Current:Home > reviewsWhere things stand on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal as Hamas responds to latest proposal -Keystone Wealth Vision
Where things stand on an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal as Hamas responds to latest proposal
View
Date:2025-04-18 03:00:09
Negotiators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt have been working to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see an end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip. So far, a deal has been elusive.
Here's how things have developed over the last week:
Biden announces Israeli proposal to end the Gaza war
Late last month, President Biden announced what he called an Israeli proposal to end the war.
He said the plan consisted of three phases, the first of which would include a cessation of hostilities. He said Israeli forces would pull out of population centers in Gaza, some Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged, Palestinian civilians would return to some parts of Gaza, including the north, and 600 trucks of humanitarian aid would be provided per day.
- Medics say Israeli strike on Gaza school kills almost 40 people
In the second phase, Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to the war, and "the cease-fire will still continue as long as negotiations continue," Mr. Biden said. Israel would withdraw from Gaza and the remaining hostages would be released.
The third phase would see the bodies of hostages who had been killed be returned to Israel, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Mr. Biden said the plan had been relayed to Hamas by Qatar.
"I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They've made it clear: They want to occupy Gaza. They want to keep fighting for years and hostages are not a priority for them. Well, I've urged leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes," Mr. Biden said.
"As someone who's had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel at a time of war, as someone who just sent the U.S. forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back, think what will happen if this moment is lost," Mr. Biden said. "We can't lose this moment."
Israeli leaders appear to show wavering support for Biden's statements
After Mr. Biden's announcement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it backed the plan, according to the Reuters news agency. Israeli media soon reported, however, that Netanyahu had said there were gaps between what Mr. Biden laid out and Israel's stance.
"The proposal that Biden presented is incomplete," Netanyahu told Israeli lawmakers during a closed-door meeting of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.
Netanyahu told his country's lawmakers that Israel would not end the war in Gaza until it achieved its three primary objectives: Destroying Hamas' military and civil governance capabilities, securing the release of all the hostages, and ensuring that there is no ongoing threat to Israel from Gaza, the Times of Israel reported.
Far-right, ultra-nationalist members of Netanyahu's cabinet, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accused Netanyahu of trying to "whitewash" a deal with Hamas and threatened to pull out of the coalition government with him, which would effectively end Netanyahu's long tenure as Israel's leader.
"The dangerous proposal that President Biden spoke of was made by the war cabinet without authority and against the law, and it is not binding for the government of Israel," Smotrich said.
Hamas says written Israeli proposal submitted to them different from "what Biden stated"
On Thursday, Hamas released a statement saying that, given Mr. Biden's statement and statements from Israeli officials, "the enemy's position is unclear."
Hamas said the written proposal it received "was devoid of the positive foundations mentioned in Biden's statements, and that there is a difference between what is in the paper and what Biden stated, which caused much confusion and controversy, whether what Biden talked about is his personal interpretation of the paper or oral agreements with Israeli parties or otherwise."
Hamas said the written proposal it received did not guarantee one of its key conditions — a permanent cease-fire — or link the three stages of the plan.
"On the contrary, it destroyed the bridges that transfer the agreement from one stage to another in order to disrupt the unity of the agreement with all its stages and reduce it to one stage in which the aggression stops temporarily and its [Israel's] forces remain on the land of the Gaza Strip, and the occupation gets in return the segment of the prisoners it cares about and then resumes the war of annihilation against our people," the statement said.
Hamas said it was committed "to its positive stance towards Biden's statements," and "that Biden must ensure that the occupation government agrees to them and that they are reflected in the text of the agreement."
- In:
- War
- Qatar
- Hamas
- Israel
- Cease-fire
- Palestinians
- Gaza Strip
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (67655)
Related
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- One question both Republican job applicants and potential Trump jurors must answer
- Home Depot acquires SRS Distribution in $18 billion purchase to attract more pro customers
- SportsCenter anchor John Anderson to leave ESPN this spring
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Israel and Hamas war rages despite U.N. cease-fire demand, as U.N. envoy accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, E.T.
- The Bankman-Fried verdict, explained
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- How Queen Camilla Made History at Royal Maundy Service
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Carol Burnett recalls 'awful' experience performing before Elvis: 'Nobody wanted to see me'
- French lawmakers are weighing a bill banning all types of hair discrimination
- I'm a Realtor. NAR settlement may not be as good for home buyers and sellers as they think.
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- US changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity. It’s the first revision in 27 years
- Home Depot buying supplier to professional contractors in a deal valued at about $18.25B
- Iowa's Patrick McCaffery, son of Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery, enters transfer portal
Recommendation
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Ex-New Mexico lawmaker facing more federal charges, accused of diverting money meant for schools
Sean Diddy Combs' Alleged Drug Mule Arrested at Airport Amid Home Raids
Hailey Bieber Goes Makeup-Free to Discuss Her Perioral Dermatitis Skin Condition
Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
What you need to know about the 2024 Masters at Augusta National, how to watch
North Carolina's Armando Bacot says he gets messages from angry sports bettors: 'It's terrible'
Riley Strain Case: Family Orders Second Autopsy After Discovery