Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief foreign policy advisor, Ophir Falk, confirmed on Sunday that Israel has agreed to a framework to wind down the Gaza conflict proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden .
However, he said that the plan was flawed and needs much more work.
While talking to the Sunday Times, Ophir Falk, Netanyahu's chief foreign policy advisor, said, " it's not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them"
Falk pointed out that while the plan needs extensive refinement, Israel's key conditions remain unchanged: "the release of hostages and the eradication of Hamas as a terrorist organization."
The State Department said later that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had discussed the plan in separate calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and with centrist Minister Benny Gantz, a key member of Netanyahu's emergency coalition.
Blinken called on Hamas to agree to the plan without delay and praised Israel's willingness to finalize the agreement, saying it would do much to strengthen Israel's security in the long term and its integration into the region.
President Biden, who had initially stood behind Israel's offensive but later condemned its heavy toll on civilians, divulged a three-phase plan submitted by Netanyahu's government to end the war.
The first phase of the plan involves a truce and the release of some hostages by Hamas, to be followed by the beginning of negotiations over a truce open-ended in time and the release of the remaining hostages.
This approach is premised on continuous mediation by Egypt and Qatar—something that may not dovetail with Israel's objective to dismantle Hamas.
Presenting his plan, Biden described it as a better future in Gaza without Hamas but said moving from the first to the second phase will be "complicated".
Falk repeated that a permanent ceasefire hinges on the satisfaction of all Israel's demands.
Biden has already expressed support for similar proposals of a truce—all of which have fallen.
Hamas has, in characteristic style, cautiously welcomed the Biden initiative. A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, is quoted as saying that Hamas could not be sidestepped by Netanyahu or Biden. Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said, "We want these proposals by Biden to be a part of a comprehensive deal that meets our demands." These include, inter alia, "stopping the Gaza offensive, withdrawal of Israeli forces, free movement to the Palestinians, and reconstruction aid to the Strip."
Israeli officials, however, frown upon this as a return to the status quo ante of October 7 when Hamas, avowedly committed to the destruction of Israel, was ruling over Gaza. The conflict had started with the Hamas fighters breaching the border, killing 1,200, and taking over 250 hostages. In the retaliatory Israeli attack, Gaza medical officials said that more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, while Israel has lost 290 soldiers.
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