Qatar's prime minister on Tuesday said that Hamas has delivered a "positive" response to a U.S.-backed proposal to free hostages in return for pausing the conflicts with Israel in Gaza.

"We have received a reply from Hamas with regards to the general framework of the agreement with regards to hostages. The reply includes some comments, but in general it is positive," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told a news conference in Doha with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.