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Biden Admin Continues Pushing Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Despite Hamas Rejection, Israeli Reservations

US President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this White House handout image taken in the Oval Office in Washington, US, April 4, 2024. Photo: The White House/Handout via REUTERS

The Biden administration is still publicly pressuring both Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire deal unveiled by US President Joe Biden last week to end the fighting in Gaza, despite the Palestinian terror group seemingly rejecting the proposal and issuing statements irreconcilable with Israel’s position.

Leaders of Hamas, which rules Gaza, have for months refused to make concessions for a truce, insisting on a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal in order to reach an agreement. The Islamist terror group, which launched the ongoing war with its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, has argued that the current iteration of the ceasefire deal does not guarantee either condition.

“We informed the mediators that we could not agree to a deal that would not guarantee a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, along with a serious prisoner deal,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told a televised press conference earlier this week.

On Thursday, Hamdan dismissed the terms of the ceasefire as “just words.”

“There is no proposal — they are just words said by Biden in a speech,” he told AFP. “So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech.”

Another senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, welcomed what he called “Biden‘s ideas” but similarly said Hamas’ demands were not met.

“The Israeli documents speak of open-ended negotiation with no deadline, and it speaks of a stage during which the occupation regains its hostages and resumes the war,” he told Reuters, referring to the hostages who Hamas terrorists kidnapped and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7. “We had told the mediators that such a paper wasn’t acceptable to us.”

Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh echoed those sentiments on Wednesday in what appeared to be the terrorist group’s reply to Biden’s proposal.

In a speech last Friday, Biden disclosed that a day earlier, a new three-phase Israeli proposal for a hostage deal was passed onto Hamas through Qatar and detailed some of its main terms.

Biden said the deal would “bring all the hostages home, ensure Israel’s security, create a better day after in Gaza without Hamas in power, and set the stage for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

The first phase of the ceasefire plan, as described by Biden, would last six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas and the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza.” It would also include the “release of a number of hostages” in exchange for “the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.”

During this six-week period, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the “necessary arrangements” in order to transition to the second phase and a “permanent end” to the war, including a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Biden explained.

One sticking point could be whether Hamas is allowed to remain in power in Gaza.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza and the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre, asserted that the group will not accept any ceasefire deal that requires disarmament. 

“Hamas will not surrender its guns or sign a proposal that asks for that,” Sinwar said this week, according to the Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have also expressed reservations about the current version of the ceasefire deal, despite Biden describing it as an Israeli proposal. Israel has suggested the deal could prevent the Jewish state from achieving its war aims of freeing the hostages and eradicating the Hamas terror threat from its border.

On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that any deal must allow for “Israel to continue the war until all its objectives are achieved, including the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.”

“Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place,” Netanyahu continued. 

On Monday, Netanyahu said that Biden had disclosed only part of the proposal aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of Israeli hostages, and added that he had not agreed to end Israel’s military operations against Hamas.

“The proposal contains more details that Biden did not mention,” Netanyahu reportedly told Israeli lawmakers.

“Biden omitted one crucial detail regarding the second stage” of the deal, Netanyahu said.

“Israel didn’t agree to end the war, but only to ‘discuss’ its end,” he explained, adding that such a discussion would occur after the hostages were returned and “only on our terms.”

“Despite what President Biden said, the number of hostages that will be released in the first phase has not yet been agreed upon. There are many details in the deal, and the war will not end without us achieving all of our objectives. We will not give up on absolute victory,” he said.

Senior Netanyahu adviser Ophir Falk on Sunday gave a lukewarm endorsement to the ceasefire proposal. He conceded that it’s “not a good deal,” but underlined the importance of securing the return of the remaining hostages currently being held captive in Gaza. 

There is widespread dissatisfaction among senior Israeli officials who feel Biden’s remarks lacked specifics on how the stated goal of dismantling Hamas would be accomplished, fueling criticism that the US president misrepresented the full scope of Israel’s uncompromising stance in fully defeating the Palestinian terror group.

“People have unfortunately been led to believe that a permanent ceasefire kicks in without Israel’s conditions being met,” Falk told The Algemeiner on Monday. “The notion that there will be a permanent ceasefire before Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are destroyed and all our hostages are home is a non-starter.”

Despite repeated rejections of the ceasefire deal by Hamas and hesitance by Israel, the Biden administration has argued that an agreement between Israel and the terrorist group is still attainable. 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated during a Wednesday interview that the ceasefire deal is still “on the table.”

State department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed on Thursday that the US has not received “an official response from Hamas” regarding the ceasefire deal and said the administration is still pushing for the agreement.

The White House released a joint statement on Thursday with the governments of Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, calling on Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal. 

We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens,” the statement read.

The US has recently praised Israel for its willingness to make compromises in ceasefire negotiations, while describing Hamas as an “obstacle” to a truce.

Neither the White House nor the US State Department responded to requests for comment on how the Biden administration hopes practically to achieve its ceasefire proposal given the recent statements from Israel and Hamas.

The post Biden Admin Continues Pushing Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Despite Hamas Rejection, Israeli Reservations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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