Hamas sends response to US proposal to mediators

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said it has sent its response to the US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war to Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Hamas and the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad also announced in a joint statement on Tuesday evening that they would "act positively" in order to reach an agreement to end the war. Their response was sent to Qatar and Egypt, the statement said.

The exact content of their response to the mediators initially remained unclear.

It stated that the priority for Hamas and Islamic Jihad was to completely end the war in the Gaza Strip and that Israel's army should withdraw completely.

It continued: "The Palestinian delegation voiced willingness to deal positively in order to reach an agreement that ends this war against our people, out of the sense of national responsibility."

The comments come amid the latest push by mediators, including the US, Qatar and Egypt, to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the plan, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and only Hamas has yet to give the green light.

At the end of May, US President Joe Biden surprisingly presented a three-stage plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. The plan envisages the release of a certain group of Israeli hostages during the complete ceasefire. In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released.

In the next phase, the fighting would then cease permanently and the remaining hostages would be released.

According to the draft, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin in a final phase.