Israel confirms it has agreed to the U.S. proposal for ceasefire with Hamas

Israel confirmed that it agreed to a ceasefire proposal by President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, a day after Trump said the country had “agreed to the necessary conditions” for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

“We are serious in our will to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire,” Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said during a press briefing while on a state visit to Estonia. “We said yes to Special Envoy Witkoff’s proposals.”

Saar did not elaborate on details of the proposal but added that “our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible.”

On Tuesday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “my representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza” where they “agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.”

Earlier on Wednesday, before Israel’s announcement, Hamas said it was weighing up the new ceasefire agreements that it had received from mediators Egypt and Qatar.

In a statement, Hamas said it would be “conducting national consultations” with the final aim of ending the fighting, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces and delivering “urgent relief” to the people of Gaza.

Trump has renewed a push for an end to the war after Israel broke an earlier ceasefire agreement with Hamas by launching a series of deadly airstrikes in March.