Deadly fighting rocked Gaza on Tuesday as Hamas formally responded to a U.S. ceasefire proposal and Jordan hosted an emergency summit for the besieged Palestinian territory.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they had delivered their response to the proposal to Qatari and Egyptian mediators, expressing a "willingness to deal positively in order to reach an agreement." They emphasized their priority of stopping the conflict in the Gaza Strip and ensuring the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.

Egypt and Qatar said they had received Hamas' response to the proposal but did not disclose its contents.

White House spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. had received Hamas's response and was evaluating it.

An Israeli official said on Tuesday that Israel had received Hamas's response to the U.S.-drafted proposal and the movement had rejected it, Xinhua reported, citing Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.

The United States has said Israel has accepted its proposal, but Israel has not publicly said it has. Israel, which has continued assaults in central and southern Gaza, has repeatedly said it would not commit to an end to its military operation in Gaza before Hamas is eliminated.

In addition to the ceasefire proposal, Jordan hosted an emergency summit on Tuesday for the besieged Palestinian territory.

The conference, titled "Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza" and co-organized by Egypt, and the United Nations, called for intensified efforts to aid the Palestinians and aimed to develop a collective response to the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave.

In his remarks at the conference, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called on countries to compel Israel to stop "using hunger as a weapon" in Gaza and to remove obstacles to delivering humanitarian aid to people there.

For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who also attended the conference, urged support for humanitarian aid programs presented by the Palestinian Authority and other countries to assist the afflicted Palestinian people.

"The (Palestinian) government has presented its programs for relief, restoration of basic services, institutional reform, and financial and economic stability, and has announced its readiness to take on duties in Gaza, including all crossings into the strip, just as in the West Bank," said Abbas.

He urged the Security Council and the international community to pressure Israel to open all land crossings into Gaza and hand them over to the Palestinian government.

Also at the conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the international community to support Jordan's crucial role in assisting Gaza residents and as a key regional hub for humanitarian work. 

(With input from agencies)