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The cease-fire proposal, Hamas says is awaiting a response from Israel

2024-07-07 17:05:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The cease-fire proposal, Hamas says is awaiting a response from Israel

Protesters in Tel Aviv demanding the release of hostages

Five days after accepting a key part of the US plan to end the war in Gaza, Hamas is already awaiting a response from Israel, two representatives of the militant group said on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiations would continue this week, but he did not specify a time frame.

Protesters, meanwhile, blocked roads across Israel on Sunday, marking nine months since the start of the war.

The three-phase American proposal for Palestinian territory was presented at the end of May by President Joe Biden and is being mediated by Qatar and Egypt. The plan aims to end the war and enable the release of about 120 Israelis still held hostage by Hamas.

A Palestinian official familiar with the developments told the Reuters news agency that Israel had engaged in talks with Qatar and that a response to Hamas was expected within days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiations would continue this week, but he did not specify a time frame.

As the conflict entered its ninth month, protesters blocked roads across Israel on Sunday. With flags and chants, they called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and demanded a ceasefire that would allow the return of hostages held by Hamas militants.

"We still have 120 hostages in Gaza and the government is doing everything possible to prevent them from returning. The military and security leaders have said we don't need to stay in Gaza any longer. The time has come to return these people to their homeland. The time has come to find a way for this region to live in peace and not in endless war. I am here to protest against the government and to demand that the presented agreement be accepted by the Israeli government," says protester Elisheva Baumgarten.

Acceptance of the proposal would bring the first pause in fighting since November and prepare the ground for further talks.

"There is an opportunity, a real opportunity, to bring home the 120 civilians. Although Hamas is a terrorist organization, the opportunity is now. We are here to call on our government to accept the deal and send them home. Now! We call on Blinken, Biden, anyone who can listen to us, to help us to bring the hostages to the homeland", says the protester Omer Vinokur.

In addition to the streets blocked by the protesters, groups of people also gathered in front of the houses of Israeli MPs.

“I am here today because my government cannot return the hostages. It's easy. They can't, they don't want to. After nine months of fighting, nine months of protests asking the government to repatriate them, they just don't want to do it. That's why today we paralyzed the country to return the hostages to the homeland and to go to the elections so that our government can rebuild the country", says the protester Tomer Lev.

Of the roughly 120 hostages who have not been freed, Israel says as many as 40 of them may be dead, and fears have grown that number could rise as the war drags on.

The Israeli prime minister has said he is open to a pause in the fighting as part of a deal to release the hostages, but added that Israel will continue until it achieves the goal of destroying Hamas and its governing capacity, and returning all hostages.

Fighting, meanwhile, continued both in Gaza and in the north with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, risking triggering a wider war that could have catastrophic consequences for populations across the Middle East region.

The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.

The war began after the militant group attacked the Jewish state on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, mostly Israeli civilians./VOA