Israel says it has accepted US Gaza peace plan

In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, Netanyahu's chief foreign policy adviser, said Mr Biden's proposal was "a deal we agreed to - it's not a good deal but we really want all the hostages released".

“There are many details that need to be worked out,” he said, adding that Israel’s conditions, including “releasing the hostages and eliminating Hamas as a genocidal terrorist organization,” remained unchanged.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters

Later on Sunday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had separate phone calls about the proposal with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, another minister in Netanyahu’s war cabinet. In the call with Gantz, Blinken “stressed that Hamas should implement the agreement immediately.”

President Biden, who initially strongly supported Israel’s offensive and has been criticized for the high number of Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, laid out a three-phase plan on Friday to end the war.

The first phase includes a ceasefire and the return of some hostages held by Hamas, after which the sides will negotiate an open-ended cessation of hostilities for the second and third phases.

Israel has insisted that it will only discuss a halt to the war until Hamas is defeated. Hamas has said it will only free the hostages if Israel withdraws all its troops from Gaza.

In his speech, Mr Biden said his latest proposal “creates a better ‘afterlife’ in Gaza without Hamas in power”. He did not elaborate on how this would be achieved, admitting that “there are some details that need to be negotiated to move from phase one to phase two”.

Hamas has tentatively welcomed Biden’s initiative. A Hamas commander, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera: “Biden’s speech contains positive ideas, but we want this to materialise within the framework of a comprehensive agreement that meets our demands.”

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, AJ)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/israel-noi-da-chap-nhan-ke-hoach-hoa-hoa-binh-gaza-cua-my-post297875.html