An Israeli senior official stated this morning that Israel is studying Hamas's response to a proposed ceasefire and hostage release deal, describing the reply as an improvement over previous offers. The official indicated that the current response provides material to work with. Hamas confirmed yesterday it had submitted its response to the mediator. Approximately 70 humanitarian and auditory aid trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday through the Zekes crossing to the northern Gaza Strip and Kerem Shalom to the southern Gaza Strip, according to an Israeli report. These trucks, containing primarily food, underwent security inspections before entry. The IDF, in coordination with the UN and international organizations, facilitated the transfer of over 150 trucks from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom passage and the transition point, with over 800 trucks still awaiting transit. Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced today the detention of Abed al-Karim Snober in the West Bank city of Nablus. Snober is accused of carrying out a botched bus bombing attack in central Israel on February 20, which involved the explosion of three empty buses and the discovery of unexploded devices on others. Snober was wounded and fled during a raid yesterday in Nablus, which was prompted by an explosion likely caused by him handling explosive devices. An intensive 19-hour pursuit led to his apprehension. During searches at the building where the earlier explosion occurred, Israeli forces discovered and destroyed additional primed explosive devices. In a separate development, an Arab report indicated that attention is now focused on a meeting scheduled for today between the Prime Minister of Qatar and Ambassador Vitkoff in Italy, following Hamas's response to the ceasefire proposal. The Israeli senior official noted that the response received last night was better than the one Hamas provided on Tuesday, which mediators rejected without presenting it to Israel.
