Families of hostages call for Israel and Hamas to accept cease-fire proposal pushed by Biden

The families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas have called on all parties to immediately accept the three-phase deal outlined by President Joe Biden to end the nearly 8-month war and bring their families home.

On Friday, Biden outlined Israel’s proposed deal with Hamas, saying the militant group is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack against Israel. He urged Hamas to reach an agreement to release about 100 remaining hostages, along with the bodies of about 30 more, in exchange for an extended ceasefire in Gaza.

“Israel offered a comprehensive new proposal,” Biden said. “It is a roadmap for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages. This proposal was conveyed by Qatar to Hamas.”

After Biden’s speech, families of hostages told the Associated Press that time was running out and that the onus was on Israel and Hamas to accept the deal.

“We want to see people coming back from Gaza alive and soon,” Gili Roman told the AP. Her sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was taken hostage and released during a week-long ceasefire in November, but Yarden’s sister-in-law, Carmel Gat, is still detained.

“This may be the last chance to save lives. Therefore, the current state must be changed and we hope everyone will join Mr. Biden’s call to get the deal on the table, immediately. There is no other path to a better situation for everyone Our leadership must not let us down, but above all, all eyes must be on Hamas,” he said.

Ceasefire negotiations Negotiations broke down last month after a major effort by the US and other mediators to secure a deal in hopes of avoiding a full-blown Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israel says Operation Rafah is vital to uprooting Hamas fighters responsible for October 7 attack in southern Israel that triggered the war. Israel confirmed on Friday that its troops were operating in central parts of the city.

The proposal came after what hostage families said was a contentious meeting on Thursday with Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, who told them the government was not ready to sign an agreement to bring back all the hostages. home and that there was no plan B. .

Hanegbi said this week that he expects the war to drag on for another seven months in order to destroy the military and government capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a “total victory” that would remove Hamas from power, dismantle its military structure and return hostages, and on Saturday the government said its conditions for ending the war had not changed. Putting a permanent ceasefire into effect before the conditions are met is a “failure,” he said.

Many hostage families blame the government’s unwillingness to secure a settlement for the deaths of many of the hostages in captivity.

“We know that the Israeli government did a lot to delay the conclusion of an agreement and this cost the lives of many people who survived in captivity for weeks and weeks and months and months. will receive that they are no longer alive,” Sharone Lifschitz told AP. Her mother, Yocheved, was released in the November ceasefire and her father, Oded, is still in captivity.

The first phase of the agreement announced by Biden would last six weeks and he said it would consist of a “total and complete ceasefire”, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages – including women , elderly and injured – in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The American hostages would be released at this stage, the president said. In the first phase of the proposal, Palestinian civilians would also return to their neighborhoods “in all areas of Gaza”. Humanitarian aid would also increase.

In the second phase, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to hostilities, Biden said. This phase will also include the release of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal from Gaza, provided the proposal is honored.

The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of reconstruction after the devastation caused by the war.

Biden acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep the Israeli proposal on track, saying there were a series of “details to negotiate” to move from the first phase to the second. Biden said that if Hamas does not fulfill its commitment in the agreement, Israel could resume military operations.

Hamas said in a statement on Friday that it viewed the proposal outlined by Biden “positively” and called on Israelis to declare an explicit commitment to an agreement that includes a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, an exchange of prisoners and other conditions.

Although the proposal is similar to the previous ones, the main difference is the willingness to stop the war for an indefinite period, according to analysts. It still leaves Israel the option of renewing the war and diminishing Hamas’ ability to govern, but over time, Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center, told the AP.

Still, experts say Biden’s speech was one of the first times in the war that gave hope that it could end and bring the hostages home.

“It was a very good speech…it seems like Biden is trying to force this on the Israeli government, he was clearly speaking directly to the Israeli people,” said Gershon Baskin, Middle East director for the Organization of International Communities. Israelis must take to the streets to demand that the Israeli government accept this, he said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called it “urgent hope” for lasting peace. She said on Saturday it was up to Hamas to show it wanted to end the conflict.

Fighting continues in Gaza

On Saturday, Israel’s army said it had killed a Hamas fighter responsible for directing attacks in Israel and the West Bank, and earlier this week it said its aircraft killed a Hamas fighter in central Gaza who was head of the security department. technology of the group’s internal security forces. .

Also on Saturday, Egyptian state newspaper Al-Qahera News said officials from Egypt, the United States and Israel would meet in Cairo over the weekend for talks on the Rafah crossing, which has been closed since Israel took control of the Palestinian side of it in early May. The meeting comes a week after Biden discussed closing the crossing in a call with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas attack on October 7 in which militants invaded southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people – most of them civilians – and kidnapped about 250. More than 36,170 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s bombing campaign and offensives, according to Israel’s Health Ministry. Gaza. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.