Hamas on Thursday said U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed Gaza cease-fire deal was "just words" and the Palestinian resistance group had not received any written commitments related to a truce.
Biden presented last week what he labeled an Israeli three-phase plan that would end the conflict, free all hostages, and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power.
But Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): "There is no proposal – they are just words said by Biden in a speech."
"So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech," he said from the Lebanese capital.
Hamdan said Biden "tried to cover up the Israeli rejection" of another deal offered earlier in May, which had been approved by Hamas.
He said Hamas was willing to accept any deal that met his movement's core demands of a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
The United States has pressed for Hamas to accept the deal and said it was waiting for a response.
"We think this should be an urgent priority to get this cease-fire over the line, to start to alleviate the suffering that is happening every day in Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington.
"So we would hope for a response from Hamas as soon as possible, and we continue to wait," he said.
Shortly after Biden unveiled the plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the road map was only "partial."
The United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, have been engaged in months of negotiations over details for a cease-fire in Gaza.
But except for a seven-day pause beginning in November, which led to the release of more than 100 hostages, there has been no break in the conflict.
Israel's relentless strikes have killed at least 36,654 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
The war started after Hamas's Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, according to Israeli figures.