The latest ceasefire deal for Gaza currently being put forward by the United States is gaining momentum amid a diplomatic push by Washington in the Middle East, but the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement has yet to give the green light.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the plan, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night, and he reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal," Blinken told journalists in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
When asked whether Netanyahu would pledge his continued commitment if Hamas eventually agrees to the plan, Blinken replied in the affirmative.
Details of the plan
At the end of May, US President Joe Biden surprisingly presented a three-stage plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. The plan envisages the release of a certain group of Israeli hostages during the complete ceasefire. In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released.
In the next phase, the fighting would then cease permanently and the remaining hostages would be released.
According to the draft, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin in a final phase.
Positive signs from Israel
Blinken also held talks with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and other high-ranking Israeli government representatives. "And I think there is a strong consensus, again, behind moving forward with the proposal," he continued.
According to the US, only Hamas has not yet agreed to the plan. However, the Netanyahu government has not yet given its clear and public approval to the plan either.
The US ceasefire plan does not contradict Israel's war aims, according to an Israeli government official.
"Israel will not end the war before achieving all its war objectives: destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities, freeing all the hostages and ensuring Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel in the future," the Israeli official said on Tuesday.
"The proposal presented enables Israel to achieve these goals and Israel will indeed do so."
The UN Security Council has now backed the plan. On Monday, it adopted a resolution to this effect.
Blinken's diplomatic efforts
Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier Tuesday as part of ongoing efforts by the US, Qatar and Egypt to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The talks have stalled for months. Blinken's trip in the Middle East aims to garner support for the latest proposal.
Blinken arrived in Egypt on Monday for the first leg of the tour and later held talks with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, Blinken also met opposition leader Yair Lapid and is due to hold talks with Israeli lawmaker Benny Gantz, who just quit the Israeli emergency government formed following the October 7 attacks.
Blinken's Middle East tour is expected to last until Wednesday and also includes a stop in Qatar.
Wall Street Journal exclusive report on Hamas head's motives
While Hamas has yet to agree to the latest deal, an exclusive report by the US newspaper the Wall Street Journal said that this is because the head of the Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip, Yehya al-Sinwar, expects to benefit from continued fighting and rising casualties among Palestinian civilians.
The newspaper reported on Monday that this was based on messages recently sent by al-Sinwar to Hamas representatives involved in ceasefire negotiations
The Wall Street Journal said it had access to dozens of messages, which it was not clear whether they were text, voice or other types of messages.
“We have the Israelis right where we want them,” he reportedly said in recent messages to negotiators, the newspaper reported.
Al-Sinwar has shown "a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas," the newspaper wrote.
"[Al-Sinwar] isn’t the first Palestinian leader to embrace bloodshed as a means to pressure Israel. But the scale of the collateral damage in this war — civilians killed and destruction wrought — is unprecedented between Israelis and Palestinians," the newspaper wrote.
Al-Sinwar planned the Hamas attacks on October 7 in the Israeli border area that triggered the current Gaza war, but very early messages to the ceasefire negotiators showed that he had been surprised by the brutality of the Hamas fighters and other Palestinians and also by how easily they had committed atrocities, the newspaper continued.
“Things went out of control,” he had written in one of the messages, referring to the gangs taking civilian women and children hostage. “People got caught up in this, and that should not have happened.," the newspaper cites one of his messages as saying.
Despite Israel's fierce efforts to kill him, al-Sinwar lives in an undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip. The messages also showed that he was prepared to die in battle, the newspaper continues.
Head of UN's call for deal
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged all parties involved in the war in Gaza to reach a ceasefire agreement.
"The horror must stop, it's high time for a ceasefire along with unconditional release of hostages," he told a humanitarian aid conference for the Gaza Strip held by the Dead Sea in Jordan.
"I urge all parties to seize this opportunity and come to an agreement," Guterres added.
"The speed and scale of carnage and killing in Gaza is beyond anything in my years as secretary general," he said. "Nowhere is safe, conditions are deplorable."
