President Joe Biden announced Israel’s three-part proposal for “an enduring ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas and the release of all hostages held in Gaza.
“Hamas needs to take the deal,” Biden told reporters Friday during a State Dining Room address at the White House.
The first phase of Israel’s “comprehensive” roadmap, if agreed to by Hamas, would include a six-week ceasefire, according to Biden.
That “full and complete ceasefire” would include the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza” and the “release of a number of hostages including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners,” Biden said.
Phase two would include the exchange of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israel withdrawing from Gaza, according to Biden. The third phase would include “a major reconstruction plan for Gaza” and “any final remains of hostages who’ve been killed” being “returned to their families,” the president said.
“Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal,” Biden said, describing the war since Hamas’s Oct. 6 terrorist attack as “one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world.”
“Work to make it real, make it lasting, and forge a better future out of the tragic terror attack and war,” he added. “It’s time to begin this new stage. For the hostages to come home, for Israel to be secure, and for the suffering to stop. It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin.”
Biden’s announcement coincides with Israel’s confirmation that the Israel Defense Forces have reached central Rafah in southern Gaza.
The White House provided a strident defense of Israel earlier this week after an Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians in an encampment for displaced people in Rafah. The strike killed two senior Hamas militants but also started a fire.
In a statement after Biden’s remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office emphasized that “the war will not end until all of [Israel’s] goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities.”
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“The exact outline proposed by Israel, including the conditional transition from stage to stage, allows Israel to maintain these principles,” his office wrote in a statement.
“I have no doubt that the deal will be characterized by Israel and will be characterized by Hamas, but we know what’s in the deal. We know what the expectations are,” a senior Netanyahu administration official added in a briefing with reporters. “Often these deals are characterized by those who might not want to see the deal.”
