Hamas accepts UN-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal; US calls it a 'hopeful sign'

But doubts raised as Hamas and Israel suggest that plan fits their clashing goals

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Hamas accepts a United Nations resolution backing a plan to end the war with Israel in Gaza and is ready to negotiate details, a senior official of the Palestinian militant group said on June 11, in what the US Secretary of State called “a hopeful sign”.

But Qatari and Egyptian mediators have not received formal replies from Hamas or Israel to the UN-backed truce proposal, an official close to the talks told Reuters, and both sides suggested on June 11 that the plan fit their clashing goals, raising doubt whether any genuine headway towards a deal had been made.

Discussions also touching on post-war plans for Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war ends would continue on the afternoon of July 11 and in the following couple of days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv after talks with Israeli leaders.

Mr Blinken met Israeli officials on June 11 in a push to end the eight-month-old Israeli air and ground war against Hamas that has devastated Gaza, a day after US President Joe Biden’s proposal for a truce was approved by the UN Security Council.

Ahead of Mr Blinken’s trip, Israel and Hamas both repeated hardline positions that have undermined previous mediation to end the fighting, while Israel has pressed on with assaults in central and southern Gaza, among the bloodiest of the war.

Mr Biden’s proposal envisages a ceasefire and phased release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel, ultimately leading to a permanent end to the war.

On June 11, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, who is based outside Gaza, said it accepted the ceasefire resolution and was ready to negotiate over the specifics.