US says it 'fully' expects cease-fire proposal to be implemented if Hamas signs off

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The State Department said Monday that it "fully" expects a cease-fire proposal publicly unveiled by US President Joe Biden last week to be implemented if Hamas agrees to the plan.

The comments come after senior members of Israel's government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sought to downplay what Biden laid out last week. The Israeli leader claimed Biden presented the public with an "incomplete" version of the plan, maintaining there are "gaps" between it and what the American president laid out.

"The war will stop in order to bring hostages back, and afterward we will hold discussions. There are other details that the US president did not present to the public," Netanyahu told lawmakers Monday, according to Israeli media reports.

But State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller maintained that the Biden administration is "completely confident" that what Biden presented "was an Israeli proposal."

"Obviously, it was a proposal that they developed in consultation with the United States and Qatar and Egypt, the three countries that have played the mediating role throughout this process, but this was ultimately an Israeli proposal in terms of where it stands," he said.

"The only thing standing in the way of an immediate ceasefire today is Hamas," he added.

The plan was presented to Hamas Thursday night. The White House said earlier Monday that it is "awaiting" Hamas' official response.

Hamas, for its part, said it will "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."

The proposal, as laid out by Biden, envisions a three-phase agreement that would culminate with a multi-year process to rebuild the badly-damaged coastal enclave, and the return of all hostages, living and dead, held in Gaza.

The first phase would start with a six-week cease-fire during which a first round of hostages held in Gaza would be released, including women, the elderly and the injured, in exchange for the release of what Biden said would be "hundreds" of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would also withdraw from what a senior Biden administration official called "densely populated areas."

The remains of some of the hostages who have died would also be returned, and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes and neighborhoods throughout Gaza, including in the north where Israel has implemented sweeping restrictions. Humanitarian aid deliveries would also scale up dramatically to reach 600 trucks per day, according to Biden.

Negotiators would seek to address outstanding issues during the six-week first phase, including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners that would be freed in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. The proposal includes language allowing the cease-fire to be extended before the second phase begins so long as talks continue.

The prisoner swap ratio is a critical issue because in the second phase all living hostages would be freed, including all male Israeli military personnel. Israel's forces would also fully withdraw from Gaza.

The final phase includes the commencement of Gaza's reconstruction, which is estimated to take up to five years, and the return of any additional hostage remains still held in Gaza.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have since Israel began its war on Gaza eight months ago. The vast majority of the dead have been women and children, and over 82,600 others have been injured, according to local health authorities. The Hamas-led cross-border attack that precipitated the current war led to about 1,200 deaths.

Vast swathes of Gaza now lay in ruins amid a crippling Israeli blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​