Where things stand on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal as Hamas responds to latest proposal

Negotiators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been working to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas that would see the end of the war that killed tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip. So far, an agreement has been difficult.

See how things have evolved over the last week:

Biden announces Israeli proposal to end the war in Gaza

At the end of last month, the President Biden announced what he called an Israeli proposal to end the war.

He said the plan consisted of three phases, the first of which would include the cessation of hostilities. He said Israeli forces would pull out of Gaza’s population centers, some Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged, Palestinian civilians would return to some parts of Gaza, including the north, and 600 trucks of humanitarian aid would be provided per day. .

In the second phase, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to the war and “the ceasefire will continue as long as negotiations continue,” Biden said. Israel would withdraw from Gaza and remaining hostages would be released.

The third phase would see the bodies of the dead hostages returned to Israel and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Biden said the plan was conveyed to Hamas by Qatar.

“I know that there are people in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They have made it clear: they want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years and taking hostages is not a priority for them. Well, I have urged the leadership in Israel to support this agreement despite any pressure that may arise,” Biden said.

“As someone who has had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel in times of war, as someone who just sent U.S. forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask- take a step back, think about what will happen if this moment is lost,” Biden said. “We cannot miss this moment.”

Israeli leaders appear to show wavering support for Biden’s statements

Following Biden’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it supported the plan, according to the Reuters news agency. Israeli media soon reported, however, that Netanyahu had said there were gaps between what Biden exposed and Israel’s position.

“The proposal presented by Biden is incomplete,” Netanyahu told Israeli lawmakers during a closed-door meeting of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

Netanyahu told his country’s lawmakers that Israel would not end the war in Gaza until it achieved its three main objectives: Destroy Hamas’ military and civil governance capabilities, secure the release of all hostages and ensure there is no threat continuation to Israel by Israel. Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.

Far-right ultranationalist members of Netanyahu’s cabinet, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accused Netanyahu of trying to “cover up” a deal with Hamas and threatened to withdraw from the coalition government with him, which would effectively end his long term in office. from Netanyahu. mandate as leader of Israel.

“The dangerous proposal that President Biden spoke of was made by the war cabinet without authority and against the law, and is not binding on the government of Israel,” Smotrich said.

Hamas says Israel’s written proposal presented to them is different “from what Biden declared”

On Thursday, Hamas released a statement saying that given Biden’s statement and statements from Israeli officials, “the enemy’s position is not clear.”

Hamas said the written proposal it received “was devoid of the positive foundations mentioned in Biden’s statements, and that there is a difference between what is in the paper and what Biden stated, which has caused a lot of confusion and controversy, if what Biden spoke is his personal interpretation of the document or oral agreements with Israeli parties or otherwise.”

Hamas said the written proposal it received did not guarantee one of its main conditions – a permanent ceasefire – nor did it link the three phases of the plan.

“On the contrary, it destroyed the bridges that transfer the agreement from one phase to another, in order to disturb the unity of the agreement with all its phases and reduce it to a phase in which aggression temporarily ceases and its [Israel’s] remain on the lands of the Gaza Strip, and the occupation receives in return the segment of prisoners it cares about and then resumes the war of annihilation against our people,” the statement said.

Hamas said it was committed “to its positive stance toward Biden’s statements” and “that Biden must ensure that the occupation government agrees with them and that they are reflected in the text of the agreement.”