Hamas' response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal is consistent with the principles put forward in US President Joe Biden's plan, the group's Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech on the occasion of the Islamic Eid al-Adha.
"Hamas and the (Palestinian) groups are ready for a comprehensive deal which entails a ceasefire, withdrawal from the strip, the reconstruction of what was destroyed and a comprehensive swap deal," Haniyeh said, referring to the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
On May 31, Biden laid out what he called a "three-phase" Israeli proposal that would include negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as well as phased exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Egypt and Qatar - which along with the United States have been mediating between Hamas and Israel - said on June 11 that they had received a response from the Palestinian groups to the US plan, without giving further details.
While Israel said Hamas rejected key elements of the US plan, a senior Hamas leader told Reuters that the changes the group requested were "not significant".
Iran's state TV said Tehran had obtained a draft of an initial, unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States on ending their conflict.
Five people who had been trapped inside a cave in Laos for about a week were found alive on Wednesday, as dozens of Lao and Thai rescuers continued to search for two others, Thai volunteers said.
Israeli raids targeting several areas across Lebanon on Tuesday killed 31 people and wounded 40 others, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks.
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Hamas's newly appointed armed wing chief in Gaza, days after it killed his predecessor, while intensifying military pressure in Gaza and expanding operations in Lebanon.
Syria's transitional leadership has located remnants of former President Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons programme, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country's long-running civil war.
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