Shafaq News/ A senior Hamas official has dismissed US President Joe Biden's proposed Gaza ceasefire deal as "just words," claiming that the Palestinian militant group has not received any written commitments related to a truce.
Last week, Biden presented what he described as an Israeli three-phase plan aimed at ending the conflict, freeing all hostages, and reconstructing the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power.
However, Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, told AFP, "There is no proposal — they are just words said by Biden in a speech."
"So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech," Hamdan said from the Lebanese capital.
Hamdan accused Biden of trying to "cover up the Israeli rejection" of another deal offered earlier in May, which had been approved by Hamas. He stated that Hamas is willing to accept any deal that meets the group's core demands, including a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
The United States has been pressing for Hamas to accept the deal and is awaiting a response. "We think this should be an urgent priority to get this ceasefire over the line, to start to alleviate the suffering that is happening every day in Gaza," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington. "So we would hope for a response from Hamas as soon as possible, and we continue to wait," he added.
Shortly after Biden unveiled the plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the roadmap as "partial."
The United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, have been involved in months of negotiations over the details of a ceasefire in Gaza. However, except for a seven-day pause in November, which led to the release of more than 100 hostages, there has been no cessation in the
Israel's military offensive on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 36,654 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run’s health ministry.