Israel calls permanent Gaza ceasefire 'non-starter', undermining Biden proposal

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's prime minister on Saturday called a permanent ceasefire in Gaza a “non-starter” until long-standing conditions for ending the war are met, appearing to undermine a proposal that American President Joe Biden announced it as an Israeli proposal. .

The statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office came a day after Biden presented the plan, and as families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas called on all parties to immediately accept the proposal. A major protest in Israel on Saturday evening urged the government to act now.

And a joint statement from US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators put pressure on Israel and Hamas, saying the proposed deal “offers a road map to a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis” and brings a immediate relief to the hostages and residents of Gaza.

But Netanyahu's statement said that “the conditions imposed by Israel for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas's military and government capabilities, the release of all hostages and the guarantee that Gaza no longer constitutes a threat to Israel. Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist that these conditions be met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place. »

In a separate statement, Netanyahu accepted an invitation from U.S. congressional leaders to deliver a speech at the Capitol, a show of his support for wartime Israel. No date has been set.

Biden said Friday that Hamas was “no longer capable” of carrying out a large-scale attack on Israel like the one carried out in October by the militant group that started the war. He urged Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement to release the remaining 100 hostages, as well as the bodies of around 30 others, for a prolonged ceasefire.

Ceasefire talks broke down last month after pressure from the United States and other mediators to reach an agreement in hopes of avoiding a full-scale Israeli invasion of the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Israel says the Rafah operation is essential to rooting out Hamas fighters responsible for the October 7 attack.

Israel confirmed Friday that its troops were operating in the city's central neighborhoods. The ground assault forced around a million Palestinians to leave Rafah and disrupted humanitarian operations. The World Food Program has described living conditions as “horrible and apocalyptic” as hunger increases.

The hostages' families said time was running out.

“This could be the last chance to save lives,” Gili Roman told the Associated Press. Her sister, Yarden Roman-Gat, was released during a week-long ceasefire in November, but her sister-in-law Carmel remains detained. “Our leadership must not disappoint us. But above all, all eyes should be on Hamas,” Roman said.

The families described an aggressive meeting Thursday with Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, who told them the government was not ready to sign a deal to bring all the hostages home and that it would not There was no plan B.

Hanegbi said this week that he expects the war to continue for another seven months to destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities.

Many hostage families accuse the government of lack of will.

“We know that the Israeli government did an enormous amount to delay reaching a deal, and it cost the lives of many people who survived in captivity for weeks and weeks and months and months,” he said. Sharone Lifschitz. His mother, Yocheved, was released in November but his father, Oded, remains detained.

The first phase of Biden's proposed deal would last six weeks and include a “total and complete ceasefire”, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women. elderly and wounded people, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase would include the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding after the ravages of war.

Biden acknowledged it would be difficult to keep the proposal on track, with “details to negotiate” to move from the first phase to the second. Biden said that if Hamas fails to meet its commitments under the deal, Israel could resume military operations.

Hamas said it viewed the proposal “positively” and called on Israel to declare its explicit commitment to a deal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, an exchange of prisoners and other conditions.

In Deir al-Balah, where many Palestinians fled after the Israeli assault on Rafah, there was some hope.

“This proposal came late, but better late than never,” said Akram Abu Al-Hasan.

The main difference from previous proposals lies in the desire to stop the war for an indefinite period, analysts say. That leaves Israel open to resuming war and diminishing Hamas' ability to govern, but over time, said Michael Milshtein, director of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University's Dayan Center.

“It was a very good speech… it seems like Biden is trying to impose it on the Israeli government. He was clearly speaking directly to the Israeli people,” said Gershon Baskin, Middle East director at the Organization. international communities.

Also on Saturday, Egypt's official Al-Qahera News reported that Egyptian, American and Israeli officials would meet in Cairo this weekend over the Rafah crossing, closed since Israel took control of the Palestinian side in May. .

The crossing is one of the main means of delivering aid to Gaza. Egypt refused to open its side, fearing that Israeli control would remain permanent. Egypt wants the Palestinians to regain power.

The October 7 Hamas attack killed around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapped around 250. More than 36,370 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli campaign of bombings and offensives, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Its count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.