Hamas seeks complete cease-fire in Gaza, US to take it up with Israel

Hamas says it has responded in a “positive spirit” to the latest proposal from the US and Mideast mediators for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

But the militant group said in a statement on Tuesday that it still seeks “a comprehensive and complete" cease-fire to end "the aggression against our people".

Israel has ruled out the kind of permanent cease-fire sought by the militant group.

Qatar's prime minister said on Tuesday that Hamas' reaction to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was “generally positive" as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was making his latest visit to the Middle East.

Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve an extended halt in fighting and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its October 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war nearly four months ago.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani did not provide any details on Hamas' response but said the group had “comments”.

Blinken confirmed that officials had received Hamas' response and said he would brief Israel's leaders when he visits the country on Wednesday.

Blinken met with Egyptian officials earlier in the day and was in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

His visit also comes amid growing concerns in Egypt about Israel's stated intentions to expand the combat in Gaza to areas on the Egyptian border that are crammed with displaced Palestinians.

Israel's defence minister has said his country's offensive will eventually reach the town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have sought refuge and are now living in increasingly miserable conditions.

UN humanitarian monitors said on Tuesday that Israeli evacuation orders now cover two-thirds of Gaza's territory, driving thousands more people every day toward the border areas.

Egypt has warned that an Israeli deployment along the border would threaten the peace treaty the two countries signed over four decades ago. Egypt fears an expansion of combat to the Rafah area could push terrified Palestinian civilians across the border, a scenario Egypt has said it is determined to prevent.

Blinken, who met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo, has said repeatedly that Palestinians must not be forced out of Gaza.