The US State Department denied that Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal, instead saying it made counter-proposals that were being discussed in continuing negotiations. “Let me just make one thing clear, Hamas did not accept the ceasefire proposal. Hamas responded, and in their response made several suggestions. It’s not the same as accepting,” spokesman Matthew Miller stated. Miller said the US was working “very hard” to get a deal over the line, and said scenes of Palestinians celebrating Hamas’ reported approval of a deal “show us what they’ve lived through”.
