The US administration urges Hamas and Israel to complete the ceasefire proposal in Gaza
The White House called on Hamas and Israel to complete the proposal announced by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“As a mediator in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees, the United States, together with Egypt and Qatar, calls on both Hamas and Israel to finalize the proposal, which includes the principles outlined by President Joe Biden on May 31,” the White House said in a statement Saturday.
The statement noted that the principles contained in the ceasefire proposal combine the demands of all parties, taking into account their interests, and that this would provide immediate assistance to the long-suffering people of Gaza, hostages, detainees and their families.
“This proposal provides a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis,” he said.
On Friday evening, Biden, whose country provides unequivocal support to Tel Aviv in its war on Gaza, claimed that Israel had submitted a three-stage proposal that includes a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of detainees and the reconstruction of the Strip.
Contrary to Biden’s speech, Netanyahu’s office said that Netanyahu “insists on ending the war on the Gaza Strip only after achieving all its goals”.
Hamas said it would deal “positively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of displaced persons and the completion of a serious prisoner exchange deal”.
Netanyahu insists on a temporary ceasefire, without ending the war or withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, while Hamas demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli army, the return of displaced people, intensified relief, and the start of reconstruction, as part of any prisoner exchange agreement.
Biden’s talk about this proposal comes despite Israel’s earlier rejection of another proposal submitted by Egypt and Qatar, which Hamas and the Palestinian factions announced their approval on May 6.
With the mediation of Egypt and Qatar and the participation of the United States, Israel and Hamas have been conducting stalled indirect negotiations for months, while the Israeli war on Gaza has been ongoing since October 7, 2023.
The Israeli war on Gaza has left more than 118,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has killed children and the elderly.
Israel continues this war in disregard of a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities, orders from the Court of Justice to halt its assault on Rafah, and immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
