On June 11, 2024, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the families and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, who held a rally during their visit.
Jake Gus | via Reuters
Hamas said on Tuesday it had responded to mediators over a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal in Gaza, seeking some “amendments” to the deal. The response did not appear to fully accept what the United States had been pushing for, but continued negotiations on an eight-month war that was difficult to stop.
Qatar and Egypt’s foreign ministries, which serve as key mediators along with the United States, confirmed they had received a response from Hamas and said mediators were studying it.
“We received responses from Hamas to Qatar and Egypt and we are now reviewing them,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said the response included “amendments confirming the ceasefire, withdrawal, reconstruction and (prisoner) exchange”. Taha did not elaborate.
But while supporting the outlines of the deal, Hamas officials have expressed caution about whether Israel will enforce its terms, particularly a provision for an eventual permanent cessation of fighting and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages held by the militants.
While the United States said Israel accepted the offer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent conflicting signals, saying Israel would not stop until its goal of destroying Hamas was achieved.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in the region this week trying to push for a deal, his eighth trip since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel triggered Israel’s actions in Gaza. On Tuesday, he continued to pressure Hamas to accept the proposal and said the U.N. Security Council’s vote in favor of it would make it “as clear as possible” that the world supports the plan.
“Everyone voted except one, and that was Hamas,” Blinken told reporters after meeting with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv. Hours later, Hamas announced its reply. He said Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the proposal during a meeting on Monday night.
In a joint statement announcing they had submitted responses to Qatar and Egypt, Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group said they were prepared to “actively negotiate towards an agreement” and that their first priority was “a complete cessation” to war. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told Lebanese Al-Mayadeen television that the group had “submitted some comments on the proposal to the mediators,” without elaborating.
According to Palestinian health officials, the proposal raises hope of ending the eight-month conflict. About 80% of them have left their homes. Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting have hampered efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the remote coastal enclave, exacerbating widespread hunger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) on an official visit to West Jerusalem on June 10, 2024.
Amos Ben Gershom | Anadolu | Getty Images
Israel launched an operation vowing to eliminate Hamas after Hamas and other militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. Last year, more than 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Later Tuesday, Blinken attended a Gaza aid conference in Jordan, where he announced more than $400 million in additional aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the wider region, bringing the total U.S. aid over the past eight months to More than $674 million.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the meeting that aid flows to the U.N. for distribution in Gaza have plummeted by two-thirds since Israel launched its offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in early May.
Guterres called for the opening of all border crossings and said the “speed and scale of massacres and killings in Gaza” were unprecedented since he took over the United Nations in 2017.
Separately, the United Nations human rights office said Israeli troops and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during a deadly weekend raid to rescue four hostages. According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the operation.
Blinken is in Cairo on Monday and is also expected to visit Qatar — where talks are likely to focus on next steps toward a deal.
The UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved the proposal on Monday, with 14 out of 15 member states voting in favor and Russia abstaining. The resolution calls on Israel and Hamas to “fully implement its terms without delay and conditions.”
The proposal, announced by President Joe Biden last month, calls for a three-phase plan starting with a six-week ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli troops will withdraw from densely populated areas and Palestinian civilians will be allowed to return to their homes. Hamas still holds about 120 hostages, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The first phase also calls for the safe distribution of humanitarian aid “on a massive scale throughout Gaza,” which Biden said would result in 600 truckloads of aid entering Gaza every day.
At the same time, the second phase of negotiations will be launched, namely “a permanent end to hostilities in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza and the full withdrawal of troops from Gaza.”
Phase Three will launch “a major multi-year reconstruction program in Gaza and return the remains of all deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”
The militant group accepted a similar offer last month, but Israel rejected it.
Biden presented it as an Israeli proposal, but Netanyahu publicly questioned key aspects of it and said Biden had left out parts. The conflicting signals appear to reflect Netanyahu’s political dilemma. His far-right coalition allies rejected the offer and threatened to overthrow his government if he ended the war without destroying Hamas.
A durable ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza could allow Hamas to retain control of the region and rebuild its military capabilities.
But Netanyahu is also facing growing pressure to accept a deal to bring back the hostages. Thousands of Israelis, including family members of the hostages, demonstrated in support of the U.S.-backed plan.
The transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 seems to be a sticking point. Hamas wants assurances that Israel will not resume the war, while Israel wants to ensure that a second phase of protracted negotiations does not extend the ceasefire indefinitely while keeping hostages captive.
Blinken said the proposal would achieve an immediate ceasefire and commit all parties to negotiate a lasting ceasefire. “The ceasefire that happens immediately is going to remain in effect, which is obviously good for everybody. And then we’ll have to see,” Blinken said.
