ISTANBUL

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday rejected Hamas' response to the US proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, calling it "totally unacceptable."

“I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward,” Witkoff said on X.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” the envoy added.

He highlighted that “that is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

Earlier, the Palestinian group announced that it has submitted its response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal by Witkoff through mediators Egypt and Qatar.

In what appeared to be a list of demands, Hamas issued a statement calling for “a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the territory.”