The Palestinian group Hamas claims that a recent ceasefire proposal by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was different from one they agreed to a week ago.

Basem Naim, the main Hamas official, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the group had “positive response” to Witkoff’s latest proposal, although it “has no guarantee of an end to the war.”

Israel has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, and its comprehensive aid blockade has caused starvation and a famine similar to Gaza since March, where 2.3 million people, most of whom were displaced in a ruthless bombing of 19 months.

Under international pressure, Israel allows aid to Gaza, which is described by humanitarian groups as “falling in the ocean.”

Here are the ceasefire suggestions you need to know.

Does Hamas refuse to propose a ceasefire?

According to the group, no.

It said it responded positively, but added some key terms.

What are the key points in Hamas’ proposal?

There are a few.

Hamas has responded to the latest U.S. announcement of a ceasefire, demanding a path to a permanent ceasefire, rather than a temporary ceasefire that unilaterally restarts hostilities, as in March.

They also called for the complete evacuation of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the restoration of aid and assistance in besieged areas.

What is the main difference in the proposal, and Witkoff is forwarded to Hamas?

Witkoff proposed 60 days of hostilities. Afterwards, the parties (Israel and Hamas) will work to agree to extend the pause.

The problem like this is that what happened last time was the unilateral decision to cut Gaza’s aid and start bombing it. To avoid similar situations, Hamas tried to negotiate a timetable for the release of prisoners, 10 of whom were still alive, and 18 bodies of those killed during the war. Witkoff's proposal calls for the release of the version within a week of a 60-day pause.

However, Hamas was worried that Israel would resume its bombing movement after the prisoners were released, so it called for their release to be released throughout the pause.

It called for a list of negotiation themes to avoid what happened in the past negotiations with Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has added what critics have called rules here, trying to derail and prolong the war.

Hamas has also reinserted a provision of the May 25 agreement, namely Israel withdraws it, according to a report from the website Drop website news.

This provision would allow Hamas to hand over the ruling committee in Gaza to the "Independent Technical Bureaucracy Council."

What is the US response to Hamas addition?

Witkov called Hamas' response "completely unacceptable" and said "it will only bring us back."

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we proposed as the basis for approaching negotiations and we can start immediately next week,” he wrote on Twitter X.

“This is the only way for us to complete a 60-day ceasefire agreement in the next few days, where half of the hostages and half of the dead will return to their family homes, and we can conduct substantive negotiations in good faith in an attempt to achieve a permanent ceasefire.”

I received Hamas’ response to the U.S. proposal. This is totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards.

Hamas should accept our proposed framework proposal as a basis for approaching negotiations that we can start immediately this week.

That's the only one...

- Office of the Middle East Special Envoy (@se_middleeast) May 31, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump previously said that the two sides are reaching an agreement.

What is Israel talking about?

The United States and Israel seem to have agreed on the clause.

Israel claims its officials agree to the U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israel “supports and supports” the new proposal.

Netanyahu criticized Hamas' response, mocked Vidokov and blamed the Palestinian group for failing to accept the proposal.

Netanyahu said: "As Vikov said, Hamas' reaction is unacceptable and brings the situation back to its original state. Israel will continue to take action to bring our hostages and defeat Hamas."

If the United States and Israel agree, why should Hamas insist?

Hamas is alert to past situations and Israel chooses to unilaterally break the ceasefire. This happened in March, when Netanyahu decided to block all aid from entering Gaza and restart the war.

Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Graduate Research Institute, described the negotiations between Hamas and Israel as "no sincerity."

"They (Israel) are fixed on a key goal, namely the surrender and surrender of Hamas and disappear from the scene," Qarmout told Al Jazeera.

“Hamas participated in these negotiations just to reduce the horror of the war, to allow some humanitarian aid to enter and find dignified exits.

What will happen now?

During this period, Israel continued to attack Gaza.

On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians who gathered at aid allocation site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in southern and central Gaza. At least 31 people were killed near the Rafa and Netzarim corridors.

Meanwhile, residences across Gaza are still bombing relentlessly.