JERUSALEM, Sept 12 (Askume) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he must put more pressure on Hamas to accept a proposal for a new Gaza deal. The Palestinian militant group has previously said it is ready to implement a ceasefire even in the absence of new conditions.
Chief US negotiator and CIA Director William Burns said on Saturday that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be presented in a few days.
A Hamas negotiating team met Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha on Wednesday and agreed to an “immediate” truce with Israel in Gaza, in line with a previous US proposal, without new conditions from either side, the organisation said in a statement. Reiterating its willingness to do so.
“Hamas is trying to hide the fact that it opposes and obstructs the hostage release agreement,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
He said Israel had accepted the latest offer, while “Hamas rejected it and also brutally murdered six of our hostages.”
The two sides have so far failed to reach an agreement to end the 11-month-old war, instead accusing each other of making new demands and blocking a settlement.
Unresolved issues include control of the Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow swath of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, and the release of some Palestinian prisoners accused of deadly violence.
US President Joe Biden’s original proposal in May called for a three-phase ceasefire that also included the release of Israeli and foreign hostages.
According to Israeli figures, the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Gaza’s health ministry says Israeli forces have killed at least 41,000 Palestinians so far.
