An Israeli soldier stands in a tank, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Purchase Licensing Rights
Published June 6, 2024
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, June 5 (Reuters) – The leader of Hamas said on Wednesday the group would demand a permanent end to the war in Gaza and Israeli withdrawal as part of a ceasefire plan, dealing an apparent blow to a truce proposal touted last week by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Israel, meanwhile, said there would be no halt to fighting during ceasefire talks, and launched a new assault on a central section of the Gaza Strip near the last city yet to be stormed by its tanks.
The remarks by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh appeared to deliver the Palestinian militant group’s reply to the proposal that Biden unveiled last week. Washington had said it was waiting to hear an answer from Hamas to what Biden described as an Israeli initiative.
“The movement and factions of the resistance will deal seriously and positively with any agreement that is based on a comprehensive ending of the aggression and the complete withdrawal and prisoners swap,” Haniyeh said.
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SOURCE: www.reuters.com
RELATED: US urges UN Security Council to support Israel Hamas ceasefire plan
Published June 6, 2024
Biden has announced a three-phase plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza. Now he is seeking international backing for it.
Washington urged the UN Security Council on Monday to support a ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas, which would free all hostages and send massive amounts of aid into Gaza.
The three-part proposal aimed at ending the nearly eight-month war was announced by US President Joe Biden on 31 May. Now he is trying to drum up support at the international organisation.
“Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions,” said US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield in a statement.
Biden has called on Hamas to accept the deal “fully and implement its terms without delay and without condition.” The Palestinian militant group has said it views the proposal “positively.”
The draft resolution shown to the UN Security Council makes no mention of Israeli acceptance of the deal.
Details of the ceasefire plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his hardline governing partners on Monday the proposal would still allow Israel to meet the goal of destroying Hamas, according to local media.
Ultranationalists have threatened to topple his government if Netanyahu agrees to a deal that doesn’t eliminate Hamas.
Netanyahu has not outlined all the details of the ceasefire proposal, but said on Monday there were “gaps”.
Biden said the first phase of the plan would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of some hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the freeing of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
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SOURCE: www.euronews.com
RELATED: Netanyahu Views Biden’s Gaza Truce Plan As “Partial”, Says Israel
Biden on Friday presented what he labelled an Israeli three-phase plan that would eventually end the fighting, free all hostages held by Palestinian group and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip without Hamas in power
Published June 6, 2024
Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views a plan outlined by US President Joe Biden for a truce in Gaza and hostage release deal as “partial”, a government spokesman said Monday.
Biden on Friday presented what he labelled an Israeli three-phase plan that would eventually end the fighting, free all hostages held by Palestinian group and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Gaza Strip without Hamas in power.
“The outline that President Biden presented is partial,” government spokesman David Mencer quoted Netanyahu as saying, adding in a press briefing that “the war will be stopped for the purpose of returning the hostages” after which discussions will follow on how to achieve Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu, according to a separate statement issued by his office, told a parliament committee that “claims that we have agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect”.
The prime minister’s far-right coalition partners, party leaders National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both slammed the latest plan on Monday.
