By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hamas has rejected the latest cease-fire proposal, accusing Israel of ignoring its core demands, which include an end to the war and a full withdrawal from Gaza.

Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday that the United Nations Security Council’s approved resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and the release of all hostages held in Gaza emboldened Hamas to reject the proposed deal. He also criticized the United States, Israel’s top ally, for not vetoing the resolution over its lack of a condemnation of Hamas and its Oct. 7 attack.

An independent expert working with the U.N.’s top human rights body said Monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza. International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.

More than 32,000 people have been killed in the besieged territory and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally. It says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.