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Tensions between the Biden administration and Israel ramped up another notch after a ceasefire proposal was accepted this week by Hamas, a move that reportedly surprised Israeli officials.

Diplomatic relations seem to have reached a critical low as two officials from the Middle Eastern country expressed to Axios that “Israel got played” by the U.S. and mediators working on the proposal.

“Israeli officials claim the Biden administration knew about the latest hostage and ceasefire deal proposal Egypt and Qatar negotiated with Hamas, but didn’t brief Israel before Hamas announced it accepted it on Monday,” Axios reported.

CIA director Bill Burns was reportedly in Cairo and Doha as Hamas officials and Egyptian and Qatari mediators met to hammer out a ceasefire, according to the outlet which cited “sources familiar with the talks.”

“Three Israeli officials said the Hamas announcement on Monday surprised the Israeli government and that Israel didn’t receive the text of the group’s response from the mediators until an hour after Hamas released its statement,” Axios noted.

“When the Israelis read Hamas’ response, they were surprised to see it contained ‘many new elements’ that were not part of the previous proposal that Israel agreed on and that was presented to Hamas by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar ten days ago, the officials said,” according to the outlet.

One official said, “It looked like a whole new proposal.”

The Egyptians allegedly gave a new proposal to the Hamas representatives “without coordinating with Israel,” according to two senior Israeli officials.

“The officials claimed CIA director Bill Burns and other Biden administration officials who are involved in the negotiations knew about the new proposal but didn’t tell Israel,” Axios reported.

The Biden administration allegedly knew about changes made to the proposal on Monday, according to the Israeli officials who said that Israel is “deeply suspicious that the Biden administration gave guarantees to Hamas” that a hostage deal would bring about an end to the war.

“American diplomats have been engaged with Israeli counterparts. There have been no surprises,” an unnamed senior U.S. official said, according to Axios.

The official added that “this is an extremely difficult process with negotiations conducted through intermediaries in Doha and Cairo.”

An April proposal by Israel was “the most forward leaning proposal to date,” the official stated. “To secure a ceasefire, Hamas simply needs to release hostages. It’s all mapped out.”

Reactions on social media to the Israeli claims about being “played” were brutal.

Frieda Powers
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