CNN
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Hamas has announced that it has accepted a cease-fire agreement proposed by Egypt and Qatar that calls for an end to the seven-month war with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas said in a statement on Monday that its political director, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed the Qatari prime minister and Egypt's information minister that the militant group had accepted the proposal.
CNN reported that the Israeli government is currently considering its response to Hamas. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office is refusing to comment at this stage.
It is unclear whether Hamas has agreed to the latest ceasefire proposal outlined last week or a revised version of it.
The latest framework, which Israel helped develop but has not fully agreed to, calls for the release of between 20 and 33 hostages over several weeks in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
According to that framework, after the initial exchange, the remaining hostages, captured Israeli soldiers, and bodies of hostages will be transferred to more Palestinians, in what sources describe as a “sustainable restoration of peace.” They will be exchanged for prisoners of war.
Diplomatic sources familiar with the talks told CNN that after a day of talks between CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the Qatari capital Doha, the mediators agreed to discuss Hamas, He said he persuaded the government to accept the three-part agreement.
“This bill is now firmly in the court of (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu,” the official said.
The White House confirmed on Monday that there had been a “response from Hamas” to the proposed hostage deal in Israel and that US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the response, but that there was no other option for the deal. He declined to discuss specifically what this would entail. .
White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby said at a news conference that Biden is “aware of where the situation and the process is.” CIA Director Bill Burns remains in the area and is “working in the field in real time,” Kirby added.
“We still believe that reaching an agreement is the absolute best outcome, not just for the hostages, but for the Palestinian people, and we will not stop working towards that outcome,” he said.
As news of the Hamas announcement spread in Gaza, Palestinians began celebrating in the streets of Deir al-Balah in the central Strip and Gaza City in the north.
The news comes just hours after Israel ordered Palestinians living in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to “immediately evacuate.”
The order raised fears that an Israeli attack on the city, which has been threatened for years, was imminent. More than a million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah, where Hamas is believed to have regrouped after Israel razed much of northern Gaza.
A person familiar with Israeli plans told CNN that the limited incursion into Rafah is aimed at keeping pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal that would result in a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Asked whether Hamas' acceptance of the deal could change Israel's plans for Rafah, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military would continue its operations in Gaza. He said that although the operation was ongoing, the IDF was fully committed to negotiations to bring the hostages home “as soon as possible.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense pressure from the more militant wing of his coalition not to accept a cease-fire plan outlined last week and instead focus on eliminating Hamas in Rafah.
Orit Strzok, Israel's settlement minister and a member of the far-right religious Zionist party, said last week that accepting the deal would throw Israel's military advances “in the trash.”
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said that Prime Minister Netanyahu “promised that Israel would enter Rafah, guaranteed that the war would not end, and promised not to make reckless deals.”
However, a majority of Israelis are calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept the deal. Family members and supporters of the hostages blocked Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway last week, holding banners that read: “Rafah or hostages, choose life.”
Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet but seen as Netanyahu's rival and potential successor, said the return of the hostages was more urgent than getting into Rafah.
Following Monday's announcement, the Hostage Families Forum said: “Now is the time for all involved to make good on their commitments and turn this opportunity into an agreement for the return of all hostages.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.