(Washington) The United States said Monday that mediators had presented Hamas with a ceasefire proposal and considered that it was up to the Palestinian movement to accept it, after six months of a devastating Israeli offensive in the Gaza strip.
The talks which took place in Cairo this weekend via American, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators were “serious” but it is too early to say whether they will bear fruit, according to the White House.
Israeli and Hamas officials, however, on Monday tempered hopes for a truce and the release of hostages held in Gaza, these new indirect negotiations in Cairo not having made it possible, according to them, to overcome the blockages.
“The current situation is this: a proposal has been presented to Hamas and we are awaiting Hamas’ response,” argued John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
“Now it is up to Hamas to make it a reality,” he told the press, refusing to reveal details of this agreement so as not to “torpedo” it.
The negotiations in Cairo were held a few days after a telephone call between Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marked by an unprecedented warning from the American president in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, threatened with famine after six months of siege total.
Joe Biden had also increased pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to conclude “without delay” a ceasefire agreement allowing the return of the hostages.
Israeli soldiers withdrew on Sunday from the south of the Gaza Strip, notably from the large city of Khan Younes, but Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his determination to launch an offensive in Rafah, further south in the territory.
“We are not in favor of a major land operation in Rafah,” recalled John Kirby.
“We see no signs that such an operation is imminent or that these troops are being repositioned in preparation for such an operation,” the spokesperson added.