A senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Hamas’s proposal Friday morning was based on what the Palestinian terrorist organization discussed with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler on March 4 At the time, Hamas held off on agreeing to the proposal.

a US official told The Times of Israel earlier this week:
1. Israel was furious about being left in the dark on the direct US-Hamas talks,
2. and leaked their existence later that day.

On Friday, Israel slammed Hamas’s delayed agreement as a ploy to avoid committing to Witkoff’s proposal to extend the ceasefire’s first phase, which expired March 2 until April 19

The rare statement issued by Witkoff on Friday indicated that Hamas’s response to Boehler may have come too late for Washington, which was now taking a harder line on Hamas.

Witkoff demanded Alexander be “released immediately” and went public with many of the key terms of his own “bridge proposal,” submitted to negotiators in Doha on Wednesday.

“bridge proposal”
1. Accepting Israel’s stance, Witkoff’s “bridge proposal” would extend the ceasefire deal’s first phase
2. and see Hamas release living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

“Through our Qatari and Egyptian partners, Hamas was told in no uncertain terms that this ‘bridge’ would have to be implemented soon,” read the statement.