Hamas could have accepted the ceasefire proposal that would have halted the war but did not, choosing instead to propose “numerous changes,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

This deal, which President Joe Biden unveiled publicly on May 31, was “virtually identical” to a proposal put forth by Hamas on May 6, Blinken said during a Wednesday press conference along with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.