The proposed ceasefire agreement between US President Joe Biden and Gaza was described by a senior Hamas official as “just words” on Thursday, and the Palestinian organization has not received any formal pledges on a truce.
Last week, Biden unveiled what he called an Israeli three-phase plan that would put an end to hostilities, free all prisoners, and pave the way for the rehabilitation of the ravaged Palestinian territory—all without the support of Hamas.
However, AFP was informed by Osama Hamdan, a Beirut-based Hamas spokesman, that “there is no proposal—they are just words said by Biden in a speech.”
Speaking from the capital of Lebanon, he stated, “As of yet, the Americans have not produced any written or documented material committing them to what Biden stated in his speech.”
Hamdan said Biden “tried to cover up the Israeli rejection” of another deal offered earlier in May, which had been approved by Hamas.
He said Hamas was willing to accept any deal that met his movement’s core demands of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
Shortly after Biden unveiled the plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the roadmap was only “partial”.
The United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, have been engaged in months of negotiations over details for a ceasefire in Gaza.
But there hasn’t been a lull in the conflict since a seven-day stoppage that started in November and resulted in the freeing of over 100 captives.
Based on Israeli official data, an AFP tally shows that 1,194 people, largely civilians, died as a result of Hamas’s October 7 attack, which ignited the Gaza conflict.
Additionally, 251 captives were taken by Hamas; 120 of whom are still in Gaza, 41 of whom the army claims are dead.
Since then, at least 36,654 people—mostly civilians—have died as a result of Israel’s military assault on Gaza, according to the health ministry of the Hamas-run region.
