A senior Hamas official says there is still a long way to go to secure a potential ceasefire deal with Israel.

According to Al Jazeera, Hamas’s head of political and international relations Basem Naim, says a lot of points still have to be discussed with the mediators.

He added that the optimistic posture of the Biden administration is not “related to the reality on the ground” and has more to do with domestic political considerations in an election year.

Hamas’s non-negotiable demands are:

• A final and total ceasefire and not just a humanitarian pause
• Total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
• Freedom of movement for Palestinians within Gaza

As for the exchange of prisoners and captives or plans for Gaza’s reconstruction, Mr Naim reportedly said “there is some space for flexibility”.