The White House insisted that the hostage deal was still on the table, even as Hamas appeared to reject it while CIA Director William Burns was in Doha and special envoy Brett McGurk visited Cairo to advance the agreement.
“There is a proposal that has been submitted to Hamas,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington.
“We will await Hamas’s response through official channels. I think that’s the appropriate way for these discussions to take, to take place,” Miller said, noting that there had been no such formal rejection.
“We don’t think this ought to be a process that takes a long time for Hamas to consider, given that the proposal that was submitted to them last Thursday evening is virtually identical to one that they had several weeks ago,” Miller said.
“We would hope for a response from them as soon as possible because the benefits that this proposal offers to the Palestinian people are real. They’re tangible. They would be immediate,” he said.
Miller continued to stress that the three-phased deal which US President Joe Biden had unveiled on Friday, was an Israeli proposal to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had committed.
US intensifies diplomacy and talks surrounding deal
The United States has intensified its diplomacy around the deal, successfully pressing the EU, the G7, and Arab states to issue statements showing their support for the agreement that would pause the fighting and see the return of the remaining 124 hostages.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NBC Wednesday that “the whole world should call on Hamas to accept” the proposal.
“The G7 countries just put out a statement yesterday calling on Hamas to come to the table,” he noted.
To Hamas, Sullivan had a few simple statements. “Do the deal. Get the ceasefire. Get the hostages home,” Sullivan said, adding that this is what “President Biden is focused on.”
Sullivan dismissed the impact of the intense debate in Israel over the proposal, which the US has said was received from Israel in writing. Netanyahu has insisted that the proposal would allow the IDF to complete its military campaign to destroy Hamas. The proposal, as described to the public, leaves that issue to the second phase, allowing for female, elderly, and ill hostages to be freed in the first phase.
Hamas on Tuesday clarified that it would only move forward with the deal if Israel agreed in advance to a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that his group would deal “seriously and positively with any agreement that is based on a comprehensive ending of the aggression and the complete withdrawal and prisoners swap.”
Asked whether Haniyeh’s remarks amounted to the group’s reply to Biden, a senior Hamas official replied to a text message from Reuters with a “thumbs up” emoji.
In Doha Burns met with Qatar’s Prime Minister and in Cairo, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said a delegation led by its leader Ziad al-Nakhala arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators.
Qatar and Egypt have been the main mediators for the deal, with the support of the US.
As Israel and the US waited for a formal Hamas response, the IDF continued its military campaign in Rafah to destroy the terror group.
The IDF said jets were hitting Hamas militant targets in central Gaza while ground forces were operating “in a focused manner with guidance from intelligence” in the area of Al-Bureij – one of Gaza’s long-established refugee settlements.
“The forces of the 98th Division began a precise campaign in the areas of East Bureij and East Deir al-Balah, above and below ground at the same time,” an Israeli military statement said.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said there would be no let-up in Israel’s offensive while negotiations over the ceasefire proposal were underway.
“Any negotiations with Hamas would be conducted only under fire,” Gallant said in remarks carried by Israeli media after he flew aboard a warplane to inspect the Gaza front.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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