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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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At Least 12 Killed in Massive Russian Attack on Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
i24 News – Russia-Ukraine War: About three and a half years after the outbreak of the war, Russia carried out last night (Sunday) the largest air attack since it began. At least 12 people were killed, including three children, and dozens more were injured when 367 rockets and missiles were fired at Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized US policy, which so far has taken a soft stance towards Russia, and recently hinted that it would stop mediating between the two countries: “The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” he wrote on Telegram. “Every such Russian terrorist attack is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia.”
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 298 drones and 69 missiles in a night attack. According to him, they shot down 266 drones and 45 missiles. Damage was caused to several areas, including the second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, as well as Mykolaiv in the south and Ternopil in the west.
In parallel, a prisoner of war exchange deal was concluded. In Russia, reports said that 303 prisoners were transferred from each side. In total, over the last three days 2,000 prisoners, 1,000 Ukrainians and 1,000 Russians, have been returned to their countries. Zelensky thanked the servicemen of the armed forces, and promised to bring all the prisoners home. “Today, our armed forces, the national guard, the state border service, and the special state transport service are returning home.”
“I am grateful to the team that worked around the clock to successfully execute these exchanges,” he added. “We will certainly bring back each and every one of our people from Russian captivity.”
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that the Russian army may reach a severe shortage of manpower and weapons in the next year. The Ukrainian army is also in trouble, and it is offering generous economic grants to new recruits.
The post At Least 12 Killed in Massive Russian Attack on Ukraine first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Says More Food Needed in Gaza as Looting Hampers Deliveries
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Israeli airstrikes killed at least six Palestinians guarding aid trucks against looters, Hamas officials said on Friday, as the head of the United Nations warned that only a “teaspoon” of aid was getting in following Israel’s 11-week-long blockade.
The Israeli military said 107 trucks carrying flour and other foodstuffs as well as medical supplies entered the Gaza Strip from the Kerem Shalom crossing point on Thursday, for a total of 305 since Monday when the blockade was relaxed.
But getting the supplies to people sheltering in tents and other makeshift accommodation has been fitful and U.N. officials say at least 500 to 600 trucks of aid are needed every day.
So far, an umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups said, 119 aid trucks have got past the Kerem Shalom crossing point and into Gaza since Israel eased its blockade on Monday in the face of an international outcry.
Despite the relaxation of the blockade, distribution has been hampered by looting by groups of men, some of them armed, near the city of Khan Younis, an umbrella network representing Palestinian aid groups said.
“They stole food meant for children and families suffering from severe hunger,” the network said in a statement, which also condemned Israeli airstrikes on security teams protecting the trucks.
The U.N. World Food Program said 15 trucks carrying flour to WFP-supported bakeries had been looted, which it said reflected the dire conditions facing Gazans.
“Hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity,” it said in a statement.
A Hamas official said six members of a security team tasked with guarding the shipments were killed.
Israel imposed the blockade in early March, accusing Hamas of stealing aid meant for civilians. Hamas rejects the charge, saying a number of its own fighters have been killed protecting the trucks from armed looters.
“Hamas constantly calls the looters ‘guards’ or protectors’ to mask the fact that they’re disturbing the aid process,” an Israeli military official said.
‘DESPERATION’
With most of Gaza’s 2 million population squeezed into an ever narrowing zone on the coast and in the area around the southern city of Khan Younis by Israel’s military operation, international pressure to get aid in quickly has ratcheted up.
“Without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more people will die – and the long-term consequences on the entire population will be profound,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
A German government spokesperson said the aid was “far too little, too late and too slow,” adding that delivery of supplies had to be increased significantly.
Israel has announced that a new system, sponsored by the United States and run by private contractors, will soon begin operations from four distribution centers in the south of Gaza, but many details of how the system will work remain unclear.
The U.N. has already said it will not work with the new system, which it says will leave aid distribution conditional on Israel’s political and military aims.
Israel says its forces will only provide security for the centers and will not distribute aid themselves.
As the aid has begun to trickle in, the Israeli military has continued the intensified ground and air operation launched last week, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would end with Israel taking full control of the Gaza Strip.
The military said it had conducted more strikes in Gaza overnight, hitting 75 targets, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launchers.
The post UN Says More Food Needed in Gaza as Looting Hampers Deliveries first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Swiss Authorities Exploring Probe Into US-Backed Gaza Aid Group
Displaced Palestinian children wait to receive free food at a tent camp, amid food shortages, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
Swiss authorities said on Sunday they were exploring whether to open a legal investigation into the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization that plans to oversee aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave.
The move comes after a Swiss NGO submitted a request for a probe into GHF’s aid plan, which the United Nations has opposed, saying it is not impartial or neutral and forces further displacement and exposes thousands of people to harm.
The GHF, which has said it hopes to start work in Gaza by the end of May, told Reuters it “strictly adheres” to humanitarian principles, and that it would not support any form of forced relocation of civilians.
Israel has allowed limited aid deliveries to resume this week after having stopped all aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2.
TRIAL International, a Switzerland-based NGO, on Friday said it had filed two legal submissions asking Swiss authorities to investigate whether the Swiss-registered GHF complies with Swiss law and international humanitarian law.
The submissions were made to the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on May 20 and 21.
The FDFA on Sunday confirmed to Reuters that both authorities had received the submissions.
TRIAL International said it asked the Swiss FDFA to explain if the GHF had submitted a declaration, in accordance with Swiss law, to use private security companies to distribute aid, and if it had been approved by Swiss authorities.
The FDFA told Reuters it is investigating whether such a declaration would be required for the foundation.
It said that the Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations cannot review whether foundations comply with their statutes until they start their activities.
The GHF told Reuters that though using private security firms represents a change from prior aid delivery frameworks, it would ensure aid is not diverted to Hamas or criminal organizations.
The post Swiss Authorities Exploring Probe Into US-Backed Gaza Aid Group first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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