US President Joe Biden told Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that Hamas was the only obstacle to a Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel, and urged him to press on the group so that it accepts it.
Biden “asserted that Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire” and “confirmed Israel’s willingness to move forward” with the conditions he laid out last week, the White House said in a statement from a call between the two leaders on Monday.
Qatari Amiri Diwan confirmed that Sheikh Tamim had received a call from the US president “to discuss efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza”, he said in a statement.
He added that the two leaders discussed “the evolving situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Qatar played a key role in mediating indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, as well as Egypt and the United States.
The ceasefire proposal includes a three-phase plan, with an exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners, the evacuation of Israeli forces from Gaza and the reconstruction of the devastated enclave.
The proposal excludes Hamas from remaining in power, something the group has repeatedly rejected.
The G7 bloc of developed countries said Monday it supported the proposal and called on Hamas to accept it.
“We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), fully support “the truce plan” which would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian aid to be distributed throughout Gaza. and a lasting end to the crisis, with Israel’s security interests and the safety of Gaza’s civilians assured,” the statement read.
“We call on Hamas to accept this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward, and we urge countries with influence on Hamas to help ensure that it does so,” the text continues.
The G7 countries are the United States, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan welcomed the truce plan, but told Tel Aviv Tribune on Sunday that the group had not yet received any written documents.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 36,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, causing widespread destruction and the displacement of 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
The Gaza government media office said Monday that more than 3,500 children under the age of five are at risk of dying due to lack of food, nutritional supplements and vaccines, as Israel continues to severely restrict entry much-needed aid to Gaza.
Six-week ceasefire plan
The latest deal proposed by the United States begins with a comprehensive six-week ceasefire that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza, where famine has already set in in parts of the north.
Although Israel’s war cabinet has met to discuss the proposal, it remains unclear whether it agrees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers the plan “partial,” a government spokesperson said Monday.
“The outline presented by President Biden is partial,” Netanyahu said, quoting government spokesman David Mencer, adding during a press briefing that “the war will be stopped with the aim of returning the hostages,” after which discussions will follow on how to obtain Israeli agreement. objective of eliminating Hamas.
Netanyahu, in a separate statement released by his office, said that “claims that we agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met are incorrect.”
Family members of Israeli captives held in Gaza called on the Israeli government to accept the plan and urged Netanyahu to publicly support the proposal. They have been protesting against the government for months and have repeatedly called on it to accept previous indirectly negotiated agreements.
The Israeli military on Monday confirmed the deaths of four more hostages held in Gaza, naming them Haim Perry, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper and Nadav Popplewell.
Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “We estimate that the four of them were killed while they were together in the Khan Younis area during our operation there against the Hamas. »
Earlier this month, Hamas approved a ceasefire proposal presented by mediators Qatar and Egypt, but Israel again said the proposal did not meet its demands.
Israel is under increasing international pressure to end its attacks and become increasingly isolated.
The International Court of Justice’s order to halt its offensive on the southern Gaza town of Rafah has not stopped Israel from continuing to launch attacks in the crowded area, where it is also expanding its operations. terrestrial.