Hamas responds to Gaza cease-fire plan/ Demands some changes

2024-06-12 08:44:54, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hamas responds to Gaza cease-fire plan/ Demands some changes

Gaza Strip during Israeli airstrikes, source AP

Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - said late Tuesday that it has submitted its response to the US proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip to mediators, asking for some changes to the agreement.

It appears that Hamas did not immediately accept the agreement, despite the efforts of the United States, but nevertheless kept alive the talks to reach a difficult agreement to end the war that has entered the eighth month in Gaza.

The foreign ministers of Qatar and Egypt - who are the main mediators along with the US - confirmed they had received Hamas's response and said they were evaluating it.

"We have accepted the response that Hamas submitted to Qatar and Egypt, and we are reviewing it now," said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said the response includes "changes that confirm the ceasefire, withdrawal, reconstruction and [prisoner] exchange." He gave no explanation.

But while broadly backing the deal, Hamas officials have expressed doubts about whether Israel will honor the deal's terms, particularly a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, in exchange for the release of all the hostages being held by the militants.

Even after the US said that Israel has accepted the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given contradictory signals, saying that Israel will not stop until it achieves its goal of eliminating Hamas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region this week to try to secure the agreement. This is his eighth visit since Hamas carried out the attack in southern Israel and fueled the Israeli war in Gaza.

On Tuesday, he continued to press Hamas to accept the proposal, saying the UN Security Council vote in his favor made it "clear as hell" that the world supports the plan.

"All the votes are for, except for one, Hamas," Blinken said in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli officials, hours before Hamas was due to respond.

Blinken said Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the proposal during a meeting Monday evening.

The proposal has raised hopes of ending the eight-month war, during which Israel's bombing and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians and forced about 80 percent of the 2.3 million people from their homes. .

Israel launched the war, vowing to destroy Hamas, after the radical Palestinian group killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 250 others during an October 7 attack in southern Israel. More than 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire in November in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution to support the United States' proposal, with 14 votes in favor and none against. Russia abstained.

US President Joe Biden's proposal includes three phases to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

The first phase involves a six-week ceasefire, during which Israeli forces would withdraw from "all inhabited areas" of Gaza, some hostages - elderly and women - would be released in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners; Palestinian civilians would return to their homes in Gaza; and 600 trucks a day would deliver humanitarian aid to the devastated enclave.

In the second phase, all live hostages, including soldiers, would be exchanged; Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire would begin.

The third phase envisages a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, as well as the return of the "last remnants" of hostages to their families./ REL