Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said on Thursday that Hamas has not yet handed mediators its response to the latest ceasefire proposal and is still studying it, adding that Qatari, Egyptian and the US mediators are still making efforts.
Earlier, two Egyptian security sources said talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza war continued but had shown no sign of a breakthrough.
Talks began on Wednesday, when CIA director William Burns met senior officials from Qatar and Egypt in Doha to discuss a proposal that US President Joe Biden publicly endorsed last week. Biden described the three-phase plan as an Israeli initiative.
On Wednesday, the leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh said the group would demand a permanent end to the war in Gaza and Israeli withdrawal as part of a ceasefire plan.
