By
Tom O'Connor
Senior Writer, Foreign Policy & Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
Amid
the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Hamas has agreed to the ceasefire
proposal presented by the United States, but remains opposed to what the
group argues are "new conditions" added by Israel, according to a
statement shared with Newsweek.
The statement, attributed to senior Hamas official and spokesperson Basem Naim, recounted the Islamic Palestinian movement's
initial positive reaction to a three-phase plan first outlined by President
Joe Biden
on May 31. However, Naim argued Israel instead sought to double down on
its 10-month war effort in Gaza and impose new demands, leading to
another potential impasse in talks that U.S. officials claimed saw a
breakthrough earlier on Monday.
The conflict began with a surprise
attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, that Israeli officials estimate
left about 1,200 people dead and around 240 more taken hostage, around
half of whom are believed to remain in captivity. The Gaza Health
Ministry has estimated that approximately 40,000 have been killed in the
densely populated territory throughout the war that ensued.
Following what he described as "a very constructive meeting" with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said that the prime minister had "confirmed" to him "that
Israel supports the bridging proposal"
put forth by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt in a bid to push through the
deadlocked negotiations. Blinken said that "the next important step is
for Hamas to say 'yes.'"
But
conflicting accounts
have emerged of the proposal, which Naim noted had been promoted by the
White House as "essentially an Israeli proposal." The plan first
described by Biden involved a six-week ceasefire, the withdrawal of the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from populated areas of Gaza, the return of
displaced Palestinians to their homes, a surge of humanitarian aid to
Gaza and an exchange of a number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian
prisoners.
The second phase constituted further detainee swaps, a
lasting ceasefire and the total withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.
Finally, the bodies of the deceased would be exchanged and a
reconstruction plan for Gaza would commence.
Naim said in his statement that Hamas "welcomed" Biden's announcement on May 31, along with a subsequent United Nations
(U.N.) Security Council resolution endorsing it on June 11, and that
the group "confirmed its readiness for immediate implementation and
submitted its approval of the mediators' proposal on July 2."