Atef Arhouma feeds his injured son, Karam Arhouma, 22, lentil soup through a syringe at Shifa Hospital, where doctors say he is showing signs of malnutrition, in Gaza City, Monday. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

JERUSALEM (AP) — A key mediator on Tuesday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal from Arab countries, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive in some of the territory’s most populated areas.

The prospect of an expanded assault on Gaza City and other areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians has sparked international outrage. Palestinians say there is nowhere to flee after 22 months of war that has already killed tens of thousands and destroyed much of the territory.

“They are talking about a 60-day truce, and after Israel gets its (hostages) they will strike us again,” said Huda Rishe, who has been displaced four times since the start of the war. “We will return to Gaza City and then leave again. We have lost hope.”

AP reporters saw some families arriving in central Gaza after fleeing Gaza City.

Many Israelis, who rallied in the hundreds of thousands on Sunday, fear the offensive will further endanger the remaining hostages in Gaza. Just 20 of the 50 remaining are thought to be alive.

“If this (ceasefire) proposal fails, the crisis will exacerbate,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, told journalists, adding they have yet to hear from Israel on it.

Al-Ansari said Hamas had agreed to terms under discussion. He declined to provide details but said the proposal was “almost identical” to one previously advanced by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

That U.S. proposal was for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

“If we get to a deal, it shouldn’t be expected that it would be instantaneously implemented,” al-Ansari said. “We’re not there yet.”

That cautious assessment came a day after the foreign minister of Egypt, the other Arab country mediating the talks, said they were were pushing for a phased deal and noted that Qatar’s prime minister had joined the negotiations with Hamas.