Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, US airdrops, deaths at Gaza food line

Israel has “basically accepted” a six-week ceasefire proposal in Gaza, a senior official in US President Joe Biden’s administration told reporters Saturday.

A second phase of the proposal would be worked out over those six weeks “to build something more enduring,” the official said.

That same official said there is a “framework deal” that Israel has “more or less accepted.” The sticking point, the official says, is that Hamas has not yet agreed to a “defined category of vulnerable hostages.”

The official added the US has held “a number of meetings” in Israel and a meeting in Paris in the past several weeks. The official also said meetings are “ongoing” Saturday in Doha, Qatar.

Some background: CNN reported Friday that officials believed ongoing talks to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement in time for Ramadan were still on track — even after more than 100 Palestinians were killed Thursday as they tried to access food in Gaza City. US officials said the carnage injected added urgency to the talks, and US President Joe Biden on Friday afternoon called for an “immediate ceasefire” for at least six weeks as part of a hostage deal.

US officials on Friday said there are no indications that the discussions had been significantly derailed, but much hinges on an expected Hamas response to what has been discussed in Paris and Doha in the past week between the other countries involved: Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the US. On Thursday, a Hamas official warned the negotiations could be impacted.