Hamas rejected on Wednesday President Joe Biden’s plan for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza as the terrorist group plans on putting forward its own demands for ending the war.
Negotiators from the U.S., Israel, Qatar, and Egypt were discussing a plan to halt the war in Gaza for six weeks to facilitate the exchange of 900 prisoners held in Israel for 40 of the hostages Hamas continues to hold in captivity, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Hamas is demanding a permanent end to the war in Gaza and Israel’s full withdrawal from the area in exchange for the remaining hostages captured during the mass civilian slaughter on October 7 that started the war.
A significant number of the hostages are believed to have been killed over the past six months since the war began.
Israeli officials are open to the U.S. proposal in order to begin negotiations but believe the plan favors Hamas. If Hamas puts forward a counter-proposal to advance negotiations, the talks between the two sides could become more serious. The terrorist group took issue with the U.S. proposal because it did not have a plan for ending the war and its counter-offer is likely going to be based on an earlier proposal.
President Joe Biden urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to agree to an “immediate cease-fire” for humanitarian and demanded Israel reduce civilian casualties if it hopes to maintain U.S. support. In a Tuesday interview with Univision, Biden seemed to suggest that Netanyahu was the central obstacle to the deal advocated by the U.S.
“I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden said of Netanyahu. “What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire.” The White House later clarified that Biden was referring to the deal put forward by international negotiators, which Hamas rejected shortly thereafter.
His demands followed an accidental Israeli strike against seven humanitarian aid workers from the World Central Kitchen who were delivering food when they were killed. The Israel Defense Forces conducted an investigation into the strike and fired two officers as a result of the unintentional strike.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week backed Biden’s call for an “immediate cease-fire” and suggested Israel could become “indistinguishable” from Hamas if it does not take further steps to reduce the number of civilian deaths. Hamas slaughtered over 1,000 innocent civilians on October 7, marking the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust.
Biden is under significant pressure from the anti-Israel left flank of his party to agree to a cease-fire deal as Israel prepares to invade Rafah, a city in southern Gaza on the border of Egypt. The Biden administration has publicly come out against Israel’s plan to send ground forces into Rafah and warned of potential consequences for doing so.
The IDF withdrew most of its forces from southern Gaza over the weekend in order to prepare for future operations.