United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for "all parties" to commit to the peace plan for Gaza presented by US President Donald Trump, a spokesman said.
"It is now crucial that all parties commit to an agreement and its implementation... He once again reiterates his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire," Farhan Haq, a spokesman for Guterres, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the US-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which Trump has said was "beyond very close" to ending the two-year-old conflict in the enclave.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt shared the document with Hamas late on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside Trump at the White House and pledged his support for the proposal.
Hamas was not involved in the negotiations that led to Trump's plan, which calls on the group to disarm, a demand it has previously rejected.
A source close to Hamas said the plan was "completely biased to Israel" and imposed "impossible conditions" that aimed to eliminate the group.
However, an official briefed on the talks said early on Tuesday that Hamas negotiators "would review it in good faith and provide a response".
Trump told Hamas that if it rejected his offer, Israel would have full US support to take whatever action it deemed necessary.
The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all captives held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body.
Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.
One of Hamas’s main conditions since the outset of the war has been a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of the remaining captives. And while the group has indicated its readiness to relinquish administrative authority, it has consistently ruled out disarming.
"What Trump has proposed is the full adoption of all Israeli conditions, which do not grant the Palestinian people or the residents of the Gaza Strip any legitimate rights," a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, said.
However, Hamas faces considerable pressure to accept the plan, with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt all welcoming the initiative.
Türkiye's head of intelligence will join Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha to discuss the peace proposal later, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said. Türkiye has not previously been involved as a key mediator during efforts over the last two years to bring peace to Gaza. - Agencies
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