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Hamas deputy leader says US President Biden personally committed to implementation of ceasefire deal
Khalil al-Hayya confirmed to Al Jazeera that there are three phases to the ceasefire deal, but added that mediators had told Hamas that the United States president was committed to ensuring the implementation of the agreement.
There has been no confirmation of this from the American side.
Al-Hayya added that the first phase would see the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza to their homes, and the flow of aid, fuel and relief materials into Gaza.
He added that 50 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female captive held by Hamas in that first phase. In the second phase, Hamas would release male captives for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners.
The third phase of the agreement would include the start of the implementation of a reconstruction plan for a period of three to five years.
Biden administration says ceasefire deal is ‘top priority’ for US
State Department spokesperson Miller declines to provide a timeframe for how long it would take Washington to assess Hamas’s response to the ceasefire proposal, but he says the CIA director is “literally working on this right now”.
Burns has been in the Middle East since Friday to help finalise the agreement.
“It’s something that is a top priority for everyone in this administration from the president on down,” Miller said. “Everyone is focused on this. Everyone is trying to get a deal over the line.”
Haniyeh to Iran’s foreign minister: ‘Ball in Israel’s court. We are honest in our intentions’
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has spoken to Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh after the latter said the Palestinian group has agreed to a ceasefire proposal made by mediators.
Amirabdollahian said he was told the following by Haniyeh: “We sent Hamas’s response to the plan proposed by Egypt and Qatar to stop the attacks of the Israeli regime, exchange prisoners, lift the human blockade, and … now the ball is in the opposite court. We are honest in our intentions.”
‘Hamas response took Israel by surprise’
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, says Hamas’s announcement marked a new chapter in the seven-month war.
“Clearly Hamas’s positive response to the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire has shocked and took everyone by surprise – especially those in Israel but perhaps also in the US,” Bishara said, calling it “a huge positive step in the direction towards a ceasefire”.
Bishara added that the talk about “sustained quiet” was nothing else but a euphemism for a permanent ceasefire.
“Israel does not want to hear the word ‘ceasefire’ because clearly Netanyahu cannot sell it to his cabinet,” he said.
“Hamas, apparently, because of the various pressure and mediations accepted finally the sustained quiet as the alternative to a permanent ceasefire.”
Fighting over language while multiple dozens of people day every day...
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