Updated June 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM EDT
A new White House proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that's been accepted by Israel is now facing pushback from Hamas, in a development a top U.S. diplomat is calling "unacceptable."
The proposal, which includes a 60-day ceasefire, is the latest attempt by the U.S. to end the fighting in Gaza that's been raging for nearly 20 months since Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel in late 2023.
Hamas has agreed to the 60-day ceasefire and said it would release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners. But the militant group said it doesn't want to release all of the hostages at the same time, in order to ensure that Israel abides by the entire length of the ceasefire.
Hamas also said it wants guarantees for negotiations toward a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, said Saturday in a post on X that Hamas' response to the U.S. proposal was "totally unacceptable and only takes us backward."
He added: "Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week."
Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, wrote in a post on WhatsApp over the weekend that the group had not rejected Witkoff's proposal. Rather, Nain said the group had come to an agreement with Witkoff on a possible ceasefire proposal but that Israel's response had differed from that agreement.
"Why, each time, is the Israeli response considered the only response for negotiation?" he wrote.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Israel had signed off on the Trump administration's latest ceasefire proposal before it was sent to Hamas.
Witkoff said the proposal also included the return of half of the living and deceased hostages still in Gaza, as well as further talks over a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas is seeking to avoid a repeat of the last ceasefire, when the group released hostages but Israel did not enter talks to permanently end the war, NPR's Daniel Estrin has reported. Hamas now wants to release hostages over time to keep Israel at the bargaining table.
Hamas also opposes a new system to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza, set up by the U.S and Israel using a private American company, which began operations last week. Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that 31 civilians were killed when they went to obtain aid in Rafah, but the Israel Defense Forces said that "false reports" had been circulating and that the IDF "did not fire at civilians while they were near or withi the humanitarian aid distribution site."
About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack against Israel, the Israeli government said, and since then more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to Gaza health officials.
NPR's Daniel Estrin, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Carrie Kahn contributed reporting.
Copyright 2025 NPR