Hamas on Thursday stated U.S. President Joe Biden’s proposed Gaza cease-fire deal was “just words” and the Palestinian resistance group had not acquired any written commitments associated to a truce.
Biden introduced final week what he labeled an Israeli three-phase plan that may finish the battle, free all hostages, and result in the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory with out Hamas in energy.
But Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official primarily based in Beirut, instructed Agence France-Presse (AFP): “There is no proposal – they are just words said by Biden in a speech.”
“So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech,” he stated from the Lebanese capital.
Hamdan stated Biden “tried to cover up the Israeli rejection” of one other deal supplied earlier in May, which had been authorised by Hamas.
He stated Hamas was prepared to simply accept any deal that met his motion’s core calls for of a everlasting cease-fire in Gaza and the whole withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
The United States has pressed for Hamas to simply accept the deal and stated it was ready for a response.
“We think this should be an urgent priority to get this cease-fire over the line, to start to alleviate the suffering that is happening every day in Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller instructed reporters in Washington.
“So we would hope for a response from Hamas as soon as possible, and we continue to wait,” he stated.
Shortly after Biden unveiled the plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the street map was solely “partial.”
The United States, together with Qatar and Egypt, have been engaged in months of negotiations over particulars for a cease-fire in Gaza.
But aside from a seven-day pause starting in November, which led to the discharge of greater than 100 hostages, there was no break within the battle.
Israel’s relentless strikes have killed a minimum of 36,654 folks in Gaza, principally ladies and youngsters, in response to native well being officers.
The conflict began after Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border assault on Israel, which resulted within the deaths of 1,194 folks, in response to Israeli figures.
Source: www.dailysabah.com