A US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal was hanging in the balance on Friday morning after Hamas said it was studying it and Washington stated Israel had accepted the terms of the deal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the proposal had been submitted to Hamas after Israel accepted it. She said she did not know whether Hamas had accepted the agreement.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel has accepted the new ceasefire proposal, presented by White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas also confirmed it had received the proposal and it was considering it.
The development comes after Mr Witkoff on Wednesday said that he was optimistic the new terms of the deal would lead to a resolution.
“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution of that conflict,” he said.
President Donald Trump's administration is making a renewed effort to bring an end to the war in Gaza and enable the entry of food and humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, with 240 taken hostage.
More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations in the territory, and much of the coastal enclave has been reduced to rubble.
The Trump administration has said it is working to get more food to Palestinians. A US and Israeli-backed non-government group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started to deliver food this week.
On Tuesday, gunfire rang out as a crowd of Palestinians who had been queuing for food aid overran a distribution centre. It was not clear if Israeli forces, private contractors or others had opened fire. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least one Palestinian was killed and 48 were wounded.
The White House defended the introduction of the new aid distribution system.
“The President was the reason that that aid went into Gaza, and he got the Israelis to support that plan,” Ms Leavitt said in response to a question by The National.
Israel blocked the entry of all deliveries of food and assistance into Gaza on March 2, before a fragile ceasefire collapsed on March 18, leading to widespread hunger and concerns of a looming famine.
The UN and other aid groups who have been operating in the enclave have denounced the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and refused to collaborate with it.
They say the use of armed contractors contravenes norms surrounding the delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians during conflict.
