According to the Washington Post, the United States is negotiating with its mediating partners, Egypt and Qatar, to finalize a “take it or leave it” ceasefire proposal intended for presentation to Hamas and Israel in the coming weeks.
A senior official from the Biden administration, who spoke anonymously, indicated that the proposal represents a definitive offer, and failure by either party to accept it could signify the conclusion of US-led negotiations.
The official emphasized the necessity of concluding the process, stating, “You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point.”
In recent developments, the Israeli military reported on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six Israeli captives from Gaza.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari accused Hamas of “brutally murdering” these captives, whose bodies were discovered in Rafah shortly before Israeli forces arrived.
Conversely, Hamas has attributed the captives’ deaths to violent Israeli airstrikes that killed many before in several separate attacks.
Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq criticized President Biden, asserting that Hamas places greater value on the lives of its prisoners than the US does, and reaffirmed the group’s acceptance of both Biden’s proposal and the UN Security Council resolution.
Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader and head of its negotiation team, vehemently denounced Israel’s actions, attributing the deaths of the captives to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration.
He asserted that their insistence on military measures has jeopardized the lives of those held.
According to The Post, Biden administration officials indicated that it remains uncertain whether the revelation of the six Israeli captives will influence the likelihood of a forthcoming agreement between Israel and Hamas.
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