TEL AVIV, July 29. /TASS/. Israel has not changed any of its conditions under a potential plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held there, with the talks on the deal being hampered by Hamas, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
"The Hamas leadership is preventing an agreement. Israel neither changed, nor added any condition to, the outline. On the contrary, as of now it is Hamas which has demanded 29 changes and has not responded to the original outline," it said in a statement.
"Israel stands on its principles according to the original outline: Maximizing the number of living hostages, Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor (an area on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt - TASS) and preventing the passage of terrorists, weapons and ammunition to the northern Gaza Strip," it stressed.
Earlier in the day, Hamas officials claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has returned to the strategy of delaying and protracting the talks by advancing new terms and conditions." They accused Israel of deviating from the draft handed over to Hamas by mediators as an "Israeli document," which was part of US President joe Biden and UN Security’s plan.
On July 28, CIA Director William Burns met with representatives from Israel, Egypt, and Qatar in Rome in a bid to agree a ceasefire and hostage release plan. Director of Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence service, David Barnea returned from Rome on the same day. The Israeli prime minister’s office said upon his return that talks would be continues within days.
On May 31, US President Joe Biden announced his three-phase Israel-Palestine ceasefire plan, with each phase lasting six weeks. The first stage envisages a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated localities in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian inmates from Israeli prisons. Apart from that, the parties are supposed to begin talks during this stage, with the ceasefire staying in place until they reach an agreement. Phase two provides for the release of all surviving hostages, including the military. The third stage will see the beginning of the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip.