Hamas said on Tuesday (Feb. 6) that it delivered its response to a proposed ceasefire deal for Gaza that would also involve the release of hostages, which US authorities believed an agreement was possible.
In a statement, Hamas said that it responded "in a positive spirit, ensuring a comprehensive and complete ceasefire, ending the aggression against our people, ensuring relief, shelter, and reconstruction, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, and achieving a prisoner swap."
However, details of the response were not immediately available.
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Reuters in a text message that Hamas aimed for the release of the largest possible number of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
On the other hand, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday (Feb. 6) that the details of the Hamas response were being "thoroughly evaluated by the officials involved in the negotiations."
A Hamas official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that the group would not allow any hostage releases without guarantees that the war would end and Israeli forces leave Gaza.
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US Cautious of Hamas Demands
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he would discuss the Hamas response with Israeli officials upon visiting Israel on Wednesday (Feb. 7) as part of his recent lightning Middle East tour.
"There's still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential," Blinken said while in a news conference in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Sheikh Mohammed also described the Hamas response as "positive" overall but also declined to give any details.
However, US President Joe Biden expressed caution regarding Hamas's response to the hostage deal, acknowledging "some movement" on a deal, while at the same time, describing the group's demands as "a little over the top" without elaborating.
"We're not sure where it is. There's continuing negotiations right now," he said.
As it stands, sources close to the talks have said that the truce would last at least 40 days, during which Hamas militants would free civilians among the remaining hostages they still hold. Further phases would follow, including handing over soldiers and dead bodies of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
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