Hamas says Israeli response to its ceasefire proposal was 'negative'

A senior Hamas official has said that Israel's response to its latest ceasefire proposal was negative, following talks with mediators.

"On Tuesday evening, our brothers, the mediators, informed us of the occupation’s position on the proposal… it is a negative response in general and does not respond to the demands… In fact, it retracts the approvals it previously provided to the mediators," Osama Hamdan said during a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday.

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government were responsible for failing to negotiate an exchange deal involving Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.

Talks have taken place all this week in Qatar, but have failed to produce an agreement to stop the fighting.