US receives Hamas reply on hostage deal, no breakthrough yet, but
“We’re in receipt of this reply that Hamas delivered to Qatar and to Egypt, and we’re evaluating it right now,”
Antony Blinken told reporters during a virtual briefing, insinuating that the terror group has submitted its response.
President Joe Biden announced a hostage deal in which he said was approved by Israel, despite series of statements from Israel claiming that the Government won’t accept a hostage deal that would bring an end to the war without meeting objectives of the war.
The hostage deal drafted by US and announced by President Joe Biden detailed how a three phase deal would lead to permanent end of the war in Gaza.
The entirety of the deal is dependent on further negotiations to achieving what is best for Hamas and Israel.
Hamas had delayed their response, which signalled they would not accept the deal. The terrorist group has said they are “willing to positively engage in talks to end the war”
Speaking on the hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin insinuated that whatsoever hostage deal drafted by US will not stop the destruction of Hamas.
This further created confusion if Israel was really aware of the hostage deal announced by Biden.
US took the hostage deal to United Nations Security Council, which was voted 14-0 in favour.
Russia abstained from the vote, saying that the context of the hostage deal is ambiguous.
The hostage deal plans to bring about six weeks lull in the war between Hamas and IDF. The lull will then likely lead to permanent ceasefire, according to Joe Biden.
Qatar and Egypt first received Hamas response, but delayed a little bit to pass it to US.
The response was not direct, rather, Hamas countered the terms of the deal and gave their own version, forcing US to declare that it would study the response from Hamas.
The leadership of the Gaza based terrorist group is adamant that a hostage deal must primarily end the war. It said that without ending the war, the group will not accept the hostage deal.
This is where there is conundrum, Israel said ending the war before victory is a non-starter, while Hamas said ending the war with guarantee is the starter for them.
There is fear among the Hamas leadership that Israel will not abide by a hostage deal that makes ending the war optional or through negotiations. Hence they are determined to get guaranteed commitment from Israel to end the war before they agree to any hostage deal.
The Prime Minister’s Office in a media speech made it clear that Israeli Government’s conditions for ending the war remain intact.
His words “Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter”
