Hamas has replied to Gaza hostage proposal
Originally Published: 06 FEB 24 12:36 ET Updated: 06 FEB 24 12:50 ET By Jennifer Hansler and Michael Conte, CNN
(CNN) — Hamas has replied to a proposal aimed at the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and a sustained cessation in fighting, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday.
“I would like to inform the media that we have received a reply from Hamas with regards to the general framework of the agreement with regard to hostages,” he said at a press conference alongside Blinken in Doha.
“The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive. However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances, we will not tackle details,” Al Thani said.
“We are optimistic, and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party,” he said.
The United States is reviewing the response from Hamas “now,” Blinken said.
“I’ll be discussing with the government of Israel tomorrow,” Blinken added.
The top US diplomat reiterated that the proposal that was presented to Hamas was a “serious” one “that was aimed at not simply repeating the previous agreement, but expanding it.”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential. And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” he said at the news conference.
Blinken will meet with senior members of the Israeli government on Wednesday.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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