The changes that Hamas have requested to a ceasefire proposal presented by the United States are "not significant" and include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, a senior leader in the group says.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Hamas had proposed numerous changes, some unworkable, to the US-backed proposal, but that mediators were determined to close the gaps.
Hamas demands it select a list of 100 Palestinians with long-term sentences to be released from Israeli jails, said the senior Hamas leader.
Hamas objected to the Israeli document's exclusion of 100 Palestinian prisoners with high sentences, whom Hamas would identify, as well as the restriction on the time period for the release of prisoners with high sentences to no more than 15 years remaining of their sentences, said the Hamas official.
"There are no significant amendments that, according to Hamas leadership, warrant objection," said the Hamas leader.
Israeli raids targeting several areas across Lebanon on Tuesday killed 31 people and wounded 40 others, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks.
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Hamas's newly appointed armed wing chief in Gaza, days after it killed his predecessor, while intensifying military pressure in Gaza and expanding operations in Lebanon.
Syria's transitional leadership has located remnants of former President Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons programme, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country's long-running civil war.
A chemical tank imploded and ruptured at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in the US state of Washington on Tuesday, resulting in one death and nine injuries, while nine others remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday night, authorities said.