NEW YORK, July 4. /TASS/. Israel and Palestine’s radical movement Hamas appear to be close to signing an agreement on ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, CNN reported citing an Israeli source.

According to the report, Israel and Hamas "appear to be on the brink of a framework agreement for a ceasefire and hostage release deal."

Hamas’ latest response will enable the two parties to enter "detailed negotiations" to reach an agreement, an Israeli source was quoted as saying. However, the deal is yet to be finalized, CNN underscored.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service said in a joint statement on Wednesday they had received a response from Hamas regarding a hostage deal, and Israel’s response to it is now in the works.

On May 31, US President Joe Biden announced his three-phase ceasefire plan for resolving the Middle East conflict, with each phase lasting six weeks. The first phase calls for a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza settlements, and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. In addition, the parties are to start negotiations during this phase, with the ceasefire remaining in place until they reach an agreement. The second phase calls for the release of all surviving hostages, including servicemen. The third stage will see the beginning of the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the transfer of the remains of dead Israelis to their families.

On June 11, Hamas and the radical Islamic Jihad movement announced that they had delivered a response to the initiative to mediators from Qatar and Egypt, expressing their willingness to take positive steps to reach an agreement to end the war in the enclave. The US, Egypt and Qatar confirmed receipt of the response and pledged to continue mediation efforts until an agreement is reached between the parties to the Gaza conflict.