(NewsInsights.org) – The Israeli-Hamas conflict has been ongoing for more than eight months now with little view of the end in sight. The United States, along with the United Nations, has tried for months to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire. On Monday, June 10, UN members passed the resolution drafted and finalized the night prior. Now, it seems the Biden Administration is mulling a new deal with Hamas to free some of its hostages.
After the resolution was passed, the next day Hamas said it accepted it. Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official in the militant group, spoke with Reuters and said Hamas was willing to negotiate over the details contained within the resolution but was going to hold the US responsible for ensuring Israel abides by the resolution. He said the US “is facing a real test to carry out its commitments” to convince Israel to withdraw from Gaza City, a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not on board with.
There’s been conflicting media reports about whether or not Hamas has proposed changes. Israel and the US both say Hamas wants changes, but the militant group has denied proposing the new ideas.
At the same time as this is happening, NBC News reported that officials within the Biden Administration spoke with the network and said that a unilateral deal could be in the works between Washington and Hamas. These discussions would not involve Israel but rather Qatari interlocutors. Negotiations around the deal are supposedly only to happen if Israel rejects the ceasefire.
At the center of the deal is the belief that Hamas is holding five Americans hostage and has been since it launched a surprise attack on Israel back in October. The US wants to secure the release of these hostages plus the remains of three Americans who were killed and reportedly brought to Gaza. There are no details about what the US might concede to make this happen.
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