Hamas has yet to respond to Israel’s proposed deal, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said on Wednesday that Hamas has yet to respond to the Jewish state’s proposed ceasefire and hostage release deal, shortly after the White House said that Israel and Hamas must compromise more.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor, told reporters at a briefing that ceasefire negotiations are “as close as we’ve ever been” to achieving a breakthrough.
“The gaps are narrow enough that they can be closed,” he said. “What we’re talking about here is recognizing the fact that we’ve come an awful long way. There is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place.”
Asked whether a deal is being impeded by Hamas or by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kirby said that both sides must compromise.
“The deal hasn’t been accepted, because neither side has signed up to it,” Kirby said. “We believe that both sides need to do the final bit of work here, to come to a conclusion on this thing.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said in June that “Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire,” a sentiment that other U.S. officials subsequently echoed. The change in the U.S. description of negotiations—attributing a need for compromise on both sides—led to widespread speculation that Israel changed the terms of the proposal, or that Israeli military actions in Gaza and the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran may be hindering a deal.
Netanyahu’s office stated on Wednesday that Hamas hasn’t responded to Israel’s latest proposal. “Israel has already given a clear offer, and sent the negotiating delegation to Cairo last Saturday,” it said. “Until this moment, no response was received from Hamas.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said on Tuesday that “the negotiations have now reached a final stage.”
Sources reportedly close to the negotiations told Israeli media that they were surprised by Washington’s apparent optimism on a timeline.
Intense diplomacy
Washington is engaged in “intense diplomacy” to prevent an Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel after the killing of Haniyeh, Kirby said. He reiterated the Biden administration’s commitment to defending Israel.
“We don’t want to see an escalation,” he said. “If there is one, my goodness, we’re going to be ready to defend Israel and defend ourselves as appropriate.”
Iranian proxy forces like Hezbollah and the Houthis had only limited involvement in Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel in April, with Iran firing much of the ordinance from its own territory.
Kirby added that the United States is prepared for a renewed strike from Iran to include a wider array of proxy forces.
“It would be foolhardy for us to assume that they wouldn’t be,” he said. “We’ve got to prepare for all contingencies, and we are.”
Asked if Iran may have changed its calculus about retaliation in recent days, Kirby declined to comment on U.S. intelligence assessments.
“I’m sure as hell not capable of getting inside the supreme leader’s thinking,” he said.
