Egypt: Hamas has accepted US proposal for end of the Gaza war

So declared Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Schookry, who is visiting Madrid today.

The proposal for a ceasefire at the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners and prisoners must be accepted. Hamas' first statements show he has welcomed the proposed agreement and now we expect Israeli response,” said Schookry during a press conference with the Spanish counterpart.

The war at the Gaza Strip exposes the region to chaos, and Israeli practices violate international law”.

The Egyptian minister praised Spain's <x0 position in favour of the Palestinian issue, especially after recognising the state of Palestine”. “We must respect the rules of international law, respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice and preserve the multilateral international action system”.

“We have to respect the rules of international law, respect the decisions of the International Court of Justice and preserve the multilateral international action system”, he added, with the awareness that “war on the Gaza Strip has had catastrophic consequences for the Palestinian people, to the point that they make the territory inevitable”.

“We hope to resolve the Palestinian issue on the basis of two-state settlement and the establishment of a Palestinian state at the border of 1967 with East Jerusalem as the capital. The Egyptian position is clear in rejecting the Israeli presence on the Palestinian side of Rafah crossing,” went on, specifying that the “tectation of peace with Israel is important and should be respected” and that “is difficult to restore to Rafah, without a Palestinian administration on the other side<55>.

On the other hand, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, the US government has “all expectations” that Israel will accept a ceasefire proposal that would begin with a six-week break in Gaza fighting.

The three-part plan presented by President Joe Biden last week would also be a <x0 achievement” of humanitarian aid, as well as an exchange of several hostages for Palestinian prisoners before a permanent end to the war.

The proposal, however, has run into vocal opposition by some members of the Israeli government.

Negotiations come as fighting continues in Rafah, which came under intensive Israeli air strikes over the weekend.

According to W NRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, all 36 of its shelters in the Rafah area are empty, as residents were forced to leave.

Another 1.7 million people are estimated to be displaced in Khan Youth and parts of central Gaza.

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday morning, Kirby said the US had “all expectations” that Israel “would say yes” the proposed ceasefire agreement if Hamas accepts.

“We are waiting for an official response from Hamas,” he said, adding that the US hoped both sides would agree to start the first phase of the plan “as soon as possible”.

During that initial six-week pause in combat, Kirby said that “the two sides would sit down and try to negotiate what the second phase might look like and when it could start”.

In a televised address last week, Biden said that in the second phase of the plan, all remaining surviving hostages, including male soldiers, would be returned. Then, the truce would become the “Cut-off of hostilities, forever”.

On Saturday, however, two far-right Israeli ministers threatened to leave and overthrow the country's ruling coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on the deal.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Grav said they opposed reaching any agreement before Hamas was destroyed.

Netanyah has likewise insisted that there will be no ceasefire until Hamas' military and governing capabilities are destroyed and all hostages released.

Kirby, for his part, said American intelligence now believes Hamas has been militarily degraded to the extent that he cannot repeat an attack like the one his fighters committed on October 7th.

“We have not said they still do not represent a lasting threat to the Israeli people. Of course they do,” he said. “But they don't have military skills to do what they did. ”

More than 360,000 people have been killed in all of Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, according to Hamas-led health ministry.

The war began in October when Hamas' armed men launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing about 1,000 and 200 people and taking 252 back to Gaza as hostages.

In the US, President Biden has faced mounting domestic criticism of the US's level of support for Israel, as well as calls to do more to encourage warring parties to negotiate./ Albanianpost/