Israel swore in a new commander of its military as a standoff over the fragile ceasefire in Gaza increased the risk of a resumption of fighting without an agreement to bring home the rest of the hostages still held by Hamas.

Arab leaders on Tuesday endorsed Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip that would allow its roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain, in a counterproposal to US President Donald Trump’s plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it as a beach destination.

The White House said Wednesday that US officials have engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, stepping away from a long-held US policy of not directly engaging in the militant group.

After the U.S. froze military aid claiming Zelensky wasn’t ready for peace, the Ukrainian president called the Oval Office incident “regrettable” and restated his commitment to a deal.

On Monday afternoon, two friends, Khaled al-Shaer, 60, and Musa Qishta, 59, were walking toward their destroyed homes in the city of Rafah near the Egyptian border with Gaza. They had gone out for a stroll to pass the time until that day’s Ramadan fast ended at sunset.

Israel has introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January 19 under a truce arranged with U.S. support and Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

UN Secretary General António Guterres, who has arrived in Cairo for Tuesday's emergency Arab summit on rebuilding Gaza, called for the "immediate" resumption of assistance. He urged "all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities".

Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza daily since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19​, and it was unclear what the immediate impact of the aid cutoff would be.