Israel is reviewing a revised response from Hamas to a proposed ceasefire and hostage-release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Thursday, as Israeli air and ground strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has confirmed that it has handed over a new proposal, but did not disclose its contents. A previous version, submitted late on Tuesday, was rejected by mediators as insufficient and was not even passed to Israel, sources familiar with the situation said.

Both sides are facing tremendous pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal, with the humanitarian conditions inside Gaza deteriorating sharply amid widespread, acute hunger that has shocked the world.

Local media quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that the new text was something Israel could work with. However, Israel's Channel 12 said a rapid deal was not within reach, with gaps remaining between the two sides, including over where the Israeli military should withdraw to during any truce.

A Palestinian official close to the talks told Reuters the latest Hamas position was "flexible, positive and took into consideration the growing suffering in Gaza and the need to stop the starvation."

Dozens of people have starved to death in Gaza over the last few weeks as a wave of hunger crashes on the Palestinian enclave, according to local health authorities. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that 21 children under the age of five were among those who died of malnutrition so far this year.

On Thursday, the Gaza health ministry said two more people had died of malnutrition. The head of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the two were patients suffering from other illnesses who died after going without food for several days.

Israel, which cut off all supplies to Gaza from the start of March and reopened it with new restrictions in May, says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being diverted by militants.

Israel says it has let in enough food for Gaza's 2.2 million people over the course of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and blames the UN for being slow to deliver it. Meanwhile, the UN says it is operating as effectively as possible under conditions imposed by Israel.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has been raging for nearly two years since Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages from southern Israel in October 2023.

Israel has since killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, decimated Hamas as a military force, reduced most of the territory to ruins and forced nearly the entire population to flee their homes multiple times.

U.S. Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Europe this week for meetings on the Israel-Hamas conflict and a range of other issues. An Israeli official said Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer would meet Witkoff on Friday if gaps between Israel and Hamas over ceasefire terms had narrowed sufficiently.

Hamas is facing growing domestic pressure amid deepening humanitarian hardship in Gaza and continued Israeli advances.

Mediators say the group is seeking a withdrawal of Israeli troops to positions held before March 2, when Israel ended a previous ceasefire, and the delivery of aid under UN supervision.

(With input from Reuters)