WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Hamas militant group is responsible for the renewed fighting in Gaza after rejecting efforts to move forward with what had been an “acceptable deal,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday, even as he said he would be open to new outreach.
“So this is on Hamas. The United States stands with the state of Israel,” Witkoff told Fox News. “Hamas had every opportunity to demilitarize, to accept the bridging proposal.” After weeks of relative calm in the Gaza Strip, following a ceasefire deal reached in January, attempts to agree an extension of the halt in fighting stalled and Israel resumed its air strikes and deployed ground troops in areas across the strip.
Palestinian health authorities say hundreds have been killed in the latest strikes.
Witkoff’s “bridge” plan, presented earlier in March, aimed to extend the ceasefire into April, beyond the holidays of Ramadan and Passover, to allow time for negotiations on a permanent cessation of hostilities.
“Would we be amenable to a reach out from Hamas? Of course, we would be – no different than in the Russian conflict (in Ukraine). We want to end the killing, but we need to be clear who the aggressor is here, and that is Hamas,” he said. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli communities around the strip on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, according to an Israeli tally, and abducting 251 others as hostages.
At least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 wounded since the start of the war, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Ross Colvin and Paul Simao)
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