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By Tom O'Connor
Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
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A senior White House official has assigned responsibility to both Israel and Hamas for failing to sign on to a Gaza ceasefire deal that President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly referred to as being in the final stages.
The comments, made by National Security Council Communications Adviser John Kirby during a press call Wednesday, marked an apparent shift from previous statements from Biden and top United States officials who portrayed Hamas as being the sole obstacle to a deal.
"The deal hasn't been accepted because neither side has signed up to it," Kirby told reporters. "We believe that both sides need to do the final bit of work here to come to a conclusion on this thing."
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Asked for clarification on whether the Biden administration now considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have also played a role in obstructing a breakthrough, Kirby again urged both sides to move forward on what he referred to as a "good proposal."
"We believe the gaps are narrow enough that they can be closed," Kirby said. "There's some implementation details that need to be hashed out. We want both sides to hash them out and get this deal in place."
During a June call with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, which has mediated Israel-Hamas negotiations, Biden "affirmed that Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire" and "confirmed Israel's readiness to move forward" with the three-phase road map outlined by the U.S. leader a week earlier.
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Biden's explanation of the agreement in May was initially received positively by Hamas. However, the group went on to complain that the text of the deal received at the negotiating table differed vastly from what Biden had described.
The deal, as described by Biden and approved by a United Nations Security Council Resolution, calls for a temporary ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of the Gaza Strip and a limited prisoner swap in the first phase to be followed by negotiations toward a permanent cessation of hostilities, release of all remaining Hamas-held hostages and the total withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Gaza.
Finally, a plan to rebuild Gaza would commence along with the return of the bodies of hostages killed while in Hamas captivity.
Despite the agreement calling for a ceasefire, Israeli officials maintained that the deal would allow them to carry out their goal of defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, U.S. officials repeatedly referred to the agreement as one that was fully aligned with Israeli demands.
When questioned about whether the U.S. now views Netanyahu as having withdrawn support for an agreement he had previously endorsed, Kirby said he would simply refer back to his previous response regarding the need for both parties to bridge the gap.
Newsweek reached out to the Israeli Foreign Ministry and a Hamas spokesperson for comment.
New uncertainties also surround the talks since the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh last week in the Iranian capital of Tehran. The IDF has declined to comment on whether or not it was behind the assassination, after which Hamas' Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar, was announced on Tuesday as the group's new leader.
Iran has vowed to avenge Haniyeh's killing on its soil, while its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, has called also promised retaliation over the slaying of its top military official, Fouad Shukr, in an Israeli strike in Beirut less than a day earlier amid intensifying clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border.
In response to Newsweek's question during the press briefing Tuesday, Kirby emphasized that the U.S. stood "ready to defend Israel and our own interests," while at the same time was engaging "in some pretty intense diplomacy here across the region" to prevent a major escalation.
As to whether a ceasefire in Gaza could satisfy Iran's desire to hold Israel accountable for Haniyeh's killing, the Iranian Mission to the United Nations said in a statement that the Islamic Republic would both press for an end to the war in Gaza and hit back at Israel for the Hamas chief's killing.
"We have pursued two priorities simultaneously," the Iranian Mission told Newsweek, "first, establishing a durable ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of the occupiers from this territory; second, punishing the aggressor for the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh, preventing the recurrence of the Israeli regime's terrorist aggressions, and making the Zionists regret embarking on such a trajectory."
Regarding Hezbollah's plans to respond to Shukr's death, a spokesperson for the group referred Newsweek to the latest remarks by Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
The Hezbollah chief asserted in his latest speech on Tuesday that the group's "response is certainly coming and will be strong, impactful and effective." He also hinted that the retaliation may be coordinated with Iran and other Axis of Resistance coalition members that have conducted attacks on Israel amid its war with Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to fight on in Gaza until victory.
"Only increasing the military pressure on Hamas will lead to achieving all of the objectives of the war, including the return home of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," Netanyahu said during a ceremony on Sunday.
"Iran and its minions are looking to surround us in a stranglehold of terrorism," he added. "We are determined to stand against them on every front and in every arena – near and far. Whoever seeks to harm us will pay a very heavy price."
An IDF official speaking to Newsweek also recently affirmed the commitment to achieving all of Israel's wartime goals, both in Gaza and Lebanon, amid the threats of retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah.
"We're looking for Hamas to be dismantled, to be defeated. We're looking to bring back home our hostages. We're looking to get Hezbollah away from the fence so we can bring back our citizens safely," the IDF official said. "These are our goals, not a wider escalation, but at the same time, we need to protect ourselves."
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