US: Hamas claimed to accept ceasefire offer, but 'that's not what they did' [View all]
US: Hamas claimed to accept ceasefire offer, but thats not what they did
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller pushes back on Hamass claim yesterday that it had accepted the ceasefire proposal that was on the table.
Israel had agreed to what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as a generous hostage deal proposal late last month, Miller explains at a press briefing. Thats the offer that was on the table.
Hamas seemed to make clear in their public statements that they accepted that offer yesterday. That is not what they did. They responded with amendments or a counter-proposal, and were working through the details of that now, he says, noting that CIA chief Bill Burns is in Cairo along with delegations from Israel, Hamas and Qatar.
snip=====================
Miller notes that most media outlets reported Hamass statement that it had accepted the Qatari and Egyptian mediators hostage deal proposal at face value.
I dont blame the reporting. Its what the [Hamas] statement said. But its not an accurate reflection of what happened
Hamas did not accept a ceasefire proposal. Hamas responded and in their response made several suggestions.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/us-hamas-claimed-to-accept-ceasefire-offer-but-thats-not-what-they-did/