Qatar's prime minister says militant group Hamas's reaction to the latest ceasefire plan has been "generally positive."
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani shared his assessment Tuesday (local time) at a news conference with the visiting US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
Qatar has been working with the US and Egypt to broker a ceasefire involving an extended halt in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Sheikh Mohammed gave no further details, but expressed optimism and said information was being relayed to Israel.
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told Reuters on Tuesday the group intends for the release of the largest number possible of Palestinians who are being held in Israeli prisons.
Israel said it was studying Hamas's response to the framework.
'No finality' on ceasefire proposal, White House says
The White House on Tuesday indicated there is still "no finality" on Hamas's position on a proposal to free remaining Israeli hostages for an extended pause in fighting.
"I would say that the negotiating effort is still ongoing," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
"We aren't at a place where we have finality on it."
President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed Hamas was responding to the latest proposal.
"There's some movement, there has been a response from … Hamas," Mr Biden said.
"But it seems to be a little over the top. We're not sure where it is. There's continuing negotiations."
31 Israeli hostages pronounced dead
The ceasefire negotiations come as Israel's chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said 31 of the remaining hostages held in Gaza were pronounced dead.
"We have informed 31 families that their captured loved ones are no longer among the living and that we have pronounced them dead," he said.
Israel says 136 hostages are still being held in Gaza.
Israel's evacuation orders cover more than two-thirds of Gaza
Israel's evacuation orders in Gaza now covers two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square kilometres, a United Nations humanitarian monitors says.
The affected area was home to 1.78 million Palestinians, or 77 per cent of Gaza's population, before the Israel-Gaza war erupted on October 7, triggered by a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Early on in the war, Israel's military began ordering Palestinians in the northern half of the territory to leave their homes to get out of the way of eventual ground combat.
Loading...Evacuation orders eventually expanded to parts of the south, including the city of Khan Younis and surrounding areas.
More than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people is now crammed into the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt and surrounding areas, UN OCHA said.
Gaza health officials have put the Palestinian death toll in the territory at more than 27,000.
Israel investigating if troops broke the law on October 7
The Israeli military says it has opened an investigation into possible violations of Israeli or international law committed by Israeli troops on October 7.
An announcement by the army on Tuesday did not identify which incidents it is investigating.
The probe is expected to look into the deaths of Israeli residents of a kibbutz in southern Israel who may have been killed by Israeli forces during a hostage stand-off with Hamas militants.
The army said the investigation was being conducted by a source independent to the army's chain of command.
It said all evidence would be turned over to military prosecutors to determine whether criminal proceedings should be opened.
Israel declared war after several thousand Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.
Relatives of 13 people killed during the hostage stand-off in Kibbutz Be'eri have demanded the army open an immediate probe.
One of the survivors of the stand-off, Yasmine Porat, has said she believes a tank opened fire on the home where the hostages were being held by militants.
The investigation will not look into the actions of Israeli troops inside Gaza.
The investigation also will not look into the failures by Israeli security forces and intelligence that allowed the October 7 attack to occur.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that investigation will only take place after the war.
AP