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Israel on Monday announced the deaths of four captives held in Gaza amid growing doubts and international pressure over a plan for a ceasefire and hostage release deal outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Biden on Friday presented what he labelled an Israeli three-phase plan that would end the bloody conflict, free all hostages and lead to the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory without Hamas in power.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stressed that the war sparked by the October 7 attack would continue until all of Israel’s “goals are achieved,” including the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
And on Monday, the White House said Biden told the emir of mediator Qatar that he saw Hamas as “the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire” in Gaza, and urged him to press the group to accept it.
The G7 group of developed countries said in a statement its leaders “fully endorse” the deal pushed by Biden, and called on Hamas to accept it.
Israel’s military announced the deaths in Gaza of four hostages seized on October 7, naming them as Chaim Perry, Yoram Metzger, Amiram Cooper and Nadav Popplewell.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he was “greatly saddened to hear about the death” of Israeli-British man Popplewell, adding: “We reiterate our demand for Hamas to send all hostages home.”
All but Popplewell were seen alive in a video released by Hamas in December.
Separately, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “We assess that the four of them were killed while together in the area of Khan Yunis during our operation there against Hamas.”
Earlier on Monday, the army said it had located in Israel the body of paramedic Dolev Yehud, who had been thought to be a hostage but was killed on October 7.
Israeli media have questioned to what extent Biden’s ceasefire speech and some crucial details were coordinated with Netanyahu’s team, including how long any truce would hold and how many captives would be freed and when.
Hamas on Friday said it viewed Biden’s outline “positively,” but has since made no official comment on the stalled negotiations, while mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have not announced any new talks.
‘End to suffering’
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt issued a statement on Monday backing the latest diplomatic effort.
They “emphasized the importance of dealing seriously and positively with the US president’s proposal,” which could produce “a permanent ceasefire… and an end to the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip”, the joint statement said.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer quoted Netanyahu as saying that the outline Biden presented was only “partial,” and that under the plan fighting would only stop temporarily “for the purpose of returning the hostages.”
However, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday said the White House has “seen again over the weekend from Israel a willingness to step forward and do a deal.”
And State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the proposal was “nearly identical” to one submitted several weeks ago by Hamas and called on its leader, Yahya Sinwar, not to “move the goalposts.”
The fighting shows no sign of easing, however, with the war that has devastated the coastal territory of 2.4 million people soon to enter its ninth month.
On Monday, Israel’s military said its forces had struck “over 50 targets” over the past day, and Gaza hospitals reported at least 19 fatalities in overnight strikes.
Four residential towers in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza were among the targets leveled by Israeli forces, according to Xinhua.
Growing pressure
The U.S. said on Monday it wants the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution backing the ceasefire proposal.
It circulated a one-page draft text to the 15-member council. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the U.S., France, Britain, China or Russia to pass.
The draft calls on Hamas to accept the deal and “fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.” It also “stresses the importance of the parties adhering to the terms of the deal once agreed, with the aim of bringing about a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The U.S. proposal comes a week after Algeria proposed a draft Security Council resolution demanding a Gaza ceasefire, release of all hostages held by Hamas and essentially ordering Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah.
At home and abroad, Israel is facing growing pressure to accept the deal, with Israeli protesters urging the government to secure the return of hostages while the international community growing ever more concerned about the rising civilian deaths in Gaza.
Colombia, which broke its diplomatic ties with Israel last month, said on Monday the Israeli ambassador to Colombia needs to leave the country before June 30.
Also on Monday, over 20 UN experts and special rapporteurs called on all countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
The UN now has more than 140 member states that recognize Palestine as a state. Norway, Ireland and Spain jointly declared their recognition in late May.