt - details of which have not been made public, reported BBC.

A one-week truce was earlier followed by the two groups in November when 100 hostages were freed in a swap with 240 Palestinian prisoners.

The development came as regional tensions continued to ratchet up, with US and UK strikes on pro-Iranian militia in Iraq and Syria last Friday after three American service personnel died in an attack on a US base in Jordan.

And amid continuing calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, concerns remained that the situation might escalate further because of events in the Red Sea, where Houthi fighters have targeted shipping with alleged links to Israel.

On Israel’s border with Lebanon, cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have also added to concerns over regional instability.

The latest death toll from the war, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7 October that left some 1,200 people butchered and another 250 taken hostage, is at least 27,365 Palestinians killed in Gaza and 66,630 injured, according to the enclave’s health authorities.