JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese had forsaken Australia's Jewish community and betrayed Israel, a remark that may further strain diplomatic ties tested by the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's comment followed Israel's revocation of the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority on Monday, after a decision by Canberra to recognise a Palestinian state and cancel the visa of an Israeli lawmaker.

DOHA (Reuters) -The latest Gaza ceasefire proposal agreed by Hamas is "almost identical" to an earlier plan put forward by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Andrew Mills, Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Michael Georgy)

By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said on Tuesday of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave.

Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan.

A senior Israeli official on Tuesday said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza ceasefire deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal.

Mediators are awaiting an official Israeli response to the plan, a day after Hamas signalled its readiness for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.

Mediator Qatar expressed guarded optimism, noting the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version agreed to by Israel.

ANKARA (Reuters) -Japan's defence minister will hold talks in Turkey on Tuesday on defence industry cooperation, including the possible supply of Turkish-made drones, as Tokyo expands the role of unmanned systems in its armed forces, a diplomatic source said.

Gen Nakatani is the first Japanese defence minister to make such an official trip to Turkey, a NATO member country that is keen to expand its economic and other ties beyond Europe and the Middle East. Turkey and Japan are both U.S. allies.

By Ali Kucukgocmen

TEKIRDAG, Turkey (Reuters) -A drought in Turkey's northwestern province of Tekirdag has left the area's main dams without potable water, straining infrastructure and leaving some homes without water for weeks, due to a sharp drop in precipitation in the country this year.

Authorities say drought is a critical issue, with several provinces warning of limited fresh water supply this summer.

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus has dispatched 1,200 metric tons of humanitarian aid for Gaza by sea via Ashdod in Israel, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The pre-screened cargo would be transferred without additional security checks on arrival in Ashdod and with international humanitarian organisation World Central Kitchen the final contractor and distributor, the Cyprus Foreign Ministry said.

"The entire undertaking is under the auspices of the U.N. delivery mechanism," it said.

A record 383 aid workers were killed last year, the United Nations said Tuesday, branding the figures and lack of accountability a "shameful indictment" of international apathy, and warning that this year's toll was equally grim.

The 2024 figure was up 31 percent on the year before, the UN said on World Humanitarian Day, "driven by the relentless conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives".

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S.-based charity HEAL Palestine and other rights groups criticized the State Department's decision to stop visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza, saying it will harm wounded children seeking medical treatment on short-term U.S. visas.

The State Department said on Saturday it was halting all visitor visas for Gazans while it conducted "a full and thorough" review, after far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer said Palestinian refugees were entering the U.S.

The United Nations Security Council began to debate Monday a resolution drafted by France to extend the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon for a year with the ultimate aim to withdraw it.

Israel and the United States have reportedly opposed the renewal of the force's mandate, and it was unclear if the draft text has backing from Washington, which wields a veto on the Council.