Sri Lanka, Aug. 20 -- Israel is demanding the release of all 50 hostages held in Gaza, an Israeli official has said, casting doubt on whether it will accept a new proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that Hamas agreed to on Monday.

The proposal, put forward by Qatar and Egypt, would see the release of around half the hostages and is "almost identical" to a US proposal Israel had previously accepted, according to Qatar.

Israel has not explicitly rejected it - but Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told the BBC that it is not interested in "partial deals".

"Things have changed now. The prime minister has laid out a plan for the future of Gaza," Mencer said.

Palestinian sources said the proposal would see 10 living and 18 dead hostages...