A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal “now is in sight”, the United States envoy to the United Nations has told the UN Security Council (UNSC) as a new round of talks begins in the Egyptian capital.
Speaking before the council on Thursday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on Hamas to accept a “bridging proposal” put forward by the US that appears to differ from a previous proposal adopted by the UNSC and agreed to by the Palestinian group.
The proposal ostensibly aims to bridge unresolved disputes between Israel and Hamas to end the violence in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed at least 40,265 Palestinians, wounded more than 93,000 others and created a humanitarian crisis since beginning their offensive in October.
“Israel has accepted the bridging proposal. Now Hamas must do the same,” she said. “As members of this council, we must speak with one voice, and we must use our leverage to press Hamas to accept the bridging proposal.”
The remarks by Thomas-Greenfield continued a trend of US officials claiming that Israel has agreed to a deal that Hamas has yet to accept despite indications that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on Israel retaining strips of territory inside Gaza is the primary obstacle to a deal.
We now have a path forward to save lives, bring relief to Palestinians in Gaza, get the hostages back home, and de-escalate regional tensions.
Israel has accepted the bridging proposal that the United States, Qatar, and Egypt put forward. Now, Hamas must do the same. We need a…
— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) August 22, 2024
Hamas has accused Netanyahu of adopting positions intended to sabotage progress towards an agreement to end Israel’s nearly 11-month war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a new round of Israel-Hamas negotiations, mediated by the US and Egypt, is under way in Cairo. A Qatari delegation is expected to join the talks on Friday, the Reuters news agency said.
Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri said an Israeli delegation, that includes the heads of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security service, was taking part in the Cairo talks and “negotiating to advance a hostage [release] agreement”.
More than 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas when it attacked Israel on October 7.
In June, a ceasefire plan adopted by the UN Security Council did not allow Israeli forces to maintain control of territory inside Gaza, such as the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt and the Netzarim Corridor, which bisects Gaza.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has nonetheless stated that the “bridging proposal” is consistent with the UN-backed deal. Hamas has accused the US of changing the contours of the previous deal after Netanyahu refused to budge on a series of issues.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that Netanyahu had agreed to the US-backed proposal that is “clear” on the status of Israeli force withdrawals, but Netanyahu also stated this week that the two corridors will remain under Israeli control.
A report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday quoted anonymous Israeli officials who called the US claims that Hamas is the primary obstacle to a deal a “gift” to Netanyahu and a potential “death blow” to the negotiations.
The Biden administration has claimed for months that a ceasefire deal is at hand despite remaining disagreements between Hamas and the Netanyahu government, which has said it will continue the war until Hamas is destroyed even if a temporary ceasefire is reached.
The US has thus far refused to consider pressuring Israel into greater flexibility through leverage such as the suspension of arms sales.
