JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office denied on Wednesday that Hamas had agreed to the Gaza ceasefire proposal from Qatari mediators, after an Israeli official said the Palestinian militant group had given its approval.

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttled between the Israeli and Hamas delegations in Doha on Tuesday, where officials said a deal to halt the war is near.

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations

Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, health officials said Tuesday. Earlier strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

After more than a year of talks, both sides say they are close to a deal that could halt Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and return Israeli hostages home.

If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed