WASHINGTON — US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he has “very good feelings” about the chances for reaching a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal that could lead to a long-term resolution to the conflict in Gaza.

“We’re on the precipice of sending out a new term sheet that hopefully will be delivered later today,” Witkoff told reporters in the Oval Office. “The president is going to review it.”

“I have some very good feelings about getting to… a temporary ceasefire and a long-term, peaceful resolution of that conflict,” Witkoff said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas said it had reached an agreement with Witkoff on a “general framework” for a ceasefire deal and now awaited a “final response.”

The group claimed that the framework it had approved would secure a “permanent ceasefire,” the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid, and a committee of independent Palestinian technocrats assuming governing control over the Strip instead of Hamas.

The deal would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages along with an unspecified number of bodies of slain hostages in exchange for “an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, who are guaranteed by the mediators,” it said.

An unnamed Israeli official quickly dismissed Hamas’s claim of an agreement with the US, calling the statement “psychological warfare” and “propaganda.”

“Hamas’s proposal is unacceptable, both to Israel and to the American administration,” continued the official, adding that, “as [Witkoff] himself said two days ago, while Israel agreed to the Witkoff framework, Hamas continues to cling to its refusal.”

The dismissal by the Israeli official came after a source familiar with the negotiations also downplayed the Hamas announcement, telling The Times of Israel that Hamas had sent a new round of edits to Witkoff’s proposal after Israel walked back from certain understandings earlier this week.

The edited proposal was then reviewed by Witkoff together with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who was in Washington on Tuesday for meetings with top Trump administration officials on Iran and Gaza. Hamas was now waiting to receive Israel’s edits to the Witkoff proposal, the source said.

On Monday, Witkoff issued a statement declaring that “Israel will agree to a temporary ceasefire that would see half of the living and deceased hostages return, and lead to substantive negotiations to find a path to a permanent ceasefire, which I agreed to preside over. That deal is on the table. Hamas should take it.”

According to a Wednesday report on Channel 12, sources familiar with the details of the negotiations expressed optimism about the chances of reaching a deal with Hamas.

One source told the outlet that “Hamas is under pressure like never before,” saying that the group was “in a panic.”

“The Americans can see an erosion in Hamas’s resistance to ending the war,” the source said. “Hamas has already agreed to release 10 living hostages and half of the dead hostages. All that remains is to find the wording for this agreement.”

The source added that, given this “erosion” in the Hamas position, “the military pressure will increase even more, until an agreement is reached.”

Responding to Wednesday’s reports of progress in negotiations, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he was against any “partial deal,” as it would be “foolish” to loosen the pressure on Hamas before it agrees to “complete surrender.”

“Hamas has been under tremendous pressure and distress in recent days as a result of the change in the aid distribution system and its loss of control over the population in the Gaza Strip, combined with the ongoing military pressure,” the far-right minister said.

“We need to continue tightening the noose around its neck and force it to agree to a complete surrender deal, with [the release of] all the hostages at once,” he continued. “It would be absurdly foolish to release the pressure now and sign a partial deal with it that would provide it oxygen and a lifeline and allow it to recover.”

“I will not allow such a thing to happen,” he declared. “Period.”

Seemingly reacting to Smotrich’s statement, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement that a hostage deal was the will of the “absolute majority” in Israel, and that if there was any chance of reaching an agreement with Hamas, the government should take it.

“Eleven days ago, Israel gave a positive response to the US proposal for a framework for the release of hostages,” Sa’ar said on X. “So far, Hamas has refused it.”

“However, if there is a chance of releasing hostages, [the government] should do so, as this is the will of the absolute majority of the people in Israel,” he said. “One should act according to national interests and not according to political pressures and threats.”

There are currently 58 hostages still in Gaza, 57 of whom were among the 251 people kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. Some 1,200 people were killed during the attack, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

While Hamas’s announcement on Wednesday was framed as a breakthrough, it still indicated that a number of issues need to be negotiated, such as the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.

Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will only agree to a temporary ceasefire. He insists on resuming fighting in Gaza after any temporary truce, until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are freed. He also recently added to these demands the implementation of Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans who are willing.

The Witkoff proposal previously put to Israel does not require a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces or a permanent end to the war, but rather provides for negotiations on those issues.

Hamas has demanded that any deal lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. It has also been insisting on guarantees from the mediators that Israel will remain at the table for negotiations, after Jerusalem refused to engage substantively in such talks as required during the previous hostage deal reached in January.

Netanyahu has expressed openness to holding negotiations this time on a permanent ceasefire once a temporary truce is reached. However, Israel has pushed back on Hamas’ demands for guarantees from the mediators that Jerusalem be kept at the negotiation table, a senior Arab diplomat has told The Times of Israel.