NNA - Cautious hopes were building Tuesday for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal as Hamas said it was studying the latest proposal and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was due to head back to Israel.

The Palestinian militant group whose October 7 attack started the Gaza war said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

The Islamist group, whose envoys returned from Cairo talks to their base in Qatar, would "discuss the ideas and the proposal," said a Hamas source, adding that "we are keen to respond as quickly as possible".

Sources in Egypt -- a key mediator alongside the United States and Qatar -- told Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services, that Hamas envoys were due to "return with a written response".

Washington, Israel's top ally, has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire -- a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh Middle East crisis tour since the war broke out.

Blinken, who arrived in Jordan from Saudi Arabia and was later heading to Israel for talks with its leaders on Wednesday, described Israel's offer as "extraordinarily generous" and urged Hamas to "decide quickly".

Washington has strongly backed its ally but also pressured it to refrain from a ground invasion of Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians, and to do more to protect the territory's 2.4 million people.

President Joe Biden -- facing strong criticism abroad and rising fury on US university campuses -- urged the Egyptian and Qatari leaders Monday "to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas".--AFP

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