Protesters in Israel escalated their ongoing campaign on Sunday to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

The fragile negotiations between Israel and Hamas have once again entered a decisive phase, marked by the unveiling of a new ceasefire-hostage release proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar.

Israel has received Hamas’s latest ceasefire and hostage release deal proposal, an Israeli official confirms to The Times of Israel. The proposal comes down from the vast majority of the demands Hamas made last month that led to the collapse of talks in Doha, an Arab diplomat says.

Families of hostages held in Gaza are stepping up their campaign to secure their release by holding a strike across Israel.

Large crowds of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday, launching a nationwide grassroots strike and widespread protests to demand the government secure the release of 50 hostages still in Gaza.

Nearly two years of demonstrations have failed to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas that would end the war and free the remaining captives.

Hamas’s declared plan to relocate hostages into Gaza City to use them as human shields may present a serious deterrent to an IDF operation into the city, Lt.-Col. (Res.) Alon Eviatar, an expert in Palestinian affairs, said on Monday.

President Trump echoed the need to expand the war in Gaza, saying that the remaining 50 hostages can only be freed once Hamas is completely eradicated.