Hamas demands Biden truce plan implemented as Gazans flee Israeli advance

Hamas urges Gaza mediators to implement Biden's truce plan amid Israeli military operation, escalating tensions in Gaza.

Hamas on Sunday (August 11, 2024) urged Gaza mediators to implement a truce plan presented by U.S. President Joe Biden instead of holding more talks, as Palestinians fled a new Israeli military operation.

The statement from the Palestinian group, whose October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war, came a day after one of the deadliest reported Israeli strikes on the besieged Gaza Strip in more than 10 months of war.

International mediators had invited Israel and Hamas to resume talks towards a long-sought truce and hostage-release deal after the fighting in Gaza and the killings of Iran-aligned militant leaders sparked fears of a wider conflict.

Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging the war for political gain, has accepted the invitation from the United States, Qatar and Egypt for a round of talks planned for Thursday.(August 15, 2024)

Hamas said Sunday (August 11, 2024) that it wanted the implementation of a truce plan laid out by Mr. Biden on May 31 and later endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, “rather than going through more negotiation rounds or new proposals”.

Hamas “demands that the mediators present a plan to implement what they proposed to the movement... based on Mr. Biden’s vision and the U.N. Security Council resolution, and compel the (Israeli) occupation to comply”, it said.

Unveiling the plan, Mr. Biden had called it a three-phase “roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of allhostages”, and said it was an Israeli proposal. Mediation e forts since then have failed to produce an agreement.