A senior Palestinian Hamas official said in Beirut on Saturday that negotiations with Israel to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages had not led to any progress.
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A plan presented at the end of May by American President Joe Biden, proposed according to him by Israel, provides for a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza, the release of certain hostages and prisoners Palestinians detained by Israel.
According to the American site Axiosthe American administration presented a “new version” of a draft agreement between Israel and Hamas, including amendments to “certain clauses […] with the aim of bridging the gap between them and reaching an agreement.
Osama Hamdane, a senior member of the Beirut-based Palestinian Islamist movement, said his movement had received a final proposal on June 24 for an agreement on a ceasefire, but that it brought “nothing new “.
“We can say that there is nothing new in the negotiations to stop Israeli aggression,” he said at a press conference.
The plan presented by Mr. Biden has so far remained a dead letter, with the protagonists sticking to intangible demands.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the war until Hamas is completely defeated and all hostages are released.
For its part, Hamas demands a permanent ceasefire and a total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“We have made it clear, and this is still our position, that without this, all the documents presented are a waste of time and give the occupation more time to carry out genocide against our people, as well as an attempt by the American administration to redeem itself,” Hamdan said.
According to him, the new American proposal is part of “the various pressures exerted on the movement to accept the Israeli document as it is, without amendments.”
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel, which killed 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data. During the attack, 251 people were kidnapped, 116 of whom are still being held in Gaza, of whom 42 died, according to the army.
In response, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza that has so far killed 37,834 people, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
