Hamas says it's waiting for Israeli response on ceasefire proposal

7/7/2024 17:32

        Hamas is waiting for a response from Israel on its ceasefire proposal, two officials from the Palestinian group said on Sunday, five days after it accepted a key part of a U.S. plan aimed at ending the nine-month war in Gaza.
        
        "We have left our response with the mediators and are waiting to hear the occupation's response," one of the two Hamas officials told Reuters, asking not to be named.
        
        The three-phase plan was put forward at the end of May by U.S. President Joe Biden and is being mediated by Qatar and Egypt. It aims to end the war and free around 120 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
        
        Another Palestinian official, with knowledge of the ongoing ceasefire deliberations, said Israel was in talks with the Qataris.
        
        "They have discussed with them Hamas' response and they promised to give them Israel's response within days," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters on Sunday.
        
        Israel's government made no immediate comment on the timing of its deliberations.