US, Iran passing messages through intermediaries, Tehran says

Hamas said in a statement Sunday that it "affirms its commitment" to Trump's 15-point plan for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with Israel in the Gaza Strip "and establishing a clear timetable for their implementation."

The Hamas statement came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments earlier in the day at an Israeli cabinet meeting that he would reject the plan, stating that "the IDF will not make any withdrawal until Hamas is truly disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens."

"We call upon the mediators, guarantors, and the Peace Council to assume their responsibilities, ensure the commitment of all parties to what has been agreed upon, and prevent any violations or breaches that could disrupt the implementation process or undermine the ceasefire agreement," the Hamas statement continued, in part.

Hamas will "continue to engage positively and responsibly with efforts aimed at completing the implementation of the agreement," the statement further said.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. was “semi-negotiating” with Iran amid reports from Iranian state media that no formal negotiations were underway between the two countries.

“We are low-keying it," Trump said during a brief phone call with Axios on Sunday.

"We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump added, Axios reported.

Iran confirmed earlier Sunday that "messages were being exchanged" through intermediaries but declined to call them negotiations.

“Trump stressed that Iran ‘is in very bad shape’ economically and has no money to pay its troops,” according to Axios, and further said “the U.S. naval blockade has exacerbated the Iranian regime's economic crisis.”

"It will work out. It always works out. It's like a chess game," the president also said, according to Axios.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would reject the 15-point proposal for peace in Gaza put forward by President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

Trump previously announced an agreement for Hamas to disarm and for the Israel Defense Forces to withdraw from the Gaza Strip as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire signed last year.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday. "The IDF will not make any withdrawal until Hamas is truly disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens."

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Messages between the United States and Iran were being passed "through intermediaries," an Iranian official told state media on Sunday, adding that that "the process should not be called negotiations."

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi alleged that the United States continued to violate June's memorandum of understanding, reportedly saying that until that "comes to an end and the United States compensates for what it has violated, the possibility of resuming negotiations does not exist."

Araghchi also reiterated, according to state media, that an agreement with Oman does not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened.

An opening "of the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on the fulfillment of other conditions, and these conditions have been conveyed to the American side through intermediaries," he reportedly said.

-ABC News' Rashid Haddou