Biden says hostage deal in hands of Hamas

Beirut: Senior Hamas leader Osama Hamaden has said that the outfit will release the remaining 134 hostages only when the permanent ceasefire is in place and Israelis completely withdraw from Gaza.
Hamadan in a statement in Beirut on Tuesday said that in the past two days the organisation had clearly presented this view before the Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
He said that Hamas had reaffirmed its position that a permanent ceasefire was possible only after a full pull out of the IDF from Gaza Strip and return of displaced Palestinian families to their homes.
The tough position taken by Hamas has almost derailed the US President Joe Biden’s optimism that a temporary six week ceasefire would be reached before March 10 – the commencement of the Holy month of Ramadan.
However, the US state secretary Antony Blinken is in continuous discussions with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al -Thani and the Egyptian mediator Major General Abbas Kalam. The US leader is also in communication with Israeli minister, Benny Gantz who is on a visit to the US.
Highly placed sources in the Israel defence ministry told a wire agency that if the Hamas backs out of truce talks then Israel will have to go for an all-out attack to release and rescue its hostages. It may be noted that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been restrained from an all-out ground invasion in Rafah border after an appeal from mediators, including the US ,Qatar and Egypt.
Meanwhile, the United States President Joe Biden has said the hostage deal is in the “hands of Hamas right now” as there’s been a “rational offer.”
“We’ll know in a couple days” whether Hamas accepts the current plan for a hostage deal, the US President said, according to The Times of Israel.
“The hostage deal is in the hands of Hamas right now… there’s been a rational offer. The Israelis have agreed to it… We’ll know in a couple days if it’s going to happen,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Maryland on Tuesday.
“There’s got to be a ceasefire because [if] we get into a circumstance where this continues through Ramadan… Israel and Jerusalem… it could be very, very dangerous,” he added.
On being asked about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as of late, Biden responded by saying that it is exactly “Like it’s always been,” The Times of Israel reported.
On being asked whether he’s pressuring Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, Biden reiterated by saying, “I’m working with them very hard… We must get more aid into Gaza. There’s no excuses. None.”
The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, when about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.
Israel has characterised its Gaza offensive as targeting Hamas’ infrastructure to eliminate the entire terror group while making efforts to minimize civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, as of now, fighting also continues in Gaza, with the Israeli Defence Forces claiming that they eliminated Islamic Jihad terrorists who fired rockets towards Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Hatzerim. Fifteen terrorists were eliminated using snipers, tank and aerial fire.
IDF forces also struck terrorist targets and eliminated terrorists operating from civilian areas in Western Khan Younis.
Agencies

Agencies