Mr. Biden pointed to a three-phase deal that Israeli officials proposed to Hamas. “Israel has made its proposal. Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This agreement is an opportunity to prove that he is truly sincere.”
US President Joe Biden detailed on Friday a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants which, he said, would lead to the release of remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the deadly war which has lasted for almost eight months in the Middle East.
Mr. Biden added that Hamas was “not more capable » to carry out a new major attack against Israel, twhile urging Israelis and Hamas to reach an agreement to free the remaining hostages and extend the ceasefire.
The Democratic president described this proposal as “ roadmap for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages “.
Mr. Biden indicated that the first phase of the proposed agreement would last six weeks and include a ” total and complete ceasefire “, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The American hostages who would be released at this point, as well as the remains of the hostages killed, would be returned to their families. Humanitarian aid would increase significantly in the first phase, with 600 trucks allowed into the Gaza Strip each day.
There second phase would understand the release of all hostages still aliveincluding male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza.
And as long as Hamas respects its commitments, the temporary ceasefire would become, in the terms of the Israeli proposals, “ permanent cessation of hostilities “,” Mr. Biden said.
There third phase foresees the launch of a major reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which faces decades of reconstruction after the devastation caused by war.
“Decisive moment” in the war
Mr Biden’s remarks came as the Israeli military confirmed that his forces were now operating in the central districts of Rafah, as part of the expansion of its offensive in the southern city of Gaza. Mr. Biden said it was a “ truly decisive moment “. He added that the Hamas said it wanted a ceasefire and that a multi-phase agreement with Israel would be an opportunity to prove “ that he is really sincere “.
Israel launches war in Gaza after Hamas attackon October 7, during which militants stormed southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people – for most civilians – and kidnapped around 250 people. Israel says around a hundred hostages are still in captivity in Gaza, as well as the bodies of around thirty others.
Ceasefire talks were discontinued at the beginning of the month, after a significant effort by the United States and other mediators to reach an agreement, in hopes of avoiding an Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah. The talks were blocked by a central sticking point: Hamas demands guarantees on the end of the war and the total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza in exchange for the release of all the hostages, uasks which Israel rejects.
Israel expands its offensive in Rafah
Palestinians sheltering in the area have reported heavy fighting in recent days, while Israeli forces say they have taken full control of Gaza’s border with Egypt. The Israeli army has confirmed that its forces are expanding their offensive in the town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
At least a dozen people were killed in airstrikes on two different sites in central Gaza earlier this morning.
In a statement released on Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces announced that their troops had dismantled Hamas tunnels and rocket launchers in central Rafah, as well as a weapons storage area.
Israel also says Israeli forces have completed their mission in eastern Jabaliya, where they say they recovered seven bodies of Israeli hostages.
More than a million Palestinians have fled Rafah since the assault began. Rafah has become the epicenter of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.