“Pressed” Israel fears a truce without “hostages”

So far, Israel has not received an official response from Hamas through mediators regarding the settlement proposal.

Political circles in Israel fear that political pressure will lead to a ceasefire without implementing the deal.

Yesterday, following the heated conversation that took place between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United States made clear that it still links the release of hostages to a ceasefire, but pressure on this matter is increasing.

In the statement issued after the conversation, Biden did not fully link the ceasefire to the hostage agreement – as he has been keen to do in the past – but stressed that the president had urged the prime minister to enable his negotiators to conclude a deal without… Delay in returning hostages to their homes.

The White House said that President Biden told the Israeli Prime Minister that “an immediate ceasefire is necessary to achieve stability, improve the humanitarian situation, and protect innocent civilians” in Gaza.

This is the first time that the US President has clearly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during six months of war.

Hamas still adheres to its position of rejecting the Israeli settlement proposal, despite some steps that Tel Aviv considers “flexible on its part.”

The Israeli government approved the entry of Jordanian army humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip through Israeli territory.

This is in addition to the decision taken at the request of President Biden to allow the passage of goods, among other things, through the port of Ashdod.

The plan is for those Jordanian trucks to enter through the Allenby crossing in a convoy to Kerem Shalom, where they will be inspected – and from there they will continue on to Gaza.

The head of the CIA will hold a meeting in Cairo, but Israel threatens that it will not participate without “a response from Hamas to its proposal.”

In the absence of another solution, Israel is trying to put additional pressure on the mediators – Egypt and Qatar – to push Hamas to accept the settlement.

Against the backdrop of American pressure, US President Biden was asked a short while ago whether he was threatening to stop military support for Israel, and he replied: “I asked them to do what they have to do.”