Families of hostages call on Israel and Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal pushed by Biden

Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas have called on all parties to immediately accept three-phase deal presented by President Biden Friday to end a nearly eight-month war and bring their loved ones home.

However, in a statement Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called a permanent ceasefire in Gaza a “non-starter” until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met, appearing to undermine the deal Biden announced as an Israeli. A.

“The conditions imposed by Israel to end the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and government capabilities, the release of all hostages and the guarantee that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” the statement said. communicated. “Under this proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place.”

The United States, Egypt and Qatar – all of which have helped mediate negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the start of the war – issued a joint statement on Saturday in which they called on “Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement embodying the principles set out by the president.” Biden”, stressing that “these principles brought together the demands of all parties in an agreement that serves multiple interests and will provide immediate relief to both the long-suffering population of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families.” proposes a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis.”

On Friday, Mr. Biden outlined Israel’s proposed deal to Hamas, saying the militant group is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel. He urged Hamas to reach an agreement to release the remaining 100 hostages, as well as the bodies of around 30 others, in exchange for an extended ceasefire in Gaza.

“Israel has proposed a new comprehensive proposal,” Mr. Biden said. “It is a road map towards a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages. This proposal was transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.”

After Mr. Biden’s speech, the families of the hostages told The Associated Press that time is running out and it is up to Israel and Hamas to accept the deal.

“We want to see people come back alive and soon from Gaza,” Gili Roman told the AP. His sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was taken hostage and released during a week-long ceasefire in November, but Yarden’s sister-in-law, Carmel Gat, remains detained.

“This could be the last chance to save lives. Therefore, the current situation must be changed and we hope that everyone will immediately join Mr. Biden’s call for the immediate acceptance of the agreement on the table “There is no other path to a better situation for Our leadership must not disappoint us, but above all, all eyes must be on Hamas,” he said.

Ceasefire talks The conflict ended last month after a major push by the United States and other mediators to reach an agreement in hopes of avoiding a full Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Israel says Rafah operation vital to rooting out Hamas fighters responsible for October 7 attack on southern Israel which started the war. Israel confirmed Friday that its troops were operating in the city’s central neighborhoods.

The proposal came after what hostage families called a contentious Thursday with Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, telling them the government was not ready to sign a deal to bring all the hostages home and there was no plan B. .

Hanegbi said this week that he expects the war to drag on for another seven months, aimed at destroying the military and government capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.

Netanyahu promised a “total victory” that would remove Hamas from power, dismantle its military structure and return the hostages.

Israeli War Minister Benny Gantz called Saturday’s cabinet and negotiating team meeting.

“We are committed to continuing to advance an arrangement for the return of the hostages as formulated by the negotiating team and unanimously approved by the War Cabinet, as part of a broader effort to reach all the objectives of the war,” Gantz said in a statement.

Many hostage families blame the deaths of many hostages in captivity on the government’s lack of willingness to reach an agreement.

“We know that the Israeli government did an enormous amount to delay reaching a deal and that it cost the lives of many people who survived in captivity for weeks and weeks and months and months. Our hearts are “broken by the number of people we will receive from those who are no longer alive,” Sharone Lifschitz told AP. His mother Yocheved was released during the November ceasefire and his father Oded remains in captivity.

The first phase of the deal announced by Mr Biden would last six weeks and he said it would consist of a “total and complete ceasefire”, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages – including women, the elderly and the wounded – in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The American hostages would be released at that point, the president said. In the first phase of the proposal, Palestinian civilians would also return to their neighborhoods “in all areas of Gaza.” Humanitarian aid would also increase.

In the second phase, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to hostilities, Mr. Biden said. This phase will also include the release of all remaining hostages and a withdrawal from Gaza, provided the proposal is honored.

The third phase calls for the start of major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding after the devastation caused by the war.

Mr. Biden acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep the Israeli proposal on track, saying there were a number of “details to negotiate” to move from the first phase to the second. Mr. Biden said that if Hamas failed to meet its commitments under the deal, Israel could resume military operations.

Hamas said in a statement on Friday that it viewed Biden’s proposal “positively” and called on Israelis to declare their explicit commitment to a deal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a withdrawal full complement of Israeli troops from Gaza and an exchange of prisoners. and other conditions.

Although the proposal is similar to the previous ones, the main difference lies in the desire to stop the war for an indefinite period, analysts say. That still leaves Israel open to resuming war and diminishing Hamas’s ability to govern, but over time, Michael Milshtein, director of the Forum for Palestinian Studies at the Dayan Center at the University of Tel Aviv.

Still, experts say Mr. Biden’s speech was one of the first moments in the war to provide hope that it might end and bring the hostages home.

“It was a very good speech… it seems like Biden is trying to impose it on the Israeli government, he was clearly speaking directly to the Israeli people,” said Gershon Baskin, Middle East director at the Organization. international communities. Israelis must take to the streets to demand that the Israeli government accept it, he said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called it an “urgent hope” for lasting peace. She said Saturday it was up to Hamas to show it wanted to end the conflict.

Fighting continues in Gaza

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed a Hamas fighter responsible for attacks in Israel and the West Bank and earlier this week it said its planes had killed a Hamas fighter in central Gaza, technology department chief of the group’s internal security forces. .

Also on Saturday, Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News reported that Egyptian, American and Israeli officials would meet in Cairo this weekend to discuss the Rafah crossing, closed since Israel took over the Palestinian side in 2017. start may. The meeting comes a week after Mr. Biden discussed closing the crossing in a call with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

Israel launched its war in Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in which militants swept into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and kidnapping about 250. More than 36,170 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s campaign of bombings and offensives. , according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.