Hamas weighs Gaza truce proposal

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, May 03 (AFP): Hamas says it is considering in a "positive spirit" a Gaza truce deal, while the UN warned rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory would require efforts not seen since World War II.
After months of stop-start negotiations, Hamas has sounded an optimistic tone about the latest hostages-for-ceasefire proposal, raising hopes an agreement may soon be reached-even as medics in the besieged strip reported fresh strikes on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah on Friday.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group will "soon" send a delegation to Egypt to complete ongoing ceasefire discussions with a deal that "realises the demands of our people".
Haniyeh, the leader of the militant group's political wing, told Egyptian and Qatari mediators in calls on Thursday that Hamas was studying the latest proposal from Israel with a "positive spirit".
The stakes of the truce talks were thrown into sharp relief Thursday, when a UN report estimated it could take 80 years to reconstruct all the homes flattened over the course of the nearly seven-month war.
Meanwhile, police have arrested more than 2,100 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings.
One officer fired his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, a prosecutor's office confirmed. No one was injured by the officer's actions late Tuesday inside Hamilton Hall on the Columbia campus, according to Doug Cohen, a spokesperson for District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.