Israel accepts a U.S. proposal for a temporary Gaza ceasefire and Hamas gives a cool response
Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday.
President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism earlier this week about brokering an agreement to halt the Israel-Hamas war and return more of the hostages captured in the attack that ignited it.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Israel 'backed and supported' the new proposal.
Hamas officials gave the Israeli-approved draft a cool response, but said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.
'The Zionist response, in essence, means perpetuating the occupation and continuing the killing and famine,' Bassem Naim, a top Hamas official, told the Associated Press. He said it 'does not respond to any of our people's demands, foremost among which is stopping the war and famine.'
Nonetheless, he said the group would study the proposal 'with all national responsibility.'
Hamas had previously said it had agreed with Witkoff on a 'general framework' of an agreement that would lead to a lasting ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an influx of aid, and a transfer of power from the militant group to a politically independent committee of Palestinians.
Magdy and Krauss write for the Associated Press. Magdy reported from Cairo. AP writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed reporting.
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