来自的意外声明哈马斯声称已经接受了停火协议的条款暂时增加了加沙延长停火和释放仍被关押在飞地的数十名人质的希望，但美国和以色列官员表示，协议尚未达成，使谈判处于危险境地。
“我们现在正处于一个关键阶段，”白宫发言人约翰·柯比周一告诉记者。“我不知道它会比现在更敏感。”
哈马斯政治部门的一名发言人首先引发了混乱和广泛的猜测，他声称该组织已经通知调解谈判的卡塔尔和埃及官员，它已经接受了这两个国家的提议，但没有提供任何其他细节。
美国和以色列官员对哈马斯的公开声明感到惊讶，这是在官员们所说的令人沮丧的周末谈判几乎导致谈判完全破裂之后发生的。
两国政府的最高层立即开始分析哈马斯的全面反应。据白宫称，以色列召开了紧急战争内阁会议，总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)迅速听取了最新进展。
当以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡的办公室发出信号，表明哈马斯没有接受任何类似于几周前已经摆在桌面上的框架的东西时，对协议的乐观情绪再次消退。国务卿安东尼·布林肯称以色列方面“非常慷慨”，而是在一份声明中称其“远远不是以色列的必要要求”
然而，以色列总理办公室也表示，迄今为止在最新一轮谈判中一直处于观望状态的以色列现在将派遣一个代表团参加谈判，以便“尽可能在以色列可以接受的条件下达成协议。”
美国官员尚未对哈马斯的立场做出任何评估，但一位官员称，以色列有意加大参与力度是一个积极的迹象。
在谈判中发挥了突出作用的中央情报局局长威廉·伯恩斯(William Burns)周五抵达开罗，预计他将留在该地区，努力推动达成一项协议。
“导演伯恩斯仍在与合作伙伴讨论此事，”柯比说。"导演跑去看看我们是否能把这个东西带回家."
几个月来，拜登政府一直受到压力，要求达成一项协议，以释放包括美国公民在内的人质，并阻止以色列入侵拉法。美国官员警告说，以色列入侵拉法将对加沙平民产生严重影响。
但以色列战争内阁周一在一份声明中表示，它一致投票决定继续在加沙最南端的城市开展行动，以“向哈马斯施加军事压力，以促进释放我们的人质和实现战争的其他目标”。100多万流离失所的巴勒斯坦人正在这座城市避难
美国一直敦促以色列不要入侵加沙南部的拉法，但两名政府官员表示，政府已经软化了对以色列围绕潜在行动的公开谴责——认为这是推动哈马斯接受协议的潜在有效手段。
但这些官员还说，美国不认为以色列是在虚张声势，以色列不会同意任何允许哈马斯军队留在拉法的外交解决方案。
在周一哈马斯可能同意停火协议的消息传出之前，拜登和内塔尼亚胡通过电话进行了交谈包括以色列在拉法的军事目标和对平民的保护。
“我认为我们必须看看会发生什么，”科比说。“总统非常直接和一贯地表示，我们不希望看到在拉法的重大地面行动将这些人置于更大的风险之中。”
Gaza cease-fire talks at 'critical stage,' US says, after Hamas claims it accepted proposal
An unexpected announcement fromHamas claiming it had accepted the terms of a cease-fire dealtemporarily raised hopes for an extended truce in Gaza and the release of scores of hostages still held in the enclave, but U.S. and Israeli officials say an agreement has not yet been reached -- leaving negotiations in a precarious position.
"We are at a critical stage right now," White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday. "I don't know that it gets any more sensitive than right now."
A spokesperson for Hamas' political arm first sparked confusion and widespread speculation by asserting the group had informed Qatari and Egyptian officials mediating the negotiations that it had accepted a proposal from the two countries without providing any additional details.
U.S. and Israeli officials were surprised by Hamas' public declaration, which came on the heels of what officials described as a frustrating weekend of negotiations that almost saw the talks fall apart entirely.
The highest levels of both countries' governments immediately began to analyze Hamas' full response. Israel convened an urgent meeting of its war cabinet, and President Joe Biden was promptly briefed on the latest developments, according to the White House.
Optimism for an agreement waned again when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office signaled that Hamas had not accepted anything that resembles the framework that has been on the table for weeks -- one that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called "extraordinarily generous" on Israel's part -- but instead terms it described in a statement as "far from Israel's necessary requirements."
However, the prime minister's office also said that Israel, which has so far stayed on the sidelines during the latest round of negotiations, would now send a delegation to the talks in order to "exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel."
U.S. officials have not yet given any assessment of Hamas' position, but one described Israel's intention to ramp up its participation as a positive sign.
CIA Director William Burns, who has played a prominent role in the negotiations, arrived in Cairo on Friday and is expected to remain in the region as he works to push a deal over the finish line.
"Director Burns is still talking to partners about this," Kirby said. "And the director traveled to see if we can't bring this thing home."
The Biden administration has been under pressure to lock up an agreement for months to free the hostages, which include American citizens, as well as to stave off a looming Israeli incursion into Rafah that U.S. officials warn would have dire implications for Gaza's civilian population.
But Israel's war cabinet said in a statement on Monday that it unanimously voted to continue operations in Gaza's southernmost city, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, to "exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war."
The U.S. has consistently urged Israel against carrying out an invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, but two administration officials say the administration has softened its public condemnation of Israel's rhetoric surrounding a potential operation—seeing it as a potentially effective means of pushing Hamas to accept a deal.
But the officials also said the U.S. doesn't assess that Israel is bluffing, and that Israel won't agree to any diplomatic resolution to the conflict that allows Hamas battalions to remain inside Rafah.
Before news of Hamas' potential agreement to a cease-fire deal broke on Monday,Biden and Netanyahu spoke over the phoneon other pressing matters tied to the conflict, including Israel's military objectives in Rafah and protections for civilians.
"I think we just have to see what transpires," Kirby said. "The president was very direct and consistent that we don't want to see major ground operations in Rafah that put these people at greater risk."
