Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has repeatedly said that only military pressure will force Hamas to free the hostages. But the 74-year-old leader is under immense pressure from the families of hostages who demonstrate daily, demanding the government agree to a ceasefire.

Joe Biden, the US president, said that both Hamas and Israel have agreed to a framework for a ceasefire deal but that there are “still gaps to close” as negotiations are expected to resume this week.

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, visited Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, calling on an “immediate ceasefire” that would free the hostages and alleviate the “suffering and the intolerable loss of life that we’re now seeing also in Gaza”.

Mohammed Daraghmeh, a Palestinian analyst, told The Telegraph. “My understanding is that Sinwar has softened his position by accepting the Israeli proposal that was slightly amended by the Americans. He agreed to have a deal with no strong assurance that Netanuahu is going to implement the rest of it until the so-called sustainable calm. 

“Sinwar cannot end the war simply because he has no choice; the offer from the Israeli side is either to surrender or die.”