After Hamas’s first response to the Israeli ceasefire proposal was severely criticized by the United States, the Palestinian Islamist group has submitted an updated document, the Mossad said.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Wednesday that it is considering a response from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to a new proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the enclave.
“The mediators of the agreement for the release of the kidnapped persons conveyed Hamas’ response to the proposed agreement to the negotiating team,” the office said in a brief message posted on the social network X.
Statement from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Mossad:
The hostage deal mediators conveyed Hamas’s statements on the broad outlines of the hostage deal to the negotiating team.
Israel is evaluating the statements and will convey its response to the mediators.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 3, 2024
The Palestinian militia responded on June 11 to the ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden at the end of May, although He suggested a series of changes that were criticized by Washington..
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned whether Hamas was “acting in good faith” by proposing a series of new demands that he said “go beyond the positions it had taken at the beginning” of the talks.
Biden’s plan is divided into three phases: the first proposes exchanging refugees for prisoners and a short-term ceasefire, while the second envisages a “permanent cessation of hostilities” and a total withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip.
The third and final phase includes a multi-year reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has expressed openness to accepting the deal, provided that Israeli troops withdraw completely from the Palestinian enclave.while Israel has made it clear that it will continue its offensive to destroy the Palestinian militia.
The conflict in the Gaza Strip was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which left nearly 1,200 people dead and took more than 200 people hostage, followed since then by a large-scale offensive against Israel, which has already caused around 38,000 deaths.
Source: Observadora
