White House puts ceasefire proposal to Hamas as pressure on Israel grows
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Isabel Kershner
The White House has sent an Israeli-backed ceasefire proposal to Hamas that would allow the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip amid growing international pressure to end the fighting and devastation in the territory, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
President Donald Trump and his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, submitted the framework to Hamas after Israel signed off on the proposal, according to Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. An Israeli official familiar with the details said the initial phase of the deal would include a 60-day ceasefire and a flow of aid through U.N.-run operations. Hamas officials stopped short of rejecting the latest proposal but suggested it did not contain strong-enough guarantees on ending the war.
“Those discussions are continuing, and we hope that a ceasefire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home,” Leavitt said during a news briefing at the White House.
A State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said that while it was not clear if Hamas would support a ceasefire proposal backed by Israel, there was “some important optimism” among officials about a potential deal, adding that the latest proposal held “significant promise.”
But it remained to be seen whether the new proposal could resolve the main sticking point between the two sides. Israel is insisting on having the option to resume fighting if Hamas does not surrender and disarm. Hamas is demanding firm guarantees that a temporary ceasefire would lead to a permanent cessation of hostilities and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
After 18 months of war, any pause in the fighting would come as the international community, including allies of Israel, has grown increasingly impatient with efforts to wind down the military assault in Gaza. Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and France have in recent weeks criticized both Israel’s decision to expand military operations in Gaza and the civilian death toll in the enclave.
“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire,” Witkoff told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Even Trump, who presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came into office, appeared to pressure Israel to make an effort to bring the war to an end over the weekend.
“We’ve been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,” Trump told reporters Sunday.
Both Israel and Hamas had previously said they would accept some of the terms of the new proposal, including the release of 10 living hostages held by Hamas and the remains of others who died in captivity, in exchange for a number of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Israel ended a previous ceasefire in March and has since embarked on a new phase of fighting, expanding its control over larger sections of the territory.
The war began Oct. 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people while 250 others were taken hostage. The subsequent Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
In January, Israel and Hamas agreed to a multiphase ceasefire deal that would have ultimately ended the war and freed the remaining hostages. Israel ended the truce in mid-March, citing an impasse over details about the next phase of the agreement.