The United States has put forward a new proposal that would secure the release of a handful of living hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a month-long extension of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, a source familiar with the negotiations said.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented an updated U.S. proposal for extending the Gaza ceasefire deal by several weeks in return for additional hostage releases by Hamas and the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza,

An Israeli air strike killed four Palestinians in Gaza, the territory's civil emergency service said, as Arab mediators and the United States tried to hammer out differences between Hamas and Israel over a January 19 ceasefire agreement.