Hamas Official-Israeli Response To Our Ceasefire Proposal Was Negative

Speaking in Beirut, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that the Israeli response to the group's ceasefire proposal was 'negative.' Hamdan claims that Hamas "....presented its vision regarding the prisoner exchange file and showed positivity and high flexibility.", but that “Israel's response to our proposals regarding the truce was negative and threatens to bring the negotiations to a dead end.”

• The comments come as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to discuss the ceasefire-for-hostages deal and efforts to increase aid provision to Gaza. The US and the UK, two of Israel's strongest backers, are pressuring the gov't of PM Benjamin Netanyahu to both ensure aid supplies to Gaza and pull back from any potential ground offensive in Rafah.
• Israeli reports suggest that the first briefing Mossad head David Barnea will deliver to Cabinet on the Qatar talks will be 'pessimistic'. The talks are expected to take around two weeks.
• The Times of Israel writes"...there was pessimism that a deal could be reached, saying that while the gaps in positions could be bridged, it was not clear if Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar really seeks an agreement or is just playing for time to fend off a planned Israeli offensive on the southernmost city of Rafah."