Hamas now finds itself in the most complex and difficult position it has faced since the war began.
Hamas has agreed to release 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in its response to the US's Gaza ceasefire proposals.
The group said under the deal Israel would release a number of Palestinian prisoners - Israel is yet to respond.
Earlier this week, the White House said Israel had "signed off" on Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's plan.
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza and resumed its military offensive against Hamas on 18 March, collapsing a two-month ceasefire brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 54,381 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Hamas caught in its most difficult position since the start of the war
Hamas now finds itself in the most complex and difficult position it has faced since the war began.
Under intense pressure from 2.2 million people living the worst conditions in their history and from the mediators, the movement is unable to accept an American proposal that is, by all accounts, less generous than previous offers it has already rejected multiple times, the most recent being in March.
At that time, senior Hamas official and head negotiator Khalil al-Hayya stated unequivocally that the movement would not agree to partial deals that fail to secure a complete and permanent end to the war.
Yet, Hamas also finds itself unable to reject the latest US offer outright, fully aware that Israel is preparing to escalate its ground offensive in Gaza.
The movement lacks the military capacity to prevent or even seriously resist such an assault.
Caught between these two realities, Hamas released a brief and vague statement: neither a clear acceptance nor a definitive rejection.
In effect, the movement responded to the proposal not with an answer, but with an entirely new counterproposal.
Gazans facing 'forced hunger' from Israeli aid blockage
The UN has repeatedly warned of widespread hunger and starvation as a result of Israel's total blockade of Gaza - with a humanitarian chief recently calling it "forced starvation".
Israel resumed its bombardment of the Palestinian enclave in early March following six weeks of ceasefire and barred aid from reaching Gaza's more than 2 million residents.
Though aid has started entering the region, officials warn it is not enough. Between 500 and 600 lorries worth of supplies are required each day to adequately feed residents.
Crowds desperate for food have swarmed lorries that have arrived at distribution sites and 47 people were injured last week as people overwhelmed one such centre.
"We're seeing food set on the borders and not being allowed in when there is a population on the other side of the border that is starving, and we're hearing Israeli ministers say that is to put pressure on the population of Gaza", the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher recently told the BBC.
