International Ceasefire Appeal Rejected

Leaders of the 17 nations that have citizens being held hostage in Gaza issued a joint statement on Thursday calling on Hamas to close an agreement on the basis of the ‘deal now on the table and as outlined by President Biden on 31st May 2024.’

The leaders claim that Israel is ready to move forward with this deal and urge Hamas to begin the process of releasing their citizens. However, they also call on ‘the leaders of Israel as well as Hamas to make whatever final compromises are necessary to close this deal and bring relief to the families of our hostages.’

Al Jazeera’s reporter in Washington described this as, “clearly part of the White House`s pressure game,” adding that the White House is putting pressure on Hamas because they believe they already have Israel signed up.

He went on to describe the process as “trying to force two bits together like two magnets but they can`t quite get them joined.”

Egyptian security sources say that Qatari and Egyptian mediators have met separately with Hamas and with US officials, but they can`t seem to get any agreement.

That view is reinforced by reports of a statement by senior Hamas leader, Sami Abu Zuhri, saying that while the group welcomes “Biden’s ideas” to reach a truce in fighting in Gaza, the US draft resolution at the UN Security Council is dependent on an Israeli ceasefire proposal that Hamas had already seen and rejected.

“The US document has no mention of ending the aggression.
The Israeli documents speak of an open-ended negotiation with no deadline,
during which the occupation regains its hostages and resumes its war.
We`ve told the mediators that this paper wasn`t acceptable to us.”