Israel-Gaza updates: Hamas has received proposed hostage deal, Qatar says

The framework of a new proposed hostage deal between Hamas and Israel has not yet been agreed upon by either side, two Israeli sources close to the negotiations told ABC News on Friday.

Talks remain ongoing, the sources said.

Israel is still waiting to hear Hamas' response to the framework. Hamas will then likely request changes to the framework, requiring more negotiations to iron out the details.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor

Hamas has received a new proposed hostage deal but has not yet responded, a Qatari official told ABC News.

"There is no deal yet," said a Qatari official with knowledge of the negotiations. "Hamas has received the proposal positively but we are waiting for their response."

The possibility of a "full-fledged famine" looms large across the entire Gaza Strip, humanitarian groups have warned -- especially in northern Gaza, where some people there say they're using bird feed in place of flour to stave off starvation.

Northern Gaza has been largely cut off for months now, according to the United Nations, and aid trucks carrying flour arrive sporadically and are swarmed by hundreds of hungry people.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East officials also say Israel provides too few authorizations to make deliveries into some areas and that heavy fighting often makes it too dangerous for aid workers to operate. The aid arriving in northern Gaza has been particularly restricted, the U.N. says. Israel disputes the criticisms.

"For more than two months, we have not received flour due to the difficulty of aid entering and the scarcity of flour in the area," Sami Abu Sweilem, a 55-year-old father who is sheltering in a UNRWA school in northern Gaza, told ABC News.

"Children almost died of hunger, so we thought of a way to save our children from death," he said, explaining how he's been using bird feed and animal fodder in place of precious flour.

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President Joe Biden signed an executive order Thursday to sanction four Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the State Department. The sanctions will prohibit them from accessing the U.S. financial system and property in the U.S. and will block them from receiving financial transactions from U.S. citizens.

"This violence poses a grave threat to peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, Israel, and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States," national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

The move escalates U.S. posture against the hardline elements in Israeli society amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In December, the U.S. imposed a visa ban on Israelis linked to violence and unrest in the West Bank that impacted "dozens" of settlers in the Israeli-occupied territory, according to the State Department.

Following the executive order, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a statement, "The absolute majority of the settlers in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting regularly and in the reserves for the defense of Israel. Israel acts against all lawbreakers everywhere, so there is no room for exceptional measures in this regard."

-ABC News’ Ben Siegel, Luke Barr and Justin Gomez