President Biden will talk to them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Fox News Digital has confirmed that the phone conversation took place on Thursday following Hamas’ response to the hostage and ceasefire agreement.
Israel said on Wednesday it was examining a Hamas proposal to return the remaining 116 hostages held by the Israeli military. Terrorist groups Approximately 1,200 people were killed in the attacks on 7 October.
Netanyahu is due to convene a meeting of his security cabinet later today to prepare a response to Hamas’ latest position, which could prove a crucial step in ending the nine-month-long Israeli air and ground war that has devastated Gaza. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll from the war has risen to more than 38,000, while at least 87,445 people have been wounded.
President Biden (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Getty Images)
The US has rallied support from around the world behind a plan that would see hostages held by the militant group released in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. However, so far it appears that neither side has fully embraced it.
It is being told that the current deal is based on a proposal which has been drafted by the US Congress. President Biden in May, which would begin with an initial six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to all areas of the territory.
The second phase would see “a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all hostages still held in Gaza and a complete withdrawal of troops.” israeli army From Gaza.”
The third phase would “launch a major, multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and return the remains of all dead hostages still in Gaza to their families.”
Gaza militants fire rockets at Israel while tanks advance north and south
An Israeli firefighter walks near smoke and fire after a rocket was fired across the border from Lebanon into Israel, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in northern Israel June 12, 2024. (Reuters/Gil Eliyahu)
Hamas last month suggested “amendments” to the proposal, some of which the U.S. called unworkable, but did not provide details. The group on Wednesday sent another response to Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating the talks, but did not provide details. A U.S. official said the Biden administration is examining the response, calling it constructive but saying more work needs to be done. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Hamas political official Bassem Naim said the group had neither accepted nor rejected the US proposal, and had “responded with some ideas to bridge the gap” between the two sides, though he did not elaborate.
However, the transition from the first stage to the second stage has become the main hurdle.
Hamas worries that Israel will resume the war after the first phase, perhaps after making unrealistic demands in the talks. Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hamas will do the same, dragging out the talks and preliminary ceasefire indefinitely without releasing the remaining detainees.
Israel’s Channel 12 quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that Hamas had withdrawn its demand for guarantees that Israel would end the war and completely withdraw from Gaza in order to agree to even the first phase of the deal.
Additionally, Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar reports that Hamas’ plan includes Israel withdrawing its troops from Syria. Rafah Crossing According to the agreement with Egypt, capture of the area would not require a complete withdrawal from the vital Philadelphia Corridor.
Israeli hostage families march toward Jerusalem carrying photos of their loved ones who are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. (Matan Golan/SOPA Images/Light Rocket via Getty Images)
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Netanyahu is skeptical about this agreement and says that that Israel Still committed to destroying Hamas.
“The war will end when Israel achieves all of its objectives, including the destruction of Hamas and the release of all of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a video statement in Hebrew earlier this week. Netanyahu was criticizing a New York Times report that quoted senior Israeli officials as saying some military officers wanted a ceasefire with Hamas.
Over the past nine months, 109 hostages have been released, seven rescued by the Israel Defense Forces, and the bodies of 19 recovered by the military in Gaza, three of whom were accidentally killed by soldiers, the Times of Israel reports.
Fox News’ Yonat Frieling and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
