Washington — President Joe Biden on Friday detailed Israel’s proposed three-phase deal with Hamas militants. He said it would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the nearly eight-month war in the Middle East.
Biden added that Hamas no longer has the capacity to launch large-scale attacks against Israel. He called on Israel and Hamas to negotiate for the release of remaining hostages for an extended ceasefire.
In remarks from the White House, the Democratic president called the proposal “a roadmap to a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages.”
Biden said the first phase of the proposed agreement would last six weeks and include a “complete and total ceasefire,” the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the release of a number of hostages, including women. , the elderly and wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
At this stage, the American hostages will be released and the remains of the murdered hostages will be returned to their families. Humanitarian aid will surge in the first phase, with 600 trucks allowed into Gaza each day.
The second phase will include the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza.
“As long as Hamas keeps its promises, the temporary ceasefire will become a ‘permanent cessation of hostilities’ under the Israeli proposal,” Biden said.
The third phase should begin large-scale reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which will require decades of reconstruction from the devastation caused by the war.
But Biden acknowledged that it will be difficult to keep the deal on track, saying there are “many details to negotiate” to move from phase one to phase two.
Biden’s remarks came as the Israeli military expanded its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip and confirmed that it is currently operating in the center of Rafah. Biden called it a “really decisive moment,” adding that Hamas wants a ceasefire and that Israel’s step-by-step negotiations are an opportunity to prove “whether they are really serious.”
Israel is facing growing international criticism for its strategy of systematically destroying the Gaza Strip at great cost to civilian lives. Gaza’s health ministry said more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombing and ground offensives in the besieged area. The Gaza Health Ministry makes no distinction between combatants and civilians.
Israel began its war in Gaza on Oct. 7 after a Hamas attack in which militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip. About 30 more.
Ceasefire talks stalled earlier this month after massive pressure from the United States and other mediators to strike a deal that would prevent Israel from invading the southern city of Rafah. The talks were hampered by key difficulties. Hamas demanded the release of all hostages and a guarantee that the war would end and that Israeli forces would fully withdraw from Gaza, but Israel refused.
