RAFAH, Egypt (AP) — Hamas said Monday it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that would still need Israel’s approval, as Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.

Amid reports Hamas has given a positive response to the latest ceasefire proposal, Minister Israel Katz says the threat of an IDF operation in Gaza City allowed diplomacy to resume.

Hamas' meetings with Egyptian officials will focus on ways to stop the war, deliver aid, and "end the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.

Hamas has long called for a comprehensive deal but says it will only release the remaining hostages in return for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has refused to lay down its arms, as Israel has demanded.

Hamas said that Israel's plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a "new wave of genocide and displacement" for hundreds of thousands.