Hostage families "strongly support" call from US and others urging Israel and Hamas to close deal 

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy, Benjamin Brown and Yugenia Yosef 

A campaign group for relatives of the hostages held in Gaza has expressed "strong support" for the call from the United States and 16 other nations urging Israel and Hamas to "close" the hostage deal. 

"We strongly support the joint statement from the leaders of the United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, calling for Hamas to accept the proposed agreement and release the hostages, many of whom are citizens of these countries," the Hostage Families Forum said in a press release. 

The signatories have called the ceasefire and hostage proposal “the necessary starting point” for ending the war in Gaza, urging Hamas to "close this agreement" spearheaded by Israel.  

Israel has yet to officially respond to the joint statement, with the prime minister's spokesperson David Mencer telling journalists Thursday that Israel does not comment "on the everyday movements and the everyday discussions during these negotiations." 

"We have, of course, seen that letter from the White House with those state leaders, those heads of state, putting forward their views. We haven’t got anything more to add to that," Mencer added. 

US President Joe Biden last week outlined what he said was a three-phase proposal to end the conflict in Gaza. But both Hamas and Israel are yet to back it.