By Chris Summers
Contributing Writer
Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza, the White House said on Thursday.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal. Hamas has said it wants more time to study the plan.
Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the proposal “does not respond to any of our people’s demands, foremost among which is stopping the war and famine.”
Naim said Hamas would study the cease-fire proposal “with all national responsibility.”
Earlier this week, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about arranging a new cease-fire and gaining the release of more Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist group.
On Thursday, Leavitt was asked by a journalist to comment on reports in the Israeli media that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a 60-day truce.
“I can confirm that Special Envoy Witkoff and the president submitted a cease-fire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported. Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas,” Leavitt said.
“I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing, and we hope that a cease-fire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home.”
Leavitt said she could not give further details as they “are in the midst of this right now.”
When asked if Hamas had accepted the cease-fire proposal, she said, “Not to my knowledge, but certainly if that becomes the case and this cease-fire goes into effect, you’ll hear it directly from myself, the president, or Special Envoy Witkoff.”
Netanyahu has promised to destroy Hamas. On May 22, he accused the leaders of the UK, Canada and France of being “on the wrong side of history” after they issued a joint statement on May 19 calling for an end to Israel’s latest offensive.
The conflict in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists crossed the border into Israel, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages into the strip of territory they controlled.
A cease-fire was agreed to in January, and several hostages were handed over in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but it ended on March 1.
Israel says Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, although only 23 of them are believed to be alive.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu announced Israel had killed Hamas’ chief in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, 49, in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza city of Khan Younis.
Sinwar succeeded his brother Yahya Sinwar, who was the alleged mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. He was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.
Israel has restricted aid deliveries into Gaza since March, claiming Hamas was stealing it and selling it to finance its military operations.
The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was created earlier this year as part of an Israeli-initiated plan to deliver aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza without interference from Hamas.
On Sunday, Jake Wood, executive director of the GHF, resigned, saying it was clear that the plan could not be implemented while adhering “to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, which I will not abandon.”
Wood, a former U.S. Marine sniper who was appointed to the role two months ago, did not give further details.
The GHF said on Friday it had distributed more than 2 million meals in the first four days of starting aid handouts.
It said it had distributed six truckloads of food at one distribution point and was committed to supplying food safely to a “large, hungry population.”
Macron Says Aid Situation ‘Untenable’
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron, at a press conference in Singapore, said France could harden its position on Israel if it continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“The humanitarian blockade is creating a situation that is untenable on the ground,” Macron said. “And so, if there is no response that meets the humanitarian situation in the coming hours and days, obviously, we will have to toughen our collective position.”
On Thursday, Israel approved plans for 22 settlements in the West Bank, including the legalization of existing outposts, according to Israeli media citing the Ministry of Defense.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.”
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said Israel’s move is a “dangerous escalation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
