Israeli leaders have agreed to a framework of a temporary ceasefire deal, but Hamas has not approved it as of Monday afternoon, according to a White House official.
The contours of the deal include a cessation of the fighting for six weeks and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza in exchange for the release of vulnerable hostages, including the sick, wounded, elderly, and women, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“Israel has agreed to this framework, and now the onus is on Hamas to do the same,” Kirby said. “I would just say that Israel has put forward a forward-leaning off, and that deal’s on the table. … We urge Hamas to accept that deal so that we can move forward. But obviously, there’s still modalities here that need to be worked out, and that’s why we’re still engaged in these active conversations.”
He said Hamas had not provided its own “forward-leaning” proposal.
Hamas took more than 250 people hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, as it carried out its attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead in southern Israel. The massacre, in which terrorists primarily targeted civilians, prompted the escalation. Slightly more than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire that occurred in late November, yet it’s unclear how many of the remaining hostages, who have been held against their will for nearly five months now, are alive.
Should Hamas agree to this deal, the hostages would be released in several groups spanning multiple weeks.
The U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari governments have been acting as mediators during diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and they have pursued a second temporary ceasefire agreement for months.
Over the weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris demanded both sides agree to an “immediate ceasefire.” She put the onus on both sides, saying that “Hamas needs to agree to [a] deal,” though she added that Israel needed to do more to ensure the proper distribution of humanitarian aid and for the Israelis to allow more aid into the strip. Harris and other U.S. leaders are set to meet with Israeli war Cabinet official Benny Gantz this week.
“Well, we’re going to discuss a number of things in terms of the priorities that, certainly, we have, which includes getting a hostage deal done, getting aid in, and then getting that six-week ceasefire,” Harris said during a gaggle on Monday. “And I will tell you that it is important that we all understand that there — we’re in a window of time right now where we can actually get a hostage deal done. We all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and how it does matters.”
Gantz requested the meetings with senior administration officials, including Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which has reportedly angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has faced criticism domestically in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, while he has also faced scrutiny from Biden and other Western leaders regarding various aspects of how they have conducted their war.
Gaza’s infrastructure has largely been destroyed while more than a million Palestinians have fled their homes to avoid the conflict. In addition to tens of thousands of casualties, Gaza’s population faces dire humanitarian circumstances, with experts warning of the potential for famine and widespread disease.
The U.S. and other countries are hoping to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza and into the hands of the civilians who need it most. They have tried pressuring Israel to allow more aid into the strip with limited success.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the — the help they need. No excuses,” the president said last week. “Because the truth is: Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. It’s nowhere nearly enough.”
The U.S. military carried out its first military airdrop into the strip, dropping roughly 38,000 meals over the weekend.
