Hamas formally responded to an Israeli-backed ceasefire proposal but did not fully approve it,

mediators announced today.

Hamas's reply comes 11 days after President Biden revealed the three-phase ceasefire proposal that

would begin with a temporary ceasefire. Nick Schifrin is here now he's been

following all of this so Nick what do we know about Hamas's reply? A regional official, Amna, tonight tells me that Hamas's reply was, quote, positive.

And Hamas and the militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have released a statement tonight saying,

quote, the Palestinian delegation voiced willingness to

deal positively in order to reach an agreement but it also described the

quote necessity of completely stopping the ongoing aggression against Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

And that suggests that Hamas is demanding the text matches what Israel to commit to a temporary

guaranteed ceasefire. The deal only requires Israel to commit to a

temporary ceasefire that would continue as long as the two sides are negotiating.

So as John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman said today, it is positive that

Hamas has formerly responded.

It's not clear that it's enough to bridge the two sides gap.

And Nick, what has Israel said in response?

Well, today, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu committed to this deal.

It is of course an Israeli-backed deal, but Netanyahu continues in public to vow to

destroy Hamas militarily. U.S. officials remain concerned. to

to destroy Hamas militarily. U.S. officials remain concerned, Jeff, that both sides are more interested in

blaming the other for the failure of these talks than they are for actually making progress. But US mediation will

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