Media Wire

US claims Israel accepted latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, putting onus on Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted a final, bridging proposal to finalize a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip and put the onus on Hamas to bring the agreement to a close.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it,” Blinken said during a press conference from the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

“It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.”

But Hamas has generally rejected the statements coming out of the ceasefire talks over the past few weeks. The group stressed it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal laid out on July 2, but it accused Netanyahu of putting up new conditions that made it impossible for it to accept.

Among Hamas’s demands are agreement on a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the besieged enclave.

Blinken raised doubts about Hamas’s public statements and apparent rejections of where ceasefire talks currently stand.

“We’ve seen public statements before that don’t fully reflect where Hamas is,” Blinken added.

“The critical next step is for Hamas to accept the bridging proposal that Prime Minister Netanyahu has now accepted, and then to engage with everyone else on making sure that we have clear understandings of how each party would actually implement the commitments that it’s undertaken in this agreement.”

The terms of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are generally laid out to begin with a six-week truce that would require Hamas to release hostages it kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7 during its attack and for Tel Aviv to release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

During this time, the US and partners are expected to dramatically scale up delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian’s in the Gaza Strip. Throughout the six-week truce, the US, Qatar and Egypt are expected to mediate more negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a permanent end to the war.

Blinken stated there is a “real sense of urgency” in Israel and across the region for the need to get the ceasefire deal across the finish line, as fighting has escalated across multiple fronts.

Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade rocket fire over Lebanon’s southern border, as a broader Iranian attack against Israel looms — in retaliation for the assassination of top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

The US has dispatched significant military resources to the Middle East to help defend Israel in case of an Iranian attack, with Blinken warning Monday against all parties from taking actions that would escalate conflict.

“What’s most crucial now is that everyone,” he paused and stressed again, “everyone, refrain from taking any actions that could fuel further conflict, escalate tensions and result in the spreading of violence and conflict.”

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

Israeli rabbi who went missing in UAE found dead

An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been murdered,…

8 minutes ago

Iran’s navy commander: Core US Naval units leaving region

The Commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, gave on Sunday an update on…

40 minutes ago

North Korean ballistic missiles with Western parts fuel Russian attacks on Ukraine: Report

Russia has ramped up its use of North Korean ballistic missiles in strikes against Ukraine,…

45 minutes ago

Iran foreign minister to attend UNAOC Forum in Portugal

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi will visit Portugal to take part in the 10th…

1 hour ago

Brown bear spotted in Iran’s Oshtorankuh protected area

A brown bear has been photographed in the Oshtorankuh Protected Area and Gahar Lake in…

1 hour ago

Pictures: Tehran hosts 2nd Music Industry Exhibition

The 2nd Music Industry Exhibition opened in Tehran on Tuesday at the landmark Milad Tower’s…

3 hours ago