Hamas accepts the UN Security Council resolution regarding the ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and the exchange of hostages for detainees held by Israel, Zuhri stated.
“The US Administration faces a real test in fulfilling its commitments to force the occupation to immediately end the war in implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,” Abu Zuhri said.
The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, welcomed the Hamas statement, which he defined as an “encouraging sign.”. In any case, the head of American diplomacy affirmed that the word he counts is that of the military leadership of the group, which is fighting inside Gaza. “We don’t have their answer yet,” he said. Abu Zuhri, who is outside the strip, belongs to the group’s political branch.
According to Washington, Biden’s proposal has the approval of Israeli Prime Minister Beniamín Netanyahu. “I met with Netanyahu last night and reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal” for a ceasefire agreement, said the head of US diplomacy. However, in front of the gallery, the Israeli president continues to insist on taking the war in Gaza to the end.
Blinken met this Tuesday with Israeli opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid in order to discuss the agreement for the release of hostages in Gaza and the tension on the northern border with Lebanon. Gantz, who until two days ago was minister without portfolio in the Israeli war cabinet but left it due to disagreements with Netanyahu, defended before Blinken the need to exert “maximum pressure” on the negotiators (Egypt and Qatar) so that Hamas accepts the agreement. of truce on the table, according to a statement.
The proposal, announced last month by Biden, calls for a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the rest of the hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The group is still holding about 120 hostages, a third of whom are believed to have died.
With 14 votes in favor, zero against and one abstention (Russia), the UN Security Council approved this Monday a resolution in favor of the cessation of hostilities in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. It is the fourth measure approved by the Security Council on the war in Gaza, although the previous three remained a dead letter after Israel’s disregard and the continuation of the offensive, in which more than 37,000 Gazans have already died.
For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas considered the adoption of this resolution as a “step in the right direction to stop the current war of genocide.”, as detailed this Tuesday by the Palestinian agency Wafa, and also urged its implementation. In addition, he highlighted what he considers “a firm commitment to the vision of a two-state solution,” since the current proposal includes an immediate and complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the strip, the return of displaced and large-scale aid distribution, but also the territorial unity of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
