Israel accepted the United States’s bridging ceasefire proposal for the war in Gaza.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters. “The next important step is for Hamas to say ‘yes.'”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced its backing of the U.S. proposal shortly before Blinken spoke. In a statement, it said that the meeting with the secretary of state was “positive” and held in a “good atmosphere.”

“The meeting lasted approximately three hours,” the statement said. “The Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs, which he strongly insists on.”

Despite his acceptance of the new U.S. deal, Netanyahu told his ministers on Sunday that he was pessimistic about a new hostage deal, the Times of Israel reported. Israel had effectively been negotiating only with mediating countries — Hamas refused to send representatives to the latest talks following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, its political head.

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The U.S. ceasefire deal reportedly calls for an occupation of some sort by Israeli soldiers of the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt, a condition Hamas has insisted is a nonstarter for negotiations.

Israel insists it must occupy the corridor to prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas from Egypt, while Hamas has made it clear that it won’t accept the occupation of any portion of the Gaza Strip. The contention is the biggest obstacle to a hostage deal.