The White House on Tuesday described as “not very encouraging” statements by Hamas regarding a truce proposal linked to the release of hostages in Gaza, despite the fact that mediators are still awaiting an official “response” from the Palestinian Islamist movement.

“We’ve seen Israel take some steps forward in terms of the proposals it’s putting on the table. And certainly we’ve seen the public statements from Hamas that have been, let’s say, not very encouraging,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. .

The official said, however, that he spoke yesterday morning with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al-Thani, who said he had “not yet received a response from Hamas” on the deal proposal.

The proposal was tabled during Sunday’s “marathon” meeting in Cairo, according to Sullivan, in the presence of representatives of the Israeli government and Hamas through the mediators of Egypt, the United States and Qatar.

“I’ve pushed him to try and get an answer from them as soon as possible, and as soon as we have more information on this, we’ll let you know,” Sullivan added.

“The time has come. Let’s reach this ceasefire. I think Israel is ready. And I think Hamas should come to the table and be ready to do that as well,” he said.

Hamas announced yesterday that it is considering a plan for a several-week truce in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by the release of dozens of Israeli hostages, despite the rejection of some of its demands.