Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Sunday underlined the responsibility of Hamas for the consequences of the war to the people of Gaza.
In a post on X, Friedman shared a video of the Chords Bridge in Jerusalem, which was lit up with the number 450, marking 450 days since Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
“Jerusalem’s ‘Chords Bridge’ (also known as the Bridge of Strings) is lit up tonight with the number 450 — the number of days that Israeli and American citizens continue to be held hostage under brutal and sub-human conditions by Hamas,” wrote Friedman.
“Hamas could have ended this war at any time within the past 450 days by freeing the hostages and surrendering. The consequences of this war to the people of Gaza are solely the responsibility of Hamas,” he pointed out.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in indirect talks, mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, in an attempt to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal, but little progress has been recorded so far, as Hamas has rejected every proposal presented to it.
The Prime Minister's Office announced last Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to bring the Israeli negotiation team, which had been in Qatar over the past week, back to Israel for consultations.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said on Wednesday that the negotiating team returned to Israel in order to allow for decisions to be made regarding the next part of the negotiations.
The sources also said that Hamas is ignoring the pressure from the mediators, and Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar is presenting inflexible positions, "more than his brother Yahya."
Hamas, for its part, blamed Israel for the lack of progress, claiming Israel presented new conditions which delayed the deal.
On Friday, White House National security communications adviser John Kirby stated that the White House is "actively working" to broker a ceasefire-hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, but also stressed that "Hamas is the obstacle" to an agreement.