Gaza: Israel says conditions for ending war have not changed

The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office comes a day after US President Joe Biden outlined an “Israeli proposal” to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

“The conditions set by Israel for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and administrative capabilities, the release of all hostages and the guarantee that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel”indicates the press release. “Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place.”

On Friday, Mr. Biden claimed that the Islamist group was not ” more capable “ to carry out a large-scale attack against Israel, like that of October 7 which started the war. He urged Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement for the release of around 100 hostages as well as the bodies of around 30 others, with a view to a prolonged ceasefire.

What Joe Biden’s proposal contains

The first phase of Mr. Biden’s proposed deal would last six weeks and include a “total and complete ceasefire”the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase would include the release of all surviving hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The third phase sees the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which could last decades after the devastation caused by the war.

Mr. Biden acknowledged that it would be difficult to keep the proposal on track, a number of “details to be negotiated” to move from the first to the second phase. Mr. Biden indicated that if Hamas did not respect its commitments under the agreement, Israel could resume its military operations.

Hamas said Friday it was considering the proposal “positively” and called on Israel to explicitly commit to an agreement including a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a prisoner exchange and other conditions.