Hamas announced Sunday that it was prepared to immediately begin a new round of indirect negotiations on remaining “points of contention” amid pressure from mediators to soften its stance, after the terror group submitted a response to a US ceasefire and hostage deal proposal that Washington called “totally unacceptable.”

Hamas said in a statement that its goal for the new talks would be to reach a deal that “ensures relief for our people and an end to the humanitarian catastrophe, ultimately leading to a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces.”

The terror group didn’t say that it had rescinded or revised the proposal that it submitted on Saturday to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff said Saturday that the Hamas response “takes us backward,” adding that he had wanted Hamas to accept his “framework proposal” as the basis for a round of “proximity talks” to be held in the coming days.

US President Donald Trump had indicated on Friday that a deal could be announced later that day or on Saturday. Witkoff’s statement was the first time he had publicly revealed that his proposal had only been a starting point for another round of talks.

Hamas in its Sunday statement appeared to confirm its willingness to hold those talks.

Hamas’s Saturday response to Witkoff made a series of amendments to the US........

© The Times of Israel