Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism earlier this week about brokering an agreement to halt the Israel-Hamas war and return more of the hostages captured in the attack that ignited it.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal.

Hamas officials gave the Israeli-approved draft a cool response, but said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.

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“The Zionist response, in essence, means perpetuating the occupation and continuing the killing and

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