US expects Israel to accept Gaza peace plan if Hamas does

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Sunday that if Hamas accepts the proposed multi-phase Gaza truce plan outlined by President Joe Biden, it expects Israel to follow suit.

“This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal, as was transmitted to them, an Israeli proposal, that Israel would say yes,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told ABC News.

The blueprint was transmitted to Hamas on Thursday night Washington time, Kirby said on the “This Week” talk show.

“We’re waiting for an official response from Hamas,” he added.

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Hamas has that said it “views positively” the three-stage plan.

Presenting it on Friday, Biden said the offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of the Gaza Strip and an initial hostage-prisoner exchange.

Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate for a lasting ceasefire, with the truce to continue so long as talks are ongoing, Biden said, adding it was “time for this war to end.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a hawkish political veteran leading a fragile right-wing coalition government, is under intense pressure at home, and took issue with Biden’s presentation.

Netanyahu insisted Israel will pursue the aggression in Gaza until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives.

He also insisted that according to the “exact outline proposed by Israel” the transition from one stage to the next was “conditional” and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims.

Kirby insisted that Hamas has welcomed the proposal.

“So, what we would hope will happen is they would agree to start phase one as soon as possible, and phase one would allow for some hostages, the elderly, sick, women hostages to get out over a period of six weeks,” he said.

He added: “No fighting, more humanitarian assistance in, and while that’s all going on, the two sides would sit down and try to negotiate what phase two could look like and when that could begin.”

Israel pounds Gaza after Biden outlines ceasefire plan

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Palestinian group also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive have killed at least 36,439 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.