"Hamas recently delivered its response to the agreement to its brothers in Qatar and Egypt, after completing consultations with the movement's leadership and resistance factions," Hamas said in a statement, adding that it reacted "positively" to the proposal.
Qatar has confirmed it received a response from Hamas in regard to the framework agreement on hostages and the overall comments are positive.
“First, 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. The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive. However, given the sensitivity of the circumstances, we will not tackle the details,” the Qatari Premier said during a joint press conference from Doha with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken, in turn, said that the best path forward to achieve an extended period of calm and put an end to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be by reaching an agreement on the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
"The best path forward, the most effective path forward now to get an extended period of calm and to work toward an end to the conflict, is through an agreement on the hostages," Blinken said during a press conference.
Such a deal is what the United States, jointly with Qatar, Egypt and Israel, are most focused on, Blinken said.
Hamas’ response to the proposal on hostages will allow the parties to further focus on the issue, Blinken added.
He added that that during his visit to Israel this week he will discuss the need for Israeli leaders to show "results" on efforts to improve humanitarian conditions on the ground in Gaza.
"We need to see as I've said before, real and clear results, not simply a change in intent, but a change in what actually results, and I will be discussing all of that when I'm in Israel tomorrow as we have throughout this trip," Blinken said during a press conference in Doha alongside the prime minister of Qatar.
Blinken said he will also discuss with Israeli leaders Hamas' recent response to a proposed hostage deal.