Hamas accepts a UN resolution backing a plan to end the war with Israel in Gaza and is ready to negotiate details, a senior official of the Palestinian group said on Tuesday in what America鈥檚 top diplomat called 鈥榓 hopeful sign,鈥� reports The Algemeiner.
Conversations on plans for Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war ends will continue on Tuesday afternoon and in the next couple of days, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv after talks with Israeli leaders. 鈥業t鈥檚 imperative that we have these plans,鈥� he added.
Blinken met Israeli officials on Tuesday in a push to end the eight-month-old Israeli air and ground war against Hamas in Gaza, a day after president Joe Biden鈥檚 proposal for a truce was approved by the UN Security Council.
Ahead of Blinken鈥檚 trip, Israel and Hamas both repeated hardline positions that have undermined previous mediation to end the fighting, while Israel has pressed on with its campaign in central and southern Gaza.
The United States on Tuesday promised more than $400 million in new aid for the Palestinians at an emergency summit in Jordan, where world leaders backed a US push for a ceasefire as the only ultimate solution to help war-ravaged Gaza.
Jordan and Egypt called the urgent talks on the Dead Sea as aid groups warned conditions were worse than ever in Gaza, with virtually the whole population of more than two million people relying on sporadic aid deliveries.
On Tuesday, however, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, who is based outside Gaza, said the group, which rules the Palestinian enclave, accepted the ceasefire resolution and was ready to negotiate over the details. It was up to Washington to ensure that Israel abides by it, he added.
He said Hamas accepted the formula stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a swap of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
鈥楾he US administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war
in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,鈥� Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Blinken said the Hamas statement was 鈥榓 hopeful sign鈥� but definitive word was still needed from the Hamas leadership inside Israeli-besieged Gaza. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 what counts, and that鈥檚 what we don鈥檛 have yet.鈥�
The war began when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas鈥� military and governing capabilities.
Biden鈥檚 proposal envisages a ceasefire and release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel in stages, ultimately leading to a permanent end to the war.
Israel has said it will agree only to temporary pauses in the war until Hamas is defeated, while Hamas has countered it will not accept a deal that does not guarantee the war will end.
Blinken, speaking to reporters before departing for neighbouring Jordan, said his talks were also addressing day-after plans for Gaza, including security, governance, and rebuilding the enclave.
鈥榃e鈥檝e been doing that in consultation with many partners throughout the region. Those conversations will continue it鈥檚 imperative that we have these plans,鈥� he said.
In the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinians reacted cautiously to the Security Council vote, fearing it could prove yet another ceasefire initiative that would prove fruitless.
In his visit, his eighth to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October, Blinken also hoped to counter rising violence between Israel and Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah terrorist group after both signalled readiness for a major spillover conflict.
On Monday, Blinken had talks in Cairo with president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, an important mediator in the Gaza war, in Cairo before proceeding to Israel, where he met with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant.
Blinken had consultations on Tuesday with Israeli president Isaac Herzog, centrist ex-military chief Benny Gantz 鈥� who quit Israel鈥榮 war cabinet on Sunday over what he said was Netanyahu鈥檚 failure to outline a plan for the war鈥檚 end 鈥� as well as opposition leader Yair Lapid.
The US State Department said Blinken discussed Biden鈥檚 truce proposal with Gantz and reiterated that it would advance Israel鈥榮 security interests, bring hostages home, and raise the chances of restoring calm along Israel鈥榮 border with Lebanon.
The US is Israel鈥榮 closest ally and biggest arms supplier, though it has become sharply critical of the high civilian death toll during the Israeli military campaign.
The war raged on in Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli forces stepped up strikes on its southern city of Rafah a day after four soldiers were killed in an ambush claimed by Hamas.
Israeli Army Radio said the soldiers died in an explosion in a building in Rafah鈥檚 Shaboura district. Hamas said it had ambushed troops by detonating explosives planted in the building.