President Biden's National Security Adviser Calls The US Looking Forward To Hamas' Response Regarding The Proposal For A Ceasefire

Jake Sullivan with President Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said his party was still waiting for a response from the Hamas militant group regarding a ceasefire proposal submitted by President Joe Biden last week.

Together with the United States and Egypt, Qatar has mediated a ceasefire related to the latest conflict between Hamas and Israel that broke out on October 7.

"We are waiting for a response from Hamas" through the Qatar mediator, Sullivan said.

CIA Director William Burns will be in Doha, to consult with Qatar mediator regarding the proposed Gaza ceasefire, Sullivan continued.

"Bill Burns will be very interested in hearing directly, personally, what are the nature of these discussions and where they are going after this," Sullivan said, quoted by Anadolu.

Earlier, Qatar said on Tuesday it had submitted an Israeli ceasefire proposal to Hamas reflecting the three-stage proposal proposed by President Biden, with the document now much closer to the position of both sides.

President Joe Biden on Friday described what he described as a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, saying "it's time this war ended" and received a positive initial reaction from Hamas.

The first phase involved a six-week ceasefire, when Israeli troops will withdraw from "all populated territory" in Gaza, several hostages - including the elderly and women - will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian civilians can return to their homes in Gaza and 600 trucks a day will bring humanitarian aid to the destroyed enclave.

In this phase, Hamas and Israel will negotiate a permanent ceasefire that President Biden says will take place "as long as Hamas fulfills its commitments."

If negotiations last more than six weeks, a temporary ceasefire will be extended, while negotiations continue.

In the second phase, President Biden said there would be an exchange for all the surviving hostages, including the male army, while Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire would begin.

The third stage will include a grand reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the hostages' "last remnants" to their families.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said his party would not agree on any agreement, as long as Israel does not commit to a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all its troops from Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that there would be no permanent peace unless Hamas was eradicated, as he fought against deep political divisions in the country over the proposed US-backed ceasefire.

The latest conflict was broken when a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region, killing about 1,200 people and another 250 held hostage, according to Israeli calculations, on October 7, 20203.

In response, Israel blockaded and bombarded Gaza. The medical authorities in Gaza on Tuesday confirmed 71 Palestinians were killed and 182 others injured in the last 24 hours in the Palestinian enclave, quoted from WAFA.

The addition resulted in the death toll of Palestinians reaching 36,550 people, while the injured reached 82,959 people.