Qatar says Hamas response to ceasefire proposal is “positive”

DOHA: Hamas sent its response to a ceasefire proposal which could be described as positive, a spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry said early on Tuesday.

A Qatari delegation will head to Cairo on Tuesday to resume indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire through the mediators, Majed Al-Ansari added in a statement.

Read more: No ceasefire deal reached in Gaza, Israeli official says

Qatar, which alongside Egypt and the United States has played a mediation role in the talks, said it hoped the negotiations would culminate in an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas on Monday agreed to a Gaza truce proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with strikes in Rafah while planning to continue negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Monday it was currently conducting targeted strikes against targets belonging to Hamas in the eastern part of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Read more: Israel’s planned Rafah assault: What you need to know

The military, in a brief statement, said that more details would follow.