16:43 BSTBreaking
Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Jerusalem
Hamas says it has submitted its response to a US ceasefire proposal presented earlier this week.
The group said in a statement that it was prepared to release ten living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages, which is the number specified in the proposed deal, in exchange for an agreed-upon release of Palestinian prisoners.
However, it also outlined its reservations about the draft – proposed by the US Envoy Steve Witkoff after getting approval from the Israelis, the White House said.
In a detailed response Hamas repeated the movement’s well-known conditions: a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid.
None of these are in the offer currently on the table, and Hamas’s response constituted neither an explicit rejection nor a clear acceptance of the proposal.