go through David Gritton, bbc news
ReutersThe United States says it is assessing Hamas’s response to the latest proposals for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.
Palestinian armed groups said they were ready to “actively respond” to the process, but stressed the need for Israel to agree to a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli government has not yet commented, but an anonymous Israeli official said Hamas’s response amounted to rejection.
Meanwhile, the U.S. secretary of state is traveling to Qatar – which is acting as a mediator with the United States and Egypt – to try to push the plan forward.
Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “reaffirmed his commitment to the deal” and that Hamas would be blamed if there was no progress.
However, Mr Netanyahu has yet to publicly back the proposal, which US President Joe Biden said 12 days ago when outlining the proposal was an Israeli one.
A brief statement confirmed that Hamas had officially responded to the latest ceasefire plan, which has broad international support and was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on Monday.
This again calls for what Hamas calls a “complete cessation of its ongoing aggression in Gaza” and for the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territories.
Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said the response was “responsible, serious and positive” and opened “a broad path” to an agreement.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not issue a formal response.
But an anonymous Israeli official issued a statement saying Hamas “changed all the major and most meaningful parameters” and “rejected President Biden’s offer to release the hostages.”
Now awaits a more critical response from mediators – particularly the United States – once they have studied the proposal and judged the scope of the Hamas amendment.
“We received a response from Hamas to Qatar and Egypt and we are evaluating it,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, without elaborating.
Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement that they would study Hamas’s response and “coordinate with relevant parties on next steps.” They also promised to continue their mediation efforts with the United States “until an agreement is reached.”
AFPOn October 7, an unprecedented cross-border attack occurred in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 251 people hostage. The Israeli military launched an operation to destroy Hamas in Gaza.
Since then, more than 37,160 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The November deal saw Hamas release 105 hostages in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and the release of some 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. Israel says 116 hostages are still being held, 41 of whom are presumed dead.
Biden said the new proposal has three phases.
The first plan is for an initial six-week ceasefire in which Hamas would release a number of hostages – including women, the elderly and the sick and wounded – in exchange for Israel releasing an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase would see the release of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as part of a permanent “cessation of hostilities”, which is still subject to further negotiations.
In the third phase, the remains of all dead hostages will be returned and major reconstruction projects in Gaza will begin.
Mr Netanyahu acknowledged that his war cabinet had approved the plan but stopped short of explicitly backing it. Far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to withdraw from his coalition if the deal goes ahead and trigger its collapse, seeing it as a capitulation to Hamas.
Israel’s actual proposal is reportedly longer than the summary presented by Biden, but it has not been made public and it is unclear whether it differs from what Biden has conveyed. The document was submitted to Hamas days before Biden’s speech.
