Biden steps up pressure for Gaza ceasefire following hostage executions

The execution of an American-Israeli hostage and five others has increased pressure on both sides to agree to a truce.

The six hostages murdered by Hamas. Their deaths have increased the pressure on Israel and Hamas to find a peaceful end to the war in Gaza. Picture: AFP

The killing of an American-Israeli hostage has added new urgency to the White House’s attempt to halt the fighting in Gaza, with an updated final proposal designed to get Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement.

But administration officials acknowledge this proposal might not be the last, particularly with seven American citizens still among the Hamas-held hostages.

Hamas’s execution of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old born in California, along with five other hostages, increased pressure on President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convince Hamas of the need to pause the fighting and exchange hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

The killings occurred as the US, in co-ordination with Arab mediators, was updating the agreement’s text before presenting it to the warring parties as soon as this week.

US officials said the next iteration was likely to be more detailed than the so-called “bridging proposal” delivered last month, coming after the negotiating parties spent weeks inching closer to a final framework. There is expected to be more specificity on how the hostage-for-prisoner swaps will go, what could trigger a restart in hostilities and how long Israeli forces can remain in the Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza-Egypt border, to stop Hamas from smuggling weapons into the enclave.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday that the fresh agreement would “secure the release of the remaining hostages” lead to “massive and immediate relief for the people of Gaza”, and stop the fighting.

“The killing over the weekend just underscores the sense of urgency that we have to have in order to get it to closure,” he said.

Mr Netanyahu, facing hundreds of thousands of protesters at home urging him to make a deal, directed his ire at anyone in the US or Israel trying to force his hand. “No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me,” he said, restating his demand that Israel control the Philadelphi corridor before striking a bargain.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the other key player in the talks, also appears reluctant to sign an agreement, US officials have said, even as Hamas insists it wants an indefinite end to the fighting.

The US Justice Department on Tuesday, local time, announced criminal charges against Sinwar and other militants in connection with the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, citing the murder of Goldberg-Polin. “We are investigating Hersh’s murder, and each and every one of the brutal murders of Americans, as acts of terrorism,” Attorney-General Merrick Garland said.

Most of the draft deal had been agreed, US officials said, adding Hamas was still the least willing to say yes. Negotiators in Washington and other capitals confirmed the deal on offer gives Hamas most of what it want, with the Israelis making many concessions to reach a bargain.

Mr Netanyahu has also long been a roadblock to reaching an agreement. On Monday, Mr Biden responded “no” when asked whether Mr Netanyahu was doing enough to reach an agreement.

But the sticking point over how long Israeli troops can patrol the Philadelphi corridor has halted diplomatic momentum. An earlier version of the accord required the Israel Defence Forces to withdraw from “all densely populated areas” of the corridor in Phase One of the deal. On Monday, Mr Netanyahu said it was a “strategic imperative” for Israel to control that region.

International pressure on Israel has only grown in recent days. The UK on Monday suspended 30 of 350 arms export licences to Israel over fear that the weapons London provides might be used in violation of international law.

The Biden administration is unlikely to follow suit, as it has staunchly resisted withholding arms from Israel during the war except for one shipment of 2000-pound bombs. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that assessments on whether Israel was violating international humanitarian law with US-provided weapons would be completed “as soon as possible.”

Mr Kirby suggested that, despite the complications, there was some reason for optimism even if he couldn’t guarantee a deal would get done. “We believe that we can get there,” he said.

The US isn’t likely to walk away from the talks, since it wants the war to end, two senior administration officials said. And analysts closely monitoring the diplomacy agreed negotiations could continue. “The idea that this is a ‘final offer’ lacks credibility unless there is an ‘or else’ for Hamas,” said Michael Singh, who served as a top Middle East official for George W. Bush and is now the managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

If the US can’t persuade Sinwar to make a deal, “then this will be just the latest offer, not the last”.

The Wall Street Journal