Hamas Calls for Implementation of Biden's Plan Instead of Further Ceasefire Negotiations in Gaza

The extremist group Hamas has urged the mediating countries in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations to implement the plan proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden instead of engaging in further negotiations. This statement from the group, which ignited the current war with their deadly attack on Israel on October 7, was released on Sunday, the day after one of the bloodiest Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip in over 10 months of conflict. Mediating countries had invited Hamas to resume negotiations for a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages following heightened tensions in the region due to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas. Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused of prolonging the war for political purposes, accepted the invitation from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt for a new round of negotiations that was supposed to begin on Thursday. However, Hamas announced that instead of a new round of negotiations or new plans, it demands the implementation of the proposal that Biden presented on May 31, which the United Nations Security Council also endorsed. The group's statement says that Hamas 'asks the mediators to implement the plan previously proposed by this movement... which is based on Biden's vision and the United Nations Security Council resolution and compels [Israel] the usurper to comply with it.' Biden's proposed plan is a three-phase initiative, with the first phase involving a 'complete ceasefire' for six weeks. During this phase, Israeli forces will withdraw from 'all populated areas of Gaza,' and Hamas will release 'a number' of hostages it abducted during the October 7 attack, including women, the elderly, and the injured. The second phase, which will also last six weeks, will see Israeli forces fully withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and Hamas will release 'all remaining live hostages.' Biden has stated that if both parties adhere to this agreement, there will be a permanent cessation of hostilities, after which the third phase will begin, involving the reconstruction of Gaza and establishing stability in the region, supported by the United States and the international community. The Hamas statement was released one day after an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza, which served as a shelter for Palestinian refugees, left 93 dead according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas. This attack has sparked a wave of global reactions, but Israel claims that members of the extremist group Hamas were hiding in this school and directing operations against Israeli citizens and forces from there.