Hamas says it approves a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, according to a statement on a Palestinian news site.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh spoke by phone with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel “and informed them of Hamas’s approval of his proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement,” the group said in a statement published on Shehab News on Monday.
But Israeli officials, according to Reuters, they say that Hamas approved a proposal that had been “watered down” by Egypt and that Israel would not accept. Israel has not formally commented on the proposal that Hamas accepted and no details have been released about a possible release of hostages, Palestinian prisoners or the duration of a ceasefire.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States just received a copy of what he said was Hamas’ “response,” but he did not characterize it further.
“I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response,” Miller told reporters on Monday. “We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region… We continue to believe that a hostage agreement is in the best interest of the Israeli people. It is in the best interest of the Palestinian people. It would bring about an immediate ceasefire.”
It is unclear whether Hamas responded to a proposal approved by the United States. Asked what proposal Hamas accepted, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House: “I’m not going to get into that.”
Kirby said President Biden has been briefed on Hamas’ response.
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Cairo to join the talks late last week and is now in Doha, Qatar, as talks continue.
Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for about 30 minutes and “updated the prime minister on efforts to secure a hostage deal,” the White House said. But Kirby said that call ended before reports emerged about Hamas’s response.
Hamas was designated a terrorist group by the United States and Israel long before Hamas launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7killing more than 1,100 people and taking more than 250 hostages.
Israel’s military warned about 100,000 Palestinians in the eastern part of the Gaza city of Rafah to evacuate on Monday ahead of a ground offensive long threatened by Israeli leaders. The message was delivered with pamphlets, phone calls, messages and media broadcasts in Arabic after a weekend that saw hope for a new ceasefire in the seven months Israel-Hamas was destroyed once again.
Tucker Reals and Camilla Schick contributed to this report.