"We don't yet know whether Hamas has accepted this proposal, but we think it's very promising," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a press conference.
Hamas announced earlier Thursday that it had received the proposal from the mediators and that it was "studying it responsibly in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people, contributes to their relief, and achieves a permanent ceasefire." This signaled its continued flexibility, despite repeated skepticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom his opponents accuse of trying to buy time and obstruct any progress.
Bruce added that they do not yet have clear information on whether Hamas has accepted this offer, explaining that if it is accepted, the ceasefire agreement will bring peace to the region.
Earlier today, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said that Washington had presented Hamas with a ceasefire proposal for Gaza that had Israeli support.
The private Israeli Channel 12 claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed the families of Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip that Tel Aviv had agreed to US envoy Steve Witkoff's new proposal for the release of their relatives.
The channel reported that Netanyahu informed the families during a meeting he held with them on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the proposal presented by Witkoff as part of efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal.
Proposal details
The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Thursday that the new proposal by US Presidential Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff includes Tel Aviv releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,100 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip arrested after the events of October 7 , in exchange for Hamas releasing 10 living Israeli detainees.
The newspaper quoted unnamed informed sources as saying that the proposal also includes Israel releasing the bodies of 180 Palestinian martyrs in exchange for Hamas releasing the bodies of 18 Israelis.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 58 Israeli detainees in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,100 Palestinian prisoners are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Hamas has repeatedly affirmed its willingness to release the Israeli captives "in one go" in exchange for an end to the war of genocide, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. However, Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice, insists on partial deals and evades the terms by proposing new conditions, including the disarmament of Palestinian factions. He is currently insisting on reoccupying Gaza.
The Israeli opposition and the families of the detainees assert that Netanyahu is continuing the war in deference to the most extreme right-wing faction within his government, to advance his personal political interests, particularly his continued hold on power.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it. This US-backed genocide has left more than 177,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that has claimed the lives of many, including children.
