UK foreign minister urges Hamas to accept new Israeli deal

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - UK Foreign Minister David Cameron urged Hamas on Saturday to accept a new deal to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip that was proposed by Israel and backed by US President Joe Biden.

Cameron, in a video on X, emphasized the importance of seizing the opportunity to secure the release of hostages and flood Gaza with much-needed humanitarian aid.

"This is an important moment, and one that we should seize to bring this conflict to an end, not just now, but permanently," he said.

Cameron highlighted the critical nature of the proposal, urging Hamas to accept the deal to pave the way for a sustainable cease-fire and a political solution.

"The first thing that needs to happen is that Hamas need to accept this deal. What that would mean is the hostages would be freed and Gaza could be flooded with aid, something we've longed called for," he said.

"After that, it's absolutely vital that we use the stop in the fighting to build a sustainable permanent ceasefire and a political solution to this long-running problem. And that is possible if everyone plays their part," he noted.

"Clearly, a number of conditions are going to have to be fulfilled. It's clear that Gaza cannot be ruled by Hamas and that Israel needs guarantees about insecurity. But it's also clear, we need us to support the Palestinian Authority and set out the parameters of what a Palestinian state would look like," he added.

Cameron urged other nations, particularly Arab countries, to contribute to security efforts, and countries like Britain to support and fund the Palestinian Authority.

"All of us need to work with Israel and the Palestinian people to bring about the conditions for a long-term arrangement that will bring peace and stability to the region. It will take difficult compromises; it will take hard work," he said.

"Ultimately, we need two things: security for Israel and a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people. We need to use this opportunity of a potential deal with a stop in the fighting to build those conditions for a sustainable ceasefire and a political process that brings this killing to an end," he said.

The statement had a firm appeal to Hamas to accept the deal, emphasizing the global focus on the group’s response. "The eyes of the world should be on them, and all those who call for a ceasefire need to know there can be a ceasefire if Hamas accept this generous deal. But then everyone has to play their part."

Biden said Friday that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

Biden appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition opposed to the plan.

Netanyahu's office reiterated Friday his intention to continue the country's offensive in the Gaza Strip until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.

Hamas said it would "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal."

Since Oct. 7, Israel has pounded Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. Most of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.